Hi everyone,
I would like to welcome you all to our class for this year, 6B. I think it is important to keep you updated on our class topics, so that you can be involved and engaged in the learning process. This is important so that students can share their ideas and opinions with you at home. You can support your child by engaging in conversations and reinforcing what they have been learning, and also by collaborating with me on their learning experiences and progress. Your involvement will contribute to your child's success (Gerzel-Short, 2018).
The first topic we will focus on in the Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum will be Civics and Citizenship, learning about democracy. This will include the powers and roles that people play in society. It is important for your child to learn about this because they will have a role to play in democracy as members of society (whether it be as simple as voting or a larger role such as a political leader).
Throughout this unit, I will provide students with authentic learning tasks. For example, we will discuss the different powers and roles within our school (school representative council, students, teachers, principal, groundsman, etc.). Authentic learning tasks are important as they allow students to relate the topic to their personal lives which keeps them motivated (Clarke & Pittaway, 2014).
We will then look at this in a broader context and the class will do some research on the different roles people play in society and in the government. This will include creating a local community project (e.g. a car park or playground) and researching how to get this approved (which levels of power/ government to go to). This will allow students to engage in inquiry-based learning. Inquiry-based learning allows students to take responsibility of their own learning (Livingstone, 2004).
Students will be encouraged to employ critical thinking skills by engaging in class debates and voting systems. Critical thinking skills are important as they allow students to "recognise or develop an argument, use evidence in support of that argument, draw reasoned conclusions, and use information to solve problems" (ACARA, 2019). I will start by focusing on topics that are less controversial. For example, we will have a class debate about liking/ disliking apples and vote on whether we should have apples at school. This will lead into discussions about what it means to vote, the responsibility of voting, and whether it is fair. I will ask questions such as: "do you think because you don't like apples, it is fair to stop others from eating them?". I will gradually link this to more controversial issues (e.g. changing Australia Day date) and discuss the importance of opinions and values in the voting process. Introducing controversial issues to students allows them to develop communication skills, high-level thinking, problem solving, questioning and a global view point (Copur & Demirel, 2016).
I look forward to getting to know you all and working with your children this year.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
[ACARA]. (2016). The Australian
Curriculum: Foundation to Year 10 Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences:
Year 6. (Version 8.3). Sydney, NSW. Retrieved
from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2019). General
Capabilities: Critical
and Creative Thinking. Sydney, NSW. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/critical-and-creative-thinking/
Copur, A., & Demirel, M. (2016). Turkish Social Studies
Teachers' Thought about the Teaching of Controversial Issues. Journal
of Social Science Education, 15(2), 80-95. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=erin&AN=EJ1118118&site=ehost-live
Dsouza, J. (2016). Inquiry Based Learning. Retrieved from https://medium.com/innovative-learning/based-learning-9-ibl-inquiry-based-learning-89770af4babc
Gerzel-Short, L. Igerzelshort2@niu. Ed. (2018). “We Conquered This Together”:
Tier 2 Collaboration With Families. School
Community Journal, 28(2), 85-112. Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=134813992&site=eds-live
Livingstone, K. (Ed.). (2004). The intersection of inquiry,
values and civics and citizenship education within SOSE. Curriculum
Matters, 3(1). Retrieved from
https://login.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsaed&AN=rmitplus133846&site=eds-live
Marsh, C., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh’s
becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.
Smith, D. (2018). Make It Meaningful To Me: Authentic
Learning For Students. Retrieved from https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/make-it-meaningful-to-me-authentic-learning-for-students/
Social Circle City Schools. (2019). Parent Engagement. Retrieved from http://www.socialcircleschools.com/3/Content2/20272
The Balance. (2019). Top Five Critical Thinking Skills.
Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/critical-thinking-definition-with-examples-2063745
