SHACC Reminder!

SHACC

Our second extremely popular SHACC will be held on Wednesday the 6th of May (Week 3) at Greenmount Primary School in the Library starting at 4:00 pm. If you haven't already registered, please go to the IPL website  to register. If you came along last time, bring a friend! 

Useful ANZAC Resources

With ANZAC Day approaching, there are many useful resources already shared on Sawyers Valley Sharing. One more is ABC Splash. They have produced a comprehensive detailed recount and interactive program about the first day. Can be used in parts or as a whole. I particularily like the database with details of soldiers who were there. Please preview the resource before using with your class to assess it's suitability for your year group.
http://www.abc.net.au/innovation/gallipoli/gallipoli2.htm

Don't forget:

• Gallipoli Dead
• Western Australians in World War One
• Australians at War
• Gallipoli and the ANZACs
• The National ANZAC Centre
• ANZAC Portal
• Connect Resources - search for Gallipoli or ANZAC and narrow your search by year level.

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

Festival Countdown

Check out the NEW LOOK K10 Outline!

As we are all aware, the Schools Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) have been working on adapting the Australian Curriculum for a WA context. Accessing the Phase 1 (English, Mathematics, Science & History) curriculum needs to be via the  SCSA website:

http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/

To find the curriculum you need to:

1. Click on the P-10 Curriculum tab.
2. Find Curriculum Browser and you can choose the learning area (English, Mathematics, Science, History) or the entire Western Australian Curriculum.

When you click on History, you will see the filters are on the left hand side and the icons for the cross curriculum priorities and the general capabilities are now the same as ACARA.

So check out the SCSA website and make sure you subscribe to their K10 Circular which can be found on the home page. This will let you know what changes are being made in the development of the WA Curriculum Outline.

Happy Holidays!

That's all for now!

Stephen Powell

TDS Coordinator

Copyright notice for use of Australian Curriculum material.
© Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2013.
This is an extract from the Australian Curriculum.
ACARA neither endorses nor verifies the accuracy of the information provided and accepts no responsibility for incomplete or inaccurate information. In particular, ACARA does not endorse or verify that:

• The content descriptions are solely for a particular year and subject;
• All the content descriptions for that year and subject have been used; and
• The author’s material aligns with the Australian Curriculum content descriptions for the relevant year and subject.

You can find the unaltered and most up to date version of this material at http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
This material is reproduced with the permission of ACARA.

Time flies when you are BUSY!

This term has flown! I think the 9 weeks has something to do with it but if you are as busy as we are, then your term would have flown as well.

Multi Age Planning
We get a lot a emails and calls about planning for split grades. Being a small school of 170, we have splits grades from K-6! I have been lucky to work with the very talented Cynthia McGlew (TDS Coordinator - Science@Greenmount PS) and she has developed a multi-age planning document for Science. I have modified the document so that it can be used for HASS (Humanities and Social Science). The document gives you 2 options for planning. I have uploaded a PDF and Word Version for you to use. I have also added an example of my Year 3/4 plan this term (It isn't perfect, but you will get the idea).
Click on the WORD or PDF links below to view the document in Google Docs.

WORD

PDF

PDF

Victorian Classroom Experience @ Sawyers Valley Primary School

It is very exciting, we can now share the wonderful videos filmed at the Schoolhouse. You can watch the videos on the website. The videos are no more than 1 or 2 minutes each. Click here to watch!  Two have been uploaded today, with 5 more to be uploaded shortly. So check the web site so you can view each wonderful clip!

SHACC (Science & History Australian Curriculum Collective)

We had our first SHACC in week 4 and we plan to have our next SHACC on Wednesday the 6th of May 2015 at Greenmount Primary School (4-5 pm). If you came to the last one, please bring a friend! Make sure you register by the 29th of April on the IPL website.

Saba!

We had our first Saba Forum last Tuesday and we have 2 more in Term 2.

• Tuesday - 19th of May 2015 (4-5 pm)
• Tuesday - 9th of June 2015 (4-5 pm)

To watch the last session, Department of Education employees can click on the link below to watch a replay.

http://webcollaboration.det.wa.edu.au/GP/main/00000161227f0000014c1e1e2cd89d6f

Go to the  IPL website register for Term 2 (If the events are not up yet, please email me to express interest)

HTAWA http://www.htawa.org.au/ 

I was lucky to be invited to present at the History Teachers Association of WA's Conference last Saturday and I saw so many new and exciting ideas for the classroom. 

