Discovering Democracy Unit - an overview of Integrated Unit

An integrated unit
Year 4 Term 1 2010

Program written by SN, of TPS.

UNIT OF WORK – DEMOCRACY RULES

ELA’s and Essential Content
Markers of Progress
Teaching and Learning Activities
Skills Assessment and Moderation

- The student understands and values what it means to be a citizen within a democracy.
- Understand the rights and responsibilities associated with being a citizen in Australia.
- Identify the roles and principles of key institutions underpinning democracy in Australia and understand the role of each level of government.
- Understand that laws exist to protect rights and freedoms in a democracy.
- Understand the difference between a democratic government and non- democratic government.
- Describe the general process of elections and how governments are formed.
Know ways that individuals and groups can influence decisions at school.
Describe the qualities of effective leaders in democratic society.


CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP – AUSTRALIAN TEACHERS HANDBOOK ‘THE AUSTRALIAN’ PP. 15 – 18.
Establishing a mythical society on Planet Z
 List 10 things that ensure the citizens get along and get things done rank in order of importance and give reasons for the rankings
 In pairs share above lists. Decide on and record a list of RIGHTS the citizens of Planet Z will have and rank these 1 – 10 in order of importance and give reasons for the rankings.
 Arrange a Summit with the whole colony to discuss the rules/ laws and the rights. Decide on and record a list of 10 RIGHTS the citizens will enjoy as inhabitants of Planet Z.
 As an individual write an entry into a PIONEERS JOURNAL describing the summit and the decisions that were made.

Australian Symbols
Coat of arms and flag – Class discussion about these icons. What is on them and why these symbols have been included. Discuss Australian icons and colours.

 Students design a new Australian flag.


The Origins of Australian Government.
 What is government?
 What is the purpose of government?
 How did Australia’s government originate?
Read text ‘What is government? - 1’ Students highlight key words and facts relevant to the origins of Australian Government.
In table groups discuss what types of groups the students belong to and the rules they must follow in order to be in that group. Share discussion as a whole class.

Complete the activities
‘What is government? - 2’
‘What is government? - 3’

Timeline – Create a time-line using information provided from ‘Let’s Talk About Government’ p10 to show the development of the Australian government.

How Does The Australian Government Operate?
 What do you know about the government? What would you like to find out?
 What is a constitution
 Why do you think it is important to share the power between the federal government and the states?
 Why is it important to develop laws that reflect the interests and needs of the citizens?


Three Levels of Government
Read text ‘Three Levels f Government – 1’ View diagram at the bottom of the page. Discuss the components that come together to make up the federal government.

Students complete ‘Three Levels of Government-2’ individually or in pairs. Research materials or access to internet will be required for question 2. Individually create a graph to represent the outcome of the 1999 referendum.

In groups of 4 students discuss one of the components of federal government. Groups may discuss the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Constitution, Governor-General, Prime Minister, cabinet, opposition government, coalition and various departments.

Read text ‘Three Levels of Government-3’ State Government. Highlight key words. Complete the activities individually or in pairs. Research materials or access to internet may be required for questions 1 and 3.

Read text ‘Three Levels of Government-4’ – Local Government. Direct relationships with your own community and local government members can be readily drawn to demonstrate the reality of government to the students. Students then complete the questions. Research materials or access to internet will be required.


Separation of Powers.
Read the text and view diagram Separation of Powers – 1. Discuss difficult terms. Using key words and phrases students write about one body in their own words, explaining its role in the system.
Students complete Separation of Powers – 2. Access to the internet will be required for questions 3 – 6.

Read and discuss the information on page entitled
An act of parliament – 1. The students to work in small groups to show the movement of a bill through parliament. The students will need to develop a bill of their own to use as an example. Students then present flow charts to the class.

Students then complete page 43 An act of parliament – 2 individually. Before they attempt Q4, the class could make a list of community needs. Share individual answers to Q 4. This could be used for class debates, time permitting.

A visit to Parliament House
• Excursion to the Australian Electoral Office and Old Parliament House. Various related activities at these two venues.
• A visit to Parliament House #1, #2. Students to complete questions in pairs researching information from the internet using Parliament House web site and ACT Legislative Assembly website.


HISTORICAL FACTS
A summing up of some facts pertaining to Australian government and democracy.
Students divide into pairs and work together to research and collect information.
Once all groups have their information, join together as a class and share the facts. Students record information on Historical Facts #1 and #2 pp53 and 54.


CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP – AUSTRALIAN TEACHERS HANDBOOK ‘THE AUSTRALIAN’ PP. 32
 Differentiating between RULES and LAWS. Identifying what groups have laws/rules why we have them and who makes them.
 Complete activity writing a definition for both a rule and a law. Identify what the possible consequences are for breaking a law and the consequences for breaking specific rules.
 Draw a cartoon showing a law that has been broken and the consequence and a rule that has been broken and the consequence.
 Pick the rule, pick the law , rule or law Handout 3 & 4 Discovering Democracy
 What is government 3 p33 Rules the reasons for them and an alternative.

THE CONSTITUTION – Planet Z
What is a constitution? Decide on a system of government and create a constitution.
 With a partner draw up a constitution for Planet Z. This must include the type of voting system and some basic laws.

‘Let’s Talk About Government’ p9

Democracy
Oligarchy
Monarchy
Dictatorship

Nelson Mandela – ‘The Long Walk to freedom’ Read article from Rigby Literacy Collections 7 pp. 12 &13 answer questions related to the article BLM 10.

Martin Luther King – ‘I Have A Dream’ Read article from Australian Readers – ‘Discovering Democracy Upper Primary Collection’ p 12. Answer questions from teachers guide p3 on prepared sheet.

View Movies – Over two weeks
• The Power of One
• Remember The Titans
Discuss The differences and similarities between the movies.
Some discussion Points:
• How has the film - maker identified the time in which each of these movies was set?
• How are the black African and black American people treated by the white people?
• Are all white people racist towards the black people in the movies?
• What are some of the lessons that we learn from both of these movies?
• Further questions will come up during the discussion.

ELECTIONS
Identify different types of voting systems. Discuss the pros and cons of each
Complete Elections 1 pp. 45 and 46
What happens in an election
Complete Elections 2 p 47
Class discussion about voting systems. identify in which situations different voting systems could beused. Complete activity BLM’s from Ready to Go Civics and Citizenship (Upper Primary)
• First Past the Post p32
• Approval voting p33
• Counting Senate Votes p34
• Preferential voting p35

The Australian Civics and Citizenship Teachers Handbook pp 4 - 11
Communities – Where do you belong?

 Students complete mind map identifying groups they belong to e.g. families, local communities, ethnic groups etc.
 Choose 1 group from above mind map and complete table identifying who is in the group, what are the benefits of being in the group, who makes the decisions in the group and how are they made, are there rules in the group and how are differences and disputes resolved.
 Decisions


AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL LEADERS
Prime Ministers word search
Complete # 1 pp. 50 and 51
What are the qualities of a good leader? Interprets information or data in charts & diagrams to show sequence or relationships.

Collects & interprets information from tables.

Compares data in tables.

Recognises different tables

Selects and extracts information from the media

Locates information sources


Summarises from various sources

Extracts main ideas from text

Selects and extracts information from the media

Prepares for excursions/ field trips (independently)

Locates information sources

Discovering Democracy word bank

Senate, Parliament, House of Representatives ,Leader of the Opposition, Governor General, Prime Minister, Liberal, Nation, Greens, Australian Labour Party, society, power, rules, democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, oligarchy, elections, votes, suffragette, Federation, laws, history, groups

Integrated Unit for SOSE/Science/Health

Discovering Democracy Unit Outline



Click on the image to make it larger.

English language

Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it
was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg
in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in
pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or
French fries in France .

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't
sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we
explore its paradoxes, we find that

quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a
guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of
tooth is teeth, why isn't the

plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2
meese? One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one
amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a
vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be
committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what
language do people:

Recite at a play and play at a recital?

Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?

Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a
wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in
which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you
fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes
off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it
reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course,
is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out,
they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are
invisible.

PS: Why doesn't "buick" rhyme with "quick"?

SOSE - Sandlot

The Plot

It's 1962, and Scotty Smalls is the new kid in town. He's shy, slightly awkward and doesn't find it easy to fit in with the neighbourhood kids. His mother constantly urges him to go outside and make friends, but it's not as easy as she thinks it is. More than anything else, Scotty wants to play baseball with the other kids. But that's not really an easy task when you don't know how to catch a ball. Scotty even tries to get his stepfather to teach him, but he's too occupied with his work. All that changes when Benjamin Rodriguez, the best ball player in town, invites him to be the ninth player on their team. Benjamin shows Smalls (as he comes to be called) the ropes and teaches him how to catch. Pretty soon Scotty's days of sitting at home by himself are over. And so starts the best summer of his life.


