Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

Lesson plan feedback and changes based on feedback are highlighted in yellow.

Name: Michael Kelly Date:

School: Victoria University Level: 10

Duration: 100
Supervisors:
Minutes

Topic: Year 10 History – Australia at war (1914-1945):

World War 1

Rationale:
This lesson will examine the Australian contribution
towards the First World War both abroad and on the
Homefront with a focus on Soldiers, Indigenous Australians
and Women.

Victorian Curriculum Links:

Effects of World War I, with a particular emphasis on the
changes and continuities brought to the Australian home
front and society (VCHHK142)

Causes of World War I, the reasons why men enlisted to go

to war, and how women contributed in the war effort
(VCHHK139)

(The feedback highlighted that the emphasis on curriculum

within the lesson was well done and that the lesson had no
problems addressing the curriculum it was based around)

Learning Objectives:

Understanding the roles of various societal groups within

Australia during the First World War.

Skills:
Students will use critical thinking to look at World War 1
and the way in which it impacted upon various groups in
Australia.
Examining and understanding various sources concerned
with different aspects of Australian Society during World
War 1.

Focus Questions:
What sort of societal changes did Australia undergo during
the First World War?
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

How did the outbreak of the war impact upon Australian

women on the Homefront and abroad?

What role did Indigenous Australians play on the

Homefront and abroad?

Learning Activities
Teacher Students Time

Greetings/Roll/Settle students for work - Mark 5

student roll, engage students on a more personal minutes
level as the class begins by prompting short
discussion about what they have been doing etc.
to create a relaxed environment at the beginning
of class and allow them to get some talk out of the
way before they are expected to listen for an
extended period.

Overview of the societal shifts that took place on

the Australian home front during the First World 20
War - Presented as a PowerPoint outlining the minutes
various key events, groups and dates that
concerned Australia, specifically on the home front
during the First World War, while also making
references to the contributions abroad. Some
examples of this will be talking about the
Australian Imperial Force and their training in the
Middle East and how this contributed to the lack of
working men on the home front, Women on the
Homefront and abroad and how they contributed
to the war effort as well as how their roles in
society began to see a major shift during the war,
Indigenous Australians and how they contributed.
This overview will involve some discussion, it won’t
simply be a lecture style overview with no
interaction.
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

Brainstorm Activity -
In small groups 20
discuss what you minutes
feel life would be like
for an assortment of
different Australians
during the First
World War (Soldiers,
Indigenous
Australians, and
Women). Discuss
how each group may
have contributed to
the Australian war
effort and where
these contributions
would have been
most noticeable
making reference to
the information
previously provided.

Initiate Class Discussion - Allow groups to share

with the class what they have brainstormed 10
together and discuss what life was like for each of Minutes
these groups of people during the First World War
with a large emphasis on being able to connect
this to modern experiences and seeing how things
may have changed or remained the same.
(Feedback highlighted that group and class
discussion is desirable for students)

Worksheet - As an
individual or working 30
with friends Minutes
complete a
worksheet that
involves both short
answer questions,
as well as extended
response source
analysis that is a
core skill for VCE
history. Students
can use their laptops
and electronic
devices to work
through this sheet.
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

It’s important for this

exercise that
students begin to
make connections
between answers
and not simply
answer in one word.
Making sure to move
around the
classroom and
engage
individuals/groups
as they are filling out
the worksheet to
probe their answers
and not only get
written but also
verbal responses
from different
students to ensure
their understanding
and offer them more
guidance on their
answers (This is
something I have
added since doing
placement and
utilised within
essentially every
one of my placement
classes).

Class Kahoot - Allow the students to participate in 15

a Kahoot. This is a fun activity that works Minutes
especially well in subjects like humanities, Kahoots
are interactive quizzes that students can join in on
through their laptops or mobile devices and play
against each other in a fun question and answer
based on any subject. Sometimes the teacher will
create the Kahoot themselves, sometimes they will
allow a student or students to create one as a
reward making sure it is still on the subject, in this
case I would create a Kahoot based on the
Australian home front and the First World War.
(The feedback from peers suggested that this
activity was perfect for commencing the lesson,
and while a fun activity still useful for assessing
the knowledge level of the class after a full lesson)
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

Resources
- Sufficient copies of the activity worksheets that students are to work on during the
class.
- Access to a projector for PowerPoint and online activities/information in case not all
students have a device to follow along on
- Students will need access to laptops or mobile devices for the Kahoot. (This was
highlighted as a concern through feedback as to how this could not be very inclusive
for those students without access to laptops, as such I have slightly altered the activity
above.)

RATIONALE:
Constructivist learning theories underpin this proposed lesson. The educational theory of
Constructivism believes that knowledge is ‘temporary, developmental, socially and culturally
mediated, and thus, non-objective’ (Jones, M. & Brader-Araje, L. 2002, p. 2). Critics of
Constructivism often say that because of this lack of objectivity, that anything and everything
can be held as equal knowledge, however the key is that ‘truth in constructivism… is
replaced by viability’ and as such the viability of ideas are what creates knowledge (Jones,
M. & Brader-Araje, L. 2002, p. 3). These ideas are essential to the study of History, where
students are tasked with forming contextual understandings of historical events and figures
rather than biased or objective understandings. This lesson is designed around the teacher
prompting discussions based on a very specific time frame of history, that being Australia
from 1914-1918, and allowing small group student led discussion to gain an insight of where
their level of understanding would be at in this formative lesson. The lesson content itself is
directly based around the Level 10 Victorian Curriculum in the area of History. Part of the
Level 10 Victorian Curriculum of History is exploring the role that Australia played in both the
First and Second World Wars. This lesson was created around Australia and it’s
contributions to the First World War, with a specific emphasis on the different social groups
that make up Australia, this focus directly goes towards part of the curriculum which looks at
‘Effects of World War I, with a particular emphasis on the changes and continuities brought
to the Australian home front and society’ (Victorian Curriculum 2017). The other area of the
Victorian Curriculum that the lesson addresses is understanding and critically analysing the
‘causes of World War I, the reasons why men enlisted to go to war, and how women
contributed in the war effort’ (Victorian Curriculum 2017). These two areas specifically blend
well together and have some overlapping content, and as such can be used to create a
lesson like this that explores the changes in the Australian home front through the eyes of
groups such as Women and Indigenous Australians, while also looking at why Australian
men felt obligated to serve overseas. It’s the social changes in particular that are stressed
within this lesson, through the use of propaganda from the time the lesson seeks to help
students understand the increasing non-traditional roles that women found themselves in
due to the lack of men on the home front, and how once men returned from the war, this shift
was the cause of much controversy and political debate. Critical thinking and the ability to
analyse historical context rationally are the key skills that this lesson is working to help
students improve.
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

The development of literacy and numeracy skills are a core part of all modern lesson plans.
Depending on the subject, literacy and numeracy may not be as apparent. For example,
numeracy within history is not necessarily a core skill, but it is slightly apparent through the
use of numerical dates which are essential for historical referencing. Literacy is paramount to
the subject of history which so heavily revolves around extensive writing and formulating
responses, thus literacy development as an ongoing process is important. Literacy
development refers to ‘‘gaining control over a larger and more flexible’ language ‘repertoire’
as well as ‘becoming more aware of one’s own spoken and written language systems’
(Berman, R. 2016, p. 182). Discussion based activities in which students are given a voice
are very important to increasing literacy skills as there is a huge connection between
understanding oral language and written word. It’s important to include both oral and written
literacy within a lesson, as different learners will response more to one or the other and if
you exclude one then you may be excluding a section of your students immediately from the
entire lesson design. There are many experts who see speech and writing as two different
‘distinct ways of looking at the world’ or ‘two modes of consciousness’ (Berman, R. 2016, p.
186). It’s also suggested that speech is more of a ‘cooperative’ form of literacy, whilst writing
is more of an ‘independent’ form of literacy but both are distinctly related in an overall
understanding of literacy (Berman, R. 2016, p. 186). Learning involves progression at both
the individual lesson level, as well as an overall unit level. Most education standards ‘do not
provide a clear progression’ of skills, usually only providing the content, and as such it is the
job of the teacher to employ skill progression within lessons (Heritage, M. 2008, p. 2). Within
this lesson there is a ‘sequence along which students can move incrementally from novice to
more expert performance’ through activities that will seek to further novice knowledge and
performance, as well as foster more expert students skills (Heritage, M. 2008, p. 4).
Students will begin the lesson by receiving information to compliment and strengthen their
own knowledge on the subject of the Australian home front during the First World War.
Students will then have the chance to share and expand upon this information with their
peers as well as use their own information to generate discussion points. All of the
information will then be compiled to answer questions and analyse source material by
making direct references to this information that has been fostered throughout the lesson.

The assessment present within this lesson is assessment for learning. Throughout a unit or
subject assessment for learning happens at all stages. Assessment for learning can be
described as ‘the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their
teachers to decide where learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best
to get there’ (Laveault, D. & Allal, L. 2016, p. 3). An assessment for learning approach is a
combination of both formative assessment in that it ‘seeks to ensure adaptation of teacher
and learning activities’ as a means of attaining ‘intended learning outcomes’ of the
curriculum, however it sees this process as interactive and ongoing rather than done at
specific times during learning (Laveault, D. & Allal, L. 2010, p. 4). An assessment for
learning approach is ‘now recognised as one of the most powerful strategies for supporting
student learning’ inside the classroom (Laveault, D. & Allal, L. 2016, p. 2). In order to really
take full advantage of an assessment for learning strategy it is important to employ a
‘diverse’ amount of development activities (Laveault, D. & Allal, L. 2016, p. 3). This lesson
incorporates many of the aspects of assessment for learning within it, and each activity is
designed with it in mind to see where the knowledge level of students is currently at, and
whether to introduce advanced concepts through discussion or pare ideas down for easier
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