One resource I suggest you all check out is the CArnamah Virtual Museum. There are 10 resource packages that you can use immediately to enhance your History curriculum. Do yourself a favour, go to http://www.carnamah.com.au/virtual-museum .

I also saw a terrific resource called 'Trading Cards' from ReadWriteThink. Your students can create collector cards for people they are researching. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/trading_cards_2/

ReadWriteThink also have a terrific Timeline creator. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html There are also lessons that are associated with this piece of technology. Check it out!

(Note: the rest of the site might not be suitable and you should use your professional judgement when selecting other resources)  

The keynote speaker was Simon McKenzie @connectedtchr and he has curated a wonderful selection of resources via Pinterest. Go to https://www.pinterest.com/simonm26/ and have look, you will be lost for hours!

They were just 4 of the many wonderful things that I saw. I will share more in the future!

That's all for now!

Mr Stephen Powell

TDS Coordinator

Filming the Old Schoolhouse

Today was very exciting with 10 children and volunteers filming the activities that schools can participate in when they attend the Old Victorian Schoolhouse at Sawyers Valley Primary School. Soon, teachers will be able to watch the information videos online before booking their experience. I will let you know when the videos are online and ready to watch. Below are some photos I took whilst filming was underway!

 Classroom

 Sewing - girls only

 Woodwork - boys only

 Laundry 

 Outdoor Games

Kitchen work - making lemon cordial

Go to Old Victorian Schoolhouse website to find out more or book your excursion.

That's all for now!

Mr Stephen Powell

TDS Coordinator

Week Five Update from Sawyers Valley Sharing!

SHACC

It was so exciting to see so many wonderful people attend our first SHACC of 2015! We had teachers from Mundaring, Sawyers Valley, Mt.Helena, Greenmount, Ellenbrook, Maida Vale and Floreat Park Primary Schools! We started the session with an overview of reporting in History and Science. The History Group explored a planning framework to work with multi-age classrooms and then explored the Blog for resources and accessed the Western Australian Curriculum Online via the SCSA website. It was a great turn out and on such a hot day, cool drinks and nibbles were greatly appreciated.

If you do not want to miss out, make sure you book in for our next SHACC on Wednesday the 6th of May @ 4 pm. It will once again be held at Greenmount PS. Go to the IPL website to register. Registrations close one week prior to the event!

Old Schoolhouse @ Sawyers Valley Primary
On the 28th of March, the History Teachers Association of WA will be holding their annual confernece at Mount Lawley Senior High School. I will be presenting a 45 minute workshop on the Old Schoolhouse and how to use this resource with your primary school.
Go to http://www.htawa.org.au/upcoming-events/   to register.

SABA Forum

I will be conducting a SABA online forum on Tuesday the 24th of March. This will be an opportunity for teachers to meet online and also share what they are doing in their location. I am encouraging teachers to hop online and share what they are doing and ask questions to the group. Please go to IPL website to register.

That's all for now! 
Enjoy week 5!
Mr Stephen Powell

TDS Coordinator

What's New in the Australian Curriculum!

Version 7.2 Released

If you visit the Australian Curriculum site you will notice that it has changed. One of the changes is the icons for the cross curriculum priorities and the general capabilities. Just hover over the icons with your mouse and you will see which ones they are.

Also, take the time to have a read of the overview for HASS. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/introduction 
They have now produced some information on the Key Ideas and Key Skills. 

SHACC 

A reminder that our first SHACC will be on Wednesday the 25th of February at Greenmount Primary School, 4-5 pm. Please register on the IPL website! We will be looking at planning, a really vauable session! Come along, it will be fun!

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

3 Year Plan Geography for Split Grades

Juggling the Australian Curriculum in a small primary school can be hard work. 

In 2013 we developed a simple 3 year plan for History that helped teachers reduce the amount of Content Descriptors Knowledge & Understandings for split grades. The focus at Sawyers Valley is to teach the Content Descriptors Knowledge & Understandings outlined for their split grade in our plan and making sure the Key Concepts of Evidence, Continuity & Change, Cause & Effect,Perspectives, Empathy, Significance and Contestability are being taught where it is outlined in the year level description. The teachers focus on all the historical skills for the 2 year levels.

We have now developed a 3 year plan for Geography. We have created a table with the Geographical Knowledge and Understandings to reduce the pressure on split grades. Again, the Geographical Inquiry and Skills and the key concepts of Place, Space, Change, Environment, Sustainability, Interconnection and Scale are the focus to make sure there is flow from year to year.

Click on the link below to access our new 3 year plan.

Geography 3 Year Plan SVPS

That's all for now!

Mr Stephen Powell
TDS Coordinator