Wednesday, August 19, 2009

WIKIs in the classroom

This unit of work is created for a year 2 class. This is a SOSE Patchwork of Memories unit and requires the students to understand what memories are, how things have changed from the past and predict what will happen in the future.

I would set up a WIKI site for the students in my class to access and use throughout the unit. Students will be using the WIKI to post their reflections about each activity and comment how they are working in their groups.

Year Level: Grade 2
Unit: Patchwork of Memories
KLA's: SOSE- Time, Continuity and Change: Changes and continuities are identifies through events, peoples contributions and the stories of local communities.

Activity 1: What is a memory?
Students will be researching using a variety of different sources to answer the question, what is a memory?

Activity 2: What are your past experiences?
In small groups students will be sharing their past experiences and relating them to feelings and our memories. Each student in the group will think of one experience to post on the WIKI by finishing the sentence; I remember when.... It made me feel....

Activity 3: What is this feeling?
This whole class activity involves the students acting out scenarios relating to feelings. The other students are to guess what experience/memory is being displayed and the emotion which accompanies it. Students will use the WIKI to answer questions about how they felt during the activity and post any new memories they can think of to display a different emotion.

Activity 4: Photo journal
This is an individual activity where students have to use their personal photos and photos from Flickr to display at least 7 different emotions. Students will be doing this on a poster and will upload a picture along with a caption to the class WIKI site. Students are to comment on each others photos and memories.

Activity 5: How things have changes over time
Students will be reflecting on how they think things have changed over time. These reflections will be posted to the classes WIKI.

Activity 6: Patchwork of Memories
With the help from their grandparent or parent, students will be creating a patchwork of memories quilt which will display these memories using certain objects. A photo of this quilt will be uploaded to the WIKI site and students will need to reflect on this experience and share any positive and negative thoughts about it.

As students are completing this task they will be displaying Oliver’s 1999 Learning Design Framework Learning Theory (AUSInfo, 2003). This is because they will be using learning resources, learning support and completing learning tasks in groups, whole class and individually, across a variety of different activities.

Please comment me of how you feel about the unit and any other comments you may have.

- Natalie

Reference List
AUSInfo. (2003). The learning design construct. Retrieved August 20, 2009, from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

4 comments:

  1. WOW! What an incredible learning journey for your students. Top marks to you!

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  2. Hello Rissa!
    Thank you, this is a unit I would love to implement in the classroom. However due to lack of class time I am unable to do so. But it is a great resource for the future!
    Natalie

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  3. Hi Natalie,
    That unit sounds wonderful. There's a great childrens book my Mem Fox that would suit your unit - Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. I'm not sure if you know it, it is a lovely story.
    Leonie

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  4. Hello Leonie,
    Yes we used that book as the hook of the lesson! This is an actual unit I implemented last term and I modified it to fit in with the WIKI. Thank you for the suggestion, it is a great book.
    Natalie

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