ICT

Assignment 2
Based on your plan, you will develop a package of material showcasing how you will apply
ICT (technology and pedagogy) for teaching a thematic topic that covers at least two
curriculum areas. This package will include information for the teacher, notes, examples of
application and ICT artifacts. [note: these resources will not normally count in the word
length]. In addition to these resources you need to present an overview of the teaching
and lesson plans (approx 500 words). Additionally, you need to provide a brief overview
document of approximately 1500 words introducing, describing and justifying your
approaches. The word length in this task is indicative. You should use this assignment as
an opportunity to develop a set of useful resources to support your teaching.

Unit Overview:

Humanities and Social Sciences / 710 Geography / Year 7 /

Geographical Knowledge and Understanding / Unit 1: Water in
the world / ACHGK037

Classification of environmental resources and the forms that water

takes as a resource
classifying resources into renewable, non-renewable and continuous
resources, and investigating examples of each type
describing how water is an available resource when it is
groundwater, soil moisture (green water), and surface water in
dams, rivers and lakes (blue water), and a potential resource when
it exists as salt water, ice or water vapour

Science / Year 7 / Science as a Human Endeavour / Nature and

development of science / ACSHE223

Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the

disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range
of cultures

considering how water use and management relies on knowledge

from different areas of science, and involves the application of
technology

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Curriculum Links:
Learning Area
English Year 7

Mathematics Year
7

Mathematics Year
7

Mathematics Year
7

Mathematics Year
7

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Curriculum Strand

Understand the way

language evolves to
reflect a changing world,
particularly in response to
the use of new
technology for presenting
texts and communicating
(ACELA1528)
Identify and investigate
issues involving
numerical data collected
from primary and
secondary sources
(ACMSP169)
Construct and compare a
range of data displays
including stem-and-leaf
plots and dot plots
(ACMSP170)
Calculate mean, median,
mode and range for sets
of data. Interpret these
statistics in the context of
data (ACMSP171)
Describe and interpret
data displays using
median, mean and range
(ACMSP172)

Writing
scientific
reports, notes
and
presentation of
information

Collecting raw
data

Collecting raw
data

Collecting raw
data

Collecting raw
data

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Lesson Overview
Engage

Students analyse a media article Adelaide facing a dry

future. Use a TWLH (What we think we know, What we
want to know, What we learnt and how we learnt it) chart
and a word wall are used to track learning in this unit.
ICT Integration: use of media article
Explore
Students complete simple activities which introduce focus
questions such as:
Where does the rain come from?
How does water move through our area?
What happens to water when it evaporates?
What is a flow chart and why is it useful?
How old is our water?
What is a catchment?
What is our catchment?
Is water a renewable resource?
ICT Integration: Google earth looking at catchments
Google search of renewable resources
Explain
Students share their ideas and, The class adds their new
ideas to the Lwhat have we learned and Hhow we
learned it columns of the TWLH chart.
ICT Integration: You tube video The private life of plants
Elaborate Students apply their ideas about condensation and
evaporation to explain how a solar still works. They
consolidate their ideas about the water cycle in the local
catchment by devising a movie about the journeys that a
water molecule can take through the water cycle in the
catchment.
ICT Integration: Movie creation
Evaluate In this assessment task students explicitly demonstrate
their understanding of the water cycle by applying their
ideas to their local catchment. Students reflect on their
learning so far and revisit the questions that they asked
in the Engage phase about the media article and
complete the TWLH chart. They revise their
understanding of the words on the word wall chart.
You show students a video presentation by Louise
Alexander, who effectively explains each area of the
Framework for a student audience.
https://8ways.wikispaces.com/Cultural+Analysis+Tool
Table 1: 5 Es explained adapted from Water for Life 2013

Water journeys
The first part of this unit focuses on the natural water cycle and movement of
water in the catchment or catchments, including the catchment responsible for
a local drinking water supply.
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Engage (Lesson 1)
Analysing a media article
1. To set a real-world context for this unit, students analyse a media article
such as that highlights some of the difficulties of supplying safe drinking water
to residents during floods and other natural disasters. The article can be found
at http://theconversation.com/adelaide-is-facing-a-dry-future-it-needs-to-startplanning-now-37750
To start, display the title of the article and ask students to predict what they
think the media article is about. Ask students to identify any words or phrases
that are unfamiliar to them and to predict which words in the article are
scientific words.
2. Discuss the words and phrases in the article, particularly the science-related
phrases, and summarise the story.
3. Ask students a series of true or false questions about the information solely
in the article.
4. Using a think-pair-share strategy, students list questions about the water
story in the media article.
a. Identify the problems facing the community. Problems could include:
b. What solutions are required? Solutions could include:
c. Who would be needed to solve the problems?

