UNIT of WORK DESIGN BRIEF

Overview of the Unit of Work

Make a model home for an animal Science Domain

After being given an image of a living thing (based on inquiry-led interests), students respond to the design problem: Here is
your living thing, you need to make it a home. The home you make needs to include everything this living thing needs to survive.
Students will create a collage that visualises everything that living thing will need in its habitat. Students will be limited to using craft
materials in the classroom, but may bring in materials from home if they wish. Students must include the following elements: access to
shelter, food and water.

STRAND
Physical,
Personal
and
Social
Learning

Discipline-based
Learning

DOMAIN

DIMENSION

KEY ELEMENTS OF STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS TASK

Interpersonal
Development
Personal
Learning

Working in teams

Students describe basic skills required to work cooperatively in groups, including

taking turns, sharing, and caring for equipment and resources.
Students begin to reflect on themselves as learners and on their feelings about
learning, by responding to open-ended statements such as Im proud of this
because

Civics and
Citizenship
The Arts

English

The individual learner

Managing personal
learning
Community engagement
Creating and making
Exploring and responding
Reading and viewing
Speaking and listening

Design Awareness in Schools

Students access their local environment and talk to experts to develop key
understandings.
Students use performance and visual art to communicate thoughts and feelings
about themselves, their learning and the world.
Students understand that an informational text serves a different purpose to a
narrative text. Students identify some features of an informational text.
Students understand the use of vocabulary related to topics taught at school.
Students listen and respond to texts.
Students deliver short oral presentations.

Teacher Resource: Briefs 2

STRAND

DOMAIN
Science

Communication

DIMENSION
Science Understanding

KEY ELEMENTS OF STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS TASK

Living things have basic needs, including food, water and shelter.

Science inquiry skills

Engage in discussions about observations and use methods, such as drawing and
miming, to represent ideas.

Listening, viewing and

responding
Presenting

Design,
Creativity and
Technology

Investigating and
designing
Producing

Information and
Communication
s
Technology
(ICT)

Analysing and evaluating

Reasoning processing
and inquiry

Share observations and ideas.

Students begin to understand basic communication conventions in the classroom,
such as being attentive listeners, facing the speaker, taking turns and listening
without interrupting.
Students make regular short oral presentations to groups or the whole class.
Students think about imaginative design solutions for different problems,
responding to a design brief. Products are developed as a result of exploring
materials, rather than just drawing.
Students explore the use of common materials when producing.
Students assess their product based on the specifications of the initial design brief.
Students learn to use ICT tools. With assistance, students use with different types
of data, such as text, numbers and images to create simple information products
and share ideas.

Creativity
Reflection, evaluation and
metacognition

Thinking
Processes

Design Awareness in Schools

With encouragement and support, students wonder, question and become

adventurous in their thinking.

Teacher Resource: Briefs 2

Design brief pro forma

.

LEARNING FOCUS
Living things are all around us and they all need a place to live. As scientists, we explore
everything living things need to survive. Students will pick a living thing and find out what it
needs. Students then design and build it a home.
MAJOR QUESTION(S)
1. What do living things need to survive?
2. Where do living things live?
MINOR QUESTION(S)
1. What do humans need to survive?
2. Whats the difference between a plant and an animal?
3. What is a habitat?
UNDERSTANDINGS:
Students will understand that all living things need a place to live. This is called a
habitat.
Living things choose habitats based on access to shelter, food and water (needs)
Students know that living things can be: humans, plants and animals
Science means observing and investigating the world around you

UNIT of WORK DESIGN BRIEF Preparation

PREPARATION for UNIT of WORK

TUNING IN:
Activity 1:
Play Charades card game: Students initially engage with the topic area by playing a silent game
where they have to act out different living and non-living things, but without making a sound.
Discuss what made the game easy/hard.

PREPARING to FIND OUT:

Activity 2:
Prior knowledge can be determined by initially having a discussion about what things are living and
which are non-living. Complete a pre-test where students have a detailed picture containing living
and non-living things. Students colour-in the living things. Unit introduced; every class member is a
student scientist and will investigate the world of living things.

