Unit of Work Produced by: Katie Bennett

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CAT ON THE ISLAND AUTHOR: GARY CREW

ILLUSTRATED BY: GILLIAN WARDEN

RationaleCat on the Island is a true story told on a rainy day by a grandfather to his grandson about his experience as a boy moving to the beautiful Stephens Island, a small land mass in Cook Strait situated between the north and south islands of New Zealand. In the 1800’s the fern covered wilderness was scarred by humans when the vegetation was cleared and habitats were destroyed to make way for a lighthouse where his father would work as the lighthouse keeper and his family would live. The family’s pet cat Tibbles was pregnant when the family moved to the island, she soon gave birth and her kittens grew to become the islands feral inhabitants. The Island was home to many animals including the flightless, insect eating nocturnal native bird the Wren. Within two years the Wren being an easy target became extinct due to the introduction of cats to the island. This book not only tells the story of a historical environmental disaster but sends an important message reminding the reader of the irreparable damage man can inflict on nature, even the smallest innocent event can change the balance of nature forever. This story provides opportunity for literacy learning through discussion and activities such as those outlined in this unit surrounding the themes of introduced species, habitat destruction, food chains, responsible pet ownership, human impact on the environment and learning lessons from the past in order to make better for the future.

This unit is designed for the middle years however the activities may be altered to suit upper years. The unit allows students to develop literacy skills in reading, writing and oral language but also develop knowledge and skills in other curriculum areas such as science which is integrated throughout this unit. The unit has been carefully planned with a balance of activities sequenced inline with the set learning outcomes which ensure success for all students. The activities reflect the literacies of the text and teach students how to access it and apply them to create their culminating text.

Learning Outcomes• Students will develop an understanding of the text type by identifying particular

elements such as those used in both a narrative and recount.

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the written text and visual illustrations in particular how the author purposefully uses these to make the reader think about the meaningful messages being conveyed.

• Students will develop an understanding of human impact on the environment in particular issues associated with the introduction of species to inhabited spaces by engaging in scientific investigations and research.

• Students will develop the ability to contribute to small group and whole class discussion by verbally expressing their personal opinions and ideas and also listening to and acknowledging the contributions of others.

• Students will develop an understanding of the elements of a recount used within

the text and use this to assist them in writing a recount of the visit from the RSPCA guest speaker.

• Students will create a poster with written text and illustrations that demonstrates some understanding of the main ideas explored in the text including human impact on the environment and the introduction of species to inhabited spaces and what can be done to minimise or prevent these.

The Culminating Text Poster

Individually students will create a poster with written text and illustrations that demonstrates some understanding of the main ideas explored in the text including human impact on the environment and the introduction of species to inhabited spaces and what can be done to minimise or prevent environmental disasters such as the extinction of the Wren on Stephens Island in New Zealand. Students are asked to:

- Decide which text type they will use to present the information on their poster. E.g. a Narrative or a Information Report.

- Include information (facts) collected from the RSPCA guest speaker and group research.

- Think about habitat destruction by humans.- Think about responsible pet ownership.- Think about introduced species or pests in Australia.- Use visual and textual elements together to send your ideas, opinions or message to

the reader.- Be creative.

Students are also required to prepare some notes for a 2 minute Oral Presentation on their poster to the class. Students will have time to plan, rehearse and complete the presentation.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will develop an understanding of the text type by identifying particular elements such as those used in both a narrative and recount.

• Students will develop the ability to contribute to small group and whole class discussion by verbally expressing their personal opinions and ideas and also listening to and acknowledging the contributions of others.

Engage

• Teacher asks students why do authors write books? • Discuss purpose of books. • Teacher asks students what the purpose of writing a narrative and recount is.• Teacher asks students what they know about writing a narrative and a recount (Frameworks and Language Features). • Teacher records student responses on the IWB using a chart that shows what students know about a narrative and recount. • Teacher ask students to give examples of times they have written a recount or narrative and what it was about.

IWB

Narrative Recount

Purpose – to entertain Purpose – to retell events

Orientation/Setting, Complication/Problem, Series of Events, Resolution/Ending

Orientation/Setting, Events in time order/Chronological order, Evaluation

Characters – real or fictional Action verbs

Dialogue/ Direct Speech Sometimes includes a personal reflection

Descriptive Language Characters not always full developed

Chronological Events Event that is real/true story

May or may not be a real story Person telling the story is apart of it

Past Tense Past Tense

Explain• Teacher shows students the book Cat on the Island and explains that we are going to read a true or real story about a family with a pet cat. • Teacher shows students the front cover and asks students to make inferences about the story and what they think the pet cat might be like. • Teacher does a picture flick through the book and asks students to contribute what they think may be happening by examining the illustrations.• Teacher tells students to think about the narrative and recount elements in the book as it is read. • Teacher reads the book to the class.

