The class is taking turns hosting ‘Aaron’ the class mascot. It is Little J’s turn so Little J, Nanna, Big Cuz, and Old Dog take Aaron on Country to look for mica rock, and along the way they photograph the expedition. Distracted by the events of the day, Little J loses Aaron and the family enrols the help of Uncle Mick, a Search and Rescue officer, to return him.

Evaluate - Science involves observing, asking questions about, and describing changes in, objects and events 

Theme - MATERIALS

Evaluate what students have learnt (know and can do) from the activities in relation to the science curriculum.

Assess the success of the module through reflecting on students:

• comparing the properties and uses of natural materials such as rocks, minerals and seeds, and processed materials
• posing and responding to questions about how Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples used natural materials to make their tools and technologies for living day-to-day
• identifying the properties of rocks and minerals, how they are used in the construction industry today, and how they are used to refine organic materials
• describing the importance of the Erythrina vespertilio, and Ininti seeds for Aboriginal communities and/or Torres Strait islander communities.
• making observations, discussing and drawing conclusions about the properties and uses of natural materials and processed materials.

As a culmination of the learning in this module students: could:

• Create a photo story of an excursion in the students’ backyards, finding a variety of natural materials that a family could make use of.
• Create a patchwork mural from a variety or textiles and materials. Every student contributes a square to the mural.
• Recycle materials that are damaging to the environment, e.g. find a new use for plastic bags, plastic bottle tops, cardboard cartons, Styrofoam supports. etc.
• Design and make a pair of shoes from a variety of materials (opposite to the properties that shoes usually are), and have a shoe parade.
• Participate in a clean-up of the school/local environment campaign: produce a photo story of the local environment, particularly areas that are polluted and need to be cleared of rubbish.
• Plant an Ininti seed tree (Coral tree) in the school grounds and dedicate it to the local Aboriginal community and/or Torres Strait islander community.

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 link below:

• Learning Worm 

Teacher reflection tools

Reflect on your teaching of the module. What worked well? What needs more work? What would you add, change or omit in future?

Ask students to rate your efforts and recommend areas for improvement. You may want to refer to broader resources for reflection or for gaining feedback, for example:

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