Primary Matters

Primary Matters August 2004

extracted from Board Bulletin, volume 13, number 4

Contents

New resources to support K–10 Aboriginal Languages syllabus

A range of new initiatives aimed at preserving and revitalising Aboriginal languages in NSW was launched by the Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Training, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Dr Andrew Refshauge, at Darlington Public School in Sydney on Friday 30 July 2004.

At the school, Dr Refshauge also officially launched the new Aboriginal Languages K–10 Syllabus which was released to schools in 2003 for implementation in 2005. The groundbreaking new syllabus establishes NSW at the forefront of Aboriginal Language education in Australia.

The new Aboriginal Languages Syllabus was developed in close consultation with Aboriginal elders and other language speakers from a number of NSW communities and caters for every one of the 70-plus Aboriginal languages identified in NSW.

The syllabus allows for extensive decision-making by Aboriginal communities in the way their language will be taught in a school. This will give school communities a blueprint to revitalise existing languages and also to re-create lost languages.

The official launch was attended by a number of Aboriginal elders from NSW communities along with teachers and Aboriginal education workers who have been crucially involved in developing the syllabus.

Primary pupils will be able to start studying Aboriginal Languages as soon as they begin school, while secondary students can study an Aboriginal language as part of their School Certificate pattern of study. Students will also be able to count Aboriginal Languages towards the compulsory 100 hours of language study they must complete by the end of Year 10.

To help teachers and communities prepare to implement the new syllabus, the Board of Studies released its syllabus support document, Advice on Programming and Assessment for Stages 4 and 5 in 2003. The Office of the Board of Studies has also held syllabus support meetings across the state for teachers from K–10 throughout Term 1, 2004. The Board of Studies has now developed and published the following additional resources for teachers, to be delivered to schools during Term 3, 2004:

Assessment for Learning in a Standards-referenced Framework (Years 7–10) CD-ROM

The CD-ROM contains assessment activities, annotated student work samples, examples of feedback, and examples of ways to record student progress. The work samples contribute to an understanding of standards typical of each stage of learning in the subject, as described by the syllabus outcomes, content and stage statements. These work samples demonstrate examples of effective teaching practices.

Winangaylanha Dhayn-gu Gaay (Understanding Aboriginal Languages) CD-ROM

This CD-ROM is designed for parents and community-based language teachers. It includes an overview of Indigenous language revitalisation and maintenance, practical tips for using the syllabus and support documents, advice from existing school-based Aboriginal Language programs, and short papers on key topics such as dictionary-making, language choice and resource development.

This CD-ROM will be promoted in schools, colleges, language centres, housing offices, medical centres and libraries through an awareness poster campaign.

For further information on the Aboriginal Languages K–10 Syllabus contact:

Kevin Lowe, Inspector, Aboriginal Education
Ph: (02) 9367 8198
Fax: (02) 9367 8476

New K–6 Mathematics syllabus in action

The implementation of the new K–6 Mathematics syllabus is now in full swing at Clovelly Public School in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The new K–6 Mathematics syllabus was released to schools in 2002 and is being gradually implemented in schools.

Since its release, the Board of Studies has issued a range of support materials designed to assist teachers in their implementation of the new syllabus. These include Sample Units of Work, which was sent to primary schools in Term 1, 2003. Sample Units of Work contains very useful learning activities and assessment opportunities for K–6 Mathematics that can easily be incorporated into classroom programs.

Brian Pollard, a Stage 1 teacher at Clovelly Public School, has incorporated many of the sample units of work into weekly activities for his Year 2 class. Brian has used the activities to address a number of measurement outcomes from the syllabus.

One activity Brian has used is the ‘Table Tops’ activity from page 70 of Sample Units of Work. In this activity, students work in small groups and use an informal unit to calculate the area of the top of the desk.

Brian’s class used large dominoes, MAB flats and paper squares to find the area of the desktop. Other informal units of measure could include paper plates, sheets of paper/cardboard or tiles. After measuring the area of the desktop the class discussed the different strategies that each group used to arrive at their calculation.

‘This activity encourages students to learn ways in which area can be calculated. Students had a lot of fun experimenting with different materials to find the area of the desktop,’ Brian said.

In another activity students worked in pairs and traced their feet onto a grid page to find the area of their feet. Students then compared their results to determine who had the biggest feet in the class. This activity can also be used to compare hand and foot measurements.

Students then used mathematical language and the ‘Working Mathematically’ processes from the syllabus to describe their results. For example, one student said ‘My foot is 72 squares but I have some parts of squares left over ... but my foot is bigger than my hand because I have more squares.’

Other activities from Sample Units of Work that Brian conducted include ‘Roll the Die Twice’ (page 71) and ‘Rectangles’ (page 72).

‘The rectangles activity was exceptionally interesting because after they had created rectangles the students could rearrange the tiles to create as many different shapes as possible and compare their results. This way they learnt more about area and sides and shapes,’ Brian said.

‘The activities in Sample Units of Work help students to develop fundamental concepts of Mathematics and to achieve the “Working Mathematically” outcomes of the syllabus.

‘Sample Units of Work has given me a range of practical activities to incorporate into our teaching and learning programs. It also allows the students to think strategically and to use and become familiar with the language of Mathematics,’ Brian added.

The Office of the Board of Studies is interested in hearing about how different schools are implementing the new Mathematics K–6 syllabus. Primary school teachers are encouraged to send feedback, suggestions and examples of successful classroom activities, together with some photographs, if possible, to:

Vilma Fyfe, Senior Curriculum Officer Primary Education
(02) 9367 8341