LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Lesson Topic/Focus: Personal and Family History Date: 14/5/2016

VCF-10 Learning Area: History Year level(s): 1
VCF-10 Mode: Discussion and Writing Lesson duration: 60 mins
VCF-10 Strand(s): Historical Concepts and Skills

VCF-10 sub-Strand(s): Historical Sources as Evidence & Continuity and Change

Identify and compare features of objects used by the family from the past and present
(VCHHC043)
Explore a range of sources that describe families in the past
(VCHHC041)

Learning Standard(s)/Outcome(s)/Objective(s):

At the conclusion of this lesson, the students will know/understand that:

By the end of this lesson students will understand that there has been changes to daily life from the
past and present

At the conclusion of this lesson, the students will demonstrate the skills/strategies of:
By then end of the lesson students will be able to compare objects from the past and present
By the end of the lesson the students will be able to

Assessment:

Students will have compared objects from the past and present and have written a short paragraph on
how an object was used in the past.

Assessment criteria for analysis:

The students can independently think of present objects to compare to selected past objects
The students can independently explain the differences and similarities between past and present
objects
The students can individually write a short paragraph explaining the use and purpose of a past
object

Teaching focus:
A. the pre-service teacher's teaching skill for observation by Supervising Teacher;
I will use instructions that are clear and use simple terms
I will use floor time efficiently to engage and interact students
I will ask for questions at the end to ensure I have allowed all students to understand
or

B. teaching skills that the pre-service teacher would like to personally develop.
I want to improve on introducing new ideas and speaking slowly and clearly for all students to
 understand without rushing
I will have a range of individual thinking time, partnered/small group discussions and whole
class discussions allowing students to understand a range of stories, objects and new learning.

Background to the learning:

A. References for teacher background knowledge
Prior to this lesson students have bought in 3 photos of them: as a baby, as a toddler and a current photo.
These have been displayed on the wall in the classroom under the heading Past and Present. As a class
created a list of differences in a Venn diagram between what they could do/not do as a baby and toddler
and compared it to present age. Students were asked to discuss with their family members old toys or
games they played when younger and had prompting questions such as:
What did you play with when you were my age?
What did you write on at school?
What did your school uniform look like?
What type of board did your teacher write on for the classroom?

B. Identify students current knowledge

In a lead up to this lesson students will understand how a Venn diagram works and how to compare
similarities and differences between two objects/things.

Lesson resources:
My Grandmothers Toy Box online story
Interactive Smart Board or Computer connected to Projector
Venn Diagram sheets on A3 Paper (Appendix A)
Pencils
Textas
Range of toys/games from past: camera, black and white photos, paddle ball, dolls, small black
boards,
Laminated images: past school uniforms, classrooms from approx.1960s
Small tarp or blanket to cover objects
Large box for objects

Lesson content:
A. Introduction 15 mins
Class to be seated on the floor in a semi circle facing the Interactive Smart board or Projector
Screen
In the middle of the circle is a box covered by a tarp to draw in students attention
Teacher will begin by reading the story My Grandmothers Toy Box
Recap on the story by short brain storm of key descriptive words (Appendix B), writing on
After reading teacher will point to the hidden box and tell the students that this is my
Grandmothers Toy Box with toys and objects from the past
Teacher will invite students who are sitting patiently and quietly to look in the box and pull out
an item
Teacher will introduce and very briefly explain each item prompting questions such as What do
you guess this was used for? and Has anyone seen this object before? (Students are
encouraged to discuss further after introduction)
Students with their hands up will be chosen
B. Development 20 mins
Students will be broken into small expert groups with each small group being given an object
Teacher will break students off into groups using a number system e.g. 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5 (all 1s
together, etc)
Teacher will give each expert numbered group an object from the box
Students are asked to discuss and predict the purpose of their given object
Teacher will use prompts while roving the room What material is it made of, Is this a
gender neutral toy/game (explanation of gender neutral), What is this similar to?, What is
something different you notice about this object?
Teacher asks students to stand up and one member from each group will join members from
other expert groups (e.g. now 5 different groups of 1,2,3,4,5)
Teacher asks the objects to be put back on the floor visible to all groups
Expert group members each describes their object to their new group, what they predict it was
used for and any other properties they discussed in their expert groups
Teacher will invite students back to the floor to sit in a semi circle again around the toys and
facing the Interactive Smart Board or Projector

C. Consolidation, practice, extension 20 mins

Teacher will hold up an A3 Venn Diagram sheet (Appendix A) and ask one student to explain
and remind classmates how the Venn Diagram works
Ask students to go back into their expert groups and use the Venn Diagram to compare their
object with a present day object/s that may have similar properties
Students discuss differences and similarities and write down their ideas on the A3 sheet of paper
Roving teacher will observe students looking for key words such as: compare, similar, different
to, bigger, smaller, colour etc.
Teacher will also encourage students who have been quieter to discuss their thoughts
Teacher should jot down what present day object/s the groups are comparing to and have images
ready
Students who require extra assistance will benefit from the group discussions as it will allow
them so see other perspectives
When expert groups have completed Venn Diagram, the teacher will ask all students to return to
the floor, this time sitting as a group
Expert groups nominate a leader to present their Venn Diagram to the class and another member
to hold the object and point out features as the speaker presents
Teacher can have present day objects images on the Interactive Smart Board or Projector while
students are presenting so there is a visual aid for comparison

