Maternity Leave

Hello Readers,

HUGE apologies for the lack of posts/replies.

I am currently on Maternity Leave.

Check back here in 2020!

Water Warriors

It has been a little while since my last post and that is because I've been working on another blogging project. 

Earlier this year, I was selected to be a part of a STEM (formally known as SOLE) project within my school. We needed to select a real world problem that we could address together as a class. So my class and I decided to look into Water Safety and address the following driving question: 

'What causes drowning and how can we keep the community of Penrith safe around water?'

So far we have asked questions and have completed a significant amount of research. We've looked at the Royal Life Saving Drowning Report (which you can read HERE), googled and read news articles. This week students conducted a survey that was conducted across Years 3 to 6 to find out whether students have participated in swimming lessons and/or Swim School.

I am hoping that in the coming weeks, once we've completed our deep-diving research, that the students will break into smaller groups and have different focus projects. So far our interests seem to be around swimming lessons, CPR, the Nepean River and private swimming pools. However, as this project is student-directed, it could possibly go in any direction.

To read more about what my class is up to and what the other participating classes are doing, click on the following link: www.soleatrps.com

You can also read regular updates from my Twitter feed: @RachelSellen

Or follow the following Twitter hashtags #WaterWarriors | #STEMrps

In the coming weeks I will go into further detail about the STEM Rubric that my colleagues and I adapted for this project (pictured below). It has been an amazing tool thus far.

SOLE + ICT = STEM

A few years ago now, I remember watching a TEDtalk about man who put computers into slum walls in India. The children within the slums learned how to operate the computers within a short amount of time. Children who couldn't read and write. However, they worked together and problem solved to figure the computer (which they hadn't previously seen) out. They were playing games, searching the web and watching YouTube clips.

At the time of watching this video, I was blown away at how much children could teach themselves outside of the four-walls of the classroom and without a teacher. So I was pleased to hear that more came from this and that the SOLE Project was born. SOLE stands for Student Organised Learning Environment.

You can also find out more information about the Hole In The Wall Project by clicking HERE.

Last year my school was introduced to this whole concept of 'SOLE' and from that four amazing projects were developed. The classes researched and created an action project around Recycling, Nutrition, our Schools History (as we are about to have our 150th birthday) and Cyber Bulling.

This year I was accepted into the SOLE project, however, we have moved away from the name SOLE and towards STEM (this term has been adopted by the Department of Education). For those who are not familiar with the term STEM, the letters stand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. You can learn more about what NESA states about STEM HERE.

I am working with three other teachers on this STEM Project. We all have various experiences with technology and STEM activities, and enjoy project-based learning. So far, we have had some professional learning around STEM. We've had an opportunity to pick topics that we want out classes to research (my class will be looking into Water Safety) and we've done some backwards mapping.

Professional Learning with the STEM Team

Backwards Mapping

Since this professional learning, my students have had the opportunity to explore some BIG QUESTIONS. By doing so, my students have been practicing the skills that will be needed once we start looking into our Water Safety topic.

We've looked at the following questions:

1. When is something worth celebrating? (linking in with History Stage 2 unit)
2. Why is National Reconciliation Week important? (linking in with National Celebration)

I have popped a few pictures from these lessons below, starting with resources that I have out and available. Students have access to the internet via desktop computers and iPads. They also can use whiteboards and markers, dictionaries, thesauruses and subject-specific books to find their information. Conversations between peers is encouraged.

Resources were out and available for students to use.

In the photos above, I taught students how to properly research as I found they were just typing the question directly into google. We looked at typing in keywords and skimming/scanning texts to quickly find the information that we need.

Students researching on the computers.

Students presenting their information in their own chosen way.

For the remainder of this year my class will be looking into Water Safety, particularly focussing on open-waters as our school is near a loch and a large river. Where we end up and how we approach this issue is completely unknown. My aim is to enable my students to dictate where we go and what we do with the information gained along the way. I would love to see my students create an awareness campaign that can be used in our community, with easy to follow steps that ensure everyone is safe around open-water. I would also love to see them complete resuscitation training as I feel everyone should have this knowledge.

Over the next few months I will keep you updated with how this project is progressing. So don't forget to follow my blog to receive updates about these upcoming posts as they're created.

NAIDOC Week

My blog has had a lot of foot traffic lately and I've noticed that most people have been interested in my NAIDOC Week posts. I love NAIDOC week. It's a great opportunity for us to teach students (and ourselves) about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. But I also know that it can be a stressful time, when you want to do the occasion justice but you're stuck for ideas.

