South Australian Birds
Unit Plan
Description
As part of a unit of work on South Australian birds, students will chose a bird to research in detail, using the web resources provided on this web site, which has been designed for the purpose. They will use a Data Collection Grid template constructed in Publisher in which to paste notes copied from the web. They will use these notes to produce a Bird Fact Sheet using a template constructed in Publisher. All instructions, are provided on the website and are also available as downloadable PDF files to facilitate offline access. An Activity List, an Evaluation Rubric, and a 
Self-Assessment Sheet are also downloadable. The unit is aligned with the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework and both 
Specific Learning Objectives and Detailed Learning Outcomes are available as PDF files, as are the Evaluation Criteria.
 
Subject Areas 
Science, English, Design and Technology
 
Year Level
Year levels 3 and 4 Curriculum Standard 2
 
Prerequisites
The following are some prerequisites:
  • Some prior learning about birds
  • Prior experience using the Internet and a DTP package
  • Experience in copying and pasting text and moving between several documents
  • Ability to save and retrieve files
Learning Objectives - (aligned with SACSA Frameworks)
The learning objectives are as follows:
  • Specific
  • Detailed
    • Resources Required
    The following are the resources required:
    Teaching and Learning Activities
    Following some prior learning about birds, students are introduced to the website, the assignment and the evaluation tasks. The Activities List and the Rubric are printed and discussed so that students are clear about how their work will be assessed.
    • Activity 1 is introduced and students select their bird and are reminded how to use a web browser. They read and become familiar with the information on the sites provided for their birds.
    • Activity 2 is introduced and students download the Publisher 

      • Data Collection Grid template and print the instruction sheet. The teacher explains or reminds students how to save their document and how to copy and paste the notes. The students refer to the instruction notes when necessary.
    • Activity 3 is introduced and students cluster their notes, deleting and cutting and pasting when necessary.
    • Activity 4 is introduced and the factors that affect readability and comprehension are discussed. As there are many similarities between the factors that affect readbility on the the page and on the screen, in this instance for convenience, students will examine and discuss the on-screen examples given on the website, including the good example of the Weebill Fact Sheet using the focussing questions provided. A sheet of Desktop Publishing Tips may be printed for reference. Students download the Bird Fact Sheet template and are introduced to its structure and format. They are introduced or reminded about the Publisher tools they will need to use, and enter the information about their birds into the appropriate text frames.
    • Following the completion of their Bird Fact Sheets, students visit the 

      • Evaluation Page and print the Self-Assessment Sheets  to complete.
    • The final task on the Conclusion Page provides students with an overview of what they have learnt and provides some links to birds' websites for further exploration and investigation. There are also some quizzes and other bird related activities to try.
    Assessment
    Students are assessed according to the criteria on the Evaluation Rubric that they download from the website prior to commecncing the unit of work. This matches the teacher's Assessment Criteria Sheet on which teachers may record student achievement. The assessment tasks are as follows.
  • Data Collection Grid
  • Bird Fact Sheet
  • Self-Assessment Sheet
    •  

    © 2000 Jackie Miers
    bobandco@health.on.net
    		November,  2000