Lesson Plan- Session 1:

Name and Surname: Thomson, Natasha & Merrett, Emily

Section 1
Science Overarching Idea: Form & Function

Year Level: Prep

Session: 1

Teaching Approach: Bioethics &

Compassionate Education

Learning
outcomes:http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Curriculum/

Rationale for the consistency of the lesson plan - Emily:

ContentDescription/VCSIS053

How does this lesson plan connect and is consistent with the
unit of work?

Compare observations and predictions with those of others

(VCSIS054)
Use a range of methods, including drawings and provided tables, to
sort information (VCSIS053)
Rationale - Emily:
How does this lesson plan take into consideration the local
needs of the community and students who you will teach to?
In order to begin formulating the lesson plan we had to first
understand the context in which we would be teaching, both the
school and the children who we would be working with. St.
Dominics Primary School is in the suburb of Broadmeadows,
located about 15km from Victorias capital city Melbourne. Statistics
show that 46.7% of people living in the suburb of Broadmeadows
were born in Australia. The suburb is very diverse however, as
many of the residents were born in a multitude of other countries
some of which include Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, India, Vietnam, New
Zealand, Philippines, Italy, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, England, Greece,
Samoa, and Syria (Broadmeadows Demographics (VIC) Local
Stats, 2016). The residents also speak a variety of languages,
33.2% of people living in Broadmeadows speak English only, with
other top languages spoken being Arabic, Turkish, Assyrian,
Vietnamese, Italian, Samoan, Punjabi, amongst others
(Broadmeadows Demographics (VIC) Local Stats, 2016). The
religious makeup of Broadmeadows is diverse as well, statistics

This lesson plan is the first of the three session in the unit. It serves
as a getting to know you session whereby the children are given
the opportunity to become familiar with the pre-service teachers who
make up the teaching team and in turn, we educators are able to
gain insights into each of the childrens knowledge and cultural
backgrounds.
Each of our sessions directly link to one another, and provides the
students with the opportunity to use their personal experiences and
opinions in order to inform their learning and challenge their thinking
in relation to form and function and bioethics. This first lesson of the
unit and is a spring board for the following two whereby the children
will explore the idea of the roles that all animals, but in particular
pest animals play in ecosystems.
How does the sequence of activities in this lesson plan reflects
a learning process rather than a series of tasks?
The unit designed takes on a growth mindset. We want the children
in our group to go on the learning journey whereby the knowledge
and discussions which they participate in work towards the
development of their understanding about the scientific concepts
and the bioethical approach to learning. The sessions do not consist

show that the make-up is of Islam, Catholic, Anglican, Eastern

Orthodox, Buddhism, Hinduism, as well as other religious groups
and some identify as belonging to no religion (Broadmeadows
Demographics (VIC) Local Stats, 2016). Knowing this meant that
we were able to understand that the children would each be coming
to our sessions with a broad range of life experiences.
This lesson was designed to allow for the exploration of varying
experiences, opinions and knowledge from each student, achieved
through the discussions the pre-service teachers would guide with
the students and the respect and valuing of each child and their
unique cultural backgrounds of students, through the
acknowledgement of each others experiences, knowledge and
opinions.
How is this lesson plan relevant to the children it will be
implemented with?
The designed lesson is relevant to the children it will be
implemented with because whilst the children may be in prep, they
are humans capable of deep thought and emotion and the topic of
ecological systems is directly relevant to all people, no matter of
their age. A knowledge and understanding of how we each relate to
our world and the various features and creatures on our planet can
assist people in developing an understanding of the fact that
compassion and maintaining sustainable practices is issue that
needs to be a priority for all the worlds people, and educating
young children in the area of sustainability empowers them to think
and act in ways to meet their immediate needs without jeopardizing
the potential of future generations to meet theirs (Young & Elliott,
2003).
How does this lesson plan reflect the teaching approach?
The designated teaching approach of bioethical and compassionate
education involves children encountering ethical issues and are
provided opportunities to consider all aspects of the issue so that
they can make informed and morally just decisions (Willard, 2015).
Through this lessons exploration of pest animals and discussions
surrounding where these animals might be found, how the animal is
a pest and why a child might not like the animal, the children will be

of independent tasks, instead they are comprised of a series of

activities which build on each other. Each of these activities allows
the opportunity for students to engage in critical thinking, drawing on
the knowledge gained through meaningful discussions with their
peers and listening to differing opinions. In participating in these
kinds of discussions the children will be able to formulate their own
ideas and to begin to engage in the questioning process which the
moral and ethical issues of the value of pest animals play in our
world in the second lesson and the role of humans in the third.
How are the activities appropriate for the age group and
diversity of learners?
Our assigned group of students is made up of 8 prep students who
belong to two classes who we can assume will come to our sessions
with a broad range of knowledge, opinion and experiences which will
influence the ways in they engage with the lessons planned and the
content within them.
Bioethical education is a kind of social discipline, and as such calls
for the children to encounter moral lessons, ethical dilemmas and
conflicting values, which may be considered as not appropriate for
young children, but we know that children are capable of more than
adults often think (Milson & Mehlig, 2002). The topic of animals is
one that young children are commonly exposed to, whether that is in
a non-real life context, such as through books or various media, or
real life contexts in which the children interact with them. We believe
that because many children have a connection to and, to varying
degrees, have interests in animals that it is appropriate. The way in
which the discussion is peer lead and values childrens ideas and
the inclusion of the simple animal cards allows for student inclusion
and caters for the diversity of student learners. We want to foster
childrens development into intellectual beings that can contribute to
their world and valued members of society and believe that being
informed and having skills such as critical thinking and the ability to

engaging with critical thinking. The children will be participating in

discussions with peers who might have differing or opposing
viewpoints, which will assist students in developing new
understanding about an animal.

make informed moral and ethical decisions developed through the

activities designed in this unit will instil good values in young
children and will lend itself to the development of a more
harmonious society.

