Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Duration
10 weeks
Detail: 45/60 min lessons, once a week

Unit overview
This unit focuses on using the Oliver LMS to explore understanding of Living things. The unit aligns with the Year 3 Primary Connections
unit, "Feathers, fur or leaves" and the Year 4 Units, "Friends or Foe" and "Plants in Action" It aims to teach students how to use Oliver library
to assist research on a specific Science topic.

Outcomes
English K-10

EN2-2A plans, composes and reviews a range of texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and language

EN2-4A uses an increasing range of skills, strategies and knowledge to fluently read, view and comprehend a range of texts on
increasingly challenging topics in different media and technologies

EN2-8B identifies and compares different kinds of texts when reading and viewing and shows an understanding of purpose, audience and
subject matter

Science K-10

ST2-3VA develops informed attitudes about the current and future use and influence of science and technology based on reason

ST2-4WS investigates their questions and predictions by analysing collected data, suggesting explanations for their findings, and
communicating and reflecting on the processes undertaken

ST2-10LW describes that living things have life cycles, can be distinguished from non-living things and grouped, based on their
observable features

ST2-15I describes ways that information solutions are designed and produced, and factors to consider when people use and interact with
information sources and technologies

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Outcomes
Based on
Stage 2 - Writing and representing 1
Students:
Develop and apply contextual knowledge
experiment and share aspects of composing that enhance learning and enjoyment
discuss issues related to the responsible use of digital communication
plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts containing key information and supporting details for a widening

range of audiences, demonstrating increasing control over text structures and language features

(ACELY1682, ACELY1694)

experiment with visual, multimodal and digital processes to represent ideas encountered in texts

Stage 2 - Reading and viewing 1

Students:
skim a text for overall message and scan for particular information, eg headings, key words
connect information by observing text connectives
summarise a paragraph and indicate the main idea, key points or key arguments in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts

Stage 2 - Reading and viewing 2

Students:
understand how texts vary in complexity and technicality depending on the approach to the topic, the purpose and the intended

audience

(ACELA1490)

interpret how imaginative, informative and persuasive texts vary in purpose, structure and topic
identify characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text (ACELY1690)
identify features of online texts that enhance readability including text, navigation, links, graphics and layout (ACELA1793)
identify and interpret the different forms of visual information, including maps, tables, charts, diagrams, animations and images

Stage 2 - Working Scientifically

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Students communicate by:

representing and communicating ideas and findings in a variety of ways such as diagrams, physical representations and simple

reports, tables, simple column graphs, written and oral factual texts, explanation and argument

(ACSIS060, ACSIS071)

Stage 2 - Living World

Living things can be grouped on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non-living things.

(ACSSU044)

Students:
identify some features of living things that distinguish them from non-living things, eg reproducing, growing and responding to stimuli
research ways that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples classify some plants or animals
gather information about some relationships between living things, eg predator-prey, competitors and mutually beneficial relationships
Stage 2 Digital Technologies

Explore and use a range of digital systems with peripheral devices for different purposes, and transmit different types of data (ACTDIK007)
Collect, access and present different types of data using simple software to create information and solve problems (ACTDIP009)

Quality Teaching Elements

Quality learning environment

Students self-regulation Students can use Oliver library to work through the resource materials at their own pace.

Student direction

Students can select the type of living thing that they will work on and choose how to present their learning.

R10703 Mini-beasts,
Learning objects, images and video clips
Gliffy,
Online diagram and flowchart software.

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Weekly Plan

Lesson Focus and Learning

Intention

Phase of
Guided
Inquiry

Week
1

Get the
students
excited
about the
inquiry
topicLiving
Things
Initiation

Using Oliver Library to search for books on

animals and plants
Set the scene: this term we will be using Oliver library to
extend our understanding of living things and extend our
learning in Science

Resources needed and specific

teaching points

iPads to access Oliver library

Using Oliver Library basic search

Learning Intentions:

Assessment FOR learning using the

brainstorming sheets. Use to gauge current
level of understanding.

Considering terms living, non-living and lifecycles

Where do we need to go from here?