So today I thought I'd share with you what my school has done around this week/ day.

Earlier this week we celebrated NAIDOC day. We began our day with a whole-school assembly that was run by our Kulcha Club (ATSI students). We had a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by a local Dharug man and then our Kulcha Club performed the beautiful lullaby, 'Inanay' (you can hear a version of the song HERE). Our Kulcha Club met one lunchtime a week, every week, for the whole of Term 2 in preparation for NAIDOC day. The students wore red, yellow or black shirts for the assembly, which they had painted with handprints prior to the day.

Kulcha Club running the K-6 Assembly on the basketball court

After our assembly, students participated in either rotational activities or they watched a performance. And then after recess classes swapped. If they were watching the performance they were then participated in rotational activities and vice versa.

Each grade ran their own rotational activities. For my grade (Year 4) one teacher ran a dancing activity, another read Dreamtime stories, the third teacher had students create artworks and finally I ran a language activity. Other grades ran different activities chosen by the teachers, however, all staff members were given a list of ideas in the lead up to the day.

Notebook file with a variety of Darug words and greetings

Pretend fire that was the centre of our yarning circle

The performances we had, introduced students to dancing and the didgeridoo. There was also story telling and information about Aboriginal culture and history from Elders.

Elder Big Al telling the Stage 2 students a story

In the afternoon, classes had time to participate in activities within their own rooms or they could play games found in the Yulunga document (you can download a copy HERE). This PDF is filled with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games and activities for all ages and group sizes.

Prior to our NAIDOC day, classes also participated in our Doorways Project. Originally the idea was that classes would create a collaborative artwork, along with a story, and then this artwork would be hung outside of the classroom (hence "doorways project"). However in the end, we hung them up in the School Hall as we didn't want them to get weathered.

My class' collaborative painting based on the story 'The Legend of the Seven Sisters'

Artworks made by Stage 2 and 3 classes ready to be hung up in the hall

Like any whole-school event, there are always hiccups along the way. Despite a few little mishaps, I believe our NAIDOC day was a huge success. 

Thank you to the Aboriginal Education Team at RPS for putting the day together!

I would love to hear about what your school does for NAIDOC week. 
Please post your comments below… 

Lesson Study: Fractions

Today I thought I'd share about Lesson Studies. I had my first experience with a Lesson Study only recently. My colleagues and I decided to create a lesson around Fractions, in particular plotting fractions on a number line. We decided upon this topic as our data showed that our students needed more work in this area.

What is Lesson Study? A small team of teachers working together in a systematic cycle of planning, teaching, observing, refining and reviewing specific lessons in order to examine their practice and improve their impact on student learning.

This information and more can be found HERE.

We followed the process of Collaborative Planning > Teaching & Observing > Refining > Teaching & Observing > Reviewing

The process was quite interesting, however, we thought collectively that it would have been nice to complete this process over several days so we had more time to refine in-between (due to time constraints and funding we had to complete this whole process in a day).

We began by meeting prior to our Lesson Study and creating a lesson plan. We worked collaboratively and shared ideas. We then met again to fine tune the program prior to teaching. Jobs were split up so that the workload was relatively fair. One teacher created the Notebook file, another created the differentiated worksheets and the third created an extension activity.

You can download a copy of the program HERE.

On the Lesson Study day, our team split into pairs. Person One taught the lesson to their class while Person Two observed and took notes. Person Two then went away and thought of ways to refine the lesson before teaching it later in the day.

Here are some photos from my lesson:

Setting up the lesson before hand.

Three levels of differentiated worksheets (for independent activity).

If you are interested in downloading a copy of the worksheets, you can download a copy of the LOW, MIDDLE and HIGH worksheets by clicking on the hyperlinked words.

I really enjoyed collaboratively planning the lesson with my colleagues. I never would have thought of linking the jug/container of liquid with a number line. However, the use of the tape down the side of the container provided a great visual for students when it was pulled off and stuck to the board to the side (pictured above). Kudos to my colleague Kim, for that fantastic idea!

Anyway… I would love to hear about your experiences with Lesson Studies. 

Did you like them? Were they helpful? What lessons did you teach?

Comment below!

