Welcome to the Australian Outback!

G'day, mates and ankle biters!  During the third week of Science After School, Miss Bailey and I, Miss Teter, took the intermediate group on a wild adventure to the continent (and country) of Australia.  The journey began with some of the students exploring the different stations we set up.  They had to observe and describe different things that they saw.  I was impressed with the questions and observations that they had!  They are wonderful explorers :)

After our quick tour, Miss Bailey taught us some cool facts about Australia.  Did you know that there are about 750 different types of reptiles that live there?  That's more than any place on the planet!  Also, the seasons there are opposite from ours because they are located in the Southern Hemisphere.  While we are experiencing fall weather, the weather conditions there are more like springtime.  Crikey!

Our next leg of the journey took us back to the first learning station: "Wild Animals".  At this station, the students learned about eight different animals that live in Australia: kangaroos, emus, dingoes, kookaburras, crocodiles, koalas, duckbill platypuses, and frill-necked lizards.  What make these animals awesome are their unique traits.  For instance, koalas have fingerprints - just like us!  My favorite fact, however, is that when a baby kangaroo (a.k.a. a joey) is born, it is only 2cm in length.  That's the same size as a lima bean!

After we learned about animals, we moved on to the next part of our adventure: "Aboriginal Cultures".  The Aborigines are the first group of people to have lived in Australia.  Unlike most Australians, Aborigines speak a different language.  However, their culture is very fascinating.  They are very religious and use music and dance in their everyday lives.  We introduced the students to three different Aboriginal instruments: a didgeridoo, a djembe, and clapsticks.  At the end of this learning station, I taught the students how to do an Aboriginal dance.  I must say, the students did an amazing job!

We made one final stop on our journey.  The third station, which was titled "Boomerangs", provided information on what a boomerang is used for (hunting and entertainment), how it is similar and different to a Frisbee, and how to properly throw one.  Something that's interesting about a boomerang is that you can use it by yourself because it comes back to you after it's thrown!  It takes a lot of practice to perfect throwing one, but it's a lot of fun trying!

After we were done at the last station, the students broke up into three groups.  Each group went to a different station.  At the first station, the students used different materials to create "Wild Things" that were similar to the ones in the book "Where the Wild Things Are".  However, the ones that were being created had to have characteristics that would help them to adapt to Australian habitats.  At the second station, students were able to use instruments and create Aboriginal music and dancing!  The third station had students creating a boomerang out of Play-Doh.  They had to make sure to shape it so that it would be able to fly.  These stations allowed the students to use their creativity - and boy were they creative!

In the last part of the lesson, the students got to play a game that is similar to "Bingo".  However, since we were learning about Australia, this game was titled "Dingo".  The Dingo boards had the names and characteristics of the animals we learned about, and when one of those answers were called, the students got to put their chips down on the square that had the answer.  It was a close game, but Ezra came out on top as the winner!  Congratulations :)

Overall, our journey into the Australian outback was a lot of fun.  Hopefully all of us will be able to visit there someday and use our knowledge that we received!

Here is the lesson plan that Miss Bailey and I followed:

Name: Amanda Teter and Brittany Bailey Date taught: October 20, 2009 Time/Period: 3:30PM; 60 minutes

Grade Level: 3-6 Group size: approx. 14 students Content Area: Science: Biology and Physics

National Standard: 1) NSES; K-4; Content Standard C: All students should develop understanding of the characteristics, life cycles, and environments of organisms. 2) NSES; K-4; Content Standard E: All students should develop abilities of technological design

Content Standard: 1) SC.O.3.2.3: Students will compare physical characteristics and behaviors of living organisms and explain how they are adapted to a specific environment (e.g., beaks and feet in birds, seed dispersal, camouflage, or different types of flowers). 2) SC.O.4.2.21: Students will relate motion of an object to its frame of reference.

I. Instructional Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:

• Know and describe basic facts about Australia
• Describe many of the animals that inhabit Australia, as well as their living conditions
• Understand and describe Aborigine cultures (including food, shelter, forms of entertainment, means of survival, etc.)
• Describe the physics that make a boomerang not only soar through the air but come back to the person throwing it.

II. Assessment:

Method: Informal assessment will be used throughout the lesson, especially during the application time.

Mastery: Since there is not a formal assessment being used, the instructors will judge how well the students understand the material.

III. Materials/Preparation:

• Computer with Internet hookup
• 15 Dingo boards and 15 bags of chips (containing 16 chips each)
• 3 sheets of poster board (2 for road signs and one for the Australian flag)
• Paint for the backdrops, learning stations, etc (red, brown, green, black, blue, and yellow)
• Plain plastic boomerangs for throwing and decorating (15 for decorating, 4 for props in the classroom, and 2 for throwing outside)
• Decorations for boomerangs in case weather is not good for throwing them outside (tape and paint)
• Shower curtain and paint (for creating a map of Australia
• Beach ball that depicts a globe
• Wooden boomerang
• Frisbee
• Didgeridoo
• Sticks for Aboriginal dancing (dowel rods)
• Djembe (or shoebox if a djembe is not available)
• Materials for creating a “wild animal” (one bag each of feathers, pipe cleaners, cotton balls, and plastic eyes, six Styrofoam balls, five sheets of felt, two pairs of scissors, two containers of Play-Doh, and two bottles of glue
• Six containers of Play-Doh (for creating a boomerang)

IV. Technology:

There will be a lot of hands-on activity in this lesson. Students will have the opportunity to create animals or boomerangs, as well as learn and develop an Aboriginal dance (depending on which learning station they are in). They will also be given the chance to throw a boomerang outside (if weather permits).

