By Rebecca Carr, Natalie Bradley, Kristian Clancy & Samuel Laffy

Rhythm of Life: Description of unit

• Do you remember what your life was like as a baby? What things can you do now that you couldn’t do before? What is puberty and when does it happen? Do we keep growing as adults?

• Humans grow, develop and learn at a fantastic rate – but how does it happen? In the Rhythm of Life unit, we will investigate and learn about the different stages of human life and the skills that we develop and use.

• We will talk and connect with parents, doctors and people in our community to gain further information and discover what life is like from birth, to childhood and adolescence, to adulthood and beyond.

• After each stage of life is explored, you will be placed in groups and will choose one stage of life to investigate in greater detail. Each group will give a presentation on their chosen stage to the rest of the class.

Rhythm of Life : Unit StructureLesson # Subject Covered

1 Introduction Activities

2 Gestation & Reproduction

3 Early Years (0-5)

4 Growing Strains (6-12)

5 Adolescence

6 Adulthood & Aging

7 Death Practices

8 Assessment

Introduction to the unit

• Overview of unit (5 minutes)• Discussion about assessment & handing out of

rubric (5 minutes)• Guess the ages activity (20 minutes)• Brainstorm – “How I Grow” (Think/Pair/Share)

(20 minutes)• What do you want to know?(10 minutes)

Note:There will have been a parent information night prior to the commencement of this unit.

Before we’re born.....

• Have you had a baby animal or baby brother/sister before? (5 minutes)

• Discuss how baby chickens develop in an egg before hatching – any differences to humans? (5 minutes)

• Question writing time (2 minutes)• Incursion – Baby Animal farm / Question the farmer(28

minutes)• Venn Diagram – What are the similarities and differences

between humans and animals being born? (15 minutes)• Q’n’A – Have we answered any of the questions in the first

session? Do we have any new questions? Where can we find more information? (5 minutes)

The Early Years (0-5)• Learning Activity 1: Teacher leads a discussion about milestones during this period (eg.

Learning to talk and walk). Key questions are ‘What have you learnt to do during these years?’ and ‘What do you remember?’ (10 minutes)

Students create a mindmap and brainstorm what they know about development in the early years. Students think about possible questions for the visitor, especially those related to the questions created in the introduction lesson. (15 minutes)

• Learning Activity 2: A local doctor or mother visits the class to discuss how children develop in the early years. (25 minutes)

• Conclusion: Q ‘n’ A - Teacher leads a discussion on what students have learnt from the visitor. Have students answered any of their questions from earlier in this lesson, or the introduction lesson? Do they have any new questions? (10 minutes)

Childhood (5-12)

PHYSICAL GROWTH: Growing taller, losing teeth. What is normal? How does our growth affect us?

EMOTIONAL GROWTH: Worried about being too big/overweight. Worried about being too short. Worried about standing out because of differences/speeds in development.

LESSON ACTIVITIES: Each student will measure their height , shoe-size, and how many teeth they have lost, and asked to record their findings on a whole-class table.

Students will then analyse the results and create a graph showing the class’ heights.

This activity will be used as the basis for a discussion on the various physical changes that students undergo as they grow from 6-12 years of age.

Students will then list and discuss what services/resources they know of in the local area that they might have to use as they continue to grow (clothes/shoe shops, sports clubs, dentists)

They will then create an ad for one of these services, with a focus on how they can help out young people in the community as they advance through childhood. Teacher completes lesson with a Q ‘n’ A to continue formative assessment.

ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

Puberty and Adolescence (13 – 18)Information session (50 minutes) – have a health professional come to talk to the class about puberty and adolescence (the scientific mechanics involving the pituitary gland, hormones and their purpose). The effects on both genders will be discussed, with time afterwards for health professional to answer questions that students have written and posted anonymously ahead of time (these can be asked directly, depending on the school situation and how the students feel).

