Journey vs Destination

Unit Summary

Students explore the meaning of success. They investigate their values and self esteem and look at the relative importance and enjoyment of the 'Journey versus the Destination'. This unit has a focus on practical, hands-on activities and students use a class blog to reflect on their project work and achievement. Children's stories, poems, practical building experiments and presentation of a Games Gala are woven together in this unit of work which encourages students to both assess realistically their contribution and also to focus positively on their strengths and future personal development.

Curriculum-Framing Questions

• Essential Question
  How do the 'journey' and the 'destination' shape our personal growth?
  
• Unit Question
  What does being successful mean for you?
  How do we learn from participating and creating?
• Content Questions
  How do we become successful?
  Do we have to win to be successful?
  Can we learn from our mistakes or from not succeeding at a task?
  Can we achieve success on our own, or as part of a team?
  What makes a team work well together?

Assessment Processes

View how assessment is used in this unit plan.  These assessments help students and teachers set understandable goals, monitor student progress, provide feedback, assess thinking, performance and products, and reflect on learning throughout the activities.

Prerequisite Skills

Students Prior Knowledge

Students bring prior knowledge of sports, both from the perspective of their own participation, and from watching elite sports people in the media/on television.

Students bring prior knowledge of event organisation from the perspective of being an attendee/observer/participant. Their experiences may include local, national and international events.

Teachers Professional Learning

• Collaboration with fellow team members at the Intel course and planning with education sector personnel
• Team teaching/discussions of observations/anecdotal notes with unit members.
• Setting up a sample blog using Edublog

Teachers' Professional Reading

• VELS Document – Health and Physical Education (Level 2) - Interpersonal Learning, Personal Learning.
• 'Costas Habits of Mind' by Arthur L Costa

Teaching and Learning Strategies

The following strategies will be introduced or revised during the course of the unit:

• Y Chart – The chart (in the shape of a Y) is divided into; Sounds Like (What can you hear happening), Looks Like (What can you see happening), and Feels Like (How do you feel or how do you think it feels?).
• Students will determine what they think it means to be successful by completing a Y chart (what does success feel like, sound like, look like).
• Develop an understanding of the concept of teamwork, cooperation, support and collaboration.
• Develop concept of self-esteem by exploring their values and beliefs about themselves.
• Develop an understanding of the concept of teamwork, cooperation, support and collaboration.
• Consider the difference between the product versus the process.
• Develop an understanding that failure can contribute towards growth.
• Develop an understanding of perseverance.
• Develop an understanding of different ways we can control our actions through persistence, taking responsible risks and managing impulsivity (Costa's Habits of Mind).
• Develop an understanding that through participation we learn through role playing.
• Venn diagrams – Gather information and place within/without intersecting labelled circles. Compare and contrast the data entered.
• Brainstorm – Ideas are recorded on paper in single word or note form. Ideas are accepted without judgement.
• KWL Chart - The chart is divided into; What we Know, What we Want to find out and What we have Learnt.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Students are introduced to the unit through initial work in cooperative groups designed to prompt students to reflect on the concept of success and how it may be achieved.

Groups are required to complete a number of group activities.

• Build a bridge out of newspaper and masking tape that will hold 3 toy cars.
• After the completion of the activity students fill out a rubric on the success of their bridge and the success of their group work. They also add their reflections on the success of their bridge and group work to the class: Journey vs Destination Blog*.
• Build a 1m tower made out of newspaper and straws.
• The students complete the Tower Rubric (xls) reflecting on the success of the tower and the success of their group work. Comparisons are made between the first activity and the second activity. As a group students explore the following questions: Did the group work differently when building the tower? If so what were the differences? Did these differences improve the cooperation of team members? Students record their reflections on the class blog.

To encourage students to evaluate positively their contributions to the group:

• Students write a poem exploring their values and beliefs about themselves; ref:
• http://www.selfesteem2go.com/children-poetry-on-self-esteem.html*

Teacher now introduces the concept of the difference between the process and the end product:

• Using picture story books such as 'The Three Little Pigs', 'The Hare and the Tortoise', 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' – students act out the stories. What gave the character success in the end? The process not the product, for example in The Three Little Pigs all the pigs built a house, the pig who build the house out of straw finished first, but the house was blown down. The pig who built his house out of bricks took longer but produced a sound house that withstood the efforts of the wolf.
• To develop an understanding that through participation we learn; read and role play 'The Little Red Hen'.

The teacher now introduces students to the main project work for the unit: the planning and implementation of a 'Games Gala at the school.

• As a class fill out the 'Know' and the 'Want' of a KWL chart about major sports and games events.
• Students research planning and implementation of Olympic and/or Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremonies and the Games themselves. The teacher may be able to source a DVD on this topic to make this activity a collective class activity. As a class, students compare the preparations for the different events they've researched. They complete a Venn Diagram illustrating what was the same and different about the events and the preparations. Some useful websites are listed in the resources section below.
• After the research and comparison activities, students may be able to add the KWL Chart. Students record their reflections on the class blog.
• In groups brainstorm what is involved in preparing for major sporting and games events. Students then bring their findings back to the class.
• Brainstorm topics: events, opening and closing ceremony, judges, scoring, awards/certificates, trophies, flags, teams.
• Students choose an area of interest and form groups based on their interest.
• Groups develop a plan to complete their activity using the Group Plan Template as a guide. (Needs will be dependent upon activity chosen).
  • What materials will they need?
  • What computer programs will they need? For example Word, Excel.
  • How will jobs be allocated?
  • What music and costumes will be needed for the opening and closing ceremony?
  • What equipment will be needed on the day?
• Throughout this process of organising their task students will be required to report their progress to the teacher who will keep a journal. Students to report their progress on the class blog.
• Students design an invitation to parents for the Games Gala
• On the day of the Games Gala students are to coordinate activities (teacher assistance where needed).
• In their groups students discuss the success of their contribution and completes the Games Gala Rubric (xls). They complete a Games Gala Y Chart (doc) (what did the event look, feel and sound like?). Each group contributes slides towards a class Games Gala Presentation (ppt), describing each team's contribution to the overall event. Was the Games Gala successful? What made the games successful for them? Did the activity they plan work out as they expected? What did they learn from taking part in the project? Students and teacher reflect on the Essential Question at the heart of the unit: How does the journey and the end result shape our personal growth?

Accommodations for Diverse Needs

Students with special needs

The mixed ability and interest groups will provide an opportunity for all students to provide knowledge and expertise to the overall project.

English as a second language (ESL) students

Provide translation for instructions if possible. Group work should offer support.

Gifted Students

The tasks are open-ended as they can be extended to the student's ability.

Indigenous Groups

Indigenous groups will be encouraged to explore sports from their culture and to represent their country with the designing of a flag.

Credits

Rosemarie Van Den Broek participated in the Intel Teach Program, which resulted in this idea for a classroom project.

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