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The Meaning of a Name: looking at the practical implications of the Australian Curriculum.

Rachel Abercrombie & Alice Kelly

Teachers teach according to themes set by the Head of English.

Each theme has specific Subject descriptors allocated to be covered.

Used planning documents from QLD.

Implementing the AC

Themes were set up to support content of the Pearson Textbooks that the school chose to use to support student learning.

Each term has two themes (a shorter and longer unit)

The themes are all covered by each teacher throughout the year but when they are covered varies to take the pressure off resources

C:\Users\amk\Documents\Australian Curriculum\Implementation Plan.docx

Implementing the AC

Knowing we wanted to create units around a theme we needed to work out how to then go about planning

A big concern was how we could keep track of what Content Descriptors were being covered to ensure each teacher covers all Year 8 descriptors with their classes

Setting up a template for planning units was difficult at first, but much easier after finding the documents that QLD shared.

Planning documents

Australian Curriculum and resources webpage

Planning documents-QSA website.

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/13655.html

Year Planner Template

Planning documents-QSA website.

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/13655.html

Year Planner Template

Planning documents-QSA website.

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/13655.html

Year Planner Template

Planning documents-QSA website.

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/13655.html

QLD information was incredibly helpful, particularly looking at their sample plans and units

We based our documentation on theirs as their templates were available online.

Planning documents

Pros Cons• Clear planning• Easy to see what content

descriptors have been covered

• Clear outcomes for students

• Easy tracking of cross-curriculum priorities

• Clear focus on student needs and includes a specific section for differentiation

• Encourages collaboration between staff and reflection on the units

• QLD templates look at bridging between years which will help with longer term planning

• Filling out the documentation can be time consuming

• The language that is used seems to be complicated (some of this is just the change in terminology for some states)

• Units are time consuming- we really didn’t have enough hours in the week to cover what we’d planned so we need to readjust this next year.

• Themes for each term problematic- didn’t always work to cover the content descriptors in the most effective way, not only in the unit, but for creating a fluid and coherent year.Planning documents

Planning documents

We used the implementation plan shown earlier in conjunction with the unit plans to create a Year Plan for each teacher- this would ensure that each teacher covers each content descriptor more than once to help students achieve the outcomes set by ACARA.

Implementation Plan Unit Plans Year Plan

Putting it into practice:The Etymology Unit

4-5 week etymology unit (originally a 3 week unit, but in practice to cover with adequate depth for students we discovered more time was needed).

Content Descriptors Understand the influence and impact that the English language has

had on other languages or dialects and how English has been influenced in return (ACELA1540)

Understand how conventions of speech adopted by communities influence the identities of people in those communities (ACELA1541)

Analyse and explain how language has evolved over time and how technology and the media have influenced language use and forms of communication (ACELY1729)

Putting it into practice:The Etymology Unit

Unit plan ..\Australian Curriculum\Etymology\Year 8 unit etymology.docx Teacher guide- outlines resources and work to

be completed..\Australian Curriculum\Etymology\Etymology Unit Booklet for Teachers.docx

Before and After

Etymology

Etymology

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

30

I know what etymology is

I know what etymology is

Greek or Latin Roots

Greek or Latin Roots

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

30

I know at least 10 Greek or Latin roots of English words

I know at least 10 Greek or Latin roots of English words

Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes and Suffixes

Before After20.5

21

21.5

22

22.5

23

23.5

24

24.5

25

25.5

I know what prefixes and suffixes are

I know what prefixes and suffixes are

Etymology

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

30

I feel confident guessing meanings of words by studying the etymology

I feel confident guessing mean-ings of words by studying the etymology

History of the English Language

History of the English Language

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

30

I can describe several factors that have influenced English over several hundred

years

I can describe several factors that have influenced English over sev-eral hundred years

History of the English Language

History of the English Language

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I can name the four main periods of the history of English and the dates they

roughly correspond to

I can name the four main periods of the history of English and the dates they roughly correspond to

Early texts

Early texts

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I can name two important texts from early in the history of English

I can name two important texts from early in the history of English

Language Change

Language Change

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I can explain a historical and a modern example of abbreviation and why it is used

I can explain a historical and a modern example of abbreviations and why it is used

Aussie Slang

Aussie Slang

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

30

I can explain what Australian slang is and give some examples

I can explain what Australian slang is and give some examples

Onomastics

Onomastics

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I know what onomastics is

I know what onomastics is

Last names

Last names

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I can name the four ways last names are generated

I can name the four ways last names are generated

Name facts

Name facts

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I can explain how naming is different in dif -ferent countries

I can explain how naming is dif -ferent in different countries

Variations in language

Variations in language

Before After0

5

10

15

20

25

I can talk about my own language use and its influences

I can talk about my own language use and its influences

What we’ve found along the way…

Everything has taken longer than we anticipated Most of the content descriptors have clauses that make it

necessary to specifically plan how they will be included in the course work, being complacent won’t help

Some states/schools seem to be doing fewer units, but including lots of activities and depth to help meet the course requirements- something worth considering

Questions?

Some places we found resources for this unit: TES

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Etymology-Booklet-6013121/

Teach it http://www.teachit.co.uk/attachments/11985.pdf

Books with activities already planned.

References