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Activity 3:
Draw on student experiences about pets. What do those pets need every day?
Diagnosing Prior knowledge: Students discuss what is living and non-living. In predetermined
groups of 2-4, students discuss what they want to find out, then complete a visual KWL chart,
including what their favourite living thing is. The data from this assessment will guide future
planning, including touching upon needs and habitats of students reported favourite living things.

COMMON EXPERIENCES:
Activity 4:
Animal habitats: The class reads Animalia (or another book focussing on animals). Students
choose from a varied set of animal pictures. Students colour their chosen animal, cut it out then
choose from 5 different habitats set up around the room as printed posters. Discuss student
choices and why those animals need to be in certain places.
Activity 5:
Habitats Use a library trip to find resources about different habitats. Students work in small
groups to find books, videos, pictures and other resources that provide more information about their
chosen living thing from Activity 3. Groupings are planned for based on what students chose.
Students must distinguish between informational and other texts based on features such as
diagrams, content page, index, labelling, titles etc. Groups compile resources and then borrow
them for the class to create a Living Things library. Groups share their favourite resource from
those theyve borrowed and present it to the rest of the class. Revisions to student focus areas are
made here based on what students identify as interesting to them.
Activity 6:
Students divide into groups and analyse the class resource library using iPads. Students are asked
the question Find out what different living things need. Students then rotate through the stations,
sharing an iPad, and take photos of what they find during their analyses. Images that students take
are then uploaded to a class database and discussed as a whole class. Things living things need
are itemised and included in the classs Living things word wall, as well as incorporated into
spelling words.

MAKING CONNECTIONS
Activity 7:
Students go to Melbourne Zoo to analyse a range of habitats. Students complete Melbourne Zoos
Habitat Detectives, which extends what students know by learning about what animals live in each
kind of habitat and why.
Activity 8 + 9 + 10:
Collage Design
Student groups are given a design problem: Here is your living thing, you need to make it a home.
The home you make needs to include everything this living thing needs to survive. A physical
representation of their chosen living thing is given to each group, they then have to build it a home.
Students need to use images from Activity 6 in a habitat collage. Printed images are arranged by
groups on A2 sheets, then labelled using word-wall words. Student decorate their collage using
common and uncommon materials, and make justifications about how their habitat suits their living
thing, including how it provides food, water and shelter. Student also identify what other living things
would be suited to this habitat based on their learning throughout the unit. Collages are presented
and peer assessed using the Warm and Cool strategy.

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Activity 10:
Student Scientist VLOGs
Students reflect on their learning using class iPads in a Vlog. Students respond to given questions:

Finish this statement: The most interesting thing I learnt about my living thing was
Did my poster include everything my living thing needs in it?
What do all living things need?
How did your group work together?
Will your living thing live in this habitat happily?

VLOG instructions are provided as audio files. Student click on each question and it is read out.
Students then record their answers using an adjacent record button.

Related Experiences
Related terminology is included in spelling word lists
Related content is incorporated into literacy and numeracy lessons, e.g. reading groups use books
about living things and habitats.

RESOURCES

20 iPads
Whole-class access to library resources Non-Fiction books and other multimodal
resources
Supplementary multimodal resources online, failing adequate library resources
Animal Charades card game
Living/Non-Living things worksheet
Animalia picture book
5 habitat posters
Requirements for class excursion busses, permission forms etc.
Craft and art resources for collage design activity
Printed images of living things and iPad photos

Assessment
Assessment for this unit is carried out using anecdotal observations of development and
summative analysis of student work.
Final unit assessments are done using a rubric that outlines student ability to communicate or show
evidence of key unit understandings. For instance:
Students shows deep understandings about the purpose of habitats for living things. Student
describes all of the features of a habitat and several animals that live in particular habitats.
Student shows limited understanding about the purpose of habitats for living things. Student
describes some of the features of a habitat and 1-2 animals that can live in a particular habitat.
Assessment for Learning
To determine prior knowledge and guide planning:

