A STUDY OF SYSTEMS
THE GREAT CHEDDAR CHEESE SANDWICH CAPER An Upper Primary Integrated Unit National Curriculum - BAND B - LEVELS 4/5, Grades 4-6 • Studies of Society and Environment. • English. • Mathematics. • Technology.
By Miranda Armstrong with Julie Boyd
Please note: These units are designed for educators who have some experience in Integrating Curriculum and in Collaborative/Cooperative Learning. For those who are starting along this learning path we would be very happy to recommend resources which may be able to assist you further. This unit may be used according to the needs of the teacher and class for between a six week and 12 month period. The unit is designed not to be sequential, but so that you can choose areas of interest and appropriateness.
First published 1997 Š Global Learning Communities 163 George Street Launceston, Tasmania, 7250, Australia. Australian Phone: Australian Fax: 317376 Email: Website:
ISBN:
03-63-344929 International Phone: -61-3-63-344929 03-63-317376 International Fax: -61-3-63globallearning@vision.net.au http://www.vision.net.au/~globallearning/education/
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Published simultaneously in Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. Distributed in the United States by: Global Learning Communities 1500 West El Camino, Suite 325 Sacramento, CA 95833 Telephone: 916-922-1615 Fax: 916-922-4320
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CONTENTS Foreward • Introducing Integrated Curriculum for Mindful Learning • Learning Links
Page 4 Page 6
Section 1 A UNIT OVERVIEW and INTRODUCTION • SETTING THE SCENE • EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES • SKILLS AND ATTITUDES • CONCEPTUAL LINKS • NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK LINKS
Page 7 Page 9 Page 9 Page 10 Page 10
Section 2 STRUCTURE OF THE UNIT • INTERACTIVE SHAPE OF THE UNIT • ESSENTIAL AND OPTIONAL LEARNING • STRUCTURING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT • CONTENT AND CITIZENSHIP LINKS • KEY UNDERSTANDINGS AND ATTITUDES
Page 11 Page 12 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14
Section 3 IMPLEMENTING THE UNIT • GETTING STARTED • CAPTURING STUDENT INTEREST • STEP 1 - INVESTIGATING CHEESE • STEP 2 - INVESTIGATING BREAD • STEP 3 - INVESTIGATING BUTTER • STEP 4 - INVESTIGATING SUSTAINABLE FARMING • STEP 5 - INVESTIGATING SYSTEMS • ASSESSMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF MOST WORTH
Page 15 Page 16 Page 18 Page 21 Page 26 Page 28 Page 30 Page 31
Section 4 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: APPENDIX 2: APPENDIX 3: APPENDIX 4: REFERENCES
Australian National Curriculum Links Background Information Extension Exploration Principles of Ecology
Page 33 Page 34 Page 36 Page 37 Page 37
INTRODUCING INTEGRATED CURRICULUM FOR MINDFUL LEARNING The challenge for teachers now and in the future is going to be to create co-ordinated and integrated learning opportunities for students. As we learn more about the process of learning, and use this to integrate our responses to a rapidly changing world, teaching is becoming a process of facilitation of effective learning rather than simply the transmission of accepted, imposed, compartmentalized curriculum. Over the past decade, every country has undergone massive changes in curriculum organization- from imposed, rigid syllabi to learning frameworks based on a more conceptual approach to learning. This has necessitated a move toward more interactive classrooms, which in turn has significantly changed the role of the teacher. This must inevitably impact on assessment, and thus reporting, procedures. At Global Learning Communities we believe that successful learning and development requires a purposeful approach to learning, facilitated by teachers who have strong philosophical, theoretical and principle-centered bases. These educators work to create a powerful alignment between the learning environment, an integrated approach to conceptually based learning in interactive classrooms, and an approach to assessment in which the individual ultimately learns to assess and challenge themselves. We envision a coherent curriculum that would do justice to the integrity of each subject and also bring each to bear on all the others in a way that reflects an integrated, as opposed to compartmentalized, approach to real life. To achieve this we have developed a framework for school change, and a range of services designed to assist educators and schools in their individual and collective on-going learning process
This particular service is designed to provide educators with a series of detailed units of work which may be used as they are presented, or adapted to meet your own needs in content, demography, or culture.