References:
Broadmeadows Demographics (VIC) Local Stats. (2016).
Broadmeadows.localstats.com.au. Retrieved 10th April 2016,
from
http://broadmeadows.localstats.com.au/demographics/vic/melbo
urne/north/broadmeadows

References:
Milson, A. J., & Mehlig, L. M.. (2002). Elementary School Teachers'
Sense of Efficacy for Character Education. The Journal of
Educational Research, 96(1), 4753.

Willard, J. (2015). Structuring Bioethics Education: The Question, the

Disciplines, and the Integrative Challenge. Ethics and Social
Welfare, 9(3), 280-296.
Young, T. & Elliott, S. (2003) Just Discover: Connecting young children
with the natural world. Tertiary Press: Melbourne.

Lesson Plan - Session 1 :

Name(s) and Surname(s): Emily Merrett & Natasha Thomson
Section 2
Specific & Detailed Activities
(638)
Students will be gathered together at the front of the classroom. Teachers will introduce themselves with given names, where they are from
and one fun thing about themselves, then each student is given the opportunity to do the same. Through having teachers go first with
introductions and sharing that information, we aim to promote a safe and supportive learning environment in which students are
encouraged to share the same information about themselves; however should a student only wish to introduce themselves with a name,
then they wont be pressed for further information, such as where they are from or a fun fact.

There will be a class brainstorm to come up with pest animals or animals that students dislike or are afraid of. The goal of this is to bring
further context on the individual cultural background of each student. Emily/Natasha will explain that the group will be split into pairs and
that each pair will have an image of a pest/nuisance animal. An example card will be passed around so that the students can have a look
at what they should expect. The animals offered will be typically categorised as pests/nuisances or as animals which usually have a
negative connotation (such as fear), these will be; mice, mosquitoes, spiders and ants. Each card will contain an image of the animal and
its name in plain text.
Teachers will split the children into pairs. As there are only 8 students in the group, each group will have a teacher working with them to
provide any extra guidance with instruction should they be in need of assistance. Then a bowl filled with the laminated pest cards will be
passed around and a representative pair will select one to be their focus.
Students will draw their selected animal and where they think it could be found, this provides further evidence of the students' background
and being able to gain knowledge of the child as an individual, as different countries may have different species of that animal and it may
be found in varying contexts. It may also be that some students may not have encountered that animal, so they will need to discuss with
their peers to formulate a visual image and understanding of that animal and its habitat.
Teachers will guide their pairs in a discussion with use of the following prompting questions;
Where have you seen this animal before?
Did the animal look different when you saw it? How so? Can you draw it how you remember it?
How is this animal a pest? Or why dont you like this animal?
Do you think this animal would live in a different place in a different country?
Teacher will take an observatory role only offering guidance when required or asked for. This promotes independent learning skills in a
supportive manner and a valuing of students thoughts and opinions.
The pairs will come back together in the final 10 minutes of the session and to share their work with the whole group and their illustrations.
The teaching team will allow time for peer questioning and further whole group discussion as to even more contexts in which the selected
pest may be found.
Teachers will conclude the session by providing a final opportunity for questions. Should a question be posed that the teaching team is
unaware of the answer, research will be conducted independently and provided in the following session. In farewell, teachers will thank the
students for their participation in the activities.
Extension Activity: Should the teachers find themselves having completed the discussion or find that the students are reluctant
participants, they will ask the students to complete a character profile for their pairs assigned animal. This may include information such

as the number of arms/legs, colour, size etc.

Attachments:

MOUSE

ANT

SPIDER

MOSQUITO

Science Overarching Idea: Form &

Function

Year Level: Prep

Session: 3

Teaching Approach: Bioethics & Compassionate

Education

Lesson Plan - Session 3:

Name(s) and Surname(s): Emily Merrett & Natasha Thomson
Learning Outcomes:
Living things have a variety of external features and live in different places where their basic needs, including food, water
and shelter, are met (VCSSU042)
Use a range of methods, including drawings and provided tables, to sort information (VCSIS053)

Compare observations and predictions with those of others (VCSIS054)

Session Three:
Teaching Team/Person: Merrett, Emily & Thomson, Natasha
Session 3 Goal:
The goal of this session is for the children to have an understanding that all species are valuable to their ecosystem and have a
purpose.
The theme of session three is bringing together the knowledge that the children have and have gained from the unit and putting
it together.
This session will focus on food webs and the importance of the individual species within the food web, whether we like that
animal or not, further exploring the issue from session two, what if the animal wasnt there.From this small group discussion of
food webs children can discuss the role of humans and whether we help or hinder some ecological systems.
Children will continue to explore whether humans help the ecosystem or jeopardise the existence of it. Teaching team will
provide images of the negative ways that humans affect animals and the environments they live in and images of the good that
humans do (relationships with animals, planting flora etc.).
From the discussions, children will then construct a model of a sustainable ecosystem where humans fit in a bioethical,
ecological manner.

Attachments: