SCIENCE UNIT PLANNER

Pre-service Teacher name: Highlight planning process: Date:

Monique Planned collaboratively with ST 3/9
Planned collaboratively with peer 10/9
Year level/ age range & number of students: Planned independently based on ST lessons 17/9
Year 6/7 – 24 students Planned Independently 24/9
Unit title: Earthquake Explorers

Learning area and outcomes: (E.g. English, Mathematics, Science, Health & Physical Education, Humanities & Social Sciences,
The Arts, Technologies and Languages & Australian Curriculum links)
Year 6: Science Understanding: Earth and Space Science: Sudden geological changes and extreme
weather events can affect Earth’s surface (ACSSU096)
Year 6: Science as a Human Endeavour: Use and influence of Science: Scientific knowledge is used to
solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE100)

General capabilities consideration: literacy, numeracy, ICT, critical & creative thinking, ethical understandings,
intercultural understandings, personal & social capabilities
Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Numeracy
Cross-curricula consideration: ATSI, Asia & Aust engagement with Asia, Sustainability
Asia and Australians Engagement with Asia,
Student diversity consideration: students with disability, gifted and talented students, students for whom EAL/D
Roger (microphone connected to cochlear implants)- Darcy

Learning intentions: (Descriptions of what learners
should understand and be able to do by the end of a learning
period, the ‘what and why’ of the learning task: ‘We are
learning to …. (learning intention ‘what) so that we can ……
(learning intention ‘why’))
Success criteria for students: (clear and specific
measures of how students have met the learning intentions, i.e.
how they are going with the task, this can include both
learning content and strategies; ‘I know that I can do this
when I have..)

Students are successful when they can verbally

We are learning what earthquakes are, their impact, explain why earthquakes happen and the devestation
where they are, how they are recorded so that we that can occur
can be aware of the natural disaster and what the
earth is capable of

Formative assessment: Summative assessment:

Weekly tasks (e.g piece of writing, worksheet) On location- Poster on an earthquake that happened
Observations within the past 20 years

Range of teaching strategies: preparation/ organisation/ resources:

(What range of teaching strategies will I use and so what resources will I need for the students to engage in the activity? Where
will I access the resources from?)

Smartboard, Smartboard Notes (updated every week), Resource Sheets (from teacher notes in program), Science
Books, pencils, rulers

Differentiation: (Are there any students that I need to personalise the activity for)
Specific student needs: learning/ behaviour Adjustment and considerations
Darcy- ASD, Hearing impairment- works one on one with SSO, using ROGER.

UNIT TIMETABLE
(Weekly overview – brief detail only – use to determine time-frame etc)
WEEK MON TUES WED THURS FRI
BEG.
Week 7 Earthquakes
down under
Week 8 So you want to
be a
seismotologist
Week 9 On Location On Location

Week 10 On Location On Location

SEQUENCE OF LESSONS/ LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Lesson Main Check for
sequence Learning Experiences Resources learning/
Focus Assessment
To support students to investigate and compare earthquake activity in Smarboard Formative- do
Australia and neighbouring countries notes they understand
Start lesson: Teacher notes what the data
- Recap what we did last week (convection currents) Resource sheet was telling them
- Intro- what do you think ‘earthquakes down under’ means? 12
Explain learning intention
- Have map on smartboard with and without plate outline on
top- where do you think earthquakes happen? Why? How
does that relate to Australia as Australia is not on top of the
edge of a plate?
- Resource sheet 11- on smartboard to read through together.
Ask questions from Teachers notes
Earthquakes
- Look at data next- Resource sheet 12- talk through what the
down under data is
- What is a column graph? – disucss where data goes, what a
column graph needs, etc.
- Put our data from resource sheet 12 into a column graph in
our books- talk about what data will go where, what labels
we could use, what the categories will be, etc.
- Once everyone has finished, get students to have 1 min of
individual thinking time about the three question from
teachers notes (have on smartboard). Students then disucss in
pairs.
So you want To support students to investigate and model how scientists collect 6 small tables formative
to be a information about earthquakes 6 felt-tip pen
- Recap previous lesson (earthquakes down under) 6 x 30 cm ruler
seismotologist 6x length of
- State learning intentions
- Introduce/recap of what a seismotologist, seismogram, and paper (see
seismometer are ‘Preparation’):
- Go over a bit of history about the seismometer four 30 cm x
- Introduce task- three volunteers at the front to demonstrate 100 cm lengths
how to make a seismogram of paper for
- Work in collaborative learning teams to make a model of a each team
seismometer Smartnote
- Set up 6 teams of 4 (on smartnote) smartboard
- Should have enough time for every student to be able to
create their own seismogram.
- Once students have completed task, they stick it in their
books and write a short description and highlight the weaker
and stronger points. They then talk in their groups about
what they found, how you can refine the task, what patterns
they can see, as well as an alterative method. They then
share this with another group.
- Recap at the end of the lesson
On location To provide opportunities for students to represent what they know Smartnote summative
about how sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions Rubric
can affect Earth’s surface, and to reflect on their learning during the Plan/steps
unit Earthquake
- Recap/ word wall of all the different terminology learnt presentation
- Introduce assignment- use outline/steps document plan
Students will be creating a poster about an earthquake that has
happened in the past 20 years.
 They need to include :
where/when/what happened
What was the richter/Modified Mercalli scale
What caused the earthquake?

- Go through rubric and use AC to set standards

- Students have rest of lesson, homework, and all of next week
to complete the task

-Go over what they have done so far, what they need to do by On Location summative
the end of the lesson/week outline and
On location - Students can then continue on with their assignements evaluation
NEED TO SEE DOT POINTS/ PLAN/INTRO OF DRAFT BEFORE
END OF LESSON
On Location summative
- Go over what they have done so far, what they need to do by outline and
the end of the lesson/week evaluation
On location - Students can then continue on with their assignements

NEED TO HAVE COMPLETED DRAFT

On Location summative
- Go over what they have done so far, what they need to do by outline and
On location the end of lesson: HAND UP DAY evaluation