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Waratah Works 2018

Our Learning Environment

Learning Module

Abstract

In this learning module, year 3-4 students consider how to create a successful classroom learning environment and set up a code of cooperation. They also explore Growth Mindset, Glasser's needs and Choice Theory, and the four Gordon Gold values of bring respectful tolerance, being responsible and honesty. These are all linked to the whole school approach to Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL)

Keywords

Glasser's Choice Theory, Values, Growth Mindset, Belonging, Code of Cooperation.

Australian Curriculum

PERSONAL and SOCIAL CAPABILITY: Level 3

Self-awareness - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Recognise personal qualities and achievements

  • describe personal strengths and challenges and identify skills they wish to develop

Understand themselves as learners

  • identify and describe factors and strategies that assist their learning

Develop reflective practice

  • reflect on personal strengths and achievements, based on self-assessment strategies and teacher feedback

Self-management - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Express emotions appropriately

  • identify and describe strategies to manage and moderate emotions in increasingly unfamiliar situations

Develop self-discipline and set goals

  • explain the value of self-discipline and goal-setting in helping them to learn

Work independently and show initiative

  • consider, select and adopt a range of strategies for working independently and taking initiative

Become confident, resilient and adaptable

  • persist with tasks when faced with challenges and adapt their approach where first attempts are not successful

Social awareness - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Appreciate diverse perspectives

  • discuss the value of diverse perspectives and describe a point of view that is different from their own

Contribute to civil society

  • identify the various communities to which they belong and what they can do to make a difference

Understand relationships

  • describe factors that contribute to positive relationships, including with people at school and in their community

Social management - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Make decisions

  • contribute to and predict the consequences of group decisions in a range of situations

Negotiate and resolve conflict

  • identify a range of conflict resolution strategies to negotiate positive outcomes to problems

ETHICAL UNDERSTANDING: Level 3: 

Understanding ethical concepts and issues - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Recognise ethical concepts

  • identify ethical concepts, such as equality, respect and connectedness, and describe some of their attributes

Explore ethical concepts in context

  • discuss actions taken in a range of contexts that include an ethical dimension

Reasoning in decision making and actions - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Reason and make ethical decisions

  • explain reasons for acting in certain ways, including the conflict between self-respect and self-interest in reaching decisions

Consider consequences

  • examine the links between emotions, dispositions and intended and unintended consequences of their actions on others

Exploring values, rights and responsibilities - Typically by the end of Year 4, students:

Examine values

  • identify and describe shared values in familiar and unfamiliar contexts

Explore rights and responsibilities

  • investigate children’s rights and responsibilities at school and in the local community

Consider points of view

  • describe different points of view associated with an ethical dilemma and give possible reasons for these differences

1.1: What Works and Introducing Survival

For the Student

Learning Intention: To explore and understand what makes a group work successfully.

Success Criteria:

  • I can contribute ideas to a brainstorm about what makes different groups work successfully.
  • I can share your ideas about Gordon Gold.
  • I can reflect on what made our group activity successful.

Big Question

Our learning module is called "Waratah Works". Our big question is: What do we do to be successful learners?

1. Brainstorm and Hot Dotting

With a partner, move around the tables adding your ideas about the focus question: What makes a group work successfully? We will be brainstorming about groups out of school as well as at school.

The groups on each table include:

  • Sporting teams
  • Activities/hobbies such as scouts, ballet, gym, clubs, etc
  • Families
  • Class/learning
  • Friends/playground
  • Year 4 students - what worked well in Waratah last year
  • Year 3 students - what worked well in Wattle last year

As you move to each group, add your ideas. You can discuss them with your partner first and then add them. Add a "hot dot" to any ideas that other students have added that you and your partner really agree with.

Look at the sheets. What are some of the most popular ideas? What ideas are in our Code of Cooperation?

2. Code of Cooperation

Fig. 1.1a: Last year's Code of Cooperation

As a unit consider the Waratah Code of Cooperation. Is there any thing you add to or delete from our Code of Cooperation?