V. Vocabulary:

• Duckbill platypus: an aquatic animal that resembles a beaver by its body shape and contains a bill, webbed feet with claws, and a flattened tail.
• Emu: a large, flightless bird that resembles an ostrich but is smaller in size
• Dingo: a wolf-like wild dog in Australia that usually has a reddish- or yellowish-brown fur
• Frill-necked lizard: a lizard that has a large ruff of skin folded back against its head and neck
• Kookaburra: an Australian bird that is known for its harsh cry that resembles a laugh
• Aborigine: a member of the dark-skinned people who were the earliest inhabitants of Australia
• Didgeridoo: a musical instrument of Australian Aborigines made from a long wooden tube that is blown into to create a low sound
• Djembe: an Aboriginal drum played with bare hands; also used in African cultures
• Boomerang: a bent or curved piece of wood used by the Aborigines as a throwing club; when thrown it flies out and returns back to the person who threw it
•  Various Aussie words posted around the room such as “bonzer,” “ankle biter,” “billabong,” etc.

VI. Instructional Processes:

A. Transition:

Greet the students at the door. The instructors will be dressed in bushman shirts and headgear (either a hat or an aboriginal headband) and possibly speak in an Australian accent (depending on how well we sound). Each student will receive a headband to wear upon arrival. After the students have had time to get situated, gather them around the open area of the room (between the desks and learning stations)

B. Introduction/ Exploration:

The instructors will let the students know that they are continuing on the path of finding out “where the wild things are,” and their journey has landed them in the Australian outback. There will be three different learning stations set up in the back of the classroom that cover the three topics of Australia that will be taught: animals, aboriginal culture, and boomerangs. Take the students around for a tour and instruct them to look at a few things from each station (such as the boomerang that we will have available at the boomerang station). Ask them questions such as “what kind of physical characteristics do you see in the animals?” After the tour, we will come back together as a group and discuss what we saw. Guided questions will be asked after each characteristic named (such as “Why do you think a boomerang is shaped that way?”). Let the class know that these unique characteristics are just a touch of what makes Australia a very exciting place to visit!

C. Procedures:

Concept Development:

• Describe facts about the country of Australia. This should include its size, location, and other interesting facts (such as the differences in weather “down under” as opposed to here in the United States, it’s the only continent that is made up of one country, etc.). There will be a map of Australia available for them to look at, as well as a beach ball that resembles a globe.
• Everyone will move to the first learning station. This is where the first area of science, biology, will be discussed. Students will learn about the different “wild” animals that inhabit Australia, such as kangaroos, crocodiles, emus, duckbill platypuses, koala bears, etc. They will also learn about the animals’ environments and how they have adapted for survival purposes. After learning about the eight different animals, the students will sit at the tables located near the front of the classroom and play a game called “Dingo,” which is similar to Bingo except animal names and characteristics will be used instead of numbers. After a name or characteristic is called, the instructors will ask questions such as “Do you remember which animal has fingerprints?” with the answer being koalas.
• Aboriginal culture will be the next learning station that the class visits. Students will learn about and understand the Aborigine culture and how it is different from not only our own cultures but from other cultures in Australia. The students will also be introduced to Aboriginal music, instruments (didgeridoo, djembe, and clapsticks), and dances. The instructors will then play aboriginal music and teach the students a basic aboriginal dance. They will get to use dowel rods as clapsticks during the dance.
• The class will then move to the third learning station. In the USA, children have either played with or been exposed to a Frisbee. Australian people, on the other hand, have a different flying toy they usually play with: a boomerang. This is where the second area of science, physics, will be discussed. Students will learn about the physics of how a boomerang not only flies but comes back to the individual who threw it. They will also understand how boomerangs are both similar and different from Frisbees, and the instructors will show them how to properly throw one. In addition to a leisure activity, boomerangs are also used as weapons to hunt animals (such as kangaroos).

Application:

Students will be broken up into three groups, and each group will go to a different learning station. In the first learning station, students will be shown pictures of “Wild Things” from the book “Where the Wild Things Are. They will be instructed to give characteristics to one of the animals so that it could properly adapt to Australian habitats. They will show with materials that are provided how it is modified and describe how its characteristics are essential for survival. The second learning station will encourage the students to create an Aboriginal dance. They can use the dance that was demonstrated in the concept development as a basis, and they will have access to the didgeridoo and other instruments that might be available to give it an authentic feel. In the third learning station, students will apply the knowledge they received from how a boomerang is constructed to create their own boomerang using Play-Doh. The students will describe how their boomerang will not only be able to fly but also come back to them. Each group will spend approximately 10 minutes at each station, then they will move to a different one. This will give all students an opportunity to show their creativity in all three stations!

D. Closure/Conclusion:

The students will come back to the open area of the classroom. The instructors will mention how much fun they have had on their adventure through the Australian outback! A quick review of information that they have learned would be beneficial. To show their appreciation, the instructors will take the students outside and let them practice throwing plastic boomerangs! This will give the students a chance to apply the knowledge they have received. If the weather is not conducive for throwing, the instructors will have boomerangs available for the students to decorate. Thank the students for “tagging along” on the quest for finding out “where the wild things are!”

VII. Strategies for Differentiation:

The instructors can adjust the way the content is taught based on the different learning styles (tactile, visual, auditory, etc.). For students will special needs, instructors can help them in the application portion of the lesson by guiding them along in whichever station they are in. For example, an instructor can help the student come up with ideas for making a boomerang.

VIII. Reflection: (This will be filled in once the lesson has been taught.)

1. Pedagogy: (Reflect on instructional methods used. What worked? What could be done differently? What problems arose?)
2. Aggregated Results: (Aggregate assessment results, and summarize overall student performance).
3. Student Learning: (Based on the results, did students learn? What percentage? What evidence supports these conclusions?)