Making judgements Achievement standard In this unit, assessment of student learning aligns to the following components of the Year 6 achievement standard. By the end of Year 6, students compare and classify different of observable changes to materials. They analyse requirements for the transfer of electricity and describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another to generate electricity. They explain how natural events cause rapid change to the Earth’s surface. They describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. Students explain how scientific knowledge is used in decision- making and identify contributions to the development of science by people from a range of cultures. Students follow procedures to develop investigable questions and design investigations into simple cause-and-effect relationships. They identify variables to be changed and measured and describe potential safety risks when planning methods. They collect, organise and interpret their data, identifying where improvements to their methods or research could improve the data. They describe and analyse relationships in data using graphic representations and construct multi-modal texts to communicate ideas, methods and findings. Guide for making judgements See Resource section: Resource 10 for the Student task sheet and the Guide for making judgements for the assessment task: Let’s go fishing - information placemat for a restaurant.
Teaching sequence Lesson 1: Fishing stories Duration: 50 minutes Suggested learning sequence Introduction – Fishing stories Show students an or footage of someone catching a fish. Ask students to share their fishing experiences. They can also share experiences of other family members or friends if they have don't have much fishing experience. Ask students to write their stories as short, illustrated stories as a part of a class display. Activity – Class discussion Have a discussion with students what they know about fish and fishing e.g. different fish and their features, where fish live, the survival needs of fish, rules for fishing and reasons for fishing rules. The following questions could be used as a guide: What do you know about the fish you catch? What different fish do you know of? What are the common features of fish? What do fish need to survive? Where do different fish live? do you catch fish? Do you have a favourite fishing spot? Why do people go fishing? What different types of fishing are there? Do you know any rules for fishing? Why do we have rules? Start a class or individual TWHL chart to record students’ knowledge (T) and questions (W) about fish and fishing. You can add to this chart throughout the unit (See Resource 1 – TWLH chart for individual charts). For example: T What we think we know about fish and fishing practises W What we want to learn about fish and fishing practises L What we learned about fish and fishing practises H How we know (scientific understanding) Note: Information added to this TWLH chart can be organised under headings such as types of fish, fish life cycles, survival needs of fish, fish habitats, fishing methods and fishing rules. Start a word wall to continuously add to throughout the unit. (See Resource 2 – Word bank for examples of vocabulary). This should be displayed in a place where students can add to it each lesson. It may be done in alphabetical order or on moveable cards so that students can interact with the words and sort them into categories as they progress throughout the unit. Have students a science journal to record their learning and reflections after each science lesson. (See Resource 3 – Student reflections for
Lesson 3–5: Fish research Duration: 2 30 minutes Suggested learning sequence Introduction – Fish and features Ask students if they know what fish need to survive. They should know the basics of all living things and may identify other things specific to fish. (If you have set up a class aquarium, use this to stimulate ideas.) Together, list the basic needs for a fish to survive and grow. Examples: Oxygen: Fish live in water and need oxygen to survive which is in the water and absorbed via their gills. Food: The aquatic (water) habitats fish live in must provide them with food. Shelter: The aquatic habitat must provide the fish with shelter/places to hide and breed. Water type: The water must be the right type for the particular fish e.g. fresh water, salt water or estuarine. Water conditions: The water must be at the right temperature for the fish and be at the right quality e.g. clean versus polluted. Show different pictures of fish to discuss their common features and how they are used to help the fish survive in their habitats. Ask students if they know how fish breathe in water and obtain oxygen. Use pictures or YouTube clips of fish breathing, showing the gills. Discuss this with students and clarify any questions. (If you have created a class aquarium, students can directly observe fish breathing and the movement of the gills). Have students draw a picture of a fish and label the external features of a fish including the gills. Note: Students will need to use this learning about fish breathing and gills when they draw conclusions about the pollution tank experiment in lesson 6. Activity – Fish research Explain to students that they are going to conduct research into different types of fish and how they live and survive in their environments. Ask students to identify specific fish species they may know about. Show pictures in books or on the Internet of different types of fish e.g. seahorses, coral trout and whale sharks. Ask students if they can identify why a seahorse, a coral trout and a whale shark are all fish, but a dolphin is not. If students are not sure, make one of the questions they need to research in their investigation – What makes a fish a fish? As a come up with a list of questions students could investigate to find out more about different fish. Some questions might be: What makes a fish a fish? What fish are found in our local area?
Add new to the word wall (See Resource 2 – Word bank for examples of vocabulary). Students add their learning and reflections to their science journal (See Resource 3 – Student reflections for examples of sentence starters you can use to guide student reflections). Opportunities to monitor student learning Resources
Resource 1 – TWLH chart Name: __________________________ T What we THINK we know about fish and fishing practises W What we WANT to about fish and fishing practises L What we LEARNED about fish and fishing practises H HOW we know (scientific understandings)
Resource 4 – How biodegradable is your rubbish? From Pocket guide to marine debris, 2003, The Ocean Conservancy adapted from U.S. National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FL and “Garbage In, Garbage Out,” Audubon magazine, Sept/Oct 1998. Item Timeline Banana peel 2 – 5 weeks 6 weeks Apple core 2 months Waxed milk carton 3 months butt 1 – 5 Plastic bag 10 – 20 years Nylon fabric 30 – 40 can 80 – 200 years Baby’s nappy 450 years Plastic drink bottles 450 years Fishing line 600 Glass bottle 1 million years
Fishing log Fishers: _____________________________________ Name of reef area: ___________________________ Season (round) Types of fishing in the group Fish in ocean before (popcorn on plate before) Fish caught (popcorn in cups) Bycatch (popcorn dropped) Fish left in ocean (popcorn on after) Fishing rods (number of straws) Trawling (number of spoons) Example 1 Example 4 Example 0 Example 30 Example 14 Example 9 Example 7