Subplots

Scotty belts a ball over a fence that is guarded by a fierce beast, where no ball is ever recovered. The problem is that Scotty took the ball from his dad, and the ball was signed by Babe Ruth. This leads to numerous confrontations with the beast to try and recover the ball.

In The Sandlot everything is exaggerated and becomes something larger than life. That's the way many adults recall seeing things as a boy or girl. There's a dog that rules over the land of lost baseballs and he's a huge monster of cartoon proportions - the sort of creature that only exists in tales told in sleepovers and backyard camp-outs.


Setting

A quiet town in the USA in 1962.


Drug Education

Tobacco contains nicotine. It can cause lung cancer, heart disease, heart attacks and many other health problems.


Themes

Making new friends after moving to a new area.
Cooperation.
Team building.
Accepting others.
Helping others.
Using technology to achieve a goal.
The world is not as scary as it seems.


Characters

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez
Scotty Smalls
The Beast
Hamilton 'Ham' Porter
Michael 'Squints' Palledorous
Alan 'Yeah-Yeah' McClennan
Kenny DeNunez (as Brandon Adams)
Bertram Grover Weeks
Tommy 'Repeat' Timmons
Timmy Timmons


Activities

- learn softball skills.
- make the dessert called smores.
- write a campfire legend like the story of The Beast.
- analyse the film The Sandlot.
- for technology, design a ball retriever for when your ball goes over the fence.
- write a word bank and incorporate the words into class writing activities.


Resources

- cooking ingredients
- softball equipment
- DVD The Sandlot
- Smartboard for group technology designs.

5 Random Things

Write down five random things you've never done before.

I've never:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Now, write down five exotic/important things that you have done.

I have:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Indigenous Studies - Year 4

Outcomes include:

Improving learning conditions of Indigenous students
Improving knowledge of indigenous issues and cultures

Objectives:

The student demonstrates intercultural understanding
The student understands about Australia and Australians

Challenge activities:

1. Find out about the traditional owners of the land you were born on.
2. Research the life of a prominent Indigenous person - choose from writing, visual art, literature, as well as sport.
3. Research and find at least 10 significant dates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history.
4. Research at least 10 local place/street names and find out their Aboriginal meaning.

Word Bank:

Aboriginal, Dreamtime, boomerang, community, spirit, ancestors, shelter, storytelling, waterholes, kangaroo, hunting, spears, canoe, fire, children, elders, kinship, digging, Bogong moth, Witchetty grub

Activities:

Introduction to topic:

- Word Bank activity
- 'What I know' (pre test) journal entry.

Background Information:

- Study of The Dreamtime to gain insight into how traditional Aboriginal people view the world.
- Analysis and illustration of the Aboriginal creation story

Elements of traditional Aboriginal culture:
Tribes/Families/Community

- Comparison of similarities and differences between family structure of students and traditional Aboriginal families.
- Researching roles/routines of different tribe members, act/draw/write what they would do in a typical day - present to class.

Living off the land

- Research different food and shelter sources (lakes, bush, etc) summarising what is found there and how it is gathered.
- Design an ideal environment showing where food can be found and shelter can be formed. Evaluate each design and discuss what we can learn from this way of living.

Storytelling

- Read/view several traditional Dreamtime stories, identify common elements (morals, characters, language, themes). Discuss purpose and modes of storytelling in both our own and the traditional Aboriginal societies.
- Write class Dreamtime story to be acted out and shared.

Reflection

- Final written entry - What have you learned/enjoyed.

Assessment and evalutation will include:

Journal entries
Anecdotal evidence (discussions and group work)
Work samples
Presentation and illustration of work

STUDIES OF SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT

Society and Environment is an essential part of a balanced education where all students learn about the factors that shape their individual identity and that of their society.

This area is important because it expands students’ knowledge and understanding of their own society, other societies, local and global environments and the relationships between environments and societies. It develops knowledge about Australia , the diversity of its people, its cultural and natural environmental heritage, and its place in the world.

Our classroom provides opportunities for the development of:

- investigation, communication and participation skills,
practical survival skills,
- interpersonal skills necessary for getting along with others and establishing attitudes, values and beliefs,
- strategies for making decisions and choices,
- developing skills that enhance the ability to live in peace and harmony in our independent and interconnected world of natural and social systems.

