Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority€¦ · Web viewThis unit is based on material developed with schools participating in the 2018 Intercultural Capability project. The

Intercultural Capability: Unit plan, Foundation

My community and me

Authorised and published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment AuthorityLevel 7, 2 Lonsdale StreetMelbourne VIC 3000

© Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 2019

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ContentsThe Intercultural Capability project................................................................................................4

Safety and wellbeing......................................................................................................................4

About this unit..................................................................................................................................5Context...........................................................................................................................................5Overview.........................................................................................................................................5

Formative assessment rubric.........................................................................................................7

Unit lesson plans..............................................................................................................................9Lesson 1 – Our family backgrounds...............................................................................................9Lesson 2 – Our family backgrounds and our cultures..................................................................10

Lesson 3 – Languages.................................................................................................................11Lesson 4 – Food...........................................................................................................................12

Lesson 5 – Traditional clothing.....................................................................................................13Lesson 6 – Celebrations...............................................................................................................14

Lesson 7 – Cultural profile of a peer............................................................................................15

Appendix 1......................................................................................................................................16

Appendix 2......................................................................................................................................18

Appendix 3......................................................................................................................................19

Work samples.................................................................................................................................20Sample 1......................................................................................................................................21

Sample 2......................................................................................................................................23Sample 3......................................................................................................................................25

Teacher reflections........................................................................................................................27

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The Intercultural Capability projectThis unit is based on material developed with schools participating in the 2018 Intercultural Capability project. The project was conducted by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in partnership with the International Education Division at the Department of Education and Training. The units of work target the explicit teaching of the Victorian Curriculum: F-10 Intercultural Capability. They include formative assessment rubrics that the teachers designed to describe progression of student learning in Intercultural Capability and to provide guidance to students on how to make progress in their learning. This unit provides one example of how a school might plan for the explicit teaching of Intercultural Capability. It is not published as an exemplar.

Safety and wellbeingTeachers must exercise their duty of care in ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of students is maintained during the study of this Intercultural Capability unit. In addition to the usual pastoral care and health needs of students, teachers should bear in mind cultural sensitivities and the potential for disagreement or conflict over cultural/racial issues. Students should be given the opportunity to provide depersonalised responses or exempt themselves from activities of a potentially sensitive nature and should not be asked to speak on behalf of others. Harmful language or behaviour towards others on the basis of culture or race should not be tolerated. Where appropriate students should be counselled and/or debriefed. For further advice on navigating race and culture issues in the classroom, see the VCAA’s Teacher Guide.

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http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/foundation10/viccurriculum/intcult/teachresources.aspx

About this unit Unit title: My community and meBand: Foundation to Level 2Teaching time: 7 x 45-minutes

ContextThis unit was developed in a new, highly culturally diverse school in the south-east region of Melbourne. It was designed to be delivered to a Prep class with no prior experience with the Intercultural Capability curriculum. The aim was to help students make progress from Foundation to Level 2 in the curriculum. The teachers used resources from their school library to create a sequence of lessons.

OverviewThe unit was created in association with a formative assessment rubric (see below) which was used to plan lessons to facilitate progress in student learning. The lessons address the four actions in the rubric:

1. Discusses their own and others’ cultures

2. Demonstrates understanding of their own and other’s cultures

3. Responds to literature about culture

4. Explores language and communication in own context.

In the sequence of seven lessons, students begin by reading together Mem Fox’s Whoever You Are, as an entry point into different cultures in Australia, how they differ and what they share.

Students then go on to:

Identify where their families came from across the world

Explore in discussion and drawings the ‘visible’ aspects of their own and others’ culture – language, clothing, food, celebrations and traditions.

The unit was planned using the following overarching elements:

Essential questions: What is my cultural heritage and how does is compare to those of my peers? How many different languages and traditions are there in my class?

Guiding questions: What is my family heritage? What are the traditions and celebrations of my family? What languages do my peers and I speak?