D. Closure 5 mins
The lesson will close with the objects being returned to the box and the Venn Diagrams can be
pinned to the wall next to the Past and Present photos of the students
The teacher will ask students why we explore the past
Teacher will ask students of new learning from the day
The teacher will ask some students with their hands up what toy or object from the past they
would still like to use in present day
The teacher will ask some students with their hands up what toy or object from the past they
would not like to use in present day

Post-lesson review and evaluation:

Student achievement:
To what extent were outcomes achieved? How did the students demonstrate this?
The students found the lesson engaging as it had many opportunities for group discussion and sharing of
new ideas. The students enjoyed holding and inspecting the objects from the past. It was evident that the
children enjoyed the idea of imagining these toys and objects to have been used by children their age in
the past. Some children had seen or heard of the objects, but mostly, the past objects were new to the
children and were fascinated by the past.
The expert groups created clear and insightful Venn Diagrams comparing the past and present objects to
each other. It was clear that the students wanted more time to expect the objects that was not part of their
expert groups, so the box will be left in the classroom for the remainder of this topic, allowing all
students to be able to inspect and deeply think about each object. Success in this lesson from the
students has led to further imaginative discussions regarding the objects and possible role plays may be
conducted in coming lessons.

Teaching effectiveness:
Following this lesson, there were several successful learning attributes, as it combined new learning
with previous learning of the Venn Diagrams. It became obvious to me that the students especially
enjoyed comparing the properties of the objects, for example, the expert group with the old camera
chose to compare it to an iPhone Camera. The group used strong descriptive language to describe both
objects and correctly presented this in the Venn diagram.
It was evident at times that the noise level of the classroom was too high, as there were five groups
talking and competing with noise. To bring the noise level down often I would clap my hands to gain
attention and remind students to use their inside voices and to have one member of the group speak at
one time.
In group discussions, I made an effort to speak to each group, encouraging the usually quieter students
to make a comment and use their descriptive language. I allowed the expert groups to choose their own
leader to present; however, it appeared it was the same students who did all the talking who presented.
In the future I will chose the presenters myself, allowing a different selection of students to present.
Generally, the comments made by the supervising teacher were positive; as she saw that the students
were clearly engaged and excited by the task, as evident by the noise levels.
For future lessons, I would recommend introducing the topic through an Incursion from The History
Box Ballarat, who offers several different incursions which align with the Victorian and Australian
Curriculum (see Appendix C for flyer).

Lesson/activity transition:

Step 1: Teacher will clap in a pattern and students are to stop and repeat the pattern back. Repeat until
all students have clapped back and are looking at the teacher. Varying the pattern gains students
attention
Step 2: Teacher: I am going to count down from 10 to 0 and when I have finished counting I want
everyone to be sitting on the mat facing the Smart Board. 109..
Step 3: Choose one student who is sitting quietly and ask them to write the date on the white board.
Teacher will take the roll.
 ASSESSMENT GRID
Outcome/Standard/Objective
Students can discuss and compare objects from the past to objects from the present

Student Name Assessment Criteria

1. They were able to
hypothesise what the object
was made for and use
imaginative thinking
Jack was quick to call out
answers and his guesses
Jack about the objects. It was
evident that Jack had seen
some of these objects before
and was excited to share.
Tilly was patiently waiting
Tilly with her hand up to articulate
what she guessed the object
was. The teacher praised
Tilly for waiting patiently
and not calling out.
Cameron was quietly
Cameron thinking while other students
were hypothesising out loud.
It was obvious that Cameron
was in deep thought.
Cameron may like to join in
roll play in future.
2. They were able to use
descriptive language to
describe the object from the
past
Jack is encouraged to use
more descriptive language
other than old and big many key words such as
Tillys showed great use of
descriptive language,
thinking about purpose,
material, use and suggested a
time period.
Cameron was quiet during
group discussion and
requiring prompting
questions in order to describe
the object.
3. They were able to
compare the object to a
present day object and
display thinking in Venn
Diagram.
Jack presented the Venn
diagram to the class and used
same as compared to
and different to. Jack
displayed confidence when
presenting to the class.
Tilly was eager to present
and rushed through the
presentation. Tilly read
straight from the paper and
did not turn to show the
diagram unless prompted by
the teacher. The ideas on
Tillys groups diagram were
in great detail.
Cameron chose to focus on
what the object was made
out of. His group member
presented his ideas in the
Venn Diagram and it was
obvious he was pleased his
idea had been presented.

Purpose of Assessment

To inform future To ensure coverage To discuss with To inform 1:1 Evidence for
lesson & student of Victorian parent conference with school report
learning Curriculum student including
standards setting future
learning goals
Appendix A
Appendix B

Special box
Hand made toys

What would you put

in?

My Grandmothers Toy
Aboriginal toys
Box

Toys from the war

Goldfields

Toys from 1845,

1959, 1930, 1920s,
Appendix Da) Childrens Clothing 1940
https://au.pinterest.com/johnson3047/1940s-childrens-fashion/
Appendix Db) Typewriter

https://johnguillen.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/give-me-a-typewriter/
Reference List

Maths Aids. (2009). Venn Diagram Template [image]. Retreived from

http://www.mathaids.com/Venn_Diagram/

Museum Victora. (2011). My Grandmothers Toy Box. Retrieved from

https://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/38750/My-Grandmothers-Toy-Box-story.pdf?
epslanguage=en

The History Box Ballarat. (2016). Lower Primary Flyer [poster]. Retrieved from

http://www.thehistoryboxballarat.com/

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). (2014). AusVEL: History. Retrieved from

http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/the-humanities/history/introduction/scope-and-

sequence