Aussie Star Resources

Making life easier for Upper Primary teachers

Australian Curriculum

Australian Federation is essential knowledge for everyone!

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Why you shouldn’t scrimp on teaching this important topic.

I’ve mentioned before that Aussie Star was born from my determination to make teaching Australia’s Federation more engaging and hands-on for students and an easier topic to teach. I didn’t want to dread teaching it anymore and I didn’t want students to switch off in my lessons because the process wasn’t exciting or there weren’t any battles that grabbed their attention. The further I dug into the topic the more passionate I became about it and its role in the curriculum for Year 6. 


In 2020 understanding Australia’s Federation became even more important as we saw for the first time in over a century, the division between the States as more than just geography. We saw State Governments apply lockdowns and border closures to protect their citizens and economies from the impact of Covid-19. As a result, we saw the autonomy and independence of the States that was so fiercely protected in the establishment of Federation. While working as a nation to beat Covid-19 the State Government clearly demonstrated their commitment to their citizens first and foremost. This wasn’t without some controversy of course but it was clear that the Premiers were working with the Federal Government, but their State was their priority.

Like everyone I often chatted with people about what was happening and the latest restrictions or easing of. Often I was surprised to hear comments like “Why doesn’t the PM just tell the states they should lock down?” or on the 
flip-side “They can’t keep the State border closed. They’ve got no right because the PM is in charge, not the Premiers, so he should just tell them to open.” I couldn’t help but wonder if these people hadn’t been taught the basics of Australia’s Federation at school. I certainly didn’t, in fact I don’t remember learning anything about Australia’s government until I studied Legal Studies in Year 12 and I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember much of it. Having a sound understanding of Federation and how our system of Government was established would help people to have a better understanding of the decision making, responsibilities and relationship between the State and Federal Governments. I’m sure they’d still be frustrated and there will always be hot debate between states but the basic knowledge would help to generate informed debate.

Thankfully, we’re now teaching all students (those learning the Australian Curriculum) the fundamentals of Australia’s Federation and the origins of our System of Government. Sure we have to work hard to make it fun and interesting but it’s well worth the effort to know that we’re developing a generation who have a greater understanding of the processes, reasons and justification for Australia’s system of Government and the relationship between the Federal, State and Local Governments.

Have you found any teachable moments related to Federation or Australia’s system of Government from the Covid-19 crisis? Let us know in the comments? If you’re looking for resources to help liven up your Federation unit scroll down to checkout a selection of our Federation activities. On your way past sign up for V.I.T Membership to gain access to our FREE resource library which includes this gorgeous Federation Agamograph.

Wishing you a settled and successful 2021! 

Happy Teaching!
Amy

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How a curriculum topic checklist can ease your workload.

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Get on top of planning with a Curriculum Topic List

Don’t be bamboozled by an overcrowded curriculum!
A curriculum topic list can help you make sense of everything you need to cover.

We’ve all heard that the curriculum is over-crowded. There’s so much to cover that it can be easy for topics to slip through the cracks. Or it can be difficult to know where to start with your planning or to find the opportunities for integration. A curriculum topic list can help with this. When I was in the classroom, I always wished there was a quick, easy to read list I could look at to reference and check off what I had done. I love a good list!

Curriculum topic lists are perfect for this they give you a quick breakdown of subjects and the content that needs to be covered. They can be used in several ways.

  • To help with your planning. You can check them off as you plan.
  • To help find or prepare resources. A quick reference list can give you the keywords you need to do an online search on TPT or Pinterest. Ready made resources are a huge timesaver!
  • To understand what students have covered in previous years to help you gauge their level of prior knowledge and understanding. 
  • To help your teaching team know what’s in the curriculum for your grade. Sometimes there can be some confusion/double up on content which is frustrating for both teachers and students. A topic checklist is a great way to ensure all grades know what they’re responsible for teaching.
  • To give parents an idea of the knowledge and skills their children will be/have been covering at school. I think they’d be quite surprised to see just how much they’ve covered!
  • To find opportunities for integration. Because there’s so much to cover integrating subjects is a fantastic way to consolidate the content and, as they say, kill two birds with one stone. This is a very efficient way of planning and teaching and can also lead to a greater depth of knowledge and understanding.

To get you started we’ve got a curriculum topic list that covers HASS, Science and Maths for Grades 5 and 6 that you download from our Free Resource Library. We’d recommend printing it out on A3 paper and putting it on your wall for quick reference. To access our Free Resource Library, join our V.I.T membership and we’ll email it straight to you.

