PLANNING DOCUMENT

English Lessons- Phase 2

Assessment 2

Topic- English- Sustainability

How does the waterhole sustain this environment?

Educational Setting: Foundation level Primary

School
Concept(s) being explored

Learning Experience 1

Learning Experience 2

Learning Experience 3

To express and develop ideas

both orally and written about
waterholes and their function
whilst promoting a healthy social
and cultural ownership of our
environment for the survival and
wellbeing of ecological systems.

Aim of activity: Why are you doing it?

To introduce the children to information
texts and how to use them correctly to
find information they want and to
compare the look/layout differences
between a narrative and an information
text

Aim of activity: Why are you doing

it?
For the children to understand what tops
up there water wholes as well as what
affects the waterholes

Aim of the activity: Why are you doing

it?
To make links between written
text/illustrations and real world to create
purpose for writing.
What are you going to do?
Excursion to Gleeson Wetlands in Clare.

Analysis of prior knowledge: What

are the pupils prior knowledge or
before views for learning in
preparation for learning
experience 1?

What are you going to do?

Explore the library and source information
texts and then compare it to the
waterhole narrative text.
Warm up activity:
Shared Reading, read The Water hole by
Graeme Base- here ask questions about
what they already know about a waterhole
(this was covered in the first phase). Write
down their ideas on the white board. (this
will help later on in the lesson)
Main Activity:
Sources of water holes- research.
Go to the school library and get the
librarian and the children to choose out
some water related information texts, also
have some on hand in the classroom
100 facts; Extreme Earth and 100 facts;
saving the planet- both by Miles Kelly.
Children at this stage to look at the books.
In a whole group ask the students what
they notice about the Information texts? note this down. (Ask questions such as
how does it look different?, is it set out
differently than the waterhole. etc) have
an information text and the waterhole
held up next to each other for the
students to have a good look at them. On
the ground place out the information
books you borrowed from the library and
any other water/books (narratives) for the
children to have a look at. Give adequate
time for the children to look through the
different books and compare.
When done- do a guided reading lesson
and explain the differences between the
information book and the narrative/story
book. Show the children the front
cover/content page, show them how to
use one and direct them to the pages that
are about water sources.

What are you going to do?

In this lesson the children will be looking
at 1 particular book, one showing the
weather cycle. They then will move to
drawing/writing what they have found
out
Warm up activity:
Read through- 100 facts; saving the
earth and extreme earth get the
children thinking about where water
comes from and what effects the water.

In the first phase the children read the

book The waterhole by Graeme Base,
and learnt about what is a water hole
and other water sources. So the following
lessons are an extension of that.

Australian Curriculum or EYLF

Reference

ACELY1648
Identify some differences between
imaginative and informative text
ACELT1783
Share feelings and thoughts about
events and characters.
ACELA1429
Understand that language can be used to
explore ways of expressing needs, likes
and dislikes.
EYLF (references for differentiation)
Outcome 2: Children are connected with
and contribute to their world
Children become socially responsible and
show respect for the environment

Teacher and Student Resources:

The Waterhole- Graeme Base

100 facts- Extreme Weather- Miles Kelly
100 facts Saving the Earth- Miles Kelly
Discoveries- Weather- David Ellyard
https://youtu.be/Xzy6a4KNgKk- Plip &
Plop - two water drops explain the world
of water
Clip boards, pencil and iPad for Excursion
*ART lesson in the afternoon of lesson 3
students will paint:
waterholes/wetlands/billabong

SR,GR

Main activity:
Show pages 12-13 from the book,
Weather talk briefly about the water
cycle and how they contribute to the
water sources so that the children know
of- sea, river and lakes Show children
the water cycle PowerPoint. Ask children
to draw the diagram in their books to
reflect back on.
Ask the question- What things do you
know effects our waterholes?- (sea,
rivers, lakes)
In pairs get the children to come up with
some ideas of what they know effect the
water supplies- drought, too many
animals rely on the water sources- any
other ideas they come up with. Ask
them to draw what they came up with.
(Go around and scribe what they know
on their paper or get them to copy a
short sentence). Then ask the children
to share their knowledge to the whole
class in a mini oral presentation.
Watch the video clip- Plip & Plop two
water drops explain the world of water.
Ask the children what they saw, note
this down on the board.
Ask the children to copy these into their
books for later reference.

SR

Warm up activity:
Shared Reading of Big Rain Coming similar
storyline to The waterhole but a different
context. Idea is to link images of this book
and The Waterhole and make strong
connections between the stories and what
they might see at the wetlands. Create
conversational talk by brainstorm
similarities between books and what they
might see on excursion, eg billabong
/waterhole/wetlands, lizards, snakes.
Main activity:
Excursion to Gleesons Wetland, students in
small groups of 4, with one adult per group.
Each group to have an iPad to capture photos
to then be used in photo story. Each student
to have own clip board and pencil to record
what they observe in the environment, either
through drawings or writing. Small groups
free to explore the environment and
document what they observe for 30 minutes.
Return as whole group students to share
observations, opportunity to express ideas
around what they have observed, from the
information documented. Teacher to pose
question - What do you think would happen if
all the water dried up, as in the book The
Waterhole, how would the animals feel?
Picnic Lunch at the Wetland to really take in
surroundings to support writing tasks in
Phase 3.
Back in classroom:
*Add any new words to WORD WALL.
*Independent Reading (SSR) in the Book Club
Corner for 10-15 min recharge.
Teacher to: Print off photos from iPads for
students to access when writing narrative
pieces in phase 3. Collate and display
observation sheets.

SR ,IR