understanding if students are struggling. Feedback to students is also a key aspect of

formative assessment and assessment for learning, there is a large amount of literature
surrounding the positive ‘nature and benefits of quality feedback’ that suggests useful
feedback leads to student ‘motivation and self-regulation’ (Heritage, M 2008, p. 6). Feedback
in this lesson would be delivered in two ways, one to cater to auditory learners and one to
cater to traditional pen and paper learners. The discussion based activities would allow for
on the go feedback, complimenting student answers and highlighting good critical thinking
and question asking, this feedback also directly involves the students in ‘monitoring and
evaluating their own learning process’ as individuals (Heritage, M 2008, p. 7). The teacher
should also be roaming and monitoring the smaller group discussion activities such as
brainstorming in order to see the contributions of individuals as they form ideas, as well as
the class as a whole during discussions in order to gauge the general level of information
that the class has in particular areas, and any areas that the class is lacking information in
for future lessons. The worksheet activity would be considered more of an assessment of
learning and would generate more traditional feedback that would be delivered at another
time after the worksheet has been looked over by the teacher who would leave comments
and suggestions on how to improve answers or which answers were strong and why.

Also present in some of the activities, and the diversity of activities is the concept of
differentiation. Differentiation refers to ‘offering students multiple ways of taking and
expressing information’ (Sprenger, M. 2008, p. 2). It’s important as a teacher to recognise
that students ‘who differ in abilities also differ in how they perceive and organise their
learning processes’ and fostering these differences within activities is important in order to
cater to the wide variety of learners that make up a typical modern classroom (Biggs, J &
Kirby, J p. 34). In order to have good differentiation within a lesson, it is important that the
content is not totally linear and not only digestible one or few ways that may ignore sections
of the learners that make up your classroom, sometimes it will be hard to get individual
students engaged depending on outside factors, but a teacher should strive to ensure that
content itself is never one of these factors. These individual perspectives of learning
‘determine the performance of students’ and as such a lesson should be striving to engage
all students to get the best performance possible out of each student individually and the
class as a whole (Biggs, J & Kirby, J p. 37). This lesson has tried to diversify the presented
activities to cater to a range of different learning styles. The delivery of information at the
start of the class will cater to traditional learners who benefit from receiving information
directly from a teacher and presentation, while also not directly leaving out learners who
benefit more from back and forth by allowing questions and comments to be interjected
throughout. The brainstorming activity would similarly cater to students who benefit more
from back and forth, while also not leaving out those traditional learners who have already
received information from the first portion of the class. The worksheet activity would cater far
more to traditional learners but not directly leave out auditory learners, the worksheet can
also be done individually or in small groups depending on what students feel more
comfortable doing. The Kahoot activity is more of a blend of all learning styles, presented as
a fun quiz that allows the students to compete against each other in real time. Within my
placement Kahoot’s have been used extensively in the classroom at all levels as both a sort
of cool down reward activity, as well as a revision tool, and all students seem to respond
very well to this type of activity.
Michael Kelly S4488785 – Crit Lit Assessment 2

Bibliography

Jones, M. & Brader-Araje, L. 2002, ‘The Impact of Constructivism on Education: Language,

Discourse and Meaning’, American Communication Journal, vol 5, no.3, <http://ac-
journal.org/journal/vol5/iss3/special/jones.pdf>

Victorian Curriculum 2017, Level 10, Victorian Curriculum, viewed 1 June 2017,
<http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/level10>

Berman, R 2016, ‘Linguistic Literacy and Later Language Development’, in Perera, J,

Aparici, M, Rosado, E & Salas, N (ed.), Written and Spoken Language Development across
the Lifespan: Essays in Honour of Liliana Tolchinsky, Springer International Publishing,
Switzerland, pp. 181-201.

Heritage, M 2008, ‘Learning Progressions: Supporting Instruction and Formative

Assessment’, The Council of Chief State School Officers, viewed 2 June 2017,
<http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/ClassroomAssessmentIntegration/pubdocs/FASTLearni
ngProgressions.pdf>

Laveault, D & Allal, L 2016, ‘Implementing Assessment for Learning: Theoretical and
Practical Issues’, in Laveault, D & Allal, L (ed.), Assessment for Learning: Meeting the
Challenge of Implementation, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp. 1-18.

Sprenger, M 2008, Differentiation Through Learning Styles and Memory, Corwin Press,
California.

Biggs, J & Kirby, J 1984, ‘Differentiation of Learning Processes within Ability Groups’,
Educational Psychology, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 21-39.