Teacher Notes: In a think-pairshare activity, students spend

some time individually thinking
about and recording their ideas.
They then share their ideas with
a partner and decide on the list
for their pair. Two pairs of
students form teams of four to
develop a team list.

Eliciting student prior knowledge about the topic is an important part of the
unit. Identify alternative ideas and misconceptions that the students have
about the topic which will enable you to design learning experiences that
prompt the students to question their ideas and to build new conceptual
frameworks.
TWLH chart
5. Begin a TWLH chart by asking students what they think they know already
about the water story in their local area. The focus questions listed in the
Explore phase below could be used as prompts. Students can add questions in
the What do we need to know column. You could suggest some additional
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questions such as How old is our water?.

Word wall
6. Begin a word wall chart to record the new words for this unit. Divide the
chart into two columnseveryday words and scientific words.

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Explore (Lesson 2 & Lesson 3)

Students will complete activities to explore ideas about the water story in
your area. Some examples of focus questions for the Explore activities include:
Where
does the rain
come from?
How does
water move
through our
area?
What is a
flow chart
and how do
we design
one?
What
happens to
water when
it
evaporates?
How old is
our water?
Source: Hunt J & Thrupp R. (2008). Conversations about science. Central Queensland University: Bundaberg.

What is a
catchment?
What is our catchment?

Explore phase activities include:

What is a catchment? What is our catchment? How does water move through
our area? Group activity
Use Google Earth, Google Maps or aerial photos to track where your local
waterway comes from and where it goes. Other ideas from the Year 6 and 7
Water: Learn it for life! resources include: Creating a Google Map of your
catchment containing images of key features taken by students.

Clapping time
1. One way to understand how long different periods of time take to pass is to
use hand claps. We can represent the passing of each year by one clap of the
hands every second. Ask a student to volunteer his or her age. The class claps
it out. Clap out the ages of two or three students.
2. Europeans landed in Australia 240 years ago. How long will it take to clap out
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240 years that Europeans have been settled in Australia? How long is 240
seconds? If there are 60 seconds in a minute, how many minutes in 240
seconds? [4 minutes]
3. Aboriginal people have been in Australia for at least 60,000 years. If there
are 60 seconds in a minute, how many minutes are there in 60,000?[1000
minutes] If there are 60 minutes in an hour, how many hours would it take to
clap out 60,000 years? [about 16.7 hours]
4. Geologists think that the Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. The
heat generated from the Earths core caused massive eruptions from huge
volcanoes, releasing gases into a primitive atmosphere; one of these gases was
water vapour. By about 3.8 billion years ago, the Earth cooled to below 100
Degrees C and the water vapour in the atmosphere condensed forming the
seas and oceans we have today. If 3.8 billion years is 3,800,000,000 years, how
many hours would you have to clap out 3,800,000,000? [about 120 years]

Is water a renewable resource? Group activity

In groups, students use print and electronic references (internet or online
library catalogue) to devise their own definition for renewable and nonrenewable resources. They use their definition to decide if water is a renewable
or non-renewable resource and justify their position in a whole-class discussion.

Explain (Lesson 4 & Lesson 5)

Students share their ideas and, with teacher help, negotiate an understanding
of the focus questions explored in the previous phase. Students review their
ideas from Year 6 about what happens to water as it changes state from ice to
liquid to vapour. Students recall how water moves through their catchment.
Discuss how much of the water enters the catchment as rain. Discuss where
the rain that falls in your catchment comes fromhow clouds condense from
water vapour formed by evaporation from water bodies and via transpiration in
plants. Apply these abstract ideas to your local environment as much as
possible. Discuss the fact that the water cycle takes place on a scale that is
much larger than just one catchment.

Teacher Notes: When using models and analogies, be sure to encourage

students to evaluate the model using questions such as: what are the benefits
of using the model; what are the limitations of using the model; why do
scientists use models?

