Quality Teaching Elements

Early Years–Early Stage 1
Blackett PS
Dharug Cluster
Focus: Dreamtime Stories – Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake
Term 1
Week 7
2012 / Mathematics Outcomes:
NS1.2Uses a range of mental strategies and informal recording methods for addition and subtraction involving one- and two-digit numbers.
WMS1.2 Uses objects, diagrams, imagery and technology to explore mathematical problems.
WMS1.3 Describes mathematical situations and methods using everyday and some mathematical language, actions, materials, diagrams and symbols.
English Outcomes:
RS1.5 Reads a wider range of texts on less familiar topics with increasing independence and understanding, making connections between own knowledge and experience and information in texts.
Mathematics Indicators:
-Models addition using concrete materials.
-Develops a range of mental strategies for addition.
English Indicators:
-Participates in the reading of Dreaming stories and relates it to their own life and understandings.
Resources: Book ‘Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake’, climb the snake, counters, kangaroo dot cards, Aboriginal art puzzles.
1. / Cultural Learning / Explain to the class that Dreaming stories are there to help you learn. They help you to remember with pride who you are as an Aboriginal person and are passed down through the generations. Dreaming stories pass on important knowledge, cultural values and belief systems to later generations. While we will read it from a book with pictures, Dreaming stories have traditionally been passed down through song, dance, painting and storytelling.
Read ‘Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake’. Discuss what can be learnt from this story for our own lives.
2. / Counting Strategy/ Game / Around the world – use two 6 sided dice to add the total.
3. / Explicit Teaching / With the class sitting in a circle, choose one student to play the game with the teacher. As you pick up a card, explain what it is telling you to do e.g. ‘move up 5’ means move your counter towards the head of the snake 5 spaces. Explain that this snake is used to represent Warnayarra. / Mathematical Language used:
addition, adding, plus, move up, move down, total, over, more than, more.
4. / Guided Activities – Outside on the top asphalt / 1. Climb the snake. In pairs, students place their counters on the number 10 in the middle of the snake. The first student chooses a card from the bag and follows the instructions. Play continues until one student reaches the head of the snake.
2. Make 20. In groups of 3 or 4, students are given a pile of Kangaroo dot cards. Students place one card at a time on a pile in the middle, adding the total each time. When a student puts a card down that adds to exactly 20, they are the winner. If a student puts a card down that brings the total over 20, they must take it back and put it at the bottom of their pile. It is then the next students turn to try and make exactly 20.
3. Aboriginal puzzles. The Aboriginal Education Officer/ parent helpers work with the students to complete the puzzles while explaining to them the significance of the artwork on the puzzles.
5. / Assessment / Work with students completing activity 2 and record how they add the totals.
6. / Accommodations / 1. Pairs are mixed ability so that one student can help the other if not sure what the card is asking them to do.
2. Students can use the dots to count the total, but more capable students can add the totals in their heads.
Teacher Lesson Evaluation: /

Quality Teaching Elements

Intellectual Quality

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Quality Learning Environment