3. Glasser Needs - Chair metaphor

Now let's look at a picture of a chair.

Fig. 1.1b: What do the seat and the legs of the chair represent?

With a partner brainstorm what each leg and the seat of the chair represent.

In a Think-Pair-Share, think about our needs of:

  • survival
  • love, belonging and connectedness
  • fun and enjoyment
  • freedom (from and to)
  • empowerment

With a partner discuss which need you think is the most important. List the needs in order of importance for you and discuss why you placed them in that order. What would happen if you didn't have one leg of the chair?

Activity: label and colour in a Glasser chair.

Fairness and Equity

Look at the Equity/Fairness Poster. Brainstorm how meeting students different needs might look in the classroom. e.g. Student with glasses sitting near the front of the classroom.

Comment: Reflect on what you learned today. What did you do that helped to make the brainstorm and hot dotting activity work successfully? Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2.

For the Teacher

Purpose: The purpose of these activities is to engage students in the learning module and to give an overview of the different elements that will be taught and how they relate to each other. It also revises Gordon Gold which is based on the needs of Glasser's Choice Theory.

Teaching Tips

Explicitly teach that we will be learning about what makes us successful learners and what will help Waratah work well this year. We will be looking at some familiar ideas and some new ideas:

- our needs (Glasser) and how we can meet them;

- the Gordon Gold Values 

- Positive Behaviours for Learning.

We will learn how all of these things work together to give us ways to be successful. 

Start a concept map and add to it throughout the Unit of Work. Write the Big Question at the top of a poster (What do we do to be successful learners? ) to be displayed in the shared unit. Write "Meeting Our Needs" in the middle of the poster and list the Glasser needs. 

Activity: Ask students the big question and brainstorm answers.  Set up the 5 stations with A3 sheets of paper so that students can add their ideas. They should work in pairs to promote thinking and discussion. 

Provide sticky dots so that the most popular options are easy to see and analyse. As a whole class, reflect on what stands out visually on the A3 sheets.

Then show the Code of Cooperation that was used last year in the Waratah unit. Students can record suggestions on post it notes. 

Most students would have some experience of Gordon Gold and Glasser's needs. However, it is important to revise them again.

Chair Metaphor

In discussing individual needs, emphasise that students need balance to meet all their needs, not just one, especially fun. Taking away a leg of the leg will make it unbalanced or it might topple over.

Activity: Student to label and colour in a Glasser Chair. Chair outline saved in T drive.

Fairness/Equity Poster

As a class look at the Equity/Fairness posters (saved in T drive) and discuss how students have different needs and might need different things to help them be successful learners. E.g. some students need help with their writing and might be given a device to work on at times. It is important to be tolerant of people's different needs. Fairness is not everyone getting the same thing but everyone getting what they need to successfully learn.

Use Cooperative Learning/Kagan Structures and Circle Time as much as possible throughout the module to emphasise group and individual cooperation

Comments: In each update in the module, there is a metacognitive comment prompt. This may be completed verbally, using a Think-Pair-Share, or in written form. Students may also add their comments to the Scholar class community.

1.2: Rotations: Glasser's Needs and Choice Theory

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand each of our individual needs.

Success Criteria:

  • I can participate actively in each of the 4 rotations about our individual needs.

1. Love, belonging and connectedness

Bricks artwork:

Provide 1 blank brick (an outline of a small brick) per student. Students write and decorate their name on the bricks. Students cut out these bricks and give to the teacher. 

2. Fun and enjoyment

Insert activities e.g. name posters to hang in shared area

3. Freedom (from and to)

Insert activities e.g. class jigsaw with student name on each piece

4. Empowerment

Insert Activities e.g. tote tray and desk labels

Note - a 5th rotation is required for the additional class. Sport rotation.

Final Activity: Think-Pair-Share

In your final rotation, consider:

What would you do if you won a $1,000,000?

Discuss your choice. What need is being met? 