Key topics: Cultures, languages, celebrations and traditions, food

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Key vocabulary: Family, traditions, culture, celebrations, difference, similarities, communication, language, country, food, heritage, peers, community

The rubric and associated unit target the following part of the Victorian Curriculum: F–10 Intercultural Capability curriculum:

Band: Foundation to Level 2

Strand: Cultural Practices

Content descriptions: Identify what is familiar and what is different in the ways culturally diverse individuals and families live (VCICCB001)

Strand: Cultural Diversity

Content descriptions: Identify and discuss cultural diversity in the school and/or community (VCICCD003)

Achievement Standard: By the end of Level 2, students begin to distinguish what is familiar and different in the ways culturally diverse individuals and families live. They describe their experiences of intercultural encounters, and identify cultural diversity in their school and/or community.

Students explain how they might respond in different cultural situations.

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http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Search?q=VCICCD003

http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Curriculum/ContentDescription/VCICCB001

Formative assessment rubricThe formative assessment rubric below was used to help identify the steps in learning, to collect evidence of learning and as a basis for providing feedback. The lesson plans that follow specify which part of the rubric was targeted in each lesson.

The rubric was developed using the relevant Intercultural Capability achievement standard/s and the Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics. More information about the terminology and structure of the rubric can be found in the Guide.

Intercultural Capability, Foundation to Level 2

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

Students in this phase identify some features of their own culture

Students in this phase explain features of their own culture and identify some features of another culture within the school

Students in this phase explain similarities and differences between their culture and another

Students in this phase begin to distinguish what is familiar and different in the ways culturally diverse individuals and families live, and identify cultural diversity in their school and/or community

Organising Element/s

Action Quality Criteria

Cultural Practices and Cultural Diversity strands

1. Discusses their own and others’ cultures

Insufficient evidence

1.1 Identifies features of their own culture

1.2 Explains features of their own culture

1.3 Discusses information about different cultures

1.4 Presents information in depth about a variety of cultures within the school environment

2. Demonstrates understanding of their own and others’


2.1 Draws visible features of their own culture

2.2 Illustrates visible features of another culture within their class

2.3 Compares their own culture with the culture of a classmate

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http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/foundation10/viccurriculum/formative_assessment.aspx

cultures



3.1 Lists different cultures mentioned within literature and their visible features

3.2 Explains the similarities and differences between their own culture and cultures referenced in literature

4. Explores language and communication in own context


4.1 Identifies their own language

4.2 Lists other languages spoken within the classroom

4.3 Describes the importance of understanding that some cultural groups speak a language different to their own language

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Unit lesson plans The following lessons were created to facilitate progress in student learning. Each lesson was linked to a particular action/s in the formative assessment rubric and the associated quality criteria. Teachers should give students ongoing feedback on the next steps in their learning and provide opportunities for them to make progress in the targeted area of the curriculum.

Lesson 1 – Our family backgrounds

Rubric areas targeted:

1.2 Explains features of their own culture 1.3 Discusses information about

Discuss with students what culture and cultural practices are, guided by this definition:

Culture is made up of ‘cultural practices’ that relate to the ways a group of people live. Some cultural practices often involve material objects such as clothing or musical instruments but also non-material things such as language, customs and social roles.

Different cultural groups can have different practices, such as the food they eat and how it is made, the language they speak, the clothes they wear, the music and arts they create and the religious tradition they observe.

Cultural practices become traditional when they are regularly passed down to different members of the family and community through experiences and stories.

Cultural practices are guided by cultural values. For example, in Australia it is a common view that everyone should have a ‘fair go’, meaning that all people should have similar opportunities. Cultural groups often share similar values – such as fairness, politeness or respect for elders – even if they dress, worship or celebrate in different ways.

Explain that culture is connected to where we come from and to where we live now.

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Read Whoever You Are by Mem Fox as a whole group. Discuss and explain to students that we all come from different places all over the world and may speak, play and eat different things, but we have many things in common.

Show students a world map or globe and ask students if they know where their family came from. Make a list of all the different countries on the board. Make a visual representation of all the places we are connected with. Students should place the photos of themselves on the appropriate places on the map or globe.

Students should complete the ‘Where I come from’ section of their Cultural Profile and share their responses with a peer. (Throughout the following lessons, the same peer should be shared with where indicated, to enable the Peer Cultural Profile to be completed in Lesson 7.)

Resources:

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

World map or globe

Photos of each of student

My Cultural Profile template (Appendix 1)

Lesson 2 – Our family backgrounds and our cultures


1.1 Identifies features of their own culture 1.2 Explains features of their own culture 1.3 Discusses information about different cultures 3.1 Lists different cultures mentioned within literature and their visible features

Look at the world map/globe with the class and revise the previous lesson on where our families came from.