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Can then be related to:
-Patterns. Look at the patterns on a snake’s back. How can these patterns be related to number patterns? Can these patterns help us with multiplication?
-Kangaroos. Reproduction of kangaroos related to multiplication.
Focus: The Aboriginal Australian map.
Term 2
Week 6
2012 / Mathematics Outcomes:
Early Stage 1
NES1.1 Counts to 30, and order, reads and represents numbers in the range 0 to 20.
NES1.3 Groups, shares and counts collections of objects, describes using everyday language and records using informal methods.
WMES1.2 Uses objects, actions, imagery, technology and/ or trial and error to explore mathematical problems.
WMES1.4 Uses concrete materials and/ or pictorial representations to support conclusions.
Stage 1
NS1.1 Counts, orders, reads and represents two- and three-digit numbers.
NS1.3 Uses a range of mental strategies and concrete materials for multiplication and division.
WMS1.2 Uses objects, diagrams, imagery and technology to explore mathematical problems.
WMS1.4 Supports conclusions by explaining or demonstrating how answers were obtained.
HSIE Outcomes:
Early Stage 1
CCES1 Describes events or retells stories that demonstrate their own heritage and the heritage of others.
Stage 1
CCS1.1 Communicates the importance of past and present people, days and events in their life, in the lives of family and community members and in other communities.
Mathematics Indicators:
-Uses the language of money in everyday contexts e.g. coin, note, cents, dollars (NES1.1)
-Uses the face value of coins to sort money (NES1.1)
-Uses the face value of coins to count money (NS1.1)
-Model equal groups using play dough and toothpicks (NES1.3)
-Model multiplication as equal groups to find the answer (NS1.3)
-Uses the echidnas to show how an answer was obtained (WMES1.4 and WMS1.4)
HSIE Outcomes:
-Listens to and talks about their own Aboriginality (CCES1 and CCS1.1)
-Recognises Aboriginal people as the first Australians (CCS1.1)
Resources: play dough, toothpicks, multiplication cards, coins, toy shop bingo, toy shop money game, number cards 1-9.
1. / Cultural Learning / Show students the Aboriginal Australian map and the Australian states map. Ask students what they can tell us about these maps (to discover what they have understood from the previous lessons).
The Aboriginal Education Officer will explain that the two maps are of the same country. One shows the current states and cities that we have now, while the other shows how the Aboriginal people lived in their own ‘countries’ before the English people came. Aboriginal people used to have their own countries, their own leaders (elders), their own set of rules and their own ways of living off the land.
Students look at their maps from the previous lessons and turn to a partner to explain what they understand is the difference between them. Carla to explain that now Aboriginal people follow Australian rules and live modern lives, while still holding close to their traditions where possible. Money is one thing Aboriginal people didn’t use in the past, but now need it to the same as every other Australian.
2. / Counting Game / Buzz – counting forwards by 2s, 5s and 10s.
3. / Explicit Teaching / We use money to buy the things we need and we need to know what each coin and note is and how to count it because it helps us to buy the things we need to have a good, healthy life. Explain the difference between coins and notes/ cents and dollars.
Go through each coin and note with students saying their value.
Briefly demonstrate how to play the games. / Mathematical Language used:
equal groups, multiplication, times, all together, each, hundreds, tens, ones, cents, dollars, money, coins, notes, count, worth.
4. / Guided Activities /

Students make a specified number of echidnas with play dough (said by teacher) and then put a specified number of toothpicks on each echidna. How many spikes altogether? Encourage students to whisper count (whisper each number except the last on each echidna).
Students play either ‘toy shop bingo’ where they practice adding coins (found on Sparklebox website) or ‘toy shop money game’ where they practice recognising coins (found on Teachthis website).
In pairs, students are given numbers 1-9. They each choose 2 cards and make the biggest number possible. The student with the highest number wins that round.

5. / Assessment / Observe students in activity one.
6. / Accommodations / 1. Students in Stage 1 take a multiplication number sentence and make echidnas to solve the problem independently.
2. Early Stage 1 play ‘toy shop money game’, while Stage 1 students play ‘toy shop bingo’.
3. Early stage 1 use up to 2 cards, while Stage 1 use up to 4 cards.
Teacher Lesson Evaluation: /

Quality Teaching Elements

Intellectual Quality

Quality Learning Environment

Significance

Focus: 2012 Olympics
Term 3
Week: 2
2012 / Mathematics Outcomes:
Early Stage 1
MES1.1 Describes length and distance using everyday language and compares lengths using direct comparison.
Stage 1
MS1.1 Estimates, measures, compares and records lengths and distances using informal units, metres and centimeters
English Outcomes
WES1.12 Produces most lower-case and upper-case letters and uses computer technology to begin to construct texts.
WS1.12 Produces texts using letters of consistent size and slope in NSW Foundation Style and using computer technology.
Mathematics Indicators:
-Recording length by drawings (MES1.1)
-Measuring lengths or distances to the nearest centimeter (MS1.1)
English Indicators:
-Observes how to use Google to effectively search for specific information (WES1.12 and WS1.12)
Resources: IWB, chalk, tape measure, cones.
1. / Cultural Learning / Discuss what the Olympics are (find out students prior knowledge).
Watch brief clips of Olympic highlights on the Interactive White Board. Show students how to use Google to search for videos related to the Olympics e.g. use keys words such as ‘Olympics, Sydney, events’. Discuss Aboriginal athletes who have made it to the Olympics e.g. Cathy Freeman. Look up videos of Cathy Freeman’s race.
2. / Counting Game / Counting by ones up to 30
Counting by 2s up to 30
Counting by 5s up to 30
3. / Explicit Teaching / Explain that today we will be looking at how maths is used in the event of long jump. Show snippets of long jump clips. Discuss how length is used to determine the winner of the long jump event.
Today we will be participating in a long jump event and measuring our own jump. Kindergarten will be recording and comparing jumps using chalk on the concrete and Stage 1 will be using measuring tapes. Demonstrate how to use these tools to measure a length e.g. start at zero with the tape measure. / Mathematical Language used:
length, measure, centimetres, metres, how many, more, less than, most, furthest.
4. / Guided Activities
-On the top grass and asphalt / Early stage 1 students work with the Aboriginal Education Worker to measure their jump.
Stage 1 students work with the class teacher to measure their jump.
Set up a cone to indicate where students will jump from (Kindergarten on the asphalt and Stage 1 on the grass).
Early Stage 1: One student jumps at a time. After each jump a mark is made where they landed and the student writes their name next to the mark. Once all students have jumped they look at the distances jumped and discuss who jumped the furthest. How do we know this? How else could we work out who jumps the furthest?
Stage 1: One student jumps at a time. After each jump the student works with the teacher to measure how far they went and writes this down on a piece of paper that they keep.
Once all students have had a go, discuss who jumped the furthest. How do we know this? Why can’t we just use our eyes to see who has jumped the furthest?
5. / Assessment / Observe students measuring their jump and how they record their answer. Do they include the units used to measure it with in their answer?
6. / Accommodations / Early Stage 1 students have a separate activity to Stage 1 students.
Teacher Lesson Evaluation: /