If you can think of any other ways to use these lists we’d love to hear them. Feel free to comment below or send us an email. 


We look forward to hearing from you.

Take Care
Amy

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Let someone else take care of your planning and prep this year. No I’m not kidding!

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When I was teaching full-time, we had a cleaner. Her name is Angela and I miss her every day. Every. Single. Day. I seriously loved every second Friday when I would come home to a beautiful clean house and my weekend was (mostly) free. It was money well spent and definitely made me a nicer person to live with. Sure, we paid for her expertise, but it was worth every single penny to have several big jobs taken off my to-do list each fortnight.
Since then more serviced-based businesses have started and I’m all for them, particularly if you have kids and your time is shared between after school homework, weekend sport and play dates or birthday parties. We’ve recently been ordering the Hello Fresh boxes, and these have been amazing. It’s great food and yes you have to cook but you don’t have to think about what you’re going to cook. It’s all there ready, portioned out with a step by step recipe card to walk you through the process. Hubby particularly liked this aspect because he’s not one to ‘wing-it’ in the kitchen. You can also get meals delivered already done like Lite ‘n’ Easy and YouFoodz. There are services available for everything these days and there’s no shame in taking advantage of them. (BTW I’m not affiliated with any of these companies)

You don’t have to do everything the hard way. Hooray!
So why wouldn’t you do the same with aspects of your planning and prep for school? You have so much on your plate at work that reducing the number of tasks you have to do is necessary, nay essential. There’s no shame in this. We can sometimes be martyrs to our profession but when you’re burnt out and overwhelmed what good is that?
If you need further convincing, I’ve put together 5 great reasons to get help with your planning and prep by purchasing done-for-you resources:
You’ll know what you’re teaching and how you’re going to teach it. Done-for-you resources make your planning and prep so fast. You can purchase plans and lesson activities that are ready to print and teach, that are age appropriate and curriculum aligned. So easy.
You’ll know you’ve got the curriculum covered. By purchasing resources that are curriculum aligned you can be confident that you’ve got the curriculum covered and you’ll be able to demonstrate this to your school leaders and parents.

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Your lessons will be truly engaging. Aussie Star was created out of frustration and need. I needed fun, interesting and hands-on activities to teach topics that were often very boring. I didn’t want another boring worksheet and I know you don’t either. Teacher-authors have the time to make awesome resources because they know you don’t, why not take advantage of this?
You’ll be able to deal with everything else better. Seriously if you’re not stressing about what you’re teaching you’ll be able to cope better with those daily curveballs and demands. There are so many extra tasks you’re required to do every day it’s ridiculous and it can feel like teaching is secondary which should never be the case. Done-for-you planning and lessons will free you up so that you’ll be able catch (or dodge) those curveballs.

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You’ll be less stressed. Just like hiring a cleaner or ordering food delivery, using done-for-you resources will cut out one more (big) task from your busy life and free you up for more enjoyable things.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and bogged down in your planning and prep I encourage you to check out our store. Our mission statement says ‘making life easier for upper primary teachers’ and every resource is designed with that mission in mind. We want to ease your workload.

One way to stay up to date with our resources is to join our VIT email list. You’ll receive regular free products that are relevant to your teaching and have access to our exclusive sale events and give-aways. Right now, if you sign up you’ll receive our newsletter template that is perfect to keep your parents and care givers up-to-date on what’s happening in the classroom, events, photos and student work. It can be used in PowerPoint so you can use your own fonts and insert photos. Click here to subscribe.

Let us know if you need any help with finding resources or have any requests for resources you need to make your life easier. We’re just an email away at amy@aussiestarresources.com.au. We look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Teaching
Amy

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5 Alternatives To Tests – Putting Assessment to the Test

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Testing testing 123...just not all the time!

Now don’t get me wrong, tests definitely have their place in the classroom. They can be a very effective way of checking your students' ability to recall information with very little effort. They’re also easy to mark and report on. There’s nothing like cold hard data to help you write your reports. But they are not the best assessment solution for every subject. They are also limited in their ability to give you insight beyond a student’s ability to recall information. For example, during a test a student may be able to recall the Federation occurred in 1901 but it’s also important to check their understanding of why Federation happened, the significant events that led to it and the contribution of important figures such as Henry Parkes. Each student will explain their understanding of this important event in their own way and a test may not be a meaningful and authentic way to check their understanding.

