This learning module for kindergarten students investigates the local community, fieldwork and mapping activities. They develop their understanding of why places are special to people, and how they can be looked after.
Local Environment, Mapping, Belonging, Letter, Post Office, Giving and following directions.
As a result of completing this learning module, students will be able to:
Geography
The representation of the location of places and their features on simple maps and models (ACHASSK014)
- creating maps or models to represent the location of the places and features they pass on their way to school
The places people live in and belong to, their familiar features and why they are important to people (ACHASSK015)
- identifying the places they live in and belong to (for example, a neighbourhood, suburb, town or rural locality)
- describing the features of their own place and places they are familiar with or they are aware of (for example, places they have visited, places family members have come from, imaginary places in stories, or places featured on television)
The reasons why some places are special to people, and how they can be looked after (ACHASSK017)
- identifying places they consider to be ‘special’ (for example, their room, a play area, holiday location or an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander place of family significance) and explaining why the place is special to them
- discussing different ways they could contribute to caring for special places including those that are unique
Numeracy
Describe position and movement (ACMMG010)
- Interpret maps and diagrams
Media
Explore ideas, characters and settings in the community through stories in images, sounds and text (ACAMAM054)
- experimenting with use of ipad to record and listen to directions
English
Text Structure and Organisation
Understand that punctuation is a feature of written text different from letters; recognise how capital letters are used for names, and that capital letters and full stops signal the beginning and end of sentences (ACELA1432)
Expressing and developing ideas
Recognise that sentences are key units for expressing ideas (ACELA1435)
Texts in context
Identify some familiar texts and the contexts in which they are used (ACELY1645)
Learning intention: To share what we know about Gordon and the Lanyon Valley.
These are some of the big questions that we will be thinking about throughout the whole unit.
Inquiry Questions:
What are places like?
What makes a place special?
How can we look after the places we live in?
With a partner think and talk about what you know about Gordon.
Gordon Geography
Engage students in a discussion about their local environment. Use some prompting questions such as:
- Where are we now? What do you know about where we are at school?
- Where is the Gordon Pond? What did you see? Which shops do you go to?
- Where is your house?
- How do you get to school?
Record on Smartnote Book file
Teaching Tips:
Use a Think-Pair-Share to ensure that all students participate in the thinking and learning.
There is an Australian curriculum outcome -
'The Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Country/Place on which the school is located and why Country/Place is important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples(ACHASSK016)'
This is intentionally not addressed in depth, but take any opportunity to discuss it during the unit. For example, at assembly with the acknowledgment of country - as it makes it a special place or how Aboriginal people show symbols on a map.
Display Inquiry questions on the wall - to refer back to during the unit.
What are places like?
What makes a place special?
How can we look after the places we live in?
Learning intention: To understand what things and places in our environment are natural and man made.
1. Gordon Primary School: Natural or man made?
Walk around Gordon Primary School and notice what you see. Use your scrap book to draw pictures of some of the things you see (for example: buildings, trees, bench seats, playground).
Participate in a class discussion about what things you saw that were natural, what things you saw that were man made and contribute ideas to the T chart provided by the teacher.
2. Lanyon Marketplace: Natural or man made?
Walk to the Lanyon shops and this time notice what else you see, that is natural or man made.
Think–Pair–Share: what did you see? What questions do you have?
Draw a picture of what you saw.
Exploring Gordon Primary School and what is natural or man made
Take students on a walk around Gordon Primary School. Draw their attention to various landmarks, objects or features of the environment. Discuss why they are natural or why they are man made.
Bring students back to the classroom and show them a T chart with headings: natural and man made. Invite students to provide examples from around Gordon Primary School that fit in to each column.
Exploring the Lanyon shopping precinct and what is natural or man made
Take students on a walking excursion to the Lanyon shops.
Before this excursion:
ask students to look and observe their environment both natural and man made along the way, just like they did on their walk around the school.
After the excursion have students discuss and draw what they saw.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is for students to be able to observe and describe verbally and visually what they saw on the excursion and understand the natural and man made environment.
Teaching Tips:
Take photographs of the environment on the walk and at the shops
Ask pre-emptive questions for future activities including:
- Is this a special place? why?
- Why is this place important?
- Who comes here and why?
- How is it looked after?
Learning Intention: To identify what is man made and what is natural around us.
Timed -Think-Pair- Share with a partner
- What did you see when you were at the shops?
Have a look at your drawing that you did at the Lanyon Shops...
- What did you see that was man made?
- What did you see that was natural?