Anecdotal notes about initial student discussions

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KWL charts.
Animal charade performances
Living/Non-Living colouring sheet

Assessment of Learning

Library research skills were resources relevant and did they include features of
informational texts?
KWL chart
Descriptions of favourite living things
Assignments of animals to habitats students write their names on the animals they assign
to habitats in Activity 4
Student presentations
Student collages
Zoo Habitat Detectives worksheet
Interpersonal development in group work roles
Successful use of ICT throughout the unit

Assessment as Learning

Warm and Cool peer assessment

VLOG reflections

What types of assessment will you use?

Will Rubrics be provided for assessment purposes?

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EXTRA RESOURCES

Students will engage with a variety of multimodal texts related to living things,
however will be reliant on school library resources.
Melbourne Zoo printouts
OneNote for the VLOG reflection and photography comprehension tasks

Unit Evaluation and Recommendations of this Unit of Work

This unit uses a variety of multimodal meaning-making skills and techniques to build
understandings about living things. Its recommended that teachers use a strict inquirybased planning framework that highlights student learning interests in order for it to be
effective. Successful use of ICT requires modelling in previous literacy classes or set out
as separate learning activities, as this unit presupposes their use in literacy earlier in the
school year.
Note: Five (5) Lesson Plans (La Trobe University template) must be attached to this file
which show the development of this Unit of Work from Lesson 1 to Lesson 5

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Tamara
and David

Topic: Living Things and

Where to find Them

Subject:
School: Oxford School of Living
Science
things
Date:
Year level: Foundation
01.01.201
Learning Purpose/Rationale:

Lesson N0: 01
Duration: 60
minutes

Students will begin to engage with the topic of Living Things and Where to Find Them
Students will participate in the game Charades. They will demonstrate prior knowledge by silently and
physically describing different living and non-living things. They will collaborate in a classroom discussion
about which were living, which were non-living, and the facets of a living things e.g. living things move by
themselves, they eat, drink etc.

AusVELS
Science: Engage in discussions about observations and use methods, such as drawing and miming, to
represent ideas.
Communication: Students begin to understand basic communication conventions in the classroom, such
as being attentive listeners, facing the speaker, taking turns and listening without interrupting.
The Arts: Students use performance and visual art to communicate thoughts and feelings about
themselves, their learning and the world.
Thinking Processes: With encouragement and support, students wonder, question and become
adventurous in their thinking.

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Learning outcomes:

All students are being actively engaged in this activity

Students successfully describe living and non-living things kinaesthetically

using physical movement.

Students will be able to identify features of living things physically, and

orally during classroom discussions.

Students work in pairs and take turns.

Assessment:
This task has an at-level access point. Each students will be assessed
using a checklist that itemises the following:
(x) was able to take turns in a pair-grouping
(x) identified physically/orally (circle one or both) the difference between a
living and non-living things.
This will be recorded after the lesson based on teacher observations.
Records of student discussions will be recorded anecdotally after the
lesson to gauge their readiness for the next aspect of the unit.
Timing
in
minut

15
minutes

Procedure:
Teacher activities:

Learner activities:

Engagement:
Students listen to teacher
Warm up game teacher explains this game to
instructions.
students. Students stand up around the room, the
teacher says the name of an animal and students go They find a sensible spot in the
around the room acting like that animal. They can make room to begin the activity.
sound of the animal quietly. Teacher manages students Students listen to, think and
noise levels, interaction with peers and personal space. respond to the request of the
teacher. The consider what the
animal does, how it moves, what it
looks like when moving and how to
mime the animal using their bodies.
Explicit:
Facilitate a discussion about what things students had
to consider when they attempted to act out each
animal.

Students will join in class

discussion. They will make
connections regarding attributes of
animals and how they can be acted
out.