The Uniqueness of the Global Learning Communities approach to Interdisciplinary Curriculum includes: A. A conceptual learning basis based on key ideas and questions; focused on the learner, based on inquiry, questioning and experiential learning through participation in story. B. An emphasis on the processes of learning, as well as student retention and use of knowledge which seeks to develop student understanding. C. The incorporation of the most powerful learnings from the best researchers and advocate leaders in the field. These include Kieran Egan’s storyform (based on living within story), Susan Kovalik’s Integrated Thematic Instruction (based on brain-based learning), Renate and Geoffrey Caine’s focus on making connections and brain-based learning, Edward Clark’s circular matrix based on questioning, James Bean’s and Garth Boomer’s approach to negotiated curriculum, Briggs’ Problem-Based Learning, Lilian Katz’s project approach, Pigden’s use of process subjects as the focus for integration and Heidi Hayes Jacob’s emphasis on maintaining the integrity of the disciplines within an integrated context. D. GLC’s Integrated Curriculum with Integrity (ICI) framework aligns a conceptually based curriculum with interactive, experiential and cooperative learning, a range of learning styles, extended thinking and problem-solving, and numerous other strategies found to enhance learning effectively. E. All units incorporate local, Australian National and International Curriculum Frameworks and include references to specific subject area disciplines of maths, language arts, social studies, science, technology and design, and the visual and perfoming arts. F. GLC’s ICI framework provides strategies to aid the teacher in facilitating on-going, multiple forms of assessment. Each unit describes ideas for monitoring and documenting student learning growth as well as ideas for ‘performances of most worth’ that could be used for summative authentic assessment. G. The units are developed around grade clusters, so that they may be used in muti-age classrooms and easily adapted to preceeding and successive grade levels. They are designed to be developmentally appropriate, while still being both flexible and adaptable. H. Each unit contains a matrix which outlines the major conceptual areas of the unit content, as well as key questions the students will study, debate or dialogue, problem-solve, research, develop projects about and/or become involved in relevant community action. Units are presented in such a way that the teachers and students can together ‘peel back’ layer after layer and go deeper into the process of learning. I. Most importantly, each unit has as an overriding focus, the development of young learners as competent, considerate and positively contributing local and global citizens who: * respect and care for self and others * participate in and contribute responsibly to society * sustain learning throughout their lives * Are competent personally, socially, economically, ecologically, culturally and morally.
LEARNING LINKS BAND A Topics suggested for the early years of schooling (prep-yr 3), introduces children to a sense of personal place within the world. Children learn to see themselves as social beings existing within complex and inter-connected environments. They are introduced to principles underlying the formation and operation of these groups and environments. They begin to understand their place in the interconnected web of life. Children are led to the following understandings. * A sense of self (personal identity) * A sense of others * A sense of place * An understanding of how we make sense of our world (senses, communication etc) * An understanding that living, learning and play spaces create environments. * A sense of order in life (cycles, stages, rules, ecological principles etc) * An understanding that certain things are essential of life (water, air, energy) * An understanding that people cluster in groups and groups make societies (social structures, customs, mores etc) * An understanding that societies are governed by economics and politics. * An understanding that people within societies are classified consumers or producers etc. * A sense of balance in life (work/play, contribution/personal gain).