Fig. 1.2: What would you do with $1,000,000?

Comment: What is the most important thing you learned about individual needs? What need is most important to you? Write your ideas. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that interested you.

For the Teacher

Purpose: The purpose of this update is for students to work with the four teachers in the Waratah unit as they explore each of our individual needs in depth.

Teaching tip:

Teacher collects the bricks from the brick artwork activity. They will be used in update 2.2 Concept Attainment where they will be used to make a brick wall in the shared area. 

Each teacher designs activities that explores their allocated need. Activities should fill 75-90 minutes approximately. Discuss:

  • What does the need look like at home
  • What does the need look like at school
  • Reflection at the end of the activity in Circle Time
  • Emphasise that behaviour issues are a result of a need not being met

1.3: Analysing What Doesn't Work

For the Student

Learning Intention: To analyse the effects of meeting or not meeting our individual needs.

Success Criteria:

Complete a Consequences/Effects Wheel on meeting a particular need.

Share your chart with other members of the class.

Reflect on your learning.

Work in a small group of 3-4 to complete a Consequence/Effects Wheel. You will be allocated one need to focus on. Discuss your ideas before recording them. You can add more circles to your wheel if needed.

Share your completed wheels.

Comment: What is the most important thing you learned about what happens when individual needs are not met? How does that affect our classroom learning? Write your ideas. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that interested you.

Fig. 1.3: What happens when your survival need of hunger is not met?

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: In this update students explore the consequences of a need being met and not being met through →a Consequence/Effects Wheel.

Resource

Consequence/Effects Wheel information: A Consequences/Effects Wheel is used to consider alternatives to a 'what if' question or a problem. Suggest possible solutions and then write the probable flow-on consequences of each solution to assist in making a final decision.

Consequence/Effects Wheel Template

Teaching Tips

Students can add more effects by drawing more circles. Students may work in pairs to discuss ideas before including them on the wheel. 

You should model one line of circles.  For example, hunger.

Hunger need is not met → you can't listen properly as you are only thinking about food →  you feel tired → you can't do your best work in class → you are not learning

1.4: Personal and Unit Goals

For the Student

Learning Intention: To apply what you have learned about what makes Waratah work.

Success Criteria:

  • I can set a personal goal for making Waratah work.
  • I can iIlustrate the goal.
  • I can achieve that goal.
  • I can reflect on that goal.

Circle Time:

In a Circle Time, share some ideas about something you could do personally to make Waratah work.

Create an illustration of your personal goal. Add your photo. You could write your goal in a speech bubble.

Class discussion on what to do if it is hard to achieve your goal. Introduce Learning Pit.

Repeat the Circle Time at different times to reflect on how you are going with achieving your goal.

Fig. 1.4: It's a dream until you write it down.... and then it's a goal.

 Comment: How will your personal goal make the class/unit work more successfully? Write your ideas. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that interested you, explaining why.

For the Teacher

Purpose: Students apply their learning of what makes Waratah work by setting up a personal goal. Ideally this activity will be linked to the Education Goal set with parents at the 3 way interview. Ask students to record what enjoy at school and what they are good at and what they need to work on. Use this information to set a behavioural goal .

Teaching Tips:

Add the concept of Positive Mindset and the Learning Pit to the concept map. 

 

1.5: The Learning Pit

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand that having a growth mindset can help me when learning is hard.

Success Criteria

  • I can watch and talk about a video about becoming smarter.
  • I can complete a picture and add words to a speech bubble.
  • I can draw my own learning pit.
  • I can discuss "Growth Mindset".
  • I can comment on what I have learnt.

Setting goals and achieving them can be hard sometimes. If you wanted to become better at maths, but found it too hard, would you give up? Watch this video to see what Mojo does. 

Media embedded November 29, 2017

Then with a partner, discuss:

  • Do you think Mojo can become smarter?
  • What things do you do when maths is hard?
  • Is it okay to say I am not sure or I don't know?
  • Can doing hard things make you smarter?