SOSE: Adventures in Time and Place

The dimensions of thinking for SOSE in term 3, 2009, for the Year 4 class will focus on:
- critical thinking and creative thinking
- assess significant local and current affairs from a variety of sources, with a
focus on examining bias and distinguishing fact from opinion
- historical thinking use primary sources to broaden understanding of historical events and issues
- geographic thinking construct and interpret various types of maps (i.e., historical, physical, political maps) to broaden understanding of topics being studied
- decision making and problem solving
- propose and apply new ideas, strategies and options, supported with facts and
reasons, to contribute to decision making and problem solving.

Research and resource materials will focus on:

1. Volcanic activity
2. Tropical Rain forests
3. The Great Barrier Reef

Student communication will focus on:

- Communication by oral, written and visual literacy
- Student will express opinions and present perspectives and information in a variety of forms, such as oral or written presentations, speeches or debates.

Student skills involve initially watching a class SOSE DVD then working on the topic to research information, have small group then whole group discussion. Topics for discussion will involve the gathering of new information and the writing of a spelling word bank. Factual reports will be written and given orally.

Activities:

Introduction to topic -
1. Keyword strategy
2. 'What I know' pre testing by journal writing

Background -
Study of the SOSE DVD to gain insight into the topic and then analysis and illustration of the research completed in class using classroom computers.

Presenting and sharing competed themes -
By class circle time, by presentation using electronic media.

Treasure Hunt for Knowledge!

You are on a quest. Work in pairs in your workbooks.
Here are your tasks:

How many words can you make from "elephant"?
Write down as many words as you can for the color "red".
List six bones in the human body.
Find the author of The Wind in the Willows.
Draw a net of a cube and put it together.
List six words that have the THRASS sound "oa".
Write down the frst four lines of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
Write a haiku about rain.
Draw a map of a treasure island and include a key and a compass.
What are the symbols for lead, gold and silver?

Grade 4 Spelling Test

This spelling test (Test 2) comprehensively covers spelling areas like compound words; adding s,ed, er, est; dropping final 'e' before adding 'ing'; silent 'g'; and non phonetic spelling.

CLOZE for Grade 4 - Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda is a great book for ______ in Grade 3-5. It tells the story of a 5 year old girl ______ Matilda. Matilda is a very bright girl. She started talking ________ when she was one year old and could read _______ when she was five. All her parents thought of her was a noisy little _________.

At Matilda's school there is a very mean Headmistress called Miss Trunchbull. She is very ________ and doesn't seem to like children. Then there is Matilda's teacher called Miss Honey who is nice to everyone. This ________ book tells about the wonderful adventures of Matilda and what type of special powers she _______.

If you like the ______ of this book go down to your local or school library to read it and be amazed by Matilda.

fluently, readers, violent, gets, named, perfectly, wonderful, chatterbox, sound




Written by Slinky.

CLOZE for Grade 4 - The Swimming Carnival

On the 4th of May our school went to the swimming _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and had a really good time. Jack V. was the Junior Boy's Champion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ all his races and the
Junior Girls _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ was Freda S. who swam really well in _ _ _ _ of her races.

The races at the carnival included freestyle, breaststroke, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , backstroke and the girls and boys medley. All the children at Howards Primary School got on the _ _ _ at 9:30 in the morning and got at the pool at 9:45. The first race _ _ _ _ _ _ off at 9:50 and was the girls and boys medley. This was just one of the _ _ _ _ _ that Freda and Jack won.

Altogether the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ carnival was the best ever one I have been to.



bus
pool
winning
Champion
most
races
kicked
carnival
swimming
butterfly

Written by Slinky.

SOSE - Australian Mapping

In our mapping we will get a black line master of a map of a state or territory of Australia. Trim and glue it into your SOSE (Studies of Society and the Environment) book.

On it, put the capital city and three other cities. Put in any mountain ranges, rivers and lakes. On the side of the map, do a key which will list all the things you have placed on your map, and a compass.

On the next page you will do your writing about the state or territory. Include information about the emblems, and make lists of coastal towns, rivers, lakes and all the famous tourist spots.

List flora and fauna (animals and plants) that are found in the state or territory.

Lastly, write a short story, using descriptive words about a time you visited one of the locations.