Describe to students the expectations of the task: They

will turn over a card from their charades deck, then act
whatever was on that card to their partner, who has to
guess what it is.

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Procedural steps:
25-30 minutes

Direct students to space out in the

classroom in pairs chosen by the teacher.
Each pair takes, either a green deck of
charade cards (living things) or a red
pack of charade cards (non-living things).
Students are not informed of the
difference between the two packs.
Instruct students to start the activity and
continue until all cards have been used.

Move into allotted pairs and begin

activity.
Translate pictures seen on cards
into physical movements that take
into account the images specific
facets.
Begin to identify that some cards
require movement (living things)
and some require poses (non-living
living things)

Move around the classroom and make

observations of student activity. Assist
students who may not understand
instructions.
Employ behaviour management
strategies, including the possibility of
changing student pairs, as needed.

Swap cards.

After most students have finished acting

and guessing with their pile of cards, ask
them to swap with a pair with the
opposite colour.
10minutes
Participate in classroom
discussion.
Instruct students to return to the floor in front of the WB. Identify that green cards showed
living things and red cards showed
Begin discussion about the activity, beginning with:
non-living things.
Which colour of cards were the hardest to act out?
Students may use other
Why?
terminology to describe living the
Include prompts.
card subjects.
Direct discussion towards the two categories of cards.
Were the green ones easier to act out?
What kinds of things were on the green cards
compared with the red cards?
Conclusion:

Introduce terminology: Living and Non-Living Things

Teachers resources: Teacher will need Charade card game which can be just
animal pictures in boxes, then cut out. Teacher will need to glue these onto green
coloured paper and cut it out too. Do the same for the non-living cards. Teacher will
need to have 5 green decks and 5 red decks (in a class of 20 students) to be
divided into pairs.

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Catering for inclusion: This activity is open-ended and allows for students to
access learning at their individual level. Kinaesthetic learners are catered for by
encouraging physical movement and visual learners through pictorial instructions.
By working in pairs, students can explore learning with peer support. Teacher will
roam the room for support.
Students resources: N/A
Extension activities: If pairs finish all of their cards, they will be challenged to
think of their own items and act it out. To further this, they can think if it was a
card, would it be red or green coloured.
Learning space set-up: Tables will not need to be moved for these activities,
however enough space is needed around the room for students to do these
activities comfortably. Teacher will have cards with them at the front of the class,
Example of animal cards for Charades.

ESL Printables. (2015). Animal Game Worksheets. Retrieved From:

http://www.eslprintables.com/Vocabulary_worksheets/The_animals/Animals_game/index.asp?
page=2

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LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Tamara
and David

Topic: Living Things and

Where to find Them

Subject:
School: Oxford School of Living
Science
things
Date:
Year level: Foundation
02.01.201
Learning Purpose/Rationale:

Lesson N0: 02
Duration: 60
minutes

During this class, students will be learning about the difference between
living and non-living things. Not only does this introduce the terminology and
purpose of the unit, this gives teachers an understanding what students know about
this topic, how well they have understood the explicit teaching and how much time
we should spend on teaching this.
AusVELS or VCE focus (if VCE applicable)
(AusVELS statements should be numbered so that they can be deliberately related to
Learning Outcomes)
Foundation Science

1. Living things have basic needs, including food, water and shelter.
2. Engage in discussions about observations and use methods, such as drawing
and miming, to represent ideas.
Learning outcomes:
1. Students are starting to understand the difference between living and non-living
things and are able to label some items that are living.
2.Students are engaged in conversation in class, thinking and participating in the
different qualities each item possesses.
Assessment: (Assessment should be numbered or coded so that they can
be identified in the Procedure of the Lesson).
Engagement The teacher will assess students understanding of the
content by the amount of assistance is needed to prompt the discussion
about the differences in items, even after specific questions about feel,
looks and sounds like. Are the same students volunteering their answers
or are other students contributing too.
Procedure Teacher will wonder and will know in the first 10 minutes
which students know what they are doing and which students do not. The
worksheets will be collected and corrected after the lesson so the teacher
can see and record which students understand and which students do not.
Timing
Procedure:
in
minut

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An
estimate
of the
time to
be taken
for each
step
should be
made.