The Learning Pit

When you are facing a hard problem, it's like you are in a learning pit. Look at the picture of the learning pit and fill in the words you think should go in the speech bubbles. 

Find another pair and check to see if you agree. Discuss any differences and make changes.

Then think about something that you find hard. Write that as the heading. Draw your own learning pit and add your speech bubbles. Change some of the words and add strategies you can take to get out of the learning pit.

The learning pit is really about having a growth mindset. Look at our unit display "Change Your Words: Change Your Mindset". 

Fig. 1.5: Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

Comment: How can being in the learning pit help you? Why is having a growth mindset important?

For the Teacher

Purpose: In this update students revisit "mindsets" and link it to the notion of a learning pit where challenges are faced and overcome. Link this to the prior activity where students have set personal and learning goals.

Teaching Tips

There are lots of resources and images of learning pits - also see Pinterest. Select one to display in your classroom.

Support students to come up with strategies when they draw their individual learning pits.

For the template, there are 6 speech bubbles and 8 statements so students can select and individualise.

 At any time, use the diagram to reflect on strategies students can use to help them climb out of the learning pit. For example, when struggling with a maths, reading, spelling or research problem, identify specific mathematical, comprehension, spelling or research strategies to help them. Focus could also be made on personal qualities such as perseverance or changing mind sets.

The Learning Pit Template

2. Overview of Gordon Values

For the Student

Learning Intention: To share what I know about the four Gordon Gold values of showing respect and tolerance and being responsible and honest.

Success Criteria:

  • I can brainstorm ideas with a partner and record them on post-it notes.
  • I can add my ideas to an affinity diagram.
  • I can draw ideas and conclusions from the affinity diagram.
  • I can reflect on why the Gordon Gold values are important.

Think-Pair-Share

Think back on the last year. With your partner, talk about times you remember when you were:

  • respectful
  • tolerant of others
  • responsible
  • honest

It could be at school, at home or at other places. For example, you may have picked up some litter in the playground - that would be very responsible! You may have worked with someone in class who was different to you - that would be tolerant. 

Record any ideas on post-it notes and place them on the board under the right heading.

Keep adding ideas until you run out. 

As a class let's reflect on what you see.

  • What value was practised the most?
  • What value was practised the least?
  • What were the most common things we did?
  • What was most common - home, school or other places?

Comment: What do you think you could do more of? What was one idea that you think you might try? Why are the Gordon Gold values important? How can they help you?

 

Fig. 2: We are all different so showing tolerance and being respectful are important.

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: Students reflect on their prior knowledge of the four Gordon values in order to bring a focus back on these values and how they impact on them in the classroom, playground and in other parts of their lives.

Teaching Tips:

Tell students that we are now going to revise the Gordon Gold Values and learn about how these help us to be successful learners. Add the Gordon Gold Values to the Concept Map (started in 1.1). 

Record 4 big headings on board:

  • Showing Respect
  • Showing Tolerance
  • Being Responsible
  • Being Honest

Ask students to record ideas on post-notes of how they have demonstrated these values over the past year. As they add their ideas to the white board, move them around so that like ones are put together. 

Then students can look at the board and draw conclusions about what they see - frequency of some activities such as being responsible by not littering or how they have practised one value a lot more than another etc.

Pair up students in the brainstorm activity so that a more able student can do the scribing on the post-it notes or pair a year 3 student with a year 4 student.

2.1: Respect: What do you know?

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand what respect is.

Success Criteria:

  • I can read and discuss 2 books about being respectful.
  • I can draw on my existing knowledge about respect.
  • I can create a comic strip that shows you understand what respect is.
 
Media embedded November 21, 2016

Stand-Up-Hand Up-Pair Up: What are the key themes/ideas that are raised in the story?

Lets' record our ideas on the board. 

Comic Strip

Create a comic strip to show the sequence of  "Do Unto Otters" by Laurie Keller. Try to make the big ideas about respect stand out in your comic strip. Share your comic strips and try to identify good examples of respect.