So what are the alternatives to tests? Let’s look at 5 alternatives to tests that you might like to try in your classroom.

Multimedia presentations

This is a great opportunity to incorporate technology in to your lessons. Your students might like to make a news segment about a special event, or perhaps a mini documentary about their Earth Science topic or a mathematical concept. Maybe they can reenact a chemical reaction using stop motion or generate a PowerPoint presentation or slide show of their latest book report. The possibilities are endless.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment
5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Dioramas

Dioramas are a great way for students who love creating and crafting to show their understanding. I’m always amazed at how creative students (and often their parents) can be when creating dioramas. I’ve seen them made from LEGO, air dry clay, plasticine, wood and cardboard. While the construction and presentation of dioramas is important it’s equally important that students demonstrate their understanding of the learning outcome. This can be done with a written or oral component. A great idea is to have parents and other classes come through your diorama ‘gallery’ and ask the students to explain their diorama. Providing prompt questions can help or even preparing other classes with questions might help the process.

Teach the concept

Turn the tables on your students by asking them to teach you, their parents or their peers about a concept, topic or skill. They will need to carefully plan their lesson and write a detailed lesson plan including an objective and anticipated outcome- this should be directly linked to the curriculum outcomes. Students should also check for understanding and reflect and evaluate their lesson after to consider how they could have modified or improved their lesson to teach it better.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment
5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Write an instruction manual

This works in beautifully with procedure writing but can be linked to subjects such as maths, science and even PE. Rather than teaching the concept and having to speak in front of their peers (for some students this is a terrifying concept) students can write a detailed instruction manual with graphics and diagrams to help convey their knowledge and understanding. This could be completed on the computer or written by hand. Photographs could also be used to help present the steps. It can be helpful to provide examples of different types of instruction manuals to inspire students. To test their manuals students can swap their manuals and follow the steps to see how effective they are. Constructive feedback from peers could be written as part of the assessment task.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Design a board game

I have used this in maths as part of our unit on probability. Students love the opportunity to be creative and design the ultimate board game. Like all activities it does require guidance and scaffolding to ensure the learning objectives are not lost amongst the cardboard, straws, spinners and hot glue guns. A process journal can help with this so that students log their planning and progress throughout the construction to ensure they are on task and on track to reach their objective. It’s important to provide focused time for writing in a process journal - don’t rush it and provide helpful prompts to get them writing as it takes practice to master writing a process journal. When they’re all done it can be great fun to have a lesson for students to play each other’s games and provide constructive feedback.

Hopefully you’ve been inspired to try a few different assessment strategies. There are many more so follow our Pinterest profile to keep an eye on ideas we find inspiring. We have an entire board dedicated to meaningful assessment ideas which you can follow by clicking here. If you're looking for assessment tasks and activities with a difference check out our Australian Explorer Assessment Planner and our Earth Sciences Expo Assessment Planner.

Happy teaching

Amy

Testing testing 123...just not all the time!

Now don’t get me wrong, tests definitely have their place in the classroom. They can be a very effective way of checking your students’ ability to recall information with very little effort. They’re also easy to mark and report on. There’s nothing like cold hard data to help you write your reports. But they are not the best assessment solution for every subject. They are also limited in their ability to give you insight beyond a student’s ability to recall information. For example, during a test a student may be able to recall the Federation occurred in 1901 but it’s also important to check their understanding of why Federation happened, the significant events that led to it and the contribution of important figures such as Henry Parkes. Each student will explain their understanding of this important event in their own way and a test may not be a meaningful and authentic way to check their understanding.

So what are the alternatives to tests? Let’s look at 5 alternatives to tests that you might like to try in your classroom.

Multimedia presentations

This is a great opportunity to incorporate technology in to your lessons. Your students might like to make a news segment about a special event, or perhaps a mini documentary about their Earth Science topic or a mathematical concept. Maybe they can reenact a chemical reaction using stop motion or generate a PowerPoint presentation or slide show of their latest book report. The possibilities are endless.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Dioramas

Dioramas are a great way for students who love creating and crafting to show their understanding. I’m always amazed at how creative students (and often their parents) can be when creating dioramas. I’ve seen them made from LEGO, air dry clay, plasticine, wood and cardboard. While the construction and presentation of dioramas is important it’s equally important that students demonstrate their understanding of the learning outcome. This can be done with a written or oral component. A great idea is to have parents and other classes come through your diorama ‘gallery’ and ask the students to explain their diorama. Providing prompt questions can help or even preparing other classes with questions might help the process.

