Lesson Topic: Human body systems (e.g. digestive, circulatory, respiratory, etc.)
Learning Area(s):
Science: Living Things
English: Talking and Listening
Unit Aim or Outcome:
Science:
LT S2.3 Identifies and describes the structure and function of living things and ways in which living things interact with other living things and their environment
Selects appropriate resources and materials to demonstrate the function of a system that is part of the human body (eg. the digestive system)
English:
TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for a an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
Explains simple phenomena briefly (how body systems work)
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.
Listens to spoken presentations in groups and responds appropriately
Uses correct work order when asking questions or making statements
Lesson Outcome:
Students will develop an understanding of how information can be presented in a variety of ways, in this case through both audio and visual literacy. They will use the multimodal resource to become experts about a particular system of the body, and then they will share their knowledge with their classmates.
Resources:
Computer and internet access – one computer per 3/4 students
A3 paper – one per group
Stopwatch
Lesson Outline
Introduction (5 mins):
Brainstorm on the board the different systems in the human body. Discuss briefly the function of each system. Ask students how can information be presented?
For example, written, orally, visually, etc.
Explain they will be watching some short video clips on the different systems of the body.
Allocate students a number from 1-6. The groups will be focusing on the following:
Group 1: Respiratory system
Group 2: Nervous system
Group 3: Circulatory system
Group 4: Digestive system
Group 5: Skeletal system
Group 6: Muscular system
Teaching strategy/Learning Activity:
Students will ……
Teacher will…
Viewing the video clips (15 minutes)
Students will be in groups of 3 or 4.
Each group will get on a computer and get onto the How the Body Works website.
Each group watches the movie without the sound.
Students write down information they picked up just by watching.
Students then listen to their movie, with their eyes closed.
Students then have to write down what information they remembered.
On the third viewing, students will be required to take notes again- this time they should take the most notes because they are both watching and listening.
Then, each group has to make a mind-map on their body system, from information they saw and heard on the movie from the website.
Peer-tutoring (20 minutes)
Students then line up in their groups, so there are 6 lines.
Each row of students then forms a new group, so there that in each group there is one student from each of the body system groups.
In the new groups (each comprising of 6 students), they each take turns explaining to their group members about the body system which they found out information. They have to also explain how the diagrams, speech and written text helped them understand their chosen system.
Explain to students their task- with their groups they have to watch and listen to the video about their group’s particular body system, noting how the movie communicates information about their system.
Ask students: what information did you pick up just by watching the movie?
Then instruct them to close their eyes and just listen to the movie.
Ask students after the second viewing: was just listening to the information difficult? What ways could this information be communicated in a more effective way?
Tell students they may now watch the video with sound, in order to get all the information. Ask how do the visual and audio aspects work together to present the information?
Let the students know that if they wish, they may also explore other areas of the website, to acquire more information about their system.
After about half an hour, bring the students back together.
Explain to students they have to teach their group about the system they found about
Ask all the students who researched the respiratory system to inform their group about it in 2 minutes. Use a stopwatch to keep track of the time.
After 2 mins, allow 1 min for any questions.
Then move on to the students who researched the nervous system (2 mins), then the circulatory system and so on.
Concluding strategy:
Students will then stay in their groups, where they will discuss how the images, audio, and written text worked together to help them learn about the systems of the body. They will then discuss and record ideas for the final rich multimodal task, perhaps using ideas from the video clips they watched. These groups will be the groups for the final task.
Assessment:
Observation of student participation in groupwork
Collection of mind-maps
Collection of ideas for the rich multimodal task
Any special considerations or contingency plans:
The use of groups in this lesson allows opportunities for students to help one another and for peer-tutoring. Prior to the lesson, the group compositions would have been looked at, thus ensuring that students with special needs would be placed in a group that would sufficiently support them.
Self-reflection
Were the students engaged throughout the lesson?
Do the students have an adequate understanding of multimodal texts to create their own in the final task?
Did they make efficient use of the resources?
Did the students work well in their allocated groups?
What could I improve if I were to do this lesson again?
EXPLORING THE HUMAN BODY
Science & technology
Stage 2, Year 4
4 of 10
Science:
English:
Students will develop an understanding of how information can be presented in a variety of ways, in this case through both audio and visual literacy. They will use the multimodal resource to become experts about a particular system of the body, and then they will share their knowledge with their classmates.
Brainstorm on the board the different systems in the human body. Discuss briefly the function of each system. Ask students how can information be presented?
For example, written, orally, visually, etc.
Explain they will be watching some short video clips on the different systems of the body.
Allocate students a number from 1-6. The groups will be focusing on the following:
Peer-tutoring (20 minutes)
Students will then stay in their groups, where they will discuss how the images, audio, and written text worked together to help them learn about the systems of the body. They will then discuss and record ideas for the final rich multimodal task, perhaps using ideas from the video clips they watched. These groups will be the groups for the final task.
The use of groups in this lesson allows opportunities for students to help one another and for peer-tutoring. Prior to the lesson, the group compositions would have been looked at, thus ensuring that students with special needs would be placed in a group that would sufficiently support them.