Teacher activities:
Warm up get everyone up and do some
cards from last lesson (Charades; red and
blue cards).
Explicit remind students what we spoke
about last lesson; green cards were living
things and it was easier to act out because
it usually moves.
Grab 1 green and red card and discuss with
students the difference between them (what
it looks like, feels like, sounds like) and
write/draw this on the board comparing
them (student led with teacher prompts).
Then teacher helps students in categorizing
these things into living things needs food,
air, shelter, warmth, growth. Then notice
that non-living things dont need this.

Learner activities:
Students are participating
in warm up game,
remembering that this
game is familiar. They
must think of object then
think of characteristics and
then act them out.
Students are participating
in group discussion and
thinking in what is being
asked.
They practice taking turns
when speaking and putting
hand up when wanting to
say something.

Introduce the activity. Students to fill out the

Circle the living things and leave the non-

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Procedural steps:
Teacher manages classroom behaviour and
allows a little bit of chatter if it is about the
task.Teacher assists students who need help.
He/she roams the room to keep students on
task and focused.
This activity is more of a test so that the
teacher can see how much of living and non
living things students understand with some
promting. This will help with planning the unit.
When students ask for help, teacher will go
through actions with student so they can
make an educated guess into whether this is
living or non-living.

Students are encouraged to

put hand up if they need
teacher to come to them.
Students are focused on the
task and making links between
what was discussed on the
board and the object in front of
them.
Students should be trying to
make sensible choices about
the colour used to colour in
and trying to stay in the lines.
When students are finished
colouring, teacher will
encourage them to try and
spell the objects on the sheet
and write it below them.

Conclusion:
Teacher packs students up, put their name
on work and passes it to them for
correction, and gets them to sit on the
floor. Teacher introduces the Living Things
Song to the students by creating a tune to
go with it and a beat that students can
easily imitate. Teacher sings song 2 lines,
then students repeat. The song is written
big on paper (so that it can be referenced
constantly by students).

Students pack up swiftly and

quietly and sit on the floor.
They listen to instructions.
Students listen to teachers
rhythm of the song and copies
to the best of their ability.

The unit is introduced to students; every

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Teachers resources: One deck of red and one deck of blue Charades cards;
an A3 copy of the song written out prior to lesson; 20 copies of the Living
things sheet.
Catering for inclusion: Students are allowed to talk about the activity to the
person next to them and are encouraged to ask the teacher for help by putting
their hand up and waiting. During Introduction, if needed teacher can single some
students out to participate if needed. Before sending students off to do work,
teacher can ask if students who do not completely understand can stay on the floor
with extra support from the teacher.
Students resources: Students will need coloured pencils and a table to
sit at.

Extension activities: If students have completed colouring in the living things

and have checked their answers, they can then try to write down the name of the
object below it using sounding out strategies.
Learning space set-up: Students desks are set in groups of 4-6.

worksheetplace (2015). Circle the Living Things Worksheet. Found at http://worksheetplace.com/index.php?

function=DisplaySheet&sheet=Circle-the-living-things&links=2&id=&link1=241&link2=257

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Vandenberge, N. (2013). First Grade W.O.W.: Pets Rock! Especially non-living ones!!. Found at
http://firstgradewow.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/pets-rock-especially-non-living-ones.html

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

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Tamara
and David

Topic: Living Things and

Where to find Them

Lesson N0: 03

Subject:
School: Oxford School of Living
Duration: 60
Science
things
minutes
Date:
Year level: Foundation
03.01.201
Learning Purpose/Rationale: The broad goal of a lesson the educational
justification for teaching it.
This lesson is introducing students to different kinds of living things. They relate to
the needs of a pet, which they should all know at least a little of this (even if they
dont own a pet). They learn about the basic needs of pets and plants. This allows
AusVELS or VCE focus (if VCE applicable)
(AusVELS statements should be numbered so that they can be deliberately related to
Learning Outcomes)
Science