Logging onto Oliver library

What do the students need to learn?

Getting started

Class discussion of the terms living things, non-living things

and lifecycles. Features of living things and lifecycles to be
brainstormed as groups onto large pieces of paper (later to
be photographed and transferred to book creator app) or
create a Wordle. It can be photographed and airdropped to students
later.

view Youtube clip Living and Non-Living things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PZ2FI50oecs&feature=related

Show students how to access Oliver library. Conduct basic

search for one of the three topics (more if time allows)
Links to Primary Connections Units

ENGAGE Lesson 1 What goes where? Session 1 Plant life stages

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

jumble Session 2 Garden Buddies (optional)

To capture students interest and find out what they think they
know about how living things, such as plants, have life cycles To
elicit students questions about plant parts, plant growth and the
life cycle of flowering plants
ENGAGE Lesson 1 Tomato troubles
To capture students interest and find out what they think they
know about how living things, including plants and animals, have
life cycles and depend on each other and the environment to
survive. To elicit students questions about the reasons for fruit
and flowers.
ENGAGE Lesson 1 Wondering about the world Session 1
Discovered journal Session 2 Home explorers
To capture students interest and find out what they think they
know about how living things can be grouped on the basis of
observable features and can be distinguished from non-living
things. To elicit students questions about living and non-living
things and animal groups.

Week
2

Selection

Using Book Creator to record Oliver Library

book Search

iPads to access Oliver library

Using Book Creator App

Set the scene: Today we will be using the Book Creator App to
record our understandings of this topic and the information we
find out.

Model referencing of books (title and

author)

Learning Intentions:
Using Book Creator App
Referencing books correctly
Getting started

Demonstrate use of Book Creator App. Students to choose

partners to complete task with (assign some partnerships if
necessary). Record iPad number each pair is using on iPad

Assessment FOR learning

design Skinny Survey 1 for each of

the 4 classes (using Survey Monkey).

save hyperlink into Word Document

on Student Collaboration folder for students
to access

demonstrate to students how to

access and complete online survey

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

recording sheet.

Students set up the pages in their Book Creator Books

(include front cover, Contents, What we think we know, What
we know, definitions of living, non-living, lifecycles, What we
want to find out, and bibliography).
Take photos of brainstorm sheets from Week 1 and include
these in book under What we Think we Know. Other option
is for TL to take photos in Week 1 and airdrop them or save to
combined Google Drive folder.

Show again how to access Oliver library. Select a book and

demonstrate how to reference it in Book Creator.

Students browse using basic search and record titles in

reference list.

Students individually complete

Skinny Survey 1.

Survey Monkey Skinny Survey 1:

-What are your name and your partners

name(s)?
-What do you know and understand about
threatened Australian wildlife?
- What problems are you having with your
research?

Links to Primary Connections Units

EXPLORE Lesson 2 Whats inside a seed?
To provide students with hands-on, shared experiences of the
outside and inside appearance of a seed when dry and when
soaked
EXPLORE Lesson 2 Flower and bees Session 1 Pollinating parts
Session 2 The bees knees Session 3 Flower power
To provide students with hands-on, shared experiences of the
beneficial relationship between flowers and bees.
EXPLORE Lesson 2 Sorting out life
To provide hands-on, shared experiences of how to distinguish
between living and non-living things.

Selection

Using Oliver Library Search to find books and

then record facts

iPads to access Oliver library

Using Oliver Search to locate books

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Set the scene: Today we will be using Oliver library search to

locate relevant books in the library. We will then be using these
books to help us find facts and record them in Book Creator.
Learning Intentions:
Using Oliver Library to find books virtually then physically locate
them
Notetaking skills
Using index and contents page to locate information in nonfiction books
Getting started

Set task for day. Demonstrate how to do it. Show notetaking

skills and how to write in own words. Show referencing.
Discuss difference briefly between bibliography and
referencing.

Have students look up books and locate. Remind them how to

use shelf markers.

Students record 2-3 interesting facts about living, non-living

or life cycles. Create a new page for each set of facts.

Teach how to dip and delve into non-fiction books and show
index and contents page to find specific information.