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Read I’m Australian Too by Mem Fox with the class and discuss all the different places the children and families came from to live in Australia. Explain that we are a multicultural country and we all come together as one, just like our Learning Community and school.

Partner students up to go and ask a teacher or student from another class where they come from so that we can place it on our world map.

Form students into small groups for discussion and reflection: students identify and discuss a feature of their own culture and a feature of another culture. Ensure that students make a connection between where someone’s family is from and their culture.

Listen for gaps in understanding and give students information or feedback to facilitate progress in their learning.

Resources:

I’m Australian Too by Mem Fox

Lesson 3 – Languages


2.1 Draws visible features of their own culture 3.1 Lists different cultures mentioned within literature and their visible features 4.1 Identifies their own language 4.2 Lists other languages spoken within the classroom

Look at the world map with the class and revise the previous lesson on where our cultural heritage lies and how we are all connected in our Learning Community.

As a class, read Hello, World! by Disney Press and discuss the fact that people speak different languages all over the world and even in our Learning Community. Ask students to Think, Pair, Share about the languages they speak. Make a combined list of all the languages spoken in our class.

Students should walk around the class/Learning Community and record all the different ways of saying hello and goodbye in different languages. Then discuss the findings and make a chart on the board of the various ways of saying hello and goodbye.



Students should complete the ‘I speak…’ section of their Cultural Profile.

Resources:

World map or globe

Hello, World! by Disney Press

Pens/paper or digital device

My Cultural Profile (Appendix 1)

Lesson 4 – Food


1.1 Identifies features of their own culture 1.2 Explains features of their own culture 2.1 Draws visible features of their own culture 3.2 Explains the similarities and differences between their own culture and cultures referenced in literature

Before the lesson: Read about the cultural dimensions of food so that you are ready to prompt students to think more deeply about the food they eat in their culture.

Read Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley and discuss as a class all the different things we eat at home. Ask students whether they cook rice in any of the ways mentioned in the book.

Students individually draw/make all the things they eat in their culture and display them on a paper plate. Students share their plates with their peers in small groups and explain to them the types of food they eat.

Then they complete the ‘I eat…’ section of their Cultural Profile. Circulate and give students feedback on their Cultural Profiles to facilitate progress in their learning. Take note of their comments/responses to use as evidence for the formative assessment rubric. Prompt them with deeper questions about the cultural aspects of food based on your research prior to the lesson.



Resources:

‘The cultural dimensions of food’ (downloadable guide, for teacher reference only)

Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley

Paper plates

Textas/pencils/craft materials


Lesson 5 – Traditional clothing


1.3 Discusses information about different cultures 2.1 Draws visible features of their own culture 2.3 Compares their own culture with the culture of a classmate 3.2 Explains the similarities and differences between their own culture and cultures referenced in literature

Read Hello by Tony Flowers as a class. Ask students to discuss in pairs what they noticed about what the characters were wearing in the book. Do they wear anything like this? Do they have special cultural or traditional clothes?

Students draw the clothing worn in their own culture on the Child Template. They should share their work with a peer. Discuss together as a class the differences and similarities we see between the clothing from different countries.

Ask students to complete the ‘What I wear’ section of their Cultural Profile.

Discuss why cultures select certain clothes, e.g. weather/geography, religious practices, gender relations, historical access to textiles/materials.

Resources:



http://www.barillacfn.com/en/publications/the-cultural-dimension-of-food/

Hello by Tony Flowers

Child Template (Appendix 2)


Lesson 6 – Celebrations


1.3 Discusses information about different cultures 2.1 Draws visible features of their own culture 2.3 Compares their own culture with the culture of a classmate 3.2 Explains the similarities and differences between their own culture and cultures referenced in literature 4.3 Describe the importance of understanding that some cultural groups speak a language different to their own language

Students invite a relative/carer to speak to the class about the traditions and celebrations in their culture. Assist the class to welcome invited guests using some of the words for ‘hello’ learnt in Lesson 3.

Remind students of Hello by Tony Flowers (see Lesson 5). Discuss the different traditions and celebrations the students and their families have, inviting comparison to the text.

Students individually draw or write down the key celebrations and traditions in their culture in consultation with their invited parent/relative.