National Reconciliation Week 2017

Today, on National Sorry Day, 
I add my personal apology to the families of the Stolen Generations.
I am sorry for how our country treated you, 
and commit to standing with you towards reconciliation and justice.

Sorry Day - 26th May
Reconciliation Week - 27th May to 3rd June
Mabo Day - 3rd June

Yesterday was National Sorry Day and the beginning of Reconciliation Week for 2017. So I thought I'd share a couple of AMAZING resources that I have found that could help explain this very important week to you children/ students.

But before we get started, let's talk about WHY this year in particular is so important!

This year is a HUGE year as it is the 50 Year Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum where we saw the removal of the words ‘… other than the aboriginal people' from our constitution.

It is also the 25 Year Anniversary of the Mabo Decision which involved Eddie Mabo challenging the Australian legal system in recognising the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of their land.

And the 20 Year Anniversary of the 'Bringing them Home' Report, which was a National inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.​

There's a lot of stuff in there. There's a lot to remember and a lot of pain to dig up. That's why I was completely blown away after reading Jennifer Castles' 'Say Yes'. Not only are the illustrations absolutely beautiful (thank you Paul Seden) but it explains the importance behind the 1967 Referendum clearly. Castles uses a number of examples to delicately show how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were treated prior to the Referendum. 

While Castles respectfully recognises that some people believe that the Referendum was a waste of time as not a lot had changed, she states that if we look back we can see that slowly ("very slowly") some positive changes have happened.

This book is a must-read. I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy!


While searching around the internet, I also stumbled across a number of resources that have been put together by Twinkl. There's lots of resources that can be used and adapted. I particularly like their PowerPoint presentations on Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day.

Screenshot from the Twinkl website.

Don't forget to check out BTN (Behind the News) as well. They tend to cover lots and lots of topics and present the information in a kid-friendly format. They have an episode that covers Reconciliation Week, another that covers Mabo Day and finally one that was released just this week about the 1967 Referendum.

Also remember that the National Reconciliation Week website has lots and lots of ideas. You can download their teaching and learning resources HERE.

NAIDOC Week 2017: Our Languages Matter

Worimi!

I would firstly like to acknowledge the Darug people, the traditional custodians of the land in which I live and work. I would like to pay my respect to Elders both past and present and extend that respect to other Aboriginal people visiting my blog and reading this post.

This year the theme for NAIDOC week is 'Our Languages Matter'. 

And they most definitely do!

What does our census say about Aboriginal languages?

In the 2011 Census, 83% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported speaking only English at home, similar to the proportion of non-Indigenous people (80%).  

About one in 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (11%) reported speaking an Australian Indigenous language at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25 to 44 years were most likely to speak an Indigenous language at home (13%), followed closely by those aged 15 to 24 years and those aged 45 years and over (both 11%). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 14 years and under were least likely to speak an Indigenous language (10%) and most likely to speak only English at home (85%).  

Of the Australian Indigenous languages spoken at home, languages in the Arnhem Land and Daly River Region Languages and Western Desert Languages groups were the most widely spoken (18% and 14% respectively). The next most prominent language groups spoken at home were Yolngu Matha and Torres Strait Island Languages (11% each).

Image from ABC Aboriginal Language Map

Here are some helpful resources that can be used to help teach your students about the Dharug people and their language:

1. Campfire Stories
This is an interactive website with short videos of elders speaking in their language. The interviews are presented in sections and include questions to guide students thinking as their watching.

2. Learn Darug
I'm a little addicted to this blog! It contains so many wonderful teaching resources, including notebook files and PDF's. The resources cover topics such as language, sacred sites, "Survival Day", etc. This site was developed for teachers working on Darug country.

3. Splash
Jacinta Tobin… where have you been all my life??? Splash have put together a number of videos with Jacinta speaking language. She explains how to greet people and use manners in Dharug. It's absolutely stunning. Click on the 'What to view next' side bar on the right to view more of her videos (after clicking on the 'Splash' link that is).

4. ABC Aboriginal Language Map
A great interactive tool to help show the different language groups/ countries. Use the magnifying tool to zoom in and have a closer look at the countries and where they are.

5. Dharug Dalang
This website is virtually a dictionary of Dharug words and phrases. Click on the 'Word Lists' tab to search for English words and find the Dharug translation (and vice versa).

Want to see some of my other posts? Click on the following links:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the Classroom

NAIDOC Week 2016: Songlines

Aboriginal-inspired Artworks

10 ATSI Online Resources