Fast finishers include images if time. * Need to re-teach use

of creative common pictures and acknowledging sources if
this stage is reached.
Links to Primary Connections Units

Lesson 3 Bean seed germination

To provide students with hands-on, shared experiences of the
changes that occur in a germinating seed
Lesson 3 Ants and seeds Session 1 Seed detectives Session 2
Spreading seeds

Using shelf markers for physical books

Model note taking using keywords and

bullet points

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

To provide students with hands-on, shared experiences of the

seeds of different types of fruit and how seeds are dispersed by
ants.
Lesson 3 Animal sort
To provide hands-on, shared experiences of how to distinguish
between plants and animals using observable features.

Week
4

Using Oliver library to access Webpages

iPads to access Oliver library

Set the scene: Today we will be using Oliver library to access

quality websites to use for our learning.

Using Oliver homepage to access

Science Symbaloos

Learning Intentions:

Using Oliver homepage to conduct a

federated search

Using Symbaloos linked to Oliver library website to use in

information gathering
Using Federated Search on Oliver
Deciding on living thing to be studied
Getting started

Demonstrate use of Symbaloos (created by TL using the links

from the Primary Connections units) to access sites.

Demonstrate skim reading and access keywords. Use URL as

reference and demonstrate how to include it in Book Creator
Bibliography list.

Encourage use of record feature in Book Creator for children

to record further information.

Pairs decide on the living thing they want to focus on. For
Year 3, an animal, for Year 4 a plant. Children write a brief
statement as to why they chose this plant or animal.
Links to Primary Connections Units

Lesson 5 Flowers, fruits and seeds

To provide students with hands-on, shared experiences of the

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

seeds inside fruits and read about the way fruits develop
Lesson 4 Flowers and pollination
To provide students with hands-on, shared experiences of the
internal parts of a flower and their role in pollination
Lesson 4 What am I?
To provide hands-on, shared experiences of different ways of
grouping animals based on observable features.

Week
5

Exploratio
n

Using Oliver library to access resources

iPads to access Oliver library

Set the scene: Today we will be using Oliver library to access

quality websites and books to use for our learning on a specific
subject.

Using Oliver homepage to access books

and websites

Quality of information

Learning Intentions:
Discuss pros and cons of website versus books (accuracy of
information, online access, accessibility options)
Independent choice on resource usage
Getting started

Discuss sources of information. Look at fiction versus

nonfiction books for sources of information about living
things. Discuss what clues tell us something is fact or fiction.
Discuss websites and quality of information. Look at gov or
edu tag at end of URL.
Students use search strategies to look up books and
websites. Take notes into Book Creator Book.

Assessment- observation checklist of the

resource preferences pairs use.

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things
Week
6

Formulatio
n

Define

St
udents
choose a
research
question
and focus
for their
research

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Creating quality questions to use for research

iPads to access Oliver library

Set the scene: Today we will be creating questions to guide us

in collecting information.

Using Oliver homepage to access library

blog

Learning Intentions:

Popplet Lite App

Understand how questions can guide better information

collection
Create questions to guide research
Use library blog to reflect on learning
Getting started

Discuss open ended and closed question starters, higher

order & lower order questions
Demonstrate how having a lack of focus question impedes
searches on the internet and in books.
In pairs, students create Inquiry Focus Question and 4-6
supportive Contributing Questions about chosen threatened
Australian animal (using Popplet Lite)
Students then conference their draft questions with a
teacher to ensure the questions are relevant, not too
narrow / open, higher order etc.
save Question Popplet to Camera Roll and import into iBook
Links to Primary Connections Units

EXPLAIN Lesson 6 Patterns in plants

To support students to represent and explain their understanding
and observations of seed germination and the growth of
seedlings To introduce current scientific views about the life
cycles of plants
EXPLAIN Lesson 4 Coming together
To support students to represent and explain their understanding
of the life cycles of bees, ants and plants and the interactions
between them, and to introduce current scientific views.

Assessment: Use library Blog to reflect

on what they have learnt so far. Use cut
and paste to also include the comment
into their ibook

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

EXPLAIN Lesson 5 Animal assemblies

To support students to represent and explain their understanding
of how to identify living things and animal groups based on
observable features, and to introduce current scientific views.