Quality Teaching Elements

Intellectual Quality

Quality Learning Environment

Significance

Focus: Totems
Term 3
Week 7
2012 / Mathematics Outcomes:
Early Stage 1
NES1.2 Combines, separates and compares collections of objects, describes using everyday language and records using informal methods.
Stage 1
NS1.2 Uses a range of mental strategies and informal recording methods for addition and subtraction involving one- and two-digit numbers
English Outcomes
WES1.12 Produces most lower-case and upper-case letters and uses computer technology to begin to construct texts.
WS1.12 Produces texts using letters of consistent size and slope in NSW Foundation Style and using computer technology.
Mathematics Indicators:
-Combining two or more groups of objects to model addition (NES1.2)
-Replace ten small blocks for a long when adding to ten (NES1.2)
-Using concrete materials to model addition and subtraction problems involving one- and two-digit numbers (NS2.2)
-Replacing ten shorts blocks for a long and ten longs for a flat when adding (NS1.2)
English Indicators:
-Observes how and uses Google to effectively search for specific information (WES1.12 and WS1.12)
Resources: Reach the pool, dice, counters, IWB, MAB blocks.
1. / Cultural Learning / Revise last week’s discussion about totems. (Some Aboriginal people may have several totems and these come from animals, plants, landscape features and the weather. People who share the same totem have a special relationship with each other. Knowing a person’s totem means understanding a person’s relationship to the language group and to other people. Totems are usually chosen based on the language group or ‘country’ they come from). Last week we chose ‘totems’ for our groups.
Today we are going to do some research on the group totems (kangaroos, lizards and boomerangs) using Google.
2. / Counting Game / Around the world
Early Stage 1 addition of 2 six sided dice.
Stage 1 addition of 2 twelve sided dice.
3. / Explicit Teaching / Revise how to use the MAB blocks to model addition problems (E.g. to solve 5 + 6 you would get 5 and 6 small blocks, then line them up against a long 10 block to trade, so you end up with 1 long (10) and 1 short (1) to make 11. This is much easier to count than counting 11 shorts one by one.)
Revise when to replace them to make counting easier. / Mathematical Language used:
Addition, adding, shorts, longs, flats, replace.
4. / Guided Activities /

Reach the pool (Game board from DENS 1 Counting On Black line Masters with numbers blanked out – however any game board can be used). In pairs students both roll a dice. They add their own total. The student with the highest number moves forward that many spaces. The other student stays where they are. Game continues like this until a student reaches the end.
With the Aboriginal Education Worker students use Google to research their group’s totem. Carla to help them think of what word or phrase they can type into Google and show them how to find information as opposed to pictures. Carla then copies and pastes the desired information and pictures into a Word document to be printed.
Students are given addition problems as a group. They use the MAB blocks to solve and are shown how to replace them when needed.

5. / Assessment / Activity 3. Make observation notes of how students solve the problems.
6. / Accommodations / Activity 1. Groups have 1, 2 or 3 dice depending on their addition ability.
Activity 3. Groups are given problems that equal up to 10, 20 or 100, depending on ability.
Teacher Lesson Evaluation: /

Quality Teaching Elements

Intellectual Quality

Quality Learning Environment

Significance