To make the year 10 curriculum flexible and trackable and linked to the only thing that doesn't seem to change in our world as teachers it is based off the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC).
It includes the:
Material World
Living World
Physical World and
Planet Earth and Beyond strands.
Each strand in broken into three or four units that align with Level 5 of the NZC (where year 10 learning is supposed to be found). For example the material world strand in year 10 includes:
Atoms
Bonding
Periodic Table and
Fuels, as you can see below.
However to ensure that the year 10 programme is flexible and able to integrate and is thematic, each strand is broken down further into 'units' - the circles above you can see. These circles could be quickly combined together in any combination and linked to any theme.
Above are four year-long programmes that different Year 10 classes could select from at the start of the year. Each Option includes all of the 'units,' but combines them in different ways and in different themes! For example, in Option 1 the first topic is called "Me in New Zealand."
In "Me in New Zealand" students will learn about waves, the geosphere, atoms and genetic variation in the context of themselves and their lives in New Zealand. Together the class can first engage with two different readings; "Christchurch Earthquake Kills 185" and "Ancient DNA."
Let's have a look inside the "Pressure" unit circle..
At the top of each 'unit' page there's links to the NZC and THREE specific learning outcomes (SLO's) listed. Each of these SLO's has a short paragraph introducing it, followed by a video or gif, and a link to the learning activities that support it.
Let's click on the learning activity for SLO2... (if you would like to open it without making a copy, replace the word 'copy' in the URL with the word 'edit').
Ah, here we are. As you can see, it looks very similar! The SLO is listed in the top right corner. All activities to support the SLO are written as "I can" statements to help students articulate what they need to be able to do to achieve each level of SOLO learning. I've tried to build the activities up to support a good understanding of the SLO by the end.
For example, the unistructrual activity just asks students to complete a cartoon about the definitions of mass and weight:
By the end of the activities they'll be busy theorising, creating, analysing or any other Extended Abstract-level task. I've really tried to make extended abstract activities varied to suit different learning styles. Sometimes it's a short story, a video, an interview script, an analysis, a poem, a stop-motion animation, a hand-drawn cartoon, the conclusion of a scientific report, or even a painting of a concept using a selected artist model.
One key idea is that student must provide evidence of their learning back to that one copy of the learning activity that they made. At the start of the week students should share a link to their copy of the learning to a class spreadsheet, as shown below:
Sometimes tasks will lead them off to a website or quiz, and students will be asked to insert screenshots onto that one document/drawing/presentation as evidence. If they make a video or animation the onus is on them to provide a link to that on that one document. That means teachers just have to open provide feedback on just one document/drawing and they can all be found on the one spreadsheet.
Grading is also nice and easy - I just created another sheet behind this first page. Students have access to view this but not edit it.
Also, the spreadsheet lets teachers know when a practical is coming up; the SLO is coloured pale orange.
Finally, a few of the 'units' are a bit different; they're based of the 'Wide and Deep' literacy units designed by Aaron and Naomi. Students engage with multiple texts from multiple perspectives (including a student-selected text on the topic) to more deeply understand a concept. A key word bank is explicitly required. The unit requires group reading and student-led discussions. A DLO is created at the end and shared to blogs.
Here is the link to my site, if anyone wants to visit :) I've linked you straight to Year 10 because Year 9 is only half complete. Once again, if you would like to open any activities without making a copy then replace the word 'copy' in the url with the word 'edit.'
I would appreciate feedback!
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