BAND B During the upper primary school years (grades 4-6), students deepen their understanding of their place on earth, the structures and principles that ensure balance and sustainable existence and their roles and responsibilities in maintaining the balance. They look inside systems and organisms to gain an understanding of how things work. They begin to develop an understanding of Australia’s unique identity, Australia’s position globally, and earth’s position universally. Children are initially led to the following understandings. * How plants and animals grow and survive * An in-depth exploration of one essential property for life (water) * Human and natural impacts on earth * How to live in partnership with our environment * The unique nature of Australia’s biodiversity * Australia’s beginning as a nation Children then deepen their perspectives by moving toward the following understandings. * The layers of life (microscopic worlds, substructures of chemicals etc) * The layers within environments (ecosystems, zones, climatic regions, adaptation, survival, population control) * The layers within society (belief systems, governments, social structures) * An in-depth exploration of one essential property of life (energy) * Earth’s place in the universe (space)
BAND C By early secondary school years (grades 7-9), students need to become actively involved as participating citizens, contributing to the improvement of their environments (school, community etc). They gain an understanding of how to be socially active, of how society functions, is reproduced and transformed. They begin to think globally of Australia’s place within the world and the global effects of things like resource use, economics, climate etc. Students are led to the following understandings. * How societies and citizens are socially constructed. * The construction of an Australian identity and its global impact * The importance of ethics, social justice etc in patterning for a sustainable world * The need to address conservation and earth science issues if we are to preserve our planet * Seeing humans as unique yet part of a finely inter-connected system of life * The elements essential to sustain life on earth * The global significance of resource use, climate, energy use, pollution, logging etc * An understanding of earth as a structure (geology, structure of minerals and chemicals etc) * Our place in space * The importance of science and the scientific method to the evolution and understanding of our world
Section 1: A UNIT OVERVIEW SETTING THE SCENE ‘The Great Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Caper’ is a unit about systems, written for Victorian Level 3 (middle primary) with a grade 4 focus (National Curriculum Band B, levels 4/5). The unit is written to introduce students to the Australian Primary Industry areas of Wheat and Dairy Farming. Students meet these industries through a mystery involving a cheddar cheese sandwich. • At the local level the sandwich represents food children would consume daily (bread, cheese, butter). • Each part of the sandwich comes from an extensive production system - bread from the wheat industry and butter and cheese from the dairy industry. Humans, as consumers, create the demand that drives the production. Humans are integral to the system. • Globally, the impact of farming and primary industry economics on environmental sustainability is significant. Students need to be shown the connection between the two. Early scientists and scientific theories investigated the individual parts that made up the world. But these parts, no matter how well understood, could not be fully appreciated outside an appropriate context. Living systems theories provided that sense of perspective and place. Once rationalised systemically, these individual and specific understandings contributed to the ‘big picture’, providing a purpose and meaning for the parts. Early theorists, Newton for example, persuaded decades of thinkers to be content to comprehend causal relationships amongst observed phenomena as simple cause-effect chains, minimizing the understanding of whole entities to the understanding of its combined parts. This is mechanistic reductability and reductionist theories shaped much of our thinking about our world for many decades. The impact was persuasive, penetrating all aspects of culture and society. For me, a fairly literal ‘machine-o-phobic’ individual, I find it ironic that it is the computer -(a machine that utterly baffles me and imprisons me within my limitations)- should bring about the downfall of mechanistic reducibility assumptions. But they did, because for the first time complex systems became available for investigation with non-conventional methods. The computer enabled scientists to explore simultaneous interactions between non-linear processes. Complex loops and feedbacks were observed. Computers revealed the extremes of simple linear chains and the complexities of chaos. This evolution in thinking and understanding has led scientists to explore and analyse components and phenomena in terms of systems. We have completely reversed out Newtonian attitudes.
In days of old we would attempt to to reconstruct the inter-related system on the basis of the properties of their This may seem semantic, or even pedantic. However, the significance is this. A continuous field (a system) is not reducible to its particles regardless of the fact it comprises particles, because the integrity and therefore the identity of the system derives from balance interactions (wholeness). It is ‘the whole’ (the system) that gives life to the parts, NOT (as one might think), the parts that creates the whole. Children must come to understand the importance of systemic thinking and interacting. And I think there is a further complexity of ‘context’ to be grasped here. Just as parts don’t make up the whole, so to the ‘wholes’ do not go together to make nature. Rather nature (an ecological whole system) just happens to comprise all those parts. The ‘wholes’ (as part of nature) depend on ecological integrity for their existence. The paradox is, that humans (comprising a formative number of the wholes) have it within their power to undermine that integrity. Children, as developing citizens, must then understand the ecological nature of the world in which we live. Ecological principles are universal. Having students conceptually understand systems within an ecological context has to do with issues of balance. Although all the principles of ecology can independently be found elsewhere, it is their combination that creates a balanced system.
One can, without too much difficulty, transpose those ecological principles onto any system and justify their worth and importance. But, the critical step is having children understand that ecological balance is essential and that ALL OTHER SYSTEMS are part of that balance. It is by their association to and with and from and through Nature that these other systems impact on, and are affected by ecological systems. Conceptualised in this way, a study of primary industries in Australia becomes a study of developing sustainable farming practices; developing sustainable economic policies, legislating politically to make ecological responsibility affordable and desirable and appealing. You look at a cheddar cheese sandwich - (an icon of Australiana) - with new wisdom when you understand that every part of the production, packaging and consumption impacts on the ecological future of our nation (an ultimately universe), albeit in some modest way! Any study of systems should lead students toward thinking ecologically, and as described by Fritjof Capra, to think ecologically means: • thinking in terms of wholes rather than parts • thinking in terms of relationships rather than objects • thinking in terms of process rather than structure • thinking in terms of networking rather than hierarchy • thinking in terms of quality rather than quantity • thinking in terms of sufficiency rather than scarcity • thinking in terms of sustainability rather than exploitation • thinking in terms of empowerment rather than powerlessness
So. If we carry our System Theory argument to its logical conclusion with this unit, we can say this. Children must be led to see the wide variety of systems within systems that create farming and farm products.They must come to see the sub-systems that contribute to the creation of the cheddar cheese sandwich. But, if you take a slice of bread - do you have a part of a cheddar cheese sandwich, or processed milled flour, or a slice of bread or what? If you take a slice of cheese - do you have the filling of a cheddar cheese sandwich, or processed dairy produce, or a slice of cheese or what? The cheddar cheese sandwich only gains its identity in its wholeness, regardless of the independent parts that contribute to its completeness. This complexity of understanding is what we unveil to children in this unit.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES Through this unit, students will come to demonstrate the following learning outcomes: • an understanding of the systems and processes involved in making cheese. • an understanding of the systems and processes involved in making bread. • an understanding of the systems and processes involved in making butter. • an understanding of wheat growing as an Australian primary industry. • an understanding of dairy farming as an Australian primary industry. • an initial understanding of the connection between national economics and environmental use. • an awareness of the power of supply, demand and consumerism. • an understanding of the importance of developing farming techniques and practices • a understanding of the assumption of wholeness is systems theory • the ability to solve problems in a variety of ways, communicate information and work
that create a sustaina
cooperatively toward
SKILLS AND ATTITUDES Through this unit, students will develop and use the following skills: • ability to reason scientifically • reflection • frame questions • collaborate • analysis • recognise patterns • draw conclusions • discuss • link understandings • generalise • make predictions • extract information • construct explanations • research • follow instructions • report • listen and respond • classify • locate information • brainstorm • draw conclusions • infer • use maths to organise observations • use a variety of methods to communicate • clarify, evaluate and recognise understanding of the physical and biological world
• review & evaluate • speculate future • think critically
CONCEPTUAL LINKS This unit is a study of systems and of systemic thinking, and the conceptual understandings important as outcomes are ecological in nature. The unit looks at the inter-connected nature of society and at what makes a system. It challenges students to see the whole system as an ‘entity’ that parents its individual parts, rather than the reverse. The concept addressed in this unit will either be implicit or implied. It is up to each teacher to ensure these concepts are massaged into the content in ways that each group of students making this journey will understand and find meaningful. The concepts essential to this unit include: • the essence of reality is unity and connectedness, and this assumption of wholeness is a perspective essential to understanding society. • the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each individual member or part, and visa versa • sustainability of the earth depends on a limited resource base. • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its interactions (networks, relationships) • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • cycles within systems act as feedback loops to maintain balance • systems require energy to survive • ecological systems are shaped by macro-constraints (climate, soil etc) and this principle can be applied to all systems. • ecological systems are changed by impacting the bottom of the pyramid and this principle can be applied to all systems (i.e. to change political systems you must impact the grass roots rather than the leaders) • self-sustaining communities are the fundamental unit in ecological systems and this principle can be applied to all systems • in ecological systems growth is a homeostatic process (i.e. feedback, interactive process), benefiting everyone, and this principle can be applied to all systems
NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK LINKS The National Curriculum statements organised in 8 areas of learning, provide a framework for curriculum development for school. Each of the key learning areas (KLA’s) is divided into strands which reflect the major elements of learning for that area.Strands are a way of reflecting understandings of a learning area's content, processes and concepts.Within each strand 8 achievement levels have been developed. The levels are clustered into 4 bands to correspond to the stages of schooling: - lower primary, upper primary, junior secondary, and post compulsory. Bands are the broad stages in a sequence for developing knowledge, understandings and skills in a learning area. Since the levels, strands and bands allow teachers to plan a layered scope and sequence of learning experiences catering for mixed ability classes, several levels and strands will appear in any one unit written to represent a particular band. The chart included in this unit will itemize the strands and levels covered as well as the numbers of strands still to be covered to satisfy all the learning outcomes for any given key learning area in a band. In this way teachers can monitor their own planning and assessment of both individual children and their own programs. (appendix 1). During the Upper Primary School Years, students deepen their understanding of their place on earth, the structures and principles that ensure balance and sustainable existence, and their roles and responsibilities in maintaining the balance. They begin to understand in some depth the layers within society and the environment.
Section 2: STRUCTURE OF THE UNIT: INTERACTIVE SHAPE OF THE UNIT 1) The unit is presented in 5 separate yet interconnected parts a) Introduction to capture student interest b) Systems in cheese making c) Systems in bread making d) Systems in butter making e) Systems in sustainable farming f) Conclusion looking at systems as a whole 2) Each section involves interactive letters, primarily from the main character Great Uncle Obadiah Olson. It is suggested that the classroom teacher assume the identity if Olson so that throughout the unit additional letters can be written to clarify, embellish or expand the unit. 3) The grand niece/nephew Pongo, to whom Olson writes, can be the class collectively or all students individually. Teachers can decide how they wish the interaction to evolve. 4) Each section involves letters from other specialists: • Edam van Raalte of the Cheese Board • Hans Silo of the Wheat Board • Gupta Whey of the Dairy Farmer’s Union • Guy and Gaia Greensleeves from Earth Watch. If classroom teachers wish to expand the unit they can: a) assume the role of these specialists as well as the role of Olson b) Have other teachers in the school assume these roles (i.e. peer partners, drama teachers etc) c) have selected students assume the role with guidance from the teacher. 5) The interactive nature of the unit through letter writing allows the teacher and class to own and personalise the journey should they so choose, but the unit maintains complete integrity if implemented as is.
ESSENTIAL AND OPTIONAL LEARNING 1) The unit is designed as a framework. From this teachers can develop either simple, or complex integrated units. 2) This booklet outlines one possible unit as an example of how to integrate learning through a story. 3) Learning experiences essential to this story will be outlined and labelled ESSENTIAL LEARNING. 4) Learning experiences seen as optional but supporting this story will be listed as OPTIONAL LEARNING. 5) Conceptual links will be included.
STRUCTURING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 1) Since your unit is centred around the unfolding, or telling of a central story (through letter writing), you have a variety of options available in terms of structuring the learning environment. 2) The story is fluid, and you have the flexibility to change the structure of the learning environment as the story develops. 3) It is recommended you use a variety of approaches: a) the learning environment could include: • students working in the classroom • students working outside the classroom • field trips to gather expert information • work with mentors in the classroom • other........ b) approaches to learning could include: • instruction by an expert to whole class • small group investigations • individual research projects • whole class brainstorming and discussion • inquiry, explorations and investigations • films, audio/visual materials • computers • other.............. 4) Since the unit tells a story, you have the option of allowing the students to become characters within the story. This is not essential but it is a powerful way to engage students imaginatively. Students could be in role for varying lengths of time and for a variety of purposes.
KEY UNDERSTANDINGS and QUESTIONS 1) In what ways does a cheddar cheese sandwich represent a system? 2) In what ways does cheese processing represent a system? 3) In what ways does wheat production represent a system? 4) In what ways does flour milling represent a system? 5) In what ways does butter making represent a system? 6) What systems are essential to sustainable farming? 7) What subtle but important differences exist between these two understandings? a) systems can be constructed based on the properties of their individual components (reductionist theories) b) individual components are understood in terms of their inter-relationships within a system (system theories) 8) Is a piece of bread part of a sandwich; a product of flour; a product of wheat; just a slice of bread;...............other? 9) Explain how supply, demand and consumerism can impact on the environment? 10) In what ways would the belief that the human species are the top of evolution impact adversely on the way our world is shaped? 11) In what ways has the concept of an ever expanding economy shaped the western world socially, politically, environmentally etc? 12) Of what significance is the statement ‘While you can’t change the world in a day, the world can change in an instant’. 13) In what ways can citizens help create a context for global cooperation? (What attitude, belief and action changes would need to occur for this to happen?) 14) What can we learn from our past that will help us achieve sustainable farming? 15) What ecological constraints might shape global cooperation? 16) What can we learn from ecological communities that can help us create local and global communities?
Section 3: IMPLEMENTING THE UNIT: GETTING STARTED 1) Many learning experiences in the unit require students to work cooperatively in small groups. 2)
Cooperative groups skills need to be taught and practised. Essential skills upon which to focus include: a) active listening b) communicating c) seeing more than one perspective d) ability to synthesize a variety of information and ideas e) taking turns
3)
Some essential steps will assist with preparing the classroom for this unit. a) Tell the students what you are doing with the small groups, and why. Students and teachers alike should understand the process. b) Plan some short, meaningful work in pairs to practice the five essential group skills c) Introduce a range of group work, i.e. • pair share • jig saw • round robin d) Limit the size of the groups to no more than 6 with 4 as the optimum e) Initially, keep the tasks short. Length of activities will increase once positive group skills are regularly exhibited and self-monitored. f) Have the group agree upon a minimum of necessary class rules to assist efficient classroom operation i.e. • a universal call to order • rule of rights and responsibilities g) Arrange the physical classroom setting to allow space for • small group clusters • whole group work • individual work h) Have students clear about expectations and about proposed ways of managing digressions and disruptions. Where possible, involve the class in the resolution process so that all students can feel ownership and belonging. (a class parliament or committee can help this process) i) Allow adequate time for reporting back to the whole group, reflecting and self evaluation.
CAPTURING STUDENT INTEREST CONCEPTUAL LINKS:
• the essence of reality is unity and connectedness, and this assumption of wholeness is a perspective essential to understanding • the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each individual member or part, and visa versa • sustainability of the earth depends on a limited resource base. • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • cycles within systems act as feedback loops to maintain balance • systems require energy to survive
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.2, 4.10, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.3, 4.13, 4.16, 4.17 Science - 4.10
Start your unit with something BIG - or something that will engage students affectively and imaginatively. Since this unit is developed as an interactive story a letter to capture interest is suggested.
SAMPLE LETTER: - ESSENTIAL LEARNING 1) read these letters to class to capture student interest and set the scene. Each child can individually think of themselves as Pongo, or the class collectively can work as Pongo. Teachers can add other letters to Pongo as the investigation develops. Having the correspondence permits an interactive element and room for flexibility in planning. The Kitchen, Kitchen Cottage Kitchener, 8319 Today Dear Pongo You will have to forgive me writing to you and calling you such a name, but as you well know, I am one of your most forgetful Uncles - (in fact, I think I am your only uncle, which probably makes me even more forgetful because if I was only one of several forgetful uncles, I'd be a little bit forgetful, but if I'm the only one around to be forgetful, then I'm the most forgetful of all - at least that's how I think it works. I'm not sure. I forget.) Anyway. I've forgotten your name, but I remember you are one of my favourite nieces or nephews - (perhaps my only niece or nephew), and you're either one or the other and you're between the age of 4 and 20 and I know I like you a lot. So I've written to you because I need your help. I have a mystery on my hands which needs to be solved. I appear to have lost my cheddar cheese sandwich - (which may not seem to you such a drastic thing, except to me it is, since I had stored the map to my next secret and ultra-adventurous explorers journey inside the sandwich for safe keeping, and if I loose the map I loose the chance of being the first, if not the only person, to go in search of the exoskeleton of the benchuga bug that killed Charles Darwin. So the loss of the sandwich is more than a missed meal. The sandwich was last seen sitting on a plate on the bench in my kitchen. As you know, because I am so forgetful, all 6 rooms in my house are identical and all 6 look like kitchens, since I would forget where I had put the kitchen otherwise. So there a 6 possible places where the sandwich could have been left, if it was left at all (which it must have been I think, since I remember planning to hide the precious treasure map, carefully written on rice paper, inside the sandwich). I am sure I saw the sandwich in one of my kitchens, but Grollo, my longest serving servant (in fact my only servant I think), thinks he never saw it. But since Grollo is either going deaf or blind, (I forget which), that might not be correct, because if he was going blind, he might not have seen anything even if it was there, and since I can't remember if he IS going deaf or blind, it's hard to say. I could ask Grollo of course, but if he's going deaf he won't hear me. So I think we'll say we think the sandwich was last seen in the house. Of this we can be certain. Yesterday, a letter arrived at my house, sent from Edam Von Raalte of the Australian Cheese Board. I have attached a copy of the letter for your interest. Although I do not recall even meeting Mr Von Raalte - nor have I any evidence to support his claim of employment by the Cheese Board, I am taking the correspondence as serious.
Dear Pongo. I need your help. Please come as quickly as possible to assist in my investigations. Sincerely, Your Great Uncle……………… (sorry my dear, I've forgotten my name). Dear Mr. Olson, In response to your inquiry regarding your lost cheddar cheese sandwich, we have it on some authority that the sandwich might last have been seen as a casein protein, cleverly disguised as a curd. this may be of help to your investigations. Sincerely Edam van Raalte.
OTHER WAYS TO CAPTURE INTEREST: - OPTIONAL LEARNING 1) Create a grab-bag of a variety of clues relevant to the story (i.e. some wheat, cheese, flour, bread etc.) • have students draw them from the bag as a lucky dip & comment on what they think their significance is to the unit • discuss the collective significance of all clues once revealed 2) Conduct a TV debate or hypothetical using the following topic • it takes a complex set of systems to make an Aussie meat pie
OPTIONAL BEGINNING ACTIVITIES: - PROFILE OF OBADIAH OLSON 1) Have students write a biographical profile of great Uncle Obadiah. • what does he look like? • what does he do? • where does he live? • what family does he have? • what are his likes/dislikes? • some anecdotes about things he's done. 2) An extension activity could be creating a family tree reflecting Obadiah and Pongo. PROFILE OF PONGO 1) Have students write an autobiographical profile of Pongo (remember, Pongo represents the class collectively or individual students) • what do you look like? • family details • hobbies etc. • relationship to Obadiah • reaction to Obadiah's letter WANTED ADVERTISEMENT 1) Write a wanted poster for the missing cheddar cheese sandwich • is it just lost? • is it a criminal? • has it been abducted? • is it an environmental criminal? 2) Display the ads in class.
STEP 1 - INVESTIGATING CHEESE CONCEPTUAL LINKS:
• the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each individual member or part, and visa versa • the essence of reality is unity and connectedness, and this • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its interactions (networks, relationships) • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • cycles within systems act as feedback loops to maintain balance • systems require energy to survive • self-sustaining communities are the fundamental unit in
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.6, 4.10, 4.11, 4.13, 4.15 Science - 4.7, 4.8 Health - 4.7 Technology - 4.9 Maths - 4.11, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.23, 4.27
SAMPLE OF FACT FINDING QUESTIONS - ESSENTIAL LEARNING 1) Using a dictionary and the collective knowledge of students, write brief definitions of the following terms (display these in class) • proteins • casein • curds • bacteria SYSTEMS IN CHEESE PRODUCTION 1) Using information provided in Appendix 2, draw a flow chart to represent systems involved in cheese making (if necessary refer to the flow chart for cheese in appendix 2) 2) Write and illustrate a cartoon strip to educate students of a younger age about how cheese is made
LETTER MAINTAINING STUDENT INTEREST The Kitchen Kitchen College Kitchener, 8219 Today Dear Pongo We have received notification at the Cheese Board that you have taken responsibility for conducting the investigation on behalf of Mr. Obadiah Q. Olson, into the whereabouts of his missing cheddar cheese sandwich. We would like to inform you that we located the attached evidence late last week and wonder if it has any relevance to your investigations. Sincerely Edam Von Raalte
1) Attached to the letter the relevant number of cheese slices so that all students able to eat it may taste cheese. 2) Before eating the cheese slice, have students: a) measure the slice b) weigh the slice c) calculate the combined class weight of all slices d) calculate the average weight of a packet of cheese e) calculate the height of all the slices stacked one on top of each other f) how many slices would be needed to cover a desk top? LETTER OF RESPONSE Have students reply to Edam Von Raalte. The letter could include such details as: • What information has been discovered so far about cheese in general? • What they found out about the cheese slices? • Any further questions they would like to ask Mr. Von Raalte. (Teachers can decide whether they wish to compose answers to the class based on questions. This is a way of adding more information and extending students further)
CARE OF PLACES - Essential Learning 1) Have students choose one of the following occupations • dairy farmer • cheese maker • delicatessen owner • environmentalist • restaurateur 2) Pose the following scenario All these people work in a small country town. The town's economy depends on tourism, largely based on the dairy industry (in particular cheese production). In order to survive a recession, the town must increase the number of tourist sales. This will mean increasing farmland and factory space and use of native bushland for pastoral land. 3) Have students write on behalf of one of the characters presenting to the town council their view on land use in the district. 4) Discuss in class they way economics can influence politics and environmental use and ultimately shape society.
CREATIVE WRITING - Essential • Suggest students write stories using the following titles as idea starters: a) a day in the life of bacteria in blue cheese b) the day a mouse visited the cheese factory c) a day in the life of a dairy cow d) a day in the life of a block of cheese on display in the delicatessens window e) the day cheese took over the world f) the day cheese turned blue g) other
OPTIONAL LEARNING NURSERY RHYME CHALLENGE When Obadiah Quentin Olson was humming to himself, he found he was singing the nursery rhyme about Little Miss Muffet. He couldn't think why he would sing a nursery rhyme whilst looking for a sandwich, but there you have it. Somehow the words he sang didn't seem quite right, but neither did they seem wrong. What do you think? Little Miss Muffet sat on her Tuffet Eating her cottage cheese and butter fat Along came a spider and sat down beside her And frightened Miss Muffet away. CHEESE MATHEMATICS Answer the questions by substituting the letter equivalent. When is Blue Vein NOT to do with venous blood? a) 597 - 589 = (W) d) (4 + 6) - (2+1) = (K) g) 4 ÷ 4 = (N) j) (3 x 3) + (10 ÷ 5) = (I) m) 22 ÷ 11 = (S)
b) (52 - 47) + 4 = (H) e) 3 + (3 x 3 ) = (C) h) 687 - 679 = (L) k) 7 + 16 - 10 = (T) n) 27 ÷ 9 = (A)
c) 324 - 319 = (E) f) (24 - 4) ÷ 5 = (O) i) 100 ÷ 10 = (B) l) (2 x 2) + (3 x 3) + 1 = (F)
A: = 8/ 9/5/1: 11/11/ 2: 3: 10/ 6/ 4/ 12/ 7: 4/14: 12/ 9; 5/ 5/ 2/ 5: • Have students make up their own riddles and sayings and create codes to reveal the punch line. • Use the following substitution chart to solve the next problems. A=1 B=2 C3 D=4 E=5 F=6 G=7 H=8 I= 9 J=10 K=11 L=12 M=13 N=14 O=15 P=16 Q=17 R=18 S=19 T=20 U=21 V=22 W=23 X=24 Y=25 Z=26 By substituting the letters for numbers calculate the numerical value of the following cheeses. a) BOCCONCINI e) MOZZARELLA i) HALOUMI
b) MASCARPONE f) EMMENTHAL j) CAMEMBERT
c) GORGONZOLA g) SCAMORZE
d) HAVARTI h) NEUFCHATEL
• In the problem above, answer the following questions: a) Which cheese(s) has the highest value? b) Which cheese(s) has the lowest value? c) Plot the cheese numerical values on a bar graph. d) By how much is the highest valued cheese greater than the lowest valued cheese? e) What would the values of these two cheeses be if you reversed the numerical values of the letters. (i.e.. A=26 to Z=1) WORD SEARCH - Optional • In the word search, words are written forwards, backwards and diagonally. • Find all 17 words listed below • Most of the words are names of cheeses. Cheeses are categorised in types. See if you can find out