Curriculum for 21 st Century Learners Written by Karen Green & Amanda Dressing V1.1

Identity Sustainability Social Justice Creativity Community Change Necessity Curiosity

consists of 28 comprehensive, meaningful and relevant units of work for primary aged students living and learning in the 21 st Century. One Year 7 Integrated Identity Unit has been written as a model for secondary settings. is delivered online through the eUP (electronic Unit Planner) website.

Teachers are supported with engaging and contextually relevant ways in which to teach conceptual understandings, skills, and behaviours that will prepare students for life.

Each Concept is explored developmentally across Levels 1-4. Ideas are built on and expanded as students move from level to level. This developmental approach ensures that content is not repeated and is built on to match the maturity and readiness of students at each level.

Its good to have an end to journey towards, but its the journey that matters in the end. Ursula K LeGuin

As each new term of units is written, the Curriculum Map is posted on the website and available for download. The following are the 2 maps for the Identity and Sustainability Concept Units available now. Copies of these are in your folder.

Complimentary School Leaders Workshop for Principals and Assistant Principals. Wheelers Hill International Thursday 7 th April 2 – 4.30 pm

Appropriate numeracy and literacy application tasks have been included to ensure that students are able to see the integration of mathematics and literacy skills within their lives. Teachers are encouraged to add more Literacy and Numeracy tasks as they see fit.

Each unit is designed as a guided inquiry where teachers are encouraged to pursue students questions while at the same time meeting mandated standards.

Each unit has specific tasks that support teachers in promoting a classroom culture of thinking and inquiry, where students questions are valued. Teachers are encouraged and supported with strategies to provide opportunities for students to answer their own questions as well as those posed as Essential Questions within

Immersion Pretests Gathering student questions

As provides teachers with a rich and well constructed curriculum, they have more time to spend on the important job of modifying tasks to best suit the needs of specific students

To further support Schools, we offer a range of workshops to ensure that you get the most out of your investment. Any school can send 1-2 staff to a half day workshop on differentiation strategies on Thursday 7 th April 9-1pm at Wheelers Hill International (cost of venue and morning tea only $30 pp)

Each task within has a Guided Reflection. These are designed to allow for timely, targeted opportunities for students to consider how they are going as learners. This reflective practice supports the development of metacognitive capacity which is an essential ingredient of the thoughtful, life long learner.

The interactive nature of this program allows teachers to add tasks to further enhance the units based on the needs of, and opportunities available to, particular students and learning environments. In most cases teachers will wish to write additional skill specific units to complement the unit e.g. fractions. Teachers are advised of the numeracy and literacy links within each unit to help inform their skill specific teaching.

Habits of Mind are defined by their authors Art Costa and Bena Kallick as Ways to behave intelligently when you dont know the answer. Within each unit, tasks are written to explore 2 Habits of Mind. This ensures that each Habit is taught explicitly within the 2 year Scope and Sequence of Units.

Within each unit there are resources provided in the attachment section. These resources include project sheets, stimulus photos, rubrics etc. Each of these resources have been constructed specifically to support the tasks and to save teachers time

Video clips of students being taught the range of thinking tools and cooperative tools that are provided in the Toolkit are continuously being added to

Videos are also provided to help explain the theories underpinning the various best practice inclusions in the units.

Access to eUP ( and these units is via: Password: interact Whilst you can play in this unit, any changes or additions you make wont save. The guest login will remain active until 1 April 2011.

units have been written from a global perspective that will allow for compliance with curriculum standards world wide.

The most challenging areas for teachers to teach within VELS have been given a definitive and appropriate focus with the units.

Available to all schools purchasing/ordering Units prior to 5 th April Max 4 participants per school (bring laptop with wireless capability. We recommend one staff member per Level) Registration available on-line at Wheelers Hill International Tuesday 5 th April 8.30 Tea/Coffee sign –in for a 9am start and 12 noon finish.