CLOZE for Grade 4 - The Golden Wishing Ring

Meanwhile the farmer reached home and showed his ring to his wife. "Now we cannot fail to make a fortune," he said.

"We must think very carefully how we shall use our _ _ _ _ ."

"Why don't we wish for the land next _ _ _ _ so that our farm can be twice as big?" _ _ _ _ _ his wife.

"Well that would be all right," said the _ _ _ _ _ _ , "but I'd rather _ _ _ _ really hard and see if we can save the money for the land, and in that way we will still have our wish."

And that's what happened. They worked so hard that they were able to buy the land next door. " Let's wish for a horse and a cow,"said the wife.
"No, we don't want to waste our wish'" said the farmer. "If we work hard it will not take long to buy the cow."

Sure enough, they were soon able to buy a beautiful horse and cow.



Answers:

wish, door, asked, farmer, work, money, wish, happened, were, buy, horse, waste, work, animals

CLOZE for Grade 4 - Ali Baba

The men stayed inside the rock for some time but Ali Baba didn't move. At last the door opened and forty men came out. The door closed and the rock looked like an ordinary _ _ _ _ again. Then the men galloped away. As soon _ _ they were gone, Ali Baba climbed _ _ _ _ and stared at the rock for a _ _ _ _ time. Then he cried, "Open Sesame!"

The door opened. Ali Baba _ _ _ _ _ _ inside and couldn't believe
his _ _ _ _ . There was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ everywhere. Gold and _ _ _ _ _ _ laying heaps on the floor and jars were filled to the brim _ _ _ _ gleaming jewels. Costly silks _ _ _ _ thrown everywhere. Rare carpets were heaped in the _ _ _ _ _ _ . Money _ _ _ _ lay in piles.

When Ali Baba _ _ _ this, he was sure the forty _ _ _ had been robbers, and that this was their treasure . "Thank _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ they didn't see me, " he thought.


Answers:

rock, as, down, long, looked, eyes, treasure, silver, with, were, corners, bags,
saw, men, goodness

Canberra Mapping Treasure Hunt

Using a post from Pyewacket's Party, we worked in teams to decipher the clue beneath each picture of a Canberra tourist site. We needed to name the tourist spot and to discover its location.

We marked the locations on a map of Canberra we printed from Google Maps. We listed the 11 places and locations in our SOSE books and discussed each place with our team members.

Teams worked on two Smartboards, 5 classroom computers and a student's personal laptop.

Word bank:

fish, lake, location, flowers, green, tourists, aquarium, map, museum, earth, interesting, national, land marks, water, park, fountain, buildings, area, library, places, mountain, zoo, trees, travel, animals, parliament, capital, tower, educational, road

Africa

During our studies of who we are, and where we have come from in Australia, we discovered that some of our students are from Africa.

We made an African unit of work with the following:

• Write a haiku about Africa
• It's Great to be a Cheetah
• Choose a country in Africa to focus on
• Watch an IMAX Africa DVD
• Draw an African animal and the flag from your country you chose
• List of facts about the country we chose
• Word bank list
• African Grasslands foodweb
• Study the Big Five

Word bank list:

Africa, cheetah, big five, safari, giraffe, hippopotamus, captivity, deserts, savanna, continent, desert, flag

Discuss the Big Five:

- lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant

Flags of Africa

Cooperative reading

Reading engagement and successful reading are linked and research supports this view, so Cooperative Reading in our classroom focuses on specific processes that facilitate reading engagement and motivation to read.

Engaged readers are motivated to make choices about what they read, how they read and what they take from the reading.

Engaged readers:

- are motivated to read by personal goals
- use a range of effective reading strategies to understand what they read
- are knowledgeable in the way they built new understanding from text
- are socially interactive in their approach to literacy

In our classroom:

- students choose from a range of books
- the teacher explicitly teaches social skills necessary for partner and group discussions and cooperative learning
- students interact around a text
- teacher reads aloud with pauses from time to time to model explicitly what readers do as they read
- students read aloud and use peer support to scaffold reading of difficult texts
- students read exciting and interesting novels, poems, short stories and specifically - blog entries such as Daisy's Designs and Jessica Watson's solo voyage around the world.

We will also read aloud the works of Beatrix Potter, namely Peter Rabbit and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.

Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

- Dorothy Law Nolte 1972

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Word List:
anchor, fathom, engine, port, starboard, dinghy, chart, mast, sail, porthole,