Resource+1

Resource 1


 * Explanation of the Resource: **

Oxygen.org.au is an interactive website that reveals the multi faceted effects of tobacco use, so that students can make their own informed decisions about the drug. The resource will be used in the first lesson as a resource for the student to find information about the drug, in order to make an information poster and report back to the class. The resource will then be used again in lesson three, when the students will play ‘Myth or Fact’. This is an interactive whiteboard game that engages the students in thinking about different effects of tobacco on the body, the environment and the media. The game is not only fun but provides the students with interesting facts about research around Tobacco.

Oxygen.org.au includes games, facts sheet, media links and resources. The complied resources within the website are information rich, student friendly and interactive, which makes this resource valuable within the unit of work. Lastly, Oxygen.org.au is used as a hub for collecting as much support for preventing smoking as possible. This means there is an area within the website that asks students to upload a picture or video they have created to promote anti-smoking. The uploaded video is then screened and if it is passed, posted up on the website for students to watch and vote on. As our unit of work will focus on creating a media campaign, this can be used as a goal and motivation for students to create information rich, engaging advertisement.


 * Relevance to the Outcome: **

The resource Oxygen.org.au, is highly appropriate in the teaching of our chosen outcomes as it integrates both key learning areas (KLA's) in interesting and engaging ways (NSW, Board of Studies, 1996, p.2). The PDHPE outcome includes discussing the factors influencing personal health choices, including tobacco. This outcome is thoroughly met within the resource as it provides extensive information, videos and games for students to interact with. The literacy outcomes of reading is also addressed as students will be involved in reading a number of texts including fact sheets, research articles, personal posts and other linked websites. This will give students opportunities to ‘independently read a wide variety of texts on increasing challenging topics' (NSW, Board of Studies, 2007, p.18). This activity will develop the students semantic knowledge as the students will be reading for meaning (Winch et al, 2001, pp.48-49). Lastly, the resource provides opportunities for talking and listening as the students discuss the information within the resource, in order to develop an information poster. Once the poster is created, the students will present it to the class. Consequently, the students will be involved in two types of talking and listening including formal and informal. Therefore, the students will be developing their skills in oral language as they discover the difference between talking amongst themselves and talking to the class (Winch et al, 2001, p. 25).


 * Aspects of Literacy to be explored: **

Throughout the lesson, students will be exploring how to read different types of texts in order to gain meaning. This activity is aimed at developing the students’ semantic knowledge. This means the students will need to be equipped with appropriate skills in order to develop this type of knowledge. Therefore, the teacher needs to continually remind the students on what a skilled reader does. These skills include using their background knowledge, rereading, examining unfamiliar words and looking in the content for clues (Bryce, 2011, p.475). Spence (2006) also provides questions in which the teacher could write on the board for students to ask themselves whilst reading these texts including:


 * Why am I reading this text?
 * What do I want to know?
 * How is the information organised?
 * Do I need to read the whole text or just some of it?
 * What reading strategies will help me find the information I need?

As the students read various information resources, they will develop their reading skills and semantic knowledge.


 * References **

Board of Studies NSW. (2007). English K-6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Bryce, N. (2011). Meeting the reading challenges of science textbooks in the primary grades. //The Reading Teacher,// 64(7), pp.474-485

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Spence, B. (2006). Designing challenging reading strategies for students in the middle years. In Ewing, R. (Ed.) //Beyond the reading wars,// PETA: Australia, PP.111-122

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Winch, J. (2006). Literacy: Reading, Writing and Children's Literature. Oxford, University Press.