So Busy....Reports done?

It is that time of the year where every school is SO busy and I hope you have managed to take some time to care for your health and try and enjoy some of the sunshine between the rain.

Hike through History
We have our next History Hike next Tuesday (24th of June 2014). If you would like to come along please email me, there is room! stephen.powell@education.wa.edu.au
It is a half day event (8:30 - 1:00) where you get to visit K-6 classrooms engaging in History lessons. 

SHACC!
We had our last SHACC session at Greenmount PS yesterday and we are keen to see more people come along next term. The dates for the next series are:

Term 3

• 13th August 2014 (Week 4)
• 10th September 2014 (Week 8)

Term 4

• 12th November 2014 (Week 5)

Come along and have a great afternoon with wonderful teachers who share wonderful ideas and information about History in their classroom. Please register on the IPL website. 

Lesson Ideas and Plans
Watch this space for some wonderful lessons created by the TDS staff at Sawyers Valley. These lessons will be added to the 'Hike through History Plans' tab. They will be uploaded before the end of term.

Centra
If you know someone who is looking to participate in an introduction to History professional learning via Centra, please let them know that our next one is on Monday the 30th of June. Please direct them (or you) to the IPL website to register. I hope to virtually see some of you there!

Thank you!
A big thank you to the staff of Mundaring Primary school. we had a great afternoon exploring the History Curriculum with a lot of laughs and a lot of terrific insights! A big thank you also goes out to the staff of Greenmount Primary who explored the resources that are easily available via the portal to support them in their planning for History next semester! Happy 50th Birthday Greenmount PS!

That's all for now!
Mr Stephen Powell
TDS Coordinator
Level 3 Classroom Teacher

Thank You Great Southern Network!

An early start to my day heading south to the Great Southern Network. Teachers from K-10 participated in a day of Humanities looking at the History Curriculum, Resources, Snapshots and Judging Standards in Katanning. They engaged in a variety of tasks one of them looking at multi-age groups and how to plan. They looked at one of the Historical Skills across the years and then selected a split grade to be a focus. The teachers worked together to select one Knowledge and Understanding from one of the year levels and brainstormed a range of tasks/activities they could do straight away. Brilliant!

A great experience and thank  you for inviting Sawyers Valley Sharing to the Great Southern to share what we do!
That's all for now!
Mr Stephen Powell
TDS Coordinator
Level 3 Classroom Teacher

Week 5 Term 2....so how are YOU travelling?

SHACC Sharing!
Another wonderful session with the SHACC members but we have room for more! Our next SHACC is on Wednesday the 18th of June (Week 8) and we discussed our jigsaw activity, with people having great success! The use of the question matrix to help students pose questions really supported the inquiry process in History. We are focussing on Timelines for our next session so if you have a great timeline activity, please come along and share!

Hikes through History!

We had our first History Hike last week with 2 wonderful teachers visiting from Quairading and Gosnells! They saw a range of lessons from the teachers in the TDS team and went away full of ideas! we also welcomed the fabulous History Team of Bertrum PS. They enjoyed the brisk, clean, fresh air in the valley. Semester 1 lesson plans will be uploaded soon. 

Watch this space!

The next Hike is on Wednesday the 24th of July (Week 9). Register NOW!

Sawyers Hits the Road!
Sawyers Valley Sharing is excited to be travelling to the Great Southern Network next week! It is going to be awesome meeting teachers who are engaging in History in the classroom!
I will update the blog on return and share what we did!

That's all for now!
Mr Stephen Powell 
TDS Coordinator 
Year 1 Level 3 Classroom Teacher 

South of the River!

Sawyers Valley can be a long way to go for some, however Campbell Primary School might be just what you need. Please see this post published in Connect by the TDS team at Campbell Primary.

History Coffee Club @ Campbell PS

The Campbell Coffee Club is a great opportunity to network with teachers from other schools. These sessions provide an opportunity to examine the curriculum, share ideas and successful classroom practice, apply strategies in the classroom and reflect on these activities. Participants will explore the WA Curriculum History investigating ways to plan, teach and assess by sharing teaching and learning plans and samples of student work including assessment tasks.  

Date: 20 May 2014

Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm

Where: Campbell Primary School, Staffroom

Register at the IPL

TeachMeetWA - Check out the YouTube History Presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV5uwmPYURg

Hike through History (K-6) Tuesday, 20th May 2014, Week 4.

Registrations for our first History Hike close today. Go to the IPL website to register.  If you miss the enrollment please email stephen.powell@education.wa.edu.au to see if there is space available. 

The feedback from our Hikes have been brilliant. Here is a sample!

"Thank you for a great morning. I got lots of ideas that I can't wait to implement in my classroom."

"I learnt so much from this History Hike. It is by far the best and most effective form of PD that I've been exposed to for quite some time!"

"It was really great to see the process in action...Thanks for providing this great opportunity to see the lessons and for sharing your school, classrooms and students."

That's all for now!

Mr Stephen Powell 
TDS Coordinator 
Year 1 Level 3 Classroom Teacher 

Welcome Back! How about a Hike????

Hike Through History K-6

A reminder that the Hike through History events by Sawyers Valley Sharing have returned bigger and better! Teachers will experience History lessons from Kindergarten to Year 5/6. Participants have the opportunity to watch teachers at Sawyers Valley Primary School teach six different lessons with a focus on the Historical Skill - Chronology, terms and concepts.

The first Hike is on Tuesday the 20th of May (Term 2) 2014 (8:30 - 1:00)

Spaces are limited however the events are repeated throughout the year. If you are unable to attend this session, others are available on 17 June, 5 August, 9 September and 18 November 2014.

Please go to the IPL website to register now!

Technology and the Australian Curriculum

Digital technologies play an important role in the teaching of History and provides the students with a variety of different ways to research and present information. To find out more about what ACARA is doing, there is a great little 5 minute and 39 second video on Youtube. Take a look! Click on the link below:

Digital Technologies: An Introduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMUkJ3qLoVw&feature=youtu.be

That's all for now!

Mr Stephen Powell

TDS Coordinator

Level 3 Classroom Teacher

SHACC SENSATION!

Just a quick post to thank the brilliant teachers who attended our first of many SHACC events! In History we looked at posing questions through the years and how this historical skill needs to be taught and scaffolded in order to lead to purposeful inquiries.

We are so excited that we can't wait to get to the next SHACC on Wednesday the 28th of May at Greenmount PS (4-5 pm). It isn't too late to join. Register now on the IPL web site!

That's all for now!
Mr Stephen Powell
TDS Coordinator
Level 3 Classroom Teacher

National History Challenge for Australian Students

This came across my desk and thought it might be something that might inspire your young Historians.
The National History Challenge (NHC) is open to students from Primary (up to and including Year 6) to Year 12. It is free to enter. 

The 2014 theme is "Changing Perspectives" 

It encourages inquiry based learning and rewards students with cash prizes and travel opportunities.
To find out more, go to www.historychallenge.org.au and let us know how you go!

You can register for the NHC after the 31 January 2014. 

Entries close on Friday 29 August 2014.  Winners will be notified by October 2014.

That's all for now!
Mr Stephen Powell
TDS Coordinator

Level 3 Classroom Teacher