Comment: What is one new thing that you learned about respect? It could be from the books we read or from looking at other students' comic strips. After writing it in the comment box, read other students' comments and comment on one thing that you liked or agreed with. Start with @Name so the person knows you are commenting on their comment.

For the Teacher

Purpose: The purpose of this sequence of activities is to introduce the value of "Being Respectful" and explicitly teach students what being respectful looks like in Waratah. 

The activities also aim to link the value of tolerance to respect.

Teaching Tips

1. In classes: "Do Unto Otters" by Laurie Keller

Cooperative Learning Structure: Stand Up-Hand Up-Pair Up sharing of "What are the key themes that are raised in the story?" As class shares responses and they are recorded on the board, clarify the meaning of each value / theme raised.

2. Explicitly teach that being tolerant of others means getting along with others, even if they are different from you. Students individual differences and strengths can contribute to a healthy, happy, productive classroom environment.Explictly teach that students have different needs in the classroom and that fairness is not giving every student the same activity or tools but giving each student what they need to be a successful learner. It is important that students respect the different needs of others. e.g. sometimes a student might be given a device to use while other students are asked to write in their books. 

Comic Strip Template

2.2: Concept Attainment- Respect

For the Student

Learning Intention: To gain a deeper understanding of respect.

Success Criteria

  • I can complete the Y-Chart on being respectful.
  • I can name the three different forms of beng respectful.

Complete the Y-Chart:

  • What does Being Respectful look like?
  • What does Being Respectful sound like?
  • What does Being Respectful feel like?
Fig. 2.2: Y-Chart

Comment: What is the most important thing you learned about being respectful? Write your ideas. Read other students' comments and comment on 1 - 2 that interest you.

Fig. 2.2b: Being respectful involves being tolerant of difference

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: As well as clarifying the concept of respect, explain how being tolerant is a way of showing respect for others. This activity also introduces the PBL language of "Be Respectful". 

Concept Attainment: Being Respectful

What does being Respectful look like?

What does being Respectful sound like?

What does being Respectful feel like?

Using the  "Respect" SMART Notebook File (T:\GRDP-Rsrc\2017 Waratah\Integrated Studies\Term 1 Weeks 1-5), students identify what being respectful is and is not.

Emphasis is placed on how we be respectful - does it matter how you say something? What about your body language? With a partner use gesture and facial expressions to show being respectful and being disrespectful. Discuss how did you feel in response to the different expressions?

Discuss different ways of being respectful:

- Being Respectful towards yourself

- Being Respectful towards others (including being tolerant of other students and their different needs in the classroom)

- Being Respectful towards property

Activity: Being Respectful by showing tolerance

Refer back to brick art activity students completed in Glasser rotation. Explain how this unit brick wall is a display about tolerance that highlights how our differences make us strong together (like a brick wall).  The brick wall is a bit like the boxes that the children are standing on in the Fairness/Equity poster. Explicitly teach that fairness is not everyone getting the same but everyone getting what they need to be successful in the classroom. Being tolerant and respectful about the different activities or tools gives different students an important way of ensuring Waratah works. 

Add the Fairness and Equity posters to the brick wall display in the shared area of the unit. 

2.3: Analysing Respect

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand the effects of being respectful towards yourself and others.

Success Criteria:

  • I can work cooperatively in a group to complete a consequence/effects wheel on being respectful.
  • I can give feedback to others on the ideas on their wheels.
  • I can add more ideas to my group's wheel.

Consequence/Effects Wheel

In a group of 2-4, complete a Consequence/Effects Wheel. Discuss ideas and come to consensus before adding ideas to the template.

When directed, you can look at other students' ideas and  add ones you like to your wheel. Make sure you thank them for their good ideas!

Comment: What is one thing you learned today? What did you do that helped to make your group be successful? 