Look at some of the photos that we took whilst we were at Lanyon Market Place.
- What other special places can you see?
- Which of them are man made?
- Which of them are natural?
Help me to fill out 'Our Special Places Chart'.
Now you have a go at thinking about some of the special places we saw !
Purpose
To explicitly name familiar shops and the occupations of the people who work there.
Labelling the shops
From the last activity, students name and/or label the key features of the excursion including the post office, newsagent, butcher, Amala, baker, chemist, supermarket.
Man made vs Natural
Have students look at their drawings and identify all the man made and natural places that they saw when going to the Lanyon Market Place.
Look at photos from the trip to the Lanyon Market Place.
- Teacher and students work together to fill out the 'Our Special Places' chart and display on the wall.
Teaching Tips
Have photos from Lanyon Market Place uploaded and ready to put up on the Smart board.
Blow up the 'Our Special Places' chart so that it is bigger and print out to have on the wall.
Learning Intention: To understand why different places are special to us and others in the community.
Responding to the story
Listen to the story 'a very special place' and think about why the places in the story are special to the character in the book.
Connecting to prior learning and building knowledge...
Remember your visit to the Lanyon Shops and the different places you saw - both natural and man made. Think about why these places might be special to you and to others.
With a partner discuss:
Activity 4: Why is it special? Worksheet
Listen to the teacher model Activity 4 Worksheet. Complete the worksheet yourself and share your responses and thoughts with the class in a circle time.
Story time: A Very Special Place
Read a children's story: 'A very special place' (or another children's book about home or a special place like the beach or park).
Think-Pair-Share: Why is the place/places in the book special? what makes them special or important to the character in the story?
Why is it special?
Model how to complete Activity 4 Worksheet using think alouds about why the place is special to you or to the community
Provide students with Activity 4 Worksheet: Why is it special?
Run a circle time where students share their responses.
Record reasons why places are special in the 'My Special Places' class chart.
Teaching Tips
Some children will think about why the place is special to them and others will think about why it is important in general/to the community. Use prompting questions to facilitate this discussion such as:
Why is this place special to you? What do you like about it?
Why might this place be special or important to someone else? (think about work, money, food, belonging, friendship, entertainment, communication, health).
Learning Intention: For students to understand how to use a map.
Look at the Smartboard. On the screen there is a map of Gordon Primary School. It might look a little different to how you usually see the school.
Imagine you are a bird flying in the sky looking down. This is generally how we look at maps of places. Looking down from above. This is called a 'Birds Eye View'.
Let's see what we can see !
Think-Pair-Share
- What can you see ?
- What sorts of man made and natural things can you see?
Now look at the map on the screen ( Zoom in on the pond )
What can you see?
Where do you think this is?
What sorts of man made and natural things can you see?
Now look at the map on the screen ( Zoom in on the Lanyon Shops )
What can you see?
Where do you think this is?
What sorts of man made and natural things can you see?
Look at a large map of the area around us. With these little paper houses we are going to place them where each of us live. Can you please write your name on it.
I am going to show you where your house is on the map and would like you to stick your paper house down to show where you live.
Questions
- Who's house is closest to yours?
- How do you get to from your house to person B's house?
- Who's house is closest to the school?
- Who's house is closest to the shops?
Look at a map of our school. With a partner, colour a route from Bluebell, where we are now, to somewhere else in the school.
Try to follow the route that you coloured in our your map with your partner and see if you end up in the right place. When you get there, then follow your route back to Bluebell.
Purpose: For students to learn how to use a map.
Google Maps:
Using Google Maps, zoom in on Gordon Primary School, Gordon Pond and Lanyon Shops and ask students to comment on what they can see and what things are natural and man made.
Prompt when needed - point out natural and man made things to discuss.
Mapping their addresses:
In a circle use students addresses to plot the paper houses to show where they live on the blown up map of the area of the Lanyon Valley.
Using Maps:
Give students all a map of Gordon Primary School. Colour the different units different colours and put a red cross on where they are standing on the map.
Get students into partners and get them to colour 2 routes to follow within the school. Students are to use the map and walk the route that they drew.
Teaching Tips:
Have Google maps zoomed in on Gordon Primary school before you start the lesson.
Have students house addresses and paper houses ready to plot.
Photocopy and blow up a large map of the Lanyon Valley
Photocopy school map for each student.
This might go over 2 lessons.
Learning Intention:To understand how to draw a map
We are going to go on a walk from where we are now in Bluebell to the Front Office. I would like you to pay attention to the direction we are walking and the turns that we make to get there. Also look out for the things that we pass along the way.