1. Living things have basic needs, including food, water and shelter.
2. Engage in discussions about observations and use methods, such as drawing
and miming, to represent ideas.
Learning outcomes:
1.students understand that living things have similar basic needs
2.students participate in class discussions and practice taking turns and
listening.
Assessment: (Assessment should be numbered or coded so that they can
be identified in the Procedure of the Lesson).
Mainly, the teacher will assess students understanding via the discussions
with them during chat-time. Because this is preparing to find out, the
teacher does not need to formally assess students knowledge
individually, however will be as a whole to support them in the next step.

Timing
in
minut

Procedure:

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Teacher activities:
15mins

4:52 secs

Learner activities:

Teacher puts the You Tube video of Taking

Care of a Dog on the interactive whiteboard
for the students to listen to. Can fast forward
if needed to keep students engaged. During
the video, teacher puts dot points on the
board for easy reference.
After the video, the teacher discusses the
important points that were raised in the
video (reading the points written down and
drawing a picture next to it when discussing
it to keep students engaged while you are
talking.

Students are watching and

listening to the video
without fiddling and
distracting other students.
Students are thinking and
making links between their
pet at home and what it
needs to be alive.

Teacher gets their premade pet rock and

introduces it to the students this is my pet
rock, what do I need to do to look after it?
Go through the points with dog do I need
to wash my pet rock?

15 mins

15mins

15mins

Based on results from last lesson, ask which

pet is living and which pet is not. Discuss
these terms a little more how do you know?
Teacher gives out a picture of a dog to each
student and they are to colour in everything
the dog needs to survive. Do this together,
give the students 1 minute to colour in each
object all together to keep this activity short
and brief. Link these items being coloured to
the list on the board, oh no, what is missing?
Shelter! Okay draw shelter for the dog on the
page.
Students pack up and sit back on the floor,
talk about animals are living things, are
humans living as well? How do we know? (link
this to list of living things). What about plants
and trees? (link this to the list of living things
also).
Watch the video The Needs of a Plant on
YouTube. Then discuss if it is living or nonliving.
Then talk about the plants needs is it is a
living thing? Does it link up to our list? Get
students to colour in picture parts of a plant
to show all its needs.
Conclusion

Students are concentrating on their

work and listening to the teacher,
keeping up with the class.
Students are considering these
questions and listening to teacher
and video intently. Students are
colouring in plant quickly.

Students are thinking and coming

up with questions that they want to
know by the end of this unit.

Students grasp an idea about the

poster we are creating as a class.

Talk about our unit again and tell the students

that they will be finding out about a living
thing; animal or plant. Walk through what we
want to know about living things (this is a new
concept for Foundation so prompting may be
needed). Model this together, and then do
think, pair, share to brainstorm some ideas.
Ask students to share what they were talking
about in their pairs. Teacher writes down on
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Teachers resources: What a pet needs worksheet x20, parts of a plant

worksheetx20, taking care of a dog YouTube video, the needs of a plant
YouTube video, the living things song.
Catering for inclusion: as there is a lot to get done, this will be highly teacher
based, students are to listen to teacher. They will have support from the teacher.
Students resources: colouring pencils and crayons.
Learning space set-up: Student desks are groups of 4-6. Space at the front of the
room for class to sit for class discussions.

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Petpep. (2015). Looking after your puppy. Retrieved from

http://petpep.ava.com.au/sites/default/files/documents/Other/looking_after_your_puppy_0.pdf
YouTube video
Doubledopio. (2014). Taking care of a dog with Camille Court. Found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=GxOUXnYJ118
Harry Kindergarten Music. (2014). The Needs of a Plant (song for kids about 5 things plants need to stay
alive). Found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUBIQ1fTRzI

ESL printables. (2015). Parts of a Plant. Retrieved from http://www.eslprintables.com/printable.asp?

id=553402

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