Fig. 2.3: Showing respect to nature and the environment

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: In this update students move from knowledge to understanding about the importance of showing respect by analysing its consequences/effects. Hence it is an essential activity. It is also a good opportunity to connect respect to tolerance so include tolerance in the modelling. 

Teaching Tips

Students may work in groups of 2-4 to complete the Consequence/Effects Wheel. The template has 2 main effects that students identify. For example, students may record being respectful in the big circle.

Then in the next level of circles, they focus on the effects on self. For example: One consequence/effect of being respectful → people show tolerance and are kind to you → you are tolerant and kind  to them → people ask you to join in their game → you feel happy at school → you work better in class.

On the second row, they focus on effects on others: For example: One consequence/effect of being respectful to others → people show tolerance and then ask you to join in their game → you make new friends→ you play with them after school too → you are happier at home and at school.

You should model at least one example for students.

If students may add more circles or give then a second template.

After a certain time, students can move around the room and look at other groups' wheels and show respect as they give them feedback on some of their ideas.

After this, give students time to add  more ideas to their wheels and finalise them.  

An alternative activity is to go backwards - start with the smallest circles and reverse the discussion.

The reflective comment focuses on working cooperatively which is important in the Code of Cooperation!

Consequence/Effects Wheel Template

2.4. Applying Respect and Tolerance

For the Student

Learning Intention: To set a personal goal about how you are going to show respect to yourself, each other, and to property today in Waratah or in the playground. 

Success Criteria:

  • I can set a personal goal for showing respect
  • I can illustrate my goal.
  • I can achieve my goal.
  • I can reflect on my goal.

Circle Time

In a Circle Time, reflect on how you can contribute to Waratah working well through showing respect to yourself, each other, and to property. Think of really specfic examples, like "I will listen to and not be unkind to someone I disagree with", or "I will respect the playground by not littering" or "I will have respect for myself by standing up for myself and don't be talked into doing stuff that I know is wrong or makes me feel uncomfortable".

Comment/Reflection: At the end of the day reflect on whether you achieved your goal, and why or why not. Draw a picture of you demonstrating your goal.

Fig. 2.4: Try to show respect every day. It will make you happy.

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: Students apply their learning of what makes Waratah work by setting up a personal goal for showing respect.

Teaching Tips: Ask students for any suggestions for changing the class/unit code of cooperation. 

3.1: Responsibility: What do you know?

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand what responsibility is and how responsible behaviour contributes to make Waratah work.

Success Criteria:

I can explain that being responsible means:

  • not letting people down;
  • doing what I said I would do without having to be told all the time;
  • doing my job/role;
  • being in the right place at the right time so that I don't upset other people's plans or learning
  • being sensible;
  • helping those who need it
  • taking responsibility for my own behaviour (being honest).

Activity 1: In small groups consider what you would do in the following situations:

  1. You broke the wheel off your friend's new skateboard.
  2. Your friend came over and asked you to play and you had homework to complete.
  3. You are playing a really fun game at your friend's house and it is time to go.
  4. You promise your Mum or Dad that you would clean your room but yu just don't feel like it.
  5. You are just about to go to bed when you remember that you have a project due tomorrow.
  6. You agreed to look after your neighbour's dog while they are away but your best friend just invited you over to a sleep over.
  7. Your Mum is not feeling well and could do with some help around the house.
  8. You are playing a really fun video game and your Mum calls you for dinner.
  9. You were playing with a ball in the house and it knocked over a vase of flowers, breaking it.
  10. Your friends were annoying another student on the playground. You could see the other student was upset. 

As a class we will share some of your responses and what impact do different actions have. Discuss what you think the responsible thing would be to do and what impacts making the choice to be responsible has.

Activity 2: Watch "Library Lion" on Storyline Online.

Fig. 3.1: Library Lion
 

​Discuss

Think-Pair-Share

  • What are the key themes that are raised in the story?
  • What words could describe Horton's character?
  • How does the story demonstrate responsibility?

Activity 3: Your teacher will read "A Year on Our Farm" by Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean.