Collection

Creating quality questions to use for research

Set the scene: Today we will be using our questions to guide us
in collecting information. We will use this information to create a
presentation to teach others.

Week
7
Locat
e
Select

Students
collect
detailed
informatio
n from a
variety of
sources,
which
helps
answer
Contributi
ng
Questions

Learning Intentions:
Use relevant books and websites to access information.
Getting started

Look at Popplet questions and how to answer.

Demonstrate basic change of terms if necessary.

Students choose relevant nonfiction books and websites to

research each of their Contributing Questions.
Relevant keywords are recorded and reference sources noted,
under each Contributing question (each on its own page)
Links to Primary Connections Units

ELABORATE Lesson 7 Investigating conditions for plant growth

To support students to plan and conduct an investigation of the
conditions that affect plant growth
ELABORATE Lesson 5 Leaving home
To support students to plan and conduct an investigation of
various seed dispersal methods.

iPads to access Oliver library

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

ELABORATE Lesson 6 Taxonomists in training Session 1 Scooping

up leaf litter Session 2 Looking at leaf litter
To support students to plan and conduct an investigation of the
animal groups present in the leaf litter in the school grounds.

Week
8
Organ
ise

Presentati

on
Students
put all of
their ideas
together to
create their
product

Creating presentations to display

understandings

iPads

using rubrics to guide learning

Set the scene: Today we will be using our research to help us to

create a presentation to teach others.

conferencing drafts

assisting students to use various iPad

Apps

pics4learning- www.pics4learning.com

Openphoto- www.openphoto.net

Learning Intentions:
Creating a presentation to teach others.
Use royalty- free images
Getting started

Look at Rubric for presentation again.

Students create draft presentation using their ideas.
Create paper draft of presentation first.
Drafts must be conferenced with the teacher.
They can then choose iPad app of choice to present but it
must contain elements outlined in the rubric.
Links to Primary Connections Units

EVALUATE Lesson 8 Plant life cycle

To provide opportunities for students to represent what they
know about how living things, such as plants, have life cycles,
and to reflect on their learning during the unit
EVALUATE Lesson 6 Giving advice
To provide opportunities for students to represent what they
know about how living things, including plants and animals, have
life cycles and depend on each other and the environment to
survive, and to reflect on their learning during the unit.
EVALUATE Lesson 7 Classifying collections

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

To provide opportunities for students to represent what they

know about how living things can be grouped on the basis of
observable features and can be distinguished from non-living
things, and to reflect on their learning during the unit.

Week
9

Presentati
on

Prese
nt

Continued

Creating and sharing presentations

Using peer review scaffold sheets to

assess each others learning

design Skinny Survey 2 for each of the 4

classes (using Survey Monkey).
save hyperlink into Word Document on
Student Collaboration folder for students
to access
demonstrate to students how to access
and complete online survey

Set the scene: Today we will be continuing creating our

presentations and sharing them.
Learning Intentions:
Sharing learning with peers.
Using knowledge learnt to assess others learning.
Getting started

Students
present their
ideas to
others, and
communicat
e what they
have learned

Week
10
Asses
s

Assessme
nt

Students design final presentation, using a new ipad app

Pairs of students review 3 other groups presentations.
Students complete written evaluation scaffold whilst rotating
around classmates presentations (eg.
What did you learn about this living thing?
What did you think of the presentation?
What impressed you about this presentation?
How could this presentation have been improved?
What score / 10?)

Reflecting on Learning
Set the scene: Today we will be reflecting on our learning
throughout the term.
Learning Intentions:
Reflect on learning
Completing skinny survey

Lets Grow: Using Oliver Library to explore living and non-living things
Students
self-reflect
on their
learning

Stage 2 | English, Science, Technology

Post on Library Blog

Getting started

First discuss the presentations from previous week as a class.

Students orally share their favourite or highest scoring
reviews in an Inquiry Circle.
Then students complete final skinny survey and then post
onto library blog.

References Used in Programming

Evaluation