Teach the concept

Turn the tables on your students by asking them to teach you, their parents or their peers about a concept, topic or skill. They will need to carefully plan their lesson and write a detailed lesson plan including an objective and anticipated outcome- this should be directly linked to the curriculum outcomes. Students should also check for understanding and reflect and evaluate their lesson after to consider how they could have modified or improved their lesson to teach it better.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment
5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Write an instruction manual

This works in beautifully with procedure writing but can be linked to subjects such as maths, science and even PE. Rather than teaching the concept and having to speak in front of their peers (for some students this is a terrifying concept) students can write a detailed instruction manual with graphics and diagrams to help convey their knowledge and understanding. This could be completed on the computer or written by hand. Photographs could also be used to help present the steps. It can be helpful to provide examples of different types of instruction manuals to inspire students. To test their manuals students can swap their manuals and follow the steps to see how effective they are. Constructive feedback from peers could be written as part of the assessment task.

Design a board game

I have used this in maths as part of our unit on probability. Students love the opportunity to be creative and design the ultimate board game. Like all activities it does require guidance and scaffolding to ensure the learning objectives are not lost amongst the cardboard, straws, spinners and hot glue guns. A process journal can help with this so that students log their planning and progress throughout the construction to ensure they are on task and on track to reach their objective. It’s important to provide focused time for writing in a process journal – don’t rush it and provide helpful prompts to get them writing as it takes practice to master writing a process journal. When they’re all done it can be great fun to have a lesson for students to play each other’s games and provide constructive feedback.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Hopefully you’ve been inspired to try a few different assessment strategies. There are many more so follow our Pinterest profile to keep an eye on ideas we find inspiring. We have an entire board dedicated to meaningful assessment ideas which you can follow by clicking here. If you’re looking for assessment tasks and activities with a difference check out our Australian Explorer Assessment Planner and our Earth Sciences Expo Assessment Planner.

Happy teaching

Amy

Five Awesome HASS Resources You Need To Include In Your Planning.

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No doubt you’ve been flat out since school started! The start of the year is a really exciting time but it can also be exhausting. There’s so much to do! Set up your room, prep stationery, make labels, clean and most importantly PLAN! I’m one of those weird people that love to plan! #inserteyeroll However, I’ve changed my planning strategy over the last 2 years, particularly when it comes to the HASS component of the Australian Curriculum. I used to write my HASS plan and then look for resources and assessment ideas to suit my plan. This worked well – some of the time. It was great if I could find appropriate resources, but was a nightmare if I couldn’t find any and had to make them myself. Mostly it was just mind numbing worksheets from a book, that all looked the same and the students hated. That struggle was really the catalyst for Aussie Star Resources. I wanted to be able to find HASS resources that were specific to my needs and the curriculum I was teaching. Now I approach planning differently. I actually start off with a search of Teachers Pay Teachers, Pinterest and good ol’ Google, to see what resources are available that meet my HASS topics and are appropriate for my lessons. Then I plan and write my lessons based on these resources. I feel far more prepared and I feel that the lessons are more engaging because I’m not trying to fit the resource in to my original plan.  If I do need to make some resources, it’s far less than what I have had to make in the past. I’ve also used resources I’ve found for assessment tasks, which makes preparation and marking even easier. So, here are five HASS resources you should consider adding to your HASS plan. These resources are a great sample of the many resources fantastic Aussie Teacher Authors are creating. Be sure to check out their stores – it’ll save you loads of resource creation time and let you get on with the things you really want to do. You can quickly access their stores by clicking on the title.

Keystone Creations 

Are you musically inclined? I’m not which is why it’s so great to find two educators who firmly believe that Children Learn What They Sing™. To that end, Keystone Creations write and publish curriculum-aligned songs & lesson materials that support and enhance classroom learning. #score
Nuala O’Hanlon is a veteran teacher, lyricist, and a full writer member of APRA AMCOS. Her experience includes work in mainstream, open-plan, independent progressive, pre-school, ESL, special needs, and music classrooms. She has worked as a development and training officer in a hospital setting, and a camp counsellor (Ages 7-14). Nuala has a background in the Creative and Performing Arts.
Nuala’s colleague, Kathryn Radloff, is an Arts (Hons) Psych. graduate with a Creative Arts Diploma. Kathryn has worked in the area of social justice and advocacy. In addition, she has implemented social skills and behaviour modification programs for students with significant behavioural and learning difficulties. A singer/songwriter in her own right, Kathryn has a background in the creative & performing arts, social work & Psychology.

