Brainy Business

SECTION ONE:
Units/Curriculum:
Duration: Term 2 (weeks 3 -10)
Subjects covered: Health, Drama, English
Year Group: 2/3/4
Teachers/Staff: Kylie Kuchel and Lauren Kervers

Project Idea:
Summary of the complex real world problem being investigated:

Students will study the complexities of the human brain and how we
process stimulus, emotion and appropriate reaction. Throughout this
program students will be exposed to and use several different strategies
for getting along and regulating emotion. With their understanding they
will write, produce and perform a play about an emotional journey.

Driving Question(s):

What makes a group cohesive?

How can I use strategies to regulate my emotions?
What happens in the body when we are faced with a problem?

Learning Intentions/Outcomes:
220 Strathalbyn Road, Mylor SA 5153
Ph: +61 8388 5345 Fax: +61 8388 5701
Website: www.mylorps.sa.edu.au Email: info@mylorps.sa.edu.au
Needs to know
How the body interprets stimulus
How the body processes messages resulting in a response
As we grow our thinking and reasoning brain continues to develop to help
us make sensible choices
Strategies that will help practice appropriate responses
Strategies for self-regulating emotion
Structure and practice at writing a script

Success Criteria:

Students can identify strategies that work the best for them to
manage feelings
Group Play students work together as a team to write, produce and
perform a play that depicts emotional journeys

Links to national curriculum:

English

Year 2
Understand that language varies when people take on different roles in social and classroom interactions and how
the use of key interpersonal language resources varies depending on context(ACELA1461)

Use interaction skills including initiating topics, making positive statements and voicing disagreement in an
appropriate manner, speaking clearly and varying tone, volume and pace appropriately (ACELY1789)

Rehearse and deliver short presentations on familiar and new topics (ACELY1667)

Innovate on familiar texts by experimenting with character, setting or plot (ACELT1833)

Year 3
Understand that successful cooperation with others depends on shared use of social conventions, including turn-
taking patterns, and forms of address that vary according to the degree of formality in social
situations (ACELA1476)

Listen to and contribute to conversations and discussions to share information and ideas and negotiate in
collaborative situations (ACELY1676)

Use interaction skills, including active listening behaviours and communicate in a clear, coherent manner using a
variety of everyday and learned vocabulary and appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume (ACELY1792)

Year 4
Create literary texts by developing storylines, characters and settings (ACELT1794)

Use interaction skills such as acknowledging anothers point of view and linking students response to the topic,
using familiar and new vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch and volume
to speak clearly and coherently (ACELY1688)

Health
Year 2
Describe their own strengths and achievements and those of others, and identify how these contribute to
personal identities (ACPPS015)
Practise strategies they can use when they feel uncomfortable, unsafe or need help with a task, problem or
situation (ACPPS017)
Describe ways to include others to make them feel they belong (ACPPS019)
Explore actions that help make the classroom a healthy, safe and active place (ACPPS022)

Year 3 & 4
Describe and apply strategies that can be used in situations that make them feel uncomfortable or
unsafe (ACPPS035)
Identify and practise strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing(ACPPS036)
Describe how respect, empathy and valuing diversity can positively influence relationships (ACPPS037)
Investigate how emotional responses vary in depth and strength (ACPPS038)
Describe strategies to make the classroom and playground healthy, safe and active spaces (ACPPS040)

220 Strathalbyn Road, Mylor SA 5153
Ph: +61 8388 5345 Fax: +61 8388 5701
Website: www.mylorps.sa.edu.au Email: info@mylorps.sa.edu.au
 Drama

Year 2
Use voice, facial expression, movement and space to imagine and establish role and situation (ACADRM028)
Present drama that communicates ideas, including stories from their community, to an audience (ACADRM029)

Year 3 & 4
Use voice, body, movement and language to sustain role and relationships and create dramatic action with a sense
of time and place (ACADRM032)
Shape and perform dramatic action using narrative structures and tension in devised and scripted drama
(ACADRM033)

Product(s) and/or Service(s):

Group: How will products/services be publicly exhibited?
Strategy Wall Students will perform their productions at a
Brain poster showcase evening.
Flip your lid class display
Emotional journey production

Individual:
Personal qualities monitoring tool Exhibition audience:
Choosing self-monitoring strategies
Class

School

Community
Experts

Web
Other:_____________

SECTION TWO: The Process
Hook or immersion event:

Students will attend a full day excursion at Nunyara activities centre.

Activities promote the need for students to work together as a team,
support and encourage each other and learn how to identify qualities of a
productive team member.

Possible Exemplars/models:

Flip your Lid character development

Strategy wall in classroom
Displays of group work in classroom
Successful displays of team work and team challenges
Emotional Journey Play

Critique opportunities and multiple drafts:

Students will seek feedback from peers and act on feedback about ideas for their
play (development of characters, setting, problem and solution)
Students will seek feedback and produce multiple drafts of a script

Personalisation:

Exposure to a number of strategies and students Identifying what works

best for the them
Personal identification of qualities to develop/work towards
Plays developed by students ideas and experiences

220 Strathalbyn Road, Mylor SA 5153

Ph: +61 8388 5345 Fax: +61 8388 5701
Website: www.mylorps.sa.edu.au Email: info@mylorps.sa.edu.au
 Adult world connections:
How will external expertise in this field be incorporated?

Students will engage with outdoor education experts to find effective ways
to complete challenges as well as have discussion about making qualities
of a positive team member.
Explicit teaching moments:
How might specific content and/or skills be teacher-led?

Explicit lessons on the following:

Components and functions of the brain
How emotions originate in the brain
What happens when we feel out of control of emotion
flip your lid concept
What do emotions look like?
What is an emergency? burnt toast or a bushfire
Personal and graduate qualities
Find my strategy students will be able to trial different self-
regulation strategies to find the one that works the best for them.

Resources needed:
Community resources: Outdoor Education Specialist (Nunyara)

Equipment for team building challenges

Material for costumes
Lighting
Sound equipment
Cardboard for props

Timeline:
Insert key events, milestones, check-in moments and assessments below:

Week 3 Tues: Introduction to topic group work roles, large group

discussion strategies
Thurs: Lesson 2 Nervous system, components

Week 4 Mon: Lesson 3 Flip your Lid concept explaining emotion in

the brain.
Tues: Hook excursion to Nunyara activities centre
Thurs: Lesson 4 finishing flip your lid characters
Week 5 Mon: Lesson 5 What do emotions look like (expression &
body language)
Tues: Lesson 6 Personal and graduate qualities (what am I
working towards?)
Thurs: Team challenges
Week 6 Mon: Lesson 7 Self-regulation strategies
Tues: Lesson 8 Whats an emergency? Appropriate
emotional responses
Thurs: Team challenges
Week 7 Mon: PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Tues: Students begin developing their play
Thurs: Students continue on script
Week 8 Mon: Finalise script
Tues: Play practice
Thurs: Play practice sharing and feedback from peers
Week 9 Mon: Set & costume design
Tues: Set & costume design
Thurs: Finalise Set & costume design

Week 10 Mon: Play rehersals

Tues: Full dress rehersals
Thurs: Koalas Play Performance

220 Strathalbyn Road, Mylor SA 5153

Ph: +61 8388 5345 Fax: +61 8388 5701
Website: www.mylorps.sa.edu.au Email: info@mylorps.sa.edu.au