Students review their ideas about what water is and how it behaves when it
changes state from ice to liquid to water vapour. To understand how water
behaves, students first need a mental picture of a water molecule. Teachers
can introduce (or review) the idea that water is made of minute water
molecules and create physical models of water molecules using plasticine, for
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instance. Why are water molecules sticky? One end of the water molecule has
a slight positive charge and the other end of the water molecule has a slight
negative charge. What happens when two water molecules come close
together? How would they line up? Students can demonstrate their ideas with
their plasticine models.

Teacher Notes: When introducing the idea that water is made of molecules,
dont emphasise the idea that a water molecule is made of two hydrogen
atoms and one oxygen atom. It is useful for students to have a workable idea
about how water molecules behave when they are heated and change state
before they are introduced to the idea that the water molecule is made of
atoms. Otherwise, some students gain the misconception that water molecules
break into their component atoms when they change state. The idea that a
water molecule has a positive charge at one end and a negative charge on the
other end explains why water seems to be sticky; but it doesnt explain what
happens when water changes state from a liquid to a gas. The learning object
Matter and evaporation (TLF1490) can be used to observe how water
molecules behave when water changes state.

Revisit the concept cartoons.

The movement of water through plants from the roots and then out of the
leaves (transpiration) is another component in the water cycle. While students
dont need to know exactly how this occurs, it can be useful to show them.
Show students the six minute long David Attenborough segment from The
private life of plants which graphically demonstrates how water moves through
plants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqjH68XO2Ps
Finally, link these ideas back to the students experience of the water cycle in
their local area.
For instance:
Where does the rain come from?
What are the distinctive features of your catchment?
How does water flow through your catchment?
Where does it evaporate?
Where does the energy come from to power the movement of water and the
water cycle?
Where does it condense?
What kinds of vegetation are in your catchment? How does water move
through the vegetation?

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Focus on the natural aspects of the water cycle without human impacts.
Students will explore the human elements of the water cycle in the second part
of the unit. The class adds their new ideas to the Lwhat have we learned
and Hhow we learned it columns of the TWLH chart.

Is water a renewable resource?

A class discussion about whether water is a renewable resource provides an
opportunity to highlight the idea that there can be many right answers to a
question depending on the way the term is defined and the particular focus of
interest.

Teacher Notes: For instance, if a renewable resource is defined as a resource

that is renewed or replenished by natural processes, then water on Earth could
be regarded as a renewable resource. If the focus of the discussion, however, is
on local drinking water supplies, it could be argued that water is a nonrenewable resource as it is possible to deplete these resources. The discussion
is also useful for addressing some of the sustainability organising ideas by
highlighting the importance of conserving water supplies and maintaining the
health of local water ways.

Elaborate (Lesson 6, Lesson 7)

Waters incredible journeys movie
Students consolidate their ideas about the natural water cycle in their local
catchment by devising a movie about the journeys that a water molecule can
take through the water cycle.
1. Ask students to identify the different places that a water molecule can go as
it moves through and around the Earth. Discuss the idea that the movement of
water depends on energy from the Sun and on gravity. Also discuss the idea
that the water molecule may not go anywhere for a very long timefor
instance, when the water is contained in a confined aquifer.
2. Students will record & create a movie explaining the water cycle by setting
up stations that represent places that a water molecule can take as it moves
through the water cycle. The stations for this activity are: clouds, rivers, ocean,
animals, plants, lakes, soil and aquifers. Divide students into six groups and
assign each group at least one station. The rivers group is also responsible for
the ocean station and the animals group is also responsible for plants
station.

Evaluate (Lesson 8)
In a class discussion following the movie presentations, each group lists all
possible destinations that a water molecule could go to after it leaves their
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10

particular station.

Teacher Notes: For instance, from the cloud the water molecule can move to
the lake or the river or the soil or the ocean. Students can refer to water cycle
diagrams or posters for additional ideas for possible water molecule
destinations. Each group then justifies their ideas about the possible
destinations that a water molecule might have from their stations. A list of
possible destinations from each water cycle station could be:

Station
Clouds
Rivers
Ocean
Animals
Plants
Lakes
Soil
Aquifers

Destination
Rivers, ocean, soil, lakes
Ocean, animals, plants, aquifers,
clouds, soil
Clouds, plants
Soil
Clouds
Clouds, soil, aquifers
Clouds, aquifers, plants
Rivers, soil, plants, oceans, lakes

Table 2: Water destinations for lesson 8

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Wes Parker Overview

This unit is on Water Journey for year seven students covers both the science
curriculum (ACSHE223) and the geography curriculum (ACHGK037) part of the
Australian Curriculum standards. The unit is based on the natural water cycle
and movement of water in the catchment or catchments, including the
catchment responsible for a local drinking water supply. This unit covers eight
50min lessons. Students use the five es science enquiry process to learn and
analyse local catchment and water supplies. The five es scientific method
model is based on the following stages engage, explore, explain, elaborate and
evaluate. I personally enjoy and find this scientific method of learning very
enjoyable. It gives the students a consistent structure for their science
methodology.
ICT has been incorporated into each stage of the five e processes. Lesson one
uses a newspaper article, lesson two and three incorporates Google Earth and
Google Maps, and this can be utilized on an interactive whiteboard. A Google
search of renewable sources extends students learning and students can
stretch their learning. Lesson four and five incorporates ICT through an
interesting video the private life of plants. Lesson six and seven is the
pinnacle of this unit of work, where students can create a movie based on the
water catchment in their own local area. This is where students can use their
creative skills in making their own video and at the same time illustrate their
learning on the water journey topic. Throughout the lessons teachers may
utilize the interactive white board with classroom discussions.
Students are then able to evaluate and reflect on their learning. Students
during this unit are also able to use their creative skills in producing short
movie documentation on their local catchment system.
The website has been created using a Weebly account has been developed to
be a comprehensive resource that can be used to assist teaching. Students can
move through progressive lessons that include curriculum subjects literacy,
science, mathematics and geography.

Teacher notes per lesson:

Lesson 1: The think pair share activity students need to individually do their
task, then students share, then two pairs of students form a team to develop a
list to then discuss infront of the class. Eliciting student prior knowledge about
the topic is an important part of the unit. Identify alternative ideas and
misconceptions that the students have about the topic which will enable you to
design learning experiences that prompt the students to question their ideas
and to build new conceptual frameworks
Lesson 2 & Lesson 3: this lesson begins looking at local catchments;
therefore the teacher will need to research catchments in their local area. The
teacher may get some curly questions from students asking questions. These
questions can be put to the side, and researched the answer and discuss if time
permits. This will assist in extending the students learning. The teacher will
need to be prepared to answer the following questions when students answer
these questions, where does the rain come from? How does water move
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12

through our area? What is a flow chart and how do we design one? What
happens to water when it evaporates? How old is our water? What is a
catchment?
The teacher will need to be prepared to use Google Earth and Google Maps
when students are going to track down local waterways. Childrens safety when
conducing this research is vital.
Lesson 4 & Lesson 5: During lesson 4 students will share their ideas in a
classroom discussion. The question that the teacher needs to discuss is how
much of the water enters the catchment as rain. Discuss where the rain that
falls in your catchment comes fromhow clouds condense from water vapour
formed by evaporation from water bodies. Teachers will need to bring back the
discussion by the fact that the water cycle takes place on a scale that is much
larger than just one catchment.
Teachers need to note that when using models and analogies, be sure to
encourage students to evaluate the model using questions such as: what are
the benefits of using the model; what are the limitations of using the model;
why do scientists use models?
When introducing the idea that water is made of molecules, dont emphasise
the idea that a water molecule is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen
atom. It is useful for students to have a workable idea about how water
molecules behave when they are heated and change state before they are
introduced to the idea that the water molecule is made of atoms. Otherwise,
some students gain the misconception that water molecules break into their
component atoms when they change state. The idea that a water molecule has
a positive charge at one end and a negative charge on the other end explains
why water seems to be sticky; but it doesnt explain what happens when
water changes state from a liquid to a gas.
Teachers will need to have watched this video the private life of plants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqjH68XO2Ps. It is a great video narrated
by David Attenborough.
A classroom discussion using the interactive whiteboard can finally, link these
ideas back to the students experience of the water cycle in their local area.
Teachers can ask the following questions, Where does the rain come from?
What are the distinctive features of your catchment? How does water flow
through your catchment? Where does it evaporate? Where does the energy
come from to power the movement of water and the water cycle? Where does
it condense? What kinds of vegetation are in your catchment? How does water
move through the vegetation?
Teachers need to focus on the natural aspects of the water cycle without
human impacts. Students will explore the human elements of the water cycle in
the second part of the unit. The class adds their new ideas to the Lwhat have
we learned and Hhow we learned it columns of the TWLH chart.
A class discussion about whether water is a renewable resource provides an
opportunity to highlight the idea that there can be many right answers to a
question depending on the way the term is defined and the particular focus of
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13