All Australian

This great resource has been created for Middle/Upper Primary students. It contains 5, Australian-specific, curriculum-aligned songs & lesson materials that target outcomes & learning sequences of curriculum documents. Also, they integrate learning across key subject areas. The content covers Australia, the Gold Rush, key people and events leading up to Australian Democracy, the government’s 9 values for Australian schools, and the Australian version of our song, ‘Healthy Kids’. There’s ‘A Lesson In Every Lyric’®. The songs are perfect for:
  • Engaging & motivating students
  • Introducing new units of work
  • Kick starting discussion
  • Summarising and reinforcing content
  • Aiding recall of important information
  • Extending literacy
  • Assembly & performance items…
 

Galarious Goods

The Creative Teacherpreneur behind Galarious Goods is a Queensland middle grades teacher with an Ancient History, History and Government background. Her store offers comprehensive resources to help get students enthusiastic about HASS.

Elections in Australia Bundle

This resource bundle has been designed for Year 6 students and up. It meets the content requirements for Civics and Citizenship – Elections and Electoral Systems. The advantage of this bundle is that it can be used as a complete unit, for small group work or to complement other election resources. Bundles are a great way to buy resources! You have everything you need in one file and they are usually generously discounted.  

Paula’s Place

Paula is the inspired author of Paula’s Place. Paula has been teaching for 32 years and loves that each day is different. Her store caters for K-6 Grades. This year she is back teaching 5/6 and has taken on the role of Leading Teacher for Maths and Digital Technology. She loves sharing her teaching and learning space with others.

Gold – Blood on the Southern Cross

This is a unit of work based on the Australian Curriculum for Year 5. It contains an enormous 51 pages! Within this resource you will find the following:
  • Australian Curriculum references
  • Outline of Inquiry
  • Key Understandings
  • Inquiry Questions
  • Preparing for the Gold Rush – KWHL, Word Wall, spelling words, gold rush/fever. Alphabet key, google it, list where gold can be found, multiple intelligences, different ways to mine for gold,
  • How to get hold of gold – Gold towns, what tools do we use?
  • Life on the Goldfields – Venn diagrams and flow charts
  • Eureka Stockade – draw and label tools, gold licenses
  • Famous People – research, summary and note taking
  • Items for display
  • Ten suggested writing tasks that include oral language
  • Ideas for Maths, ICT and Visual Arts
  • Homework ideas
I think you’ll agree that’s a huge amount of resources available in one resource. It’s also a huge amount of resources you don’t need to create yourself. #winning

Teach To Dream

This creative Resource Developer has been teaching for the last 12 years, all grades from K to 7. Although, for the last 8 years she has been a Year 6/7 teacher. She really enjoys teaching and loves to travel in her spare time.

History Project Year 6 Australian Curriculum

This project has students researching Australian federation, life in 20th century Australia and an Iconic figure. It has been designed to tie in with the Australian Curriculum Year 6. But it could be modified to meet Year 5 standards or for any class completing research on Australia. It includes key websites to help students start their research, Assessment rubric, bibliography and note taking sheets and Australian Curriculum standards. Everything you need is supplied — it’s pretty much print ‘n go!      

Aussie Star Resources

Yes I know it’s a bit cheeky putting my own store on here but I love to share! When I first looked at the Year 6 Australian Curriculum topics I wanted to cry. They seemed so DULL! I found teaching them mind numbingly boring. It wasn’t until I went to Canberra with my class on camp that I really upped my game when teaching HASS. I became determined to ensure the students were aware of our political history. Ince 2016 I’ve been working in other areas of education that work around our family, but I’m looking forward to getting back into the classroom next year.

Three Levels of Australian Government Sorting Activity

This great activity has been designed to assist you in your year 6 classroom while studying the Three Levels of Government as part of your Civics and Citizenship unit. This easy to use, fun and engaging flip book will help students to understand the following concepts: ★ Why does Australia have three levels of Government? ★ The roles and responsibilities of The Federal Government ★ The roles and responsibilities of The State Governments ★ The roles and responsibilities of Local Governments I hope you’ve found these helpful!

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