Stand-Up Hand-Up Pair-Up these questions:

  • What are the key themes that are raised in the story?
  • What are some of the jobs the children do in the story?
  • What would happen if the children did not act responsibly?

As a class discuss:

  • What are some of your responsibilities at home?
  • What are your responsibilities at school?
  • What are the teacher's responsibilities at school?

Class share responses and record on the board. 

Comment/Reflection: What does being responsible mean and how does it help Waratah work? 

For the Teacher

Purpose: The purpose of this sequence of activiies is to introduce the value of "Responsibility" and explicitly teach students what it looks like in Waratah. 

Teaching Tips:

Distribute scenario questions to small groups as appropriate (you could choose to give all or just a few of the scenarios to each group).

NB: Being responsible is a way of giving. Emphasise the links to giving wherever possible and that when you give, you gain much more.

 

3.2: Concept Attainment: Responsibility

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand what responsibility is and how responsible behaviour contributes to make Waratah work.

Success Criteria:

I can explain that being responsible means:

  • not letting people down;
  • doing what I said I would do without having to be told all the time;
  • doing my job/role;
  • being in the right place at the right time so that I don't upset other people's plans or learning;
  • being sensible;
  • helping those who need it
  • taking responsibility for my own behaviour (being honest).

Activity 1: Reading Strategy: Comparing the Character of Horton With Myself

You are going to explore the value of Responsibility through an activity which uses the Reading Strategy of Comparing. Comparing helps you make connections with a text and helps you develop a deeper understanding of the characters and themes of a text.

Think about how the character Horton from "Horton Hears a Who" is the same and is different from you. Think about how Horton demonstrates the value of responsibility and how you demonstrate the value of responsibility. After you have brainstormed a few ideas, fill out the attached worksheet, comparing at least one way you and Horton demonstrate responsibility as well as any comparisons you would like to meet. 

Comparing Reading Strategy worksheet

Comment/Reflection: Answer these 2 questions:

1. What is the most important thing you l have earned about responsibility?

2. How could you show responsibility in the classroom? 

Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that interested you.

Fig. 3.2: Is Horton responsible?

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: The lesson aims to consolidate students' understanding of the value of responsibility by using the Reading Strategy of Comparing. Students compare themselves to the character of Horton from the text "Horton Hears a Who". In particular, students compare the ways that they and Horton both demonstrate the value of repsonsibility.

Teaching Tips: Emphasise the reflection questions, where students reflect on what they have learned about responsibility and what responsibility looks like in the classroom.  

3.3: Analysing Responsibility

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand the effect of being responsible on yourself and on others.

Success Criteria:

  • I can work cooperatively in a group to complete a consequence/effects wheel on being responsible.
  • I can give feedback to others on the ideas on their wheels.
  • I can add more ideas to your group's wheel.

Consequence/Effects Wheel

In a group of 2-4, complete a Consequence/Effects Wheel. Discuss ideas and come to consensus before adding ideas to the template.

When directed, you can look at other students' ideas and  add ones you like to your wheel. Make sure you thank them for their good ideas!

Comment: What is one thing you learned today? What did you do that helped to make your group be successful? 

Fig. 3.3: Always be honest and responsible for your actions.

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: In this update students move from knowledge to understanding about the importance of being responsible by analysing its consequences/effects. Hence it is an essential activity. It is also a good opportunity to connect responsibility to honesty so include honesty in the modelling.

Teaching Tips:

Students may work in groups of 2-4 to complete the Consequence/Effects Wheel. The template has 2 main effects that students identify. For example, students may identify being responsible in the big circle. Then in the next level of circles, they focus on the effects on self. On the second row, they focus on effects on others.

You should model at least one example for students, focusing on being responsible.

If students want to add more circles, they can draw them or give then a second template.

After a certain time, students can be responsible as move around the room and look at other groups' wheels and be respectful as they give them feedback on some of their ideas.

After this, give students time to add  more ideas to their wheels and finalise them.  