Explore • Class is divided into small groups of 4 students.• Each group is given a copy of the text, a note pad and a pencil. • Each group is required to look through the book both at the written text and

visual images to find evidence which suggests the book is a narrative or recount. • Each group member is assigned a role:- Facilitator – ensures each person has time to speak and they listen to

others.- Time keeper – ensures group is working together on task to get it done.- Recorder – records each group members contribution.- Reporter – reports back to the class their groups findings.

Each student must ensure they have a turn at contributing and their ideas and opinions are reflected in the groups final presentation to the class. • I would be teaching the students the importance of listening to and

acknowledging what each other has contributed and also having your turn to express your ideas and opinions. • Students may refer to the IWB for the information about a narrative and

recount given before reading the book.

Narrative Recount

Characters – introduction of dad, pet cat

past tense – personal reflection “I never saw so may birds”

Complication – Humans destroy vegetation and cut down trees, Cat killing all the birds

Characters – narrator is involved in the story, not a lot of description of characters

Resolution – All Cats on the island culled

Events in chronological order – in time

Past Tense Setting is described

Dialogue in the story

Elaborate • Teacher brings groups back together and asks them to report on what they found.• Teacher records each groups responses on the IWB.• After recording student responses teacher asks groups to discuss whether they think the text type of this book is a narrative or a recount and why?

Evaluate• Students come back together and report on their groups discussion providing evidence to support their decision.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the written text and visual illustrations in particular how the author purposefully uses these to make the reader think about the meaningful messages being conveyed.

• Students will develop an understanding of human impact on the environment in particular issues associated with the introduction of species to inhabited spaces by engaging in scientific investigations and research.

• Students will develop the ability to contribute to small group and whole class discussion by verbally expressing their personal opinions and ideas and also listening to and acknowledging the contributions of others.

Engage•Whole class general discussion about pets that students have at home. Teacher lists these on the IWB. Discuss the common pets that students have (e.g. cat, dog, fish, bird) and why their family chose to have these animals as a family pet. Teacher explains these animals are known as domestic animals. • Specific discussion about what a responsible pet owner is. Teacher writes student responses on the IWB. • Ask students what they know about feral and domestic animals. Teacher records student responses on the IWB. The chart will show differences between pet animals and feral animals.

IWB

Pets Responsible Pet Owner

Dog Register Pet

Cat Caring

Fish Provide Shelter

Rabbit Provide Food and Water

Bird Desexing

Safe and Secure Yard

Restrained to personal property

IWB

Domestic Animals Feral Animals

Someone owns them They don’t belong to anyone

They live on Private Property Don’t have a home/ Live in the wild

Eat food prepared by the owner Kill to survive/ Eat other wild animals

Explain• Teacher re-reads the text asking students to think about these questions: - Who do you blame for the extinction of the Wren? - Who do you think the author feels is responsible? How

do you know? • Have a discussion about the book in relation to pet cats and feral cats and their impact on the environment.

Explore • Class is divided into small groups of 4 students.

• Each group is given a copy of the text.

• Each group is required to look through the book both at the written text and visual images to find evidence which suggests who is to blame for the extinction of the Wren. (Students may point out specific parts of the text or illustrations that suggest the cat is to blame or the family/humans are to blame).

• Each group member is assigned a role:

- Facilitator – ensures each person has time to speak and they listen to others.

- Time keeper – ensures group is working together on task to get it done.

- Recorder – records each group members contribution.

- Reporter – reports back to the class their groups findings.

Each student must ensure they have a turn at contributing and their ideas and opinions are reflected in the groups final presentation to the class.

• I would be teaching the students the importance of listening to and acknowledging what each other has contributed and also having your turn to express your ideas and opinions.

Cat is to Blame Humans are to Blame

Picture of cat with Wren in its mouth

Family brought the cat to the island

Picture of cat with blood around it Picture of Cat in the basket – family brought cat to the island

Feral Cat eats bird for survival “We did this.”

Flightless, insect eating nocturnal native bird – easy target for bird

The grandpa's reflection admitting humans are to blame for what happened to the Wren all because they wanted to save some boats.

“Is the cat bad?”

Elaborate • Teacher brings groups back together to discuss their findings.• Teacher records student responses on IWB. • Teacher asks students to make a decision as to who they believe is responsible for the extinction of Wrens. • Could a responsible pet owner of prevented this? If so how and why?

