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- Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope
This unit offers an ambitious and innovative way of incorporating the book Australia Kaleidoscope into a study program. Working in groups, students will interpret and then present a chapter of the book in front of the class, dramatising the key stories. This unit provides rich and varied opportunities for integrated study, with links to the arts, science, geography, religious studies, citizenship and values.
Index
- Introductory Activity
- Activity 1: Inside the Kaleidoscope
- Activity 2: Performing the Kaleidoscope
- Activity 3: Writing about the Kaleidoscope
- Consolidation and Extension Activities
- Assessment
Unit Overview
Stage of Schooling: Upper Primary
Learning Focus: Writing (Asia Scope and Sequence for English, p 19)
Students create imaginative texts such as stories, simple poems and scripts to explore their own ideas and feelings about Asia's countries and cultures.
Students write information texts such as descriptions, reports, explanations and simple arguments by researching unfamiliar topics from and about Asia to formulate and support opinions.
Students understand that as writers they can influence others' opinions and portray people, characters and events from their cultures in particular ways by including or omitting information and by making particular language choices
Texts/Resources
- Australia Kaleidoscope (Curriculum Corporation, 2004)
Overview
Australia Kaleidoscope highlights Asian Australians' contributions to Australian society and raises important issues about the nature of our society. This unit offers an ambitious and innovative approach to incorporating the whole text into a program of study, with students working in groups to interpret and present a chapter to the class by dramatising the key stories. You will need to select and set four tasks, one from each of the activity sections: one prior to the performances, one during or after the performances, one requiring further research and one requiring reflection. In a more advanced class, you may consider allowing the groups to select their story's activities for the class as a whole. The unit also provides rich and varied opportunities for integrated study, with links to the arts, science, geography, religious studies, citizenship and values.
Please note: Some stories in the unit are not intended for independent reading by primary students, so chapters will need to be carefully allocated to different groups according to their abilities and the extension requirements, with support given where necessary.
Duration
This unit is flexible and can be adapted to meet class needs. For example, it could be studied intensively for a week, or for one morning or afternoon per week over approximately five weeks.
