Em Holliday

Recommended for grade 1 and above.

I just wrote this unit and have to admit that it is seriously lacking in assessment items (sorry) but otherwise it is a fun little unit. It focuses on procedure texts with an outline for a festival and reports unit included. Students exlpore different festivals around the world, do craft activities inspired by these festivals and then create their own autumn festival. There are also instructions for making a big book which you can do or not. (It only took me a few hours to make by photocopying the pages onto A3 then contacting them.)

Here is the unit outline.

Picture from: http://www.hermann-uwe.de/files/images/leave.preview.jpg

Recommended for years 5 and up.

In this unit the class explores different types of music and create a CD of their faviourite songs. These songs are then used to inspire expression and creation in many music genres.

To have a closer look here is the unit sequence.

Picture from: http://library.thinkquest.org/10764/ThinkQuest/cave1/images/treble.gif

I wrote this unit with my friend Melissa Miller who has since moved back to Perth.

Recommended for grade 5 and up.

In this unit the student explore emotion expressed through colour in art, cubist shapes in art particularly looking at Frank Hinders "Bomber Crash" (pictured). They also look at line and tone inEdvard Munch's "The Scream". The student then work on their own emotionally expressive piece of art in the medium of egg tempura which "Bomber Crash" was created with.

Here is the lesson sequence.

Picture from: http://www.awm.gov.au/sharedexperience/enlarge.asp?cat=5&painting=11

I wrote this with my friend Melissa Miller as well.

Recommended for grades 4 and above.

This in an in depth language analysis of the chapter "The Boggart in the Wardrobe" from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling. It uses a scaffolding literacy sequence supports students to anaylise a text which would otherwise be too difficult for them to read. It may sound a bit funny to do a chatper in the middle of a book but it could work very well if scaffolded appropriately.

Here is the lesson sequence.

Picture from: http://www.impawards.com/2004/posters/harry_potter_and_the_prisoner_of_azkaban.jpg

I know many beginning teachers have trouble coming up with a lesson plate template.

Here are the templates I use for lesson plans as well as unit overviews.

Lesson Plan Guide: Created by lecturers at The University of Canberra

Blank lesson Sequence: For sequencing a unit of work - simply add and alter the columns as you need them.

Blank Lesson template A: Given to me by a teacher many years ago, simple and useful, good for P.E.

Blank lesson template B: More involved template with room for outcomes and indicators, I use this one much more these days.

Picture from: http://teachline.ls.huji.ac.il/72682/tutorials/tetracyclin/Thinking.jpg

If you are trying to write your portfolio or e-portfolio here are some links I've found useful while I've been researching how to write portfolios.

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial038.shtml

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/SUSE/projects/ireport/articles/e-portfolio/Creating%20a%20Web-Based%20Electronic%20Portfolio%20System.pdf

http://www.uvm.edu/pt3/site06/davis_waggett.doc

http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/brisbane05/blogs/proceedings/60_Pelliccione.pdf

http://elgg.net/bwerdmuller/files/61/178/ePortfolio_Weblog.pdf

Picture from: http://www.olivedesign.com/images/portfolio_photo.jpg

I wrote this unit with my friend Amanda Miller.

Recommended for grade 3 and up.

This unit explores the effects of global warming on the Great Barrier Reef. Students research and discuss the effects of global warming on the GBR, create a poster about it and even get to grow some coral of their own! This was one of the first units I wrote and so is rather basic but might be a useful jumping board for a more involved unit. It also includes an excursion to The National Zoo and Aquarium although you could of course go to any aquarium.

Here is the unit sequence.

Picture from: http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0604/sun_coral_914pm.jpg