A possum disturbs Old Dog, and a ‘cranky’ magpie swoops at anyone who steps into the backyard. Little J and Big Cuz share a room and when Little J steps on Big Cuz’s art project, a disagreement over territory ensues. The result is a clear dividing line to mark their individual territory. But they discover they have to compromise on a shared space, and cooperate in order to move in and out of the room, and to get past the swooping magpie in the backyard. Their joint, inventive solution wins high praise from the class at ‘show & tell’.

Evaluate - Draw simple conclusions based on discussions, observations and information displayed in pictures and texts and on maps.

Theme - MAPS

Evaluate what students have learnt (know and can do) from the activities in relation to the HASS curriculum. Assess the success of the module through reflecting on students’:

• identifying and explaining the basic conventions of a maps, such as Border, Orientation, Location, Title, (Scale, Source) – B.O.L.T.S.S.
• identifying the symbols used in mapping
• comparing the purposes of maps, and different types of maps (digital, printed and hand-made)
• locating a given town/area on a map
• locating Aboriginal language groups and/or Torres Strait Islander language groups locations on a map of Australia
• identifying the position on a map of the eight states and territories of Australia
• analysing why natural and map drawn borders are used to demarcate territories
• displaying learning through visual, text and/or oral communication.

As a culmination of the learning in the module, students could

• find examples of ‘Old’ maps of Australia and ‘New’ maps of Australia, and comparing and explaining why these maps were/are drawn for similar or different purposes.
• draw an imaginary map of a newly found planet, develop a legend to go with the map that highlights the different types of landscape, and the alien animals’ habitats found there.
• annotate and colour hand drawn maps using contour lines and symbols so that each land feature is discernible from the other
• produce three to four maps of the same place over a period of time. Research local council survey maps (located at a local library or council office) to find out what the area was like in the past.
• create a GIS plot map of the school or local area, and design an app that would deliver the data for something useful, for example, a live status update of the location of the local ice cream truck, or a lost dogs’ location, etc.

Student evaluation tools

Students could self-evaluate their learning using a ‘monitoring’ journal (physical or digital) where the teacher lists the key understandings and concepts students needed to acquire through the module.

Where applicable, a self-evaluation could be constructed as a poll rating their responses using:

• Kahoot 
• Quizlet

Use Early Years writing using rubrics to provide feedback to students

Students can use a learning worm to evaluate their work, adapted from:

• Learning Worm 

Teacher reflection tools

Reflect on your teaching of the module. What worked well? What needs more work? What would you add/change/omit in future? Ask students to rate your efforts and recommend areas for improvement. You may wish to refer to broader resources for reflection or for gaining feedback, for example:

• Demonstrating impact 
• ‘How-to’ guide: Learning walks 
• Reflection on Practice Tool