Hold a class discussion guided by the following questions:

Were any of the celebrations similar? Do we celebrate all of these? Do we celebrate different things or in different ways?

Assist the class to farewell invited guests using some of the words for ‘goodbye’ learnt in Lesson 3.



Use the experience of saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to invited guests to discuss as a class why knowing that some cultural groups speak a language different to their own is important.

Students individually complete the ‘What I celebrate’ section of their Cultural Profile.

Resources:

Relative/carers

Hello by Tony Flowers


Lesson 7 – Cultural profile of a peer


1.3 Discusses information about different cultures 2.2 Illustrates visible features of another culture within the class 2.3 Compares their own culture with the culture of a classmate

Students use information gained in previous lessons to complete My Peer’s Cultural Profile.

Students share with the class, discussing the similarities and differences between their own Cultural Profile and that of their peer.

As students do the activities, observe their conversations and note down any comments that demonstrate evidence of learning for the purposes of the rubric. Prompt students with feedback to help them make progress in their learning.

To conclude, discuss the following questions as a class:

What have you learnt about different cultures? What did you find most interesting about other cultures? What did you discover about your own culture/s? Why is it important to learn about other cultures? Is there something that stood out for you when learning about them? What would you like

to learn more about?



Resources:

My Peer’s Cultural Profile (Appendix 3)



Appendix 1



Appendix 2



Appendix 3



Work samplesSamples have not been corrected for expression or accuracy. Students have been de-identified.



Sample 1

This sample demonstrated the following actions in the rubric:


1.2 Explains features of own culture (in class, the student explained what roti was and showed India on a map)



1.3 Discusses information about different cultures (the student told the class his peer was from America, ate chocolate cookies and spoke English)


Progress towards 4.2 Lists other languages spoken by a classmate

Progression: The next step for the student would be to list more than one other language spoken by

someone in the class and compare their own culture with that of a classmate.



Sample 1 Intercultural Capability, Foundation to Level 2



Students in this phase can explain features of their own culture and identify some features of another culture within the school



Organising Element/s Action Quality Criteria


1. Discusses their own and others’ culture

1.0 Insufficient evidence 1.1 Identifies features of their own culture




2. Demonstrates understanding of their own and others’ cultures

2.0 Insufficient evidence 2.1 Draws visible features of their own culture




3.0 Insufficient evidence 3.1 Lists different cultures mentioned within literature and their visible features


4. Explores language and communication in their own context

4.0 Insufficient evidence 4.1 Identifies their own language







Sample 2This sample demonstrated the following actions in the rubric:


1.2 Explains features of own culture (in class, the student explained ‘milk rice’, ‘sari’ and ‘Sinhalese New Year’)


4.1 Identifies their own language (the student noted she is bilingual)

Progress towards 2.3 Compares their own culture with the culture of a classmate (the student gave limited information)

Progression:

The next step for the student would be to give more information and to identify aspects of another student’s culture.






Students in this phase can explain features of own culture and identify some features of another culture within the school





1.Discusses own and others’ culture

1.0 Insufficient evidence

1.1 Identifies features of own culture

1.2 Explains features of own culture



2. Demonstrates understanding of own and others’ cultures









4. Explores language and communication in own context




4.3 Describes the importance of understanding that some cultural groups speak a language different to own language





Sample 3

This sample demonstrated the following actions in the rubric:1.1 Identifies features of their own culture



Progress towards 2.3 Compares their own culture with the culture of a classmate (the student mistakenly believed that eye colour is an aspect of culture)

Progression: The next step for the student would be to explain aspects of their culture to others and look beyond physical characteristics when considering culture.






Students in this phase can explain features of their own culture and identify some features of another culture within the school





1. Discusses their own and others’ culture






2. Demonstrates understanding of their own and others’ cultures









4. Explores language and communication in their own context







Teacher reflectionsTeachers involved in the Intercultural Capability Project were invited to reflect on their curriculum planning and teaching experience.

The teacher of this unit stated:

Students enjoyed learning about their own culture and those of others. They particularly enjoyed the stories and looking at visuals such as maps. The unit led to lots of conversations with parents and other students in the school. It was great to see the students’ enthusiasm and the development of their understanding of different cultures.



Documents

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority€¦ · Web viewThis unit is based on material developed with schools participating in the 2018 Intercultural Capability project. The