5-7 Enrichment - Philosophy

KLA(s):	SOSE, History	KLA Head:	N. Jones	
Subject(s):	History, Social Science	Subject Head:	R. Smith	
Year Level(s):	5, 6, 7	Topic:	Philosophy Introduction	
Duration:	1 Term(s)	Term(s):	2	
Author:	E. Chan	Team:	E. Chan, T. Moore, L. Foster, R. Burns 	
	
UNIT OVERVIEW	
	
IDENTIFYING CURRICULUM	
Having been identified as gifted and or talented students through testing and in conjunction with parent and/or teacher recommendation, students will embark on Betts’ Autonomous Learner Model’. 

In this unit students in Years 5 to 7 begin with an introduction to philosophy and philosophical inquiry. This is a platform from which to build reasoning skills (inductive and deductive) and promote independent thought processes. It enhances critical thinking. This particular skill will be further built upon through the Windsor Project. An independent project culminating in an expo to present their findings. 

SCOPE	
	
Sequence of Learning Experiences	
No.	Length	Description	
LE1	10 Weeks	Introduction to Philosophy	
ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES	
Type	Activity	Description	
No Formal Assessment	No Formal Assessment	All formative assessment	
OTHER NOTES	
Having been identified as gifted and or talented students through testing and in conjunction with parent and/or teacher recommendation, students will embark on Betts’ Autonomous Learner Model’. 

In this unit students in Years 5 to 7 begin with an introduction to philosophy and philosophical inquiry. This is a platform from which to build reasoning skills (inductive and deductive) and promote independent thought processes. It enhances critical thinking. This particular skill will be further built upon through the Windsor Project. An independent project culminating in an expo to present their findings. 

UNIT RATIONALE	
	
ENVIRONMENT	
Classroom climate:	Help students understand that attitudes and perceptions related to classroom climate influence learning
Help students develop their ability to use their own strategies for gaining acceptance from their teachers and peers 	
Classroom tasks:	Establish a sense of academic trust 
Use a variety of tasks to engage students in classroom tasks 
Help students recognise that they have the abilities to complete a particular task 	
HABITS OF MIND	
Characteristics:	Managing impulsivity - Take your time! Thinking before acting; remaining calm, thoughtful and deliberative.
Thinking flexibly - Look at it Another Way! Being able to change perspectives, generate alternatives, consider options.	
Development:	Notice and label student behaviour that demonstrates a particular habit
Ask students to interview others to identify strategies	
LITERACY	
Organiser	Sub-organiser	Year	Indicator	
Speaking and Listening	Strategies for speaking & listening	7	Compose and contribute in different settings by choosing and responding to speaking techniques and non-verbal expressions, including: intonation, stress patterns, e.g. pitch, volume and pace; vocabulary selection and figurative language, e.g. nominalisations and extended metaphor register, e.g. formal, neutral, informal, casual; tone; volume; pause and pace and body language and gestures	
Speaking and Listening	Strategies for speaking & listening	7	Listen to spoken texts and: identify and interpret figurative and technical language, monitor understanding by asking questions to clarify meaning, summarise information to confirm key messages, concepts or positions and select appropriate responses to clarify and extend ideas and draw inferences by interpreting how stated information is used in conjunction with tone, volume, facial expression and gestures to convey particular meanings	
Speaking and Listening	Strategies for speaking & listening	7	Contribute to conversations and discussions by: developing and introducing topics using agreed protocols, clarifying information and repairing breakdowns in discussion and offering a point of view	
NUMERACY	
Organiser	Sub-organiser	Year	Indicator	
Chance and Data	Data collection & analysis	7	Collect, represent and summarise data using mean, median and mode; and critically analyse and interpret different types of data, including grouped data	
ICTs	
Area	Skill	
Internet	Chooses appropriate sites from a search	
Internet	Understands and uses key words in a simple search	

CURRICULUM FOCUS	
SEQUENCING LEARNING	
SOSE: Year (6-7)

Students use their knowledge of societies and environments to investigate ideas, events, places, cultures and systems and make connections to their own experiences. They identify social and environmental values and ethical positions in local, national and global contexts. They develop the capacity for appropriate responses to address problems and issues in their communities, and recognise the applications of these processes to meet community needs.
	
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING	
KLA	Year	Strand	Essential Learning	
SOSE	7	Culture and identity	Material and non-material elements influence personal identity and sense of belonging of groups	
WAYS OF WORKING	
KLA	Year	Essential Learning	
SOSE	7	identify issues and use common and own focus questions	
SOSE	7	evaluate sources of information and evidence for relevance, reliability, origins and perspective	

LEARNING EXPERIENCE	
LE1 (10 Weeks) 	
Introduction to Philosophy	
DIMENSION 2 STRATEGIES	
Declarative Knowledge	Process	Teaching Guide	
Constructing meaning:	Help students to understand what it means to construct meaning 
Three-minute pause 		
Organise and store:	Concepts 		
Actvities used to help Acquire and integrate:	Engage in discussion		
Procedural Knowledge	Process	Teaching Guide	
Constructing models:	Think-aloud processes 		
Shape and internalise:	Help students understand the importance of internalising procedural knowledge 		
DIMENSION 3 STRATEGIES	
Process	Teaching Guide	
Analysing Persepectives (CCEs: 37,42)	Philosophical circles, Socratic questioning, Critical thinking are ways to challenge students' deep thinking.	
DIMENSION 4 STRATEGIES	
Process	Teaching Guide	
Decision Making (CCEs: 28,29,39)	Creating and evaluating criteria as the basis for testing philosophical approaches, other students' responses and their own. 	

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW	
No assessment tasks for this unit	

RESOURCES	
No resources for this unit