- What were some of the things we passed on our way to the Front Office?
- How many turns did we make? Which way did we have to turn?
Watch as I model how to draw a map from Bluebell to the Front Office.
Now have a go at drawing your own map to a place within the school using the symbols we have created.
We are going Lanyon Shops again to go to the post office to post our letters. We are going to draw a map to get to the Lanyon shops.
Watch as I model how to draw a map from Gordon Primary to Lanyon shops.
Now have a go at drawing your own map from Gordon Primary to Lanyon shops.
Purpose: For students to learn how to draw maps and use them to get from A to B. Students will explore using symbols to create a map drawing.
Drawing a Map:
Take class on a walk from Bluebell to the front office point out things you pass on the way.
After the walk model to students how to draw a map from Bluebell to the Front Office. (Talk out loud the process - What you are thinking about when you are drawing your map.)
Show students how to draw buildings, trees, steps and paths. Create a poster to show the symbols and what they mean.
Get students to draw their own map from Bluebell to either : the oval, the playground, the library etc. Get students in partners and get them to follow each of the maps they drew.
Lanyon Shops Map:
Show students a map on Google maps of Gordon Primary and Lanyon Shops. Then model drawing a map from Gordon Primary School to Lanyon shops.
Teaching Tips:
- Whilst walking to the front office point out features that you notice you pass on the way.
- Have a map of Gordon Primary up on smartboard to refer to if needed.
- Remind students about the main features that they might need to include when drawing their map.
Have a poster ready to make Symbol poster that students can use to create their map.
- Print out activity sheet for drawing their maps.
- Remind students that we are drawing from a bird's eye view.
Learning Intention: To understand how to write a letter.
Let's write a class letter to Mr Bruce, our principal.
In a Timed-Think-Pair-Share, share some of your ideas about what we could tell Mr Bruce.
Let's make a list of what we could include.
Now let's write the letter together.
Reflect: After we have written the letter, use a Timed-Think-Pair-Share again to discuss what you have learned about what is important to include in a letter.
Let's label our letter to Mr Bruce with what is important to include.
Now let's write Mr Bruce's address on the envelope.
Writing your own letter
Now you are going to write a letter to someone you live with (Mum and/or Dad or a grandparent). In this letter, write about what you have been learning about in our integrated unit about maps and places.
To help you plan your letter, first make a list of 1-3 (or more) things you could write about.
How will you start your letter?
How will you end your letter?
Now write your letter.
Reflect: After you have written your letter, share your letter with a partner. Read their letter. Tell them one thing you think they have done well. Listen as they tell you what you have done well.
Now write the name of the person and your address on the envelope.
When we return to the Lanyon Market Place, you can post your letter.
IMAGE - photo of the letter developed in the shared writing activity.
Purpose: To learn how to write a letter.
Note: This activity should occur in the literacy block so that students can retain their focus on maps and places in the integrated unit block.
Teaching Tips
Following the initial visit to the Lanyon Market Place, use the shared writing procedure to show students how to write a letter to the principal about what they are learning. Use this to create a classroom model of the letter format with labels of the personal opening (dear), closing (with love), and date.
The letter writing activity could be recount style and include sentence starters such as:
I went to ...
I learnt about ...
Emphasise punctuation, capital letters for names, and writing sentences as key units to express ideas.
Resource: 'One Text Model in the First Steps Writing Resource Book
Purpose: Students apply what they have learnt about writing letters by writing a letter about their learning in the integrated unit that they are going to post to their home address.
Teaching Tips
Refer back to the Special Places Chart to the photograph of the post office to remind students of their visit to the Lanyon Market Place and to provide a real purpose and audience for their letters that they will post.
In brainstorming the information to include, differentiate the number of points that could be included so more able students write a longer letter. By posting the letter home, students are sharing a type of portfolio piece with their parents/carers.
Students can also add an illustration to their letters.
The metacognitive activity is to reflect on what they have done well in their letters and increase their understanding of what makes a great letter.
Learning Intention: To understand how to use an Ipad to record and replay a short video.
Learning Intention: To understand how to give and follow directions to get from one location to another.
Explaining directions to a partner:
Look at the map that you drew in lesson 6. Practise explaining the map out loud to a partner, using language of position learnt in mathematics lessons
Examples of words you could use in your explanation includes: left, right, forwards, backwards, behind, in front, above, underneath, walk, turn, move
Record directions on an iPad:
Have a partner or teacher record you giving directions from bluebell to the oval, using your map as a guide. Remember that someone will be watching your video and using it to help them get to the oval.