The reflective comment focuses on working cooperatively which is important in the Code of Cooperation!

Consequence/Effects Wheel Template

 

3.4: Applying Responsibility and Honesty

For the Student

Learning Intention: To set a personal goal about how you are going to act responsibly today in Waratah or in the playground. 

Success Criteria:

  • I can set a personal goal for acting responsibly.
  • I can illustrate the goal.
  • I can achieve that goal.
  • I can reflect on that goal.

​Circle Time

In a Circle Time, reflect on how you can contribute to Waratah working well through acting responsibily.Think of really specific examples, like "I will be in the right place at the right time, which means I will be back in class on time after the bell", or "I will go to the toilet and get a drink at the first bell so I am ready for class", or "I will have all the equipment I need ready for class, including a pencil and an eraser etc."

CommentReflection: At the end of the day reflect on whether you achieved your goal, and why or why not. Draw a picture of you demonstrating your goal.

Fig. 4.4: What does the first bell remind you to do?

 

For the Teacher

Purpose: Students apply their learning of what makes Waratah work by setting up a personal goal for being responsible.

Teaching Tips: Ask students for any suggestions for changing the class/unit code of cooperation. 

4. Links to Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL)

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand how the Glasser needs, Gordon Gold Values and PBL expectations all help me achieve my Quality World Picture to be successful at school.

Success Criteria:

I can explain:

- what my Quality World Picture for success at school looks like

- that Glasser's needs, the Gordon Gold Values and PBL expectations work together;

- how to meet my needs;

- how to choose strategies to be a successful learner at school.

Quality World Picture

Think-Pair-Share with a partner what does your quality world picture for success at school look like? Brainstorm what would your perfect classroom look like? How would you behave to achieve learning success?

Draw your quality world picture. Copy the needs, values and expectations onto the Venn diagram.

Partner with a student from a different year group (one year 3 and one year 4 student) and discuss and underline which needs, values and expectations you need to use to achieve your quality world picture.

#### add picture of a teacher's quality world picture here

For the Teacher

Purpose: This activity explains how the school wide expectations of Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) help students be successful learners and how they link with the Gordon Gold Values and Glasser Choice Theory.

Teaching Tips:

It is expected that students have been learning about PBL throughout the term and will be familiar with the key ideas. Revise that the Gordon Gold Values help us make good choices in relation to our general behaviour and that the PBL expectations help us make good choices with our learning. PBL outlines 4 school wide expectations that make the expectations really clear and consistent for all teachers and students:

- Be Safe

- Be Respectful

- Be a Learner

- Be Responsible

Quality World Picture

Teacher models drawing their quality world picture for their classroom and filling in the triple Venn diagram withe the Glasser needs, Gordon Gold Values and PBL expectations. Model how to identify which needs, values and expectations they would need to use to create their quality world picture and underline these. Try to identify at least one item from each of the 3 circles. Students Think-Pair-Share with a partner what they will include in their Quality World Picture for successful learning at school. Students draw their picture and fill out the Venn diagram individually. Then Year 3 students partner with year 4 students to discuss and underline which needs, values and expectations they need to use to achieve their quality world picture in real life.

Acknowledgements

Title: Waratahs (Source); Fig. 1.1a: Photo by Christopher Antram; Fig. 1.1b: CC BY-SA 3.0 (Source); Fig. 1.2: Money (Source); Fig. 1.3: Photo by Fed Faulkner (Source); Fig.1.4: Scribbling (Source); Fig. 1.5: Photo by Christopher Antram; Fig. 2: Different people cartoon (Source); Fig. 2.2: Happy children cartoon (Source); Fig. 2.3: Showing respect to a whale by Gwaar (Source); Fig. 2.4: Quote (Source); Fig. 3.1: Library Lion (Source); Fig. 3.2: Horton (Source); Fig. 3.3: Photo by Jo Kay; Fig. 3.4: Bell (Source); Fig. 5: Quality Learning Environment by Christopher Antram and Kerry Tsirbas.