Explain• Teacher explains to students we are going to have a guest speaker from the

RSPCA who is going to come and speak to our class and answer questions we may have in regards to responsible pet ownership, human impact on the environment through introduction of different species, destruction of wildlife habitats and preserving wildlife in Australia.• In order for this to be beneficial to the class students need to do some

research about Animals in Australia including introduced species and their impact on the environment and the impact of the domestic and feral cat on the native eco system in our local area. Research is carried out in pairs and done using the internet on laptops. • Teacher explains to students that this information will assist you in generating

questions to ask the guest speaker. • Teacher explains different types of questions such as Open ended Questions

and Closed Questions and gives examples.

E.g. Closed Question – Does Australia have any introduced species which have caused another animal to come close to becoming extinct?

Open ended Question – What introduced species in Australia have caused another animal to come close to becoming extinct? What do we as responsible citizens need to do to ensure we aren’t contributing to this?

Explore• Students work in pairs to look through the text and write down what they see, think and wonder about pet cats, feral cats and their impact on the environment and the role humans play in this. • Students work in pairs to research information on the internet.

Elaborate • Students come back and share their ideas, thoughts and opinions.• Teacher records these on the IWB. • Each student is given two sticky notes and asked to write two open ended questions they would like to ask the guest speaker. • Students read out their questions and as a class, group questions which are the same or similar. • Students are asked if there is anything else we could ask the guest speaker which may have been left out?

Evaluate

• As a class we generate a class list of questions for the guest speaker and who will ask them. Some students will be responsible for asking questions and some will be responsible for taking notes on the guest speakers response.

Questions for RSPCA Guest Speaker

• Can you tell us about your job role?•What can we do as responsible citizens to help preserve wildlife?•Who do you think was responsible for the extinction of the Wren in On Stephens Island in New Zealand?• Can you tell us about some introduced species of animals to Australia that have become pests?• Can you tell us if there are any animals that have become extinct because of humans or another animal and how or why?•What is a responsible pet owner to you?

Learning Outcomes

• Students will develop an understanding of the elements of a recount used within the text and use this to assist them in writing a recount of the visit from the RSPCA guest speaker.

• Students will develop the ability to contribute to

small group and whole class discussion by verbally expressing their personal opinions and ideas and also listening to and acknowledging the contributions of others.

Engage • Guest speaker from RSPCA gives a informative talk to the class. • Students ask the questions generated by the class in the previous session. • Students use notepads to jot down information from the guest speakers presentation and answers to the questions. Photos are taken and students explore the materials brought in by the guest speaker.

Explain• Teacher explains to students they are going to write a recount of the visit of the Guest Speaker from the RSPCA. • Teacher brings up the list of elements the students generated in the first session of what is required in a recount.• Teacher explains an effective writer usually plans what they are going to write by doing a plan first. The plan includes dot points of what they are going to include in their writing so they don’t leave out any important information and can structure their writing correctly – Teacher models this.

IWB• Recount – RSPCA Guest Speaker • I might choose to write my recount as a diary entry.• Start with Dear Diary……..•Who: RSPCA Guest Speaker •What: First: Informative Talk about human impact on the environment and the introduction of species to inhabited spaces. Second: Answers Class Questions. •When: Wednesday the 10th October, 2012 •Where: In our Grade 3/4 classroom at Frankston Primary School•Why: We can learn more about preserving wildlife, we can stop destroying habitats, we can minimise our impact on the environment, we can become responsible pet owners• Personal Reflection: I really enjoyed the guest speakers talk about responsible pet ownership because……

Explore• Individually students write a plan for their recount using the notes they collected throughout the guest speakers informative talk. • Individually students write their recount ensuring they refer back to their plan and have the correct structure of a recount. • Students publish their recount by typing it up on the laptop and adding in a photograph from the incursion.

Evaluate• Teacher chooses some students to share their recount. Students provide verbal feedback to their peers. • I will be looking for students who are listening to and acknowledging what each other has said and then giving their ideas or opinions and feedback.

Learning Outcomes• Students will create a poster with written text and

illustrations that demonstrates some understanding of the main ideas explored in the text including human impact on the environment and the introduction of species to inhabited spaces and what can be done to minimise or prevent these.

• Students will develop the ability to contribute to small group and whole class discussion by verbally expressing their personal opinions and ideas and also listening to and acknowledging the contributions of others.