Listen to and follow someone else's directions on an iPad:
Listen to the instructions and directions of someone else's video/recording. Follow them correctly and see if their directions lead you to the correct spot.
Showing students how to give directions
Model how to use a map that has been previously drawn, to give directions. Demonstrate the use of a variety of directional and positional words that tell someone where to go.
Mix-Pair-Share
Allow students to have a go at using their maps to explain to someone else how to get from one location to the other. Play music, when the moving stops students hi five the person closest, and each have a turn of giving directions. The purpose of this activity is to build their confidence in giving directions and using the language of direction and position. Select one or two students to provide whole class examples and analyse these as a class:
Were their directions clear?
Did you understand them?
Could you hear them?
What sort of words did they use to help you understand which way to go?
Showing students how to create a video/record directions using an iPad
Model again how to clearly give directions, this time with someone recording you. Play the video back to the class and ask similar questions as above.
Listening to and following directions
Model how to listen to a recording and follow directions. Provide students with another students recording and have them listen to the directions and follow them to the destination.
Teaching tips
Explicitly teach students how to:
- open the iPad and get in to the camera app and select video/record mode ready to begin
- start and stop recording
- hold the iPad still in order to record clearly
- speak clearly to the iPad so that your voice is clear and easy to understand
Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is for students to gain experience in using an iPad to record a short video, to provide clear directions to a partner, and to follow directions given by a partner.
Learning Intention: To understand how to follow a map from one location to another.
Visualising the route to the shops
Look at the map you drew of how to get to Lanyon Market Place.
Close your eyes and imagine/visualise the route that you would take to walk there.
Open your eyes and explain to a partner what you visualised.
Walk to the shops
With your class, follow the map to get to the Lanyon Market Place.
Reflection
Circle time reflection: Did you get to Lanyon Shops? Was your map easy or hard to read? Was your map successful? What made it successful? What would you do differently next time?
Guided visualisation:
Ask students to visualise the path they would take in their minds to get to the Lanyon Shops
Second Excursion to Lanyon Shops
Walk students to the shops, holding your map in hands, and modelling along the way how to follow the map and pointing out various places in the environment eg. underpass, Amala, traffic lights, roundabout, road crossing, Macdonalds, houses, trees, petrol station.
Purpose
To look at a map and follow it to get from one location to another, and back again.
Teaching tips
Before heading back to school, ask students: would your directions BACK the other way be different? Have a go at explaining the way back to school from the shops.
When back at school, students draw a visual representation of what their journey to the Lanyon Shops looked like. Students who are capable can label their drawing with natural and man made places and highlight places special to them.
Learning Intention: To understand why it is important to care for special places.
Let's form an inner-outer circle to brainstorm ways we can care for special places.
Now as a class, let's use the ideas from our brainstorm to complete the last column "How can we look after it?" on our Special Places Chart.
Circle Time
The wind blows if your special place is ...............
Discussion: Why do you think it is important to look after our special places? What would happen if .............
Purpose: This activity focuses on the relevance of their learning about places, particularly in terms how they could contribute to caring for special places. This scaffolds the activity in Update 10 as well as providing agency for them in applying their learning outside of school.
Teaching Tips
As you complete the last column of the Special Places Chart as a class, scaffold their thinking using an Inside/Outside Circle. Go through each special place on the chart as students move in the Inner/Outer Circle. At first some students will not have many ideas, but as they move around the circle, they will pick up ideas from others. Encourage them to listen so that they get more ideas that they can share.
Use the final Circle Time reflection to focus on why it is important to care for our special places.
Learning Intention: To understand why it is important to look after our special places.
Timed-Think-Pair Shares
Now think about ways you could care for one of these special places. What could you do to look after it?
Share how to look after your special place by creating one of the following:
Reflect: After you have completed your artwork, share it with a partner. Tell them one thing you think they have done well. Listen as they tell you what you have done well.
Purpose: Students choose how to represent what they have learned about why some places are special to people, and how they can be looked after.
This culminating activity for the unit provides choice and differentiation.
Teaching Tips
Provide individual support to students to decide on their special place and then the medium they would like to show how to look after it.
In identifying places they consider to be ‘special’, consider their room, a play area, holiday location or an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander place of family significance.
Students can refer to Update 9 in the Special Places Chart to get ideas for ways they could contribute to caring for special places.
This work can go into student portfolios or be combined into a class book.