interest.
For the classroom discussion the teacher needs to note, if a renewable resource
is defined as a resource that is renewed or replenished by natural processes,
then water on Earth could be regarded as a renewable resource. If the focus of
the discussion, however, is on local drinking water supplies, it could be argued
that water is a non-renewable resource as it is possible to deplete these
resources. The discussion is also useful for addressing some of the
sustainability organising ideas by highlighting the importance of conserving
water supplies and maintaining the health of local water ways. This will provide
a detailed classroom discussion that students can learn and build on their
individual learning.

Lesson 6 & Lesson 7: Students can now consolidate their ideas about the
natural water cycle in their local catchment by devising a movie about the
journeys that a water molecule can take through the water cycle. Students can
shoot their video using their own smart phones or digital cameras. Most
computers now have basic editing software that students can use. Students will
need to come up with a basic script before shooting the video. Teachers can
formally assess the movie based on the following criteria.

(4 marks)

(3 marks)

(2 marks)

(1 mark)

(0 marks)

Accuracy

All appropriate
information
included

Most of the water

journey
information
included

Some of the water

journey
information
included

Little to water
journey
information
included.

No attempt to
include water
journey
information.

Presentation

Assignment is
well set out with
headings.
Very good use of
drawings, colour
and font.

Assignment has
some heading.
Good use of
drawings, colour
and font.

Assignment has
headings.
Drawings are
included, different
colours and fonts
are used.

Assignment has a
title. An attempt to
use drawings,
colours and fonts.

No attempt to use
headings. No
attempt to use
drawings, colours
or fonts.

Literacy

Correct spelling
used throughout.
Science words
used very well

Mostly correct
spelling. Good use
of science words.

Some correct
spelling. Some
use of science
words.

Little correct
spelling. Little use
of science words.

Poor spelling. No
attempt to use
science words.

Criteria

Table 3: Criteria to be used to assess movie assignment

Lesson 8: Students can now reflect on their learning and evaluate their own
learning through classroom discussions on the interactive whiteboard. The
teacher needs to note for the evaluation from the cloud the water molecule
can move to the lake or the river or the soil or the ocean. Students can refer to
water cycle diagrams or posters for additional ideas for possible water
molecule destinations.
I recommend that before students attempt to use unfamiliar websites, the
teacher models how to appropriately use the site and state clearly what the
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outcome of the lesson is. I would also recommend familiarizing yourself with
the resources to ensure that you can confidently assist where need be.
This resource presumes that by year 7 students have produced procedural
texts in prior years (ACARA, 2016). This is also a sequential lesson resource to
be used once students have been re-introduced to procedural texts in prior
lessons.
These lesson plans have been adapted from the Queensland Department
Energy and Water Supply Year 7 Water for Life Curriculum Guide.
http://www.upadrygully.com.au/sites/upadrygully.com.au/files/assets/document
s/DEWS%20-%20Year%207%20-%20Water%2C%20learn%20it%20for
%20life.pdf

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References:
Australian Curriculum (2016) Australian Curriculum. Retrieved from:
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10?
layout=1#cdcode=ACSHE223&level=7
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-socialsciences/geography/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
Howell, Jennifer. (2012). Teaching with ICT, digital pedagogies for collaboration
and creativity. Oxford Press, South Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
Queensland State Government (2013) Water for Life. Retrieved from:
http://www.upadrygully.com.au/sites/upadrygully.com.au/files/assets/document
s/DEWS%20-%20Year%207%20-%20Water%2C%20learn%20it%20for
%20life.pdf

Sa Water (2016) Education Website. Retrieved from:

https://www.sawater.com.au/community-and-environment/schools/onlinelearning/apps-and-games

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