Australian Curriculum Resources

Thank you to Trish Boschetti for sending out the following links to websites set up by the professional bodies associated with the following subjects areas: Arts, maths, science, English, history and geography. The professional associations responsible for the following websites are: Australian Association of Maths Teachers, Australian Science Teachers Association, Australian Association for the Teaching of English, Australian Literacy Educators Associations, Primary English Teachers Association, History Teachers Association of Australia, Australian Geography Teachers Association and Education Services Australia.

These sites have been developed specifically to link directly to the Australian Curriculum.

AC

Arts -POP

There are five art forms specified in the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. They are Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, and Visual Arts. Arts-POP shows how each art form makes a distinct contribution to cognition by drawing on each child’s senses and imagination. Each art form is valued equally within the generic learning area of the arts. Arts-POP website

About Arts-POP

Home page Arts-POP

GeogSpace

There has never been a more exciting time to study geography, with it being a subject vital to the education of every young Australian in the 21st century. GeogSpace has been designed to provide materials to support primary and secondary teachers in implementing the Australian Curriculum: Geography. It has been developed by AGTA’s team of practising geography teachers, dedicated to ensuring all schools across Australia have access to a unique resource that reflects best practice using current technology and pedagogies. GeoSpace Website

Home page GeogSpace

AC History Units

AC History Units presents 8 units developed by the History Teachers’ Association of Australia to support teachers in the implementation of the Australian Curriculum: History (years 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Unit 1, Teaching History, is a foundation unit, providing a brief introduction to the discipline of history. It ‘unpacks’ the skills and concepts, surveys approaches to teaching and provides an essential framework for the other units. Units 2-8 focus on topics relevant to particular year levels and are designed to provide very practical support in the form of teaching programs, sample ‘learning sequences’, a wide range of resources and assessment ideas. AC History Units Website

Home page AC History Units

English for the Australian Curriculum

Materials here comprise 12 year-level units of work, with 12 sequences in each, written by teachers and educators from a range of states, territories and educational settings. The writers have been guided in composition and worked as a team to collaborate in producing some 850 new elaborations of curriculum content, all supported by digital resources and interactive worksheets. All materials have been reviewed by teaching and curriculum specialists to ensure the highest standards in a clear and accessible resource that exploits the Australian Curriculum and can help reinvigorate the teaching of English and literacy. English for the Australian Curriculum Website

Home page English for the Australian Curriculum

Science Web Australia

The Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA) in partnership with Education Services Australia (ESA) has prepared 15 units of work to support teachers in the implementation of the Australian Curriculum: Science as part of the Supporting the Australian Curriculum Online (SACOL). The units are designed for students in years F–10. These units have been written by experienced teachers using resources that are available online. Each unit consists of an overview, five lesson plans, and additional links and resources. Extension activities for gifted and talented students will be included for the units in years 7–10. Science Web Australia Website

Home page Science Web Australia

Top Drawer Teachers – Resources for teachers of mathematics

Big ideas   The big ideas that underpin the mathematics are explored and explained.
Misunderstandings   Some common misunderstandings and their causes are described and analysed. There is teaching advice, and activities, designed to avoid or correct these misunderstandings.
Good teaching   Key content is explained thoroughly. There are suggested teaching approaches and many suitable activities. You will find videos, slide presentations, worksheets, digital learning objects and more.
Assessment   Aspects of assessment are discussed.
  Activities   Student activities that appear in other parts of the drawer have been collected here. However, many of the pages contain further suggestions and ideas for other activities.
Downloads   All downloadable files, such as student worksheets, teacher notes, activity templates and video transcripts, are available here.

Pertinent professional readings are also included and accessed through the AAMT website. Where relevant, links have been made to the content descriptions of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Top Drawer Teachers – Resources for teachers of mathematics

Home page Top Drawer Teachers – Resources for teachers of mathematics

 

 

The Australian Curriculum and Scootle

ACscootle

 

The other day Paul alerted me to the fact there is now a link between the Australian Curriculum document and Scootle. When you look at the content descriptors for a particular year level and subject area you can find the Scootle link by clicking on the letter/number in the brackets found at the end of each individual descriptor. By clicking on this you get an elaboration of the content descriptor. As well as the elaborations you also get a link to the Scootle website which then lists all their relevant resources that have a link to the content description you are looking at.

What is Scootle? Is it worth creating an account?

Paul mentioned to me that he got some great You Tube links when programing for his term 3 science. It is very convenient to be able to click on a link in the elaborations (on the AC website) and be taken to a list of resources connected with that section of the curriculum (on the Scootle website). As a staff we have had a brief looks at Scootle a few times over the past 2 years but as a reminder here is a basic explanation of what Scootle provides:

  • This site provides resources for teaching the Australian Curriculum.
  • It is sorted by subject area (not just AC subject areas) and year levels
  • The site provides the following search types – learning objects, images, audio, video, collections, teacher resource, assessment resource and data set.
  • The site allows you to create your own personalised learning paths which save resources in folders for future reference.

Below is a more detailed info graphic explaining Scootle.

IMG_2453

To create a Scootle account log into Scootle by clicking HERE. Once on the Scootle page you will see in the top right hand corner “New to Scootle? Teachers can register here!”. Click on this link and follow the prompts to create your account.

Click HERE to access the Scootle user guide. This is in PDF format and can be saved to your PC. This document can help you with any questions you have about Scootle including how you create Learning Paths for you and your students as well as how students access the content you find on Scootle.

Creating an eBook – Book Creator

To assist my year 12 students I decided to create an eBook using the Book Creator app as a revision tool for their exercise physiology course. The book covers some key aspects (not all) of the content I would like them to focus on as part of their ongoing revision leading up to their exam in term 4. It is not their only revision tool but is another tool for them to access. Ideally it would be great if all the year 12’s had their own iPads but I have had to settle for putting the eBook onto 5 of the student iPads.

One of the strengths of an eBook is the ability to include audio and video. Books have always included text and images but the inclusion of audio and video makes the eBook a much more powerful learning tool. Often a book/pamphlet may include web links to further resources like a video. My opinion is that students will often not use these links (independently) even if they are helpful due to the fact they have to do another step to get to the information. By using Book Creator the video is embedded next to the text allowing for instant viewing.

With the introduction of the File Browser app it is now a fairly simple process to get an eBook from Book Creator on one iPad to many iPads. I saved my eBook as an epub file on the P drive and then accessed it through the File Browser app to get it onto as many student iPads as I wanted to. You could save an eBook to the P drive and within 10-15 minutes (depending on file size) have your whole class reading an eBook created by you (or them).

Could you use an eBook to set up a topic for students? Could your eBook be the starting resource for your students when beginning a new topic? Could your students create their own eBook to present a topic for assessment or to teach another class? Great cross age tool?