Reflection activity (10 minutes) – Talk with the students about the presentation? Did the talk touch on anything they already knew? Was there anything new that they learnt about? Was there anything they didn’t understand? What are some of the terms we can remember?Q’n’A – Students reflect on their class questions and add new questions.

http://www.familylifevictoria.org.au/ - Family Life Victoria

Adulthood and AgeingISSUES TO BE ADDRESSEDDo we stop growing

as adults? What happens to our bodies (our hair, our teeth, our internal organs) as we grow older?

What sorts of places can we collect information from in the community about adult growth?

LESSON ACTIVITIES:

Invite in one of the students’ parents and grandparents to come into the class, and have students compare the physical differences between them and the parent (a middle-aged adult) and a grandparent (an older person). Students will observe differences such as: hair changing colour/getting longer or shorter, skin wrinkling, losing muscle, changes in body shape, losing teeth etc). Have the students create a list of the changes that they have observed.

Have students complete the Living Life to 100 calculator http://calculator.livingto100.com/calculator

Discuss why the students think certain factors make us age faster.

Ask them to consider what changes might happen to our internal organs as we grow older. Break them off into groups and assign them each an organ (lungs, kidneys, brain, liver etc) and have them investigate (using books, online) what happens to them as we age.

Have them create a poster that they can put up as part of a “What Happens When We Age” human cut-out that can be displayed in the classroom.

Q’n’A – Students reflect on what they have learnt so far and discuss answers to some of their class questions

What might influence (smoking, alcohol, lifestyle etc) how quickly we age as we get older?

Death Rituals(Students will have previously been to the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at Melbourne

Museum as part of an integrated unit and will have observed some of the Ancient Egyptian death rituals.)

Engagement exercise: (15 minutes): • Ask students what they think happens in other countries – what other rituals can we think

of? Are they all sad? (5)• Students watch Day of the Dead YouTube clip : what can we see and hear? Discuss

afterwards. (10)

Learning activity: (40minutes)• Students will be placed in groups and given either a country or group of people (Japan,

Vikings etc). They will use library resources and the internet to research the death rituals of their country/people. (20)

• Students will informally present information to the class. (20)

Q’n’A: Students have a final discussion about their class questions. Students are encouraged to think about the unanswered questions for their presentation the following week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUUAgEWeYeI – Day of the Dead Clip

AssessmentLearning objectives: For students to apply their new knowledge of the human stages of development and community.

Learning activities: In groups, students interview someone in their community about their allocated stage of human development. They then make a short presentation about the topic. Students become the class ‘experts’ on a topic, and have to teach the class what they have learnt. As the audience, students are expected to be active listeners who ask questions and make comments.

2 points Presentation shows evidence of in depth research.

Talks about the interview throughout the presentation

Visual material is used and talked about.

1 point Presentation shows evidence of basic research.

Talks about the interview once.

Everyone contributes to the presentation.

Visual material is used but not talked about.

Actively listens to others and contributes to the discussion.

0 points Shows no evidence of research

Shows no evidence of interview

Shows no group involvement

Uses no visual material

Does not actively listen to others.

Research Interview Group involvement

Use of visual material

Active listening

References• Carlton North Primary School, 2009, School Strategic Plan, Retrieved

18 March, 2011, from http://www.carltonnthps.vic.edu.au/Docs/Reports/Strategic%20Plan%2006-09.pdf

• Department of Education, Employment and Training, 1999, About Health Promoting Schools, Retrieved March 18, 2011, from http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/20690/20040603-0000/www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/hps/abouthps.htm

• Victorian Institute of Teaching (February 20, 2009), Standards for Graduating Teachers, Retrieved March 15, 2011, from http://203.13.205.44/ppweb/file.php/1/reports/VIT_Standards_for_Graduating_Teachers.pdf

• Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2009, Level 3 (Years 3 and 4), Retrieved March 18, 2011, from http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vels/level3.html