Engage • As a class using the IWB look at websites such as RSPCA, Wildlife Australia, Australian Government Environmental Websites etc. http://lsnhs.leesummit.k12.mo.us/awilcox/SON/Notes/Unit06Notes.pdfetc.• http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html• http://www.rspca.org.au

Explain

• Teacher explains to students they are individually going to produce a poster with written text and visual illustrations that demonstrates their understanding of human impact on the environment and what can be done to minimise or prevent these. • Students are also required to prepare a 2 minute speech about their poster for a oral presentation they will give to the class. • Students are able to decide how or what they will include on their poster and oral presentation.

Explore • Think, Pair, Share – Students individually think about what they might include on their poster. They pair up with some and share their ideas and then listen to their partners ideas. They give feedback to each other. • Students have time to plan their poster. In this time they are able to access the internet and find any further information they need and then they are required to complete a plan or draft of the poster.

Elaborate • Students create their poster. • Students create notes on the back of poster for their speech.

Evaluate • Children present their posters to the class with a short 2 minute oral presentation. Students are required to provide constructive feedback to their peers. • Posters are displayed in the classroom. • Teacher asks students to reflect on what they have learnt from the book and activities carried out in this unit about Cat on the Island. • Teacher records these on a large piece of paper and puts them on the wall in the classroom next to the posters.

Assessment • Throughout this unit both Summative and Formative Assessment will be used to assess

each individual student. • Formative assessment is carried out throughout the unit. It is a form of ongoing

assessment which is used to assess what the students have learned and what they need to learn next. This informs your planning and teaching of this unit. In this unit the formative assessment of learning conferences can be used throughout especially when students are working in their smaller groups to question and discuss with students their learning and understanding of the unit at particular points. Anecdotal notes would be kept as a record of this.

• The work carried out by the students in each session will be kept and annotated with comments.

• Observations supported with anecdotal notes should be carried out to assess student verbal engagement and contribution to small group and whole class activities.

• Summative assessment is usually carried out at the end of a unit, to assess the end product. In this unit the culminating text will be assessed at the end of the unit. This will be evidence of the learning of each individual student who participated in the unit. However, I would also assess the Recount of the visit from the RSPCA guest speaker too. These are the two major pieces of work created throughout the unit.

• A Rubric would be used to assess the culminating text and oral presentation. It would be good to construct the rubric with the students so they know exactly what they are being assessed on. This will also ensure the assessment is linked directly to the learning. The following rubrics are just an example of what the children might construct with a teacher.

Not Evident Adequate Good Excellent

Poster

Text Type and Structure

Understanding of mains ideas from Text

Information from personal/group research

Information from RSPCA guest speaker

Text and Illustrations

Creativity and Presentation

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

Culminating Text and Oral Presentation Rubric

Not Evident Adequate Good Excellent

Oral Presentation

Organisation

Interest

Engagement

Eye Contact

Voice Projection

Clarity

Effective Literacy Teaching This unit demonstrates the following aspects of Effective Literacy Teaching:• Used E5 Instructional Model to ensure high quality teacher practice in the classroom of this unit (sequenced

learning activities). Using this model allows for thoughtful planning of what needs to be explicitly taught. • A balance of activities which require individual work, working in pairs, small group work and whole class

work. There are a variety of structured and inquiry based learning opportunities. • The activities require students to use the literacy skills of meaning maker, code breaker, text user and

critical practices. It gives students the opportunity to practice these literacy skills and apply them to different contexts.

• I believe an effective literacy teacher uses an integrated approach to planning and teaching and integrates a number of disciplines and learning outcomes into each teaching and learning sequence. This unit has effectively integrated reading, writing and oral language of the literacy curriculum and also other areas of the curriculum including science. This unit allows students to feel confident about their reading and writing and apply these skills across other areas to help them understand the world around them.

• Scaffolding – The teacher scaffolds student learning through the teaching and learning sequences. • Engagement – I believe each of the teaching and learning sequences in this unit provides different ways of

engaging each and every student and connecting to their prior knowledge, experiences and interests in their life. The activities provide opportunity for all students to be actively engaged in the unit to successfully achieve the set learning outcomes. As the teacher it is also important to ensure students fully understand the intended outcomes or goals of their learning and I believe it is apparent in the explain stage in each sequence of this unit.

• Motivation – I believe the unit motivates students to engage in the activities. The clear messages from the text that are highlighted throughout the activities are ones which effect their lives and the future in the environment they live. Students have time to learn about human and animal impact on the environment and what they as individuals can do to prevent such tragedy's as the extinction of the Wren in New Zealand.

• Purposeful Assessment – Constructing the assessment with students I believe is very important. Through this process students know exactly what is expected of them. There are no surprises and it makes assessment less scary in that it is seen as an achievable challenge rather than a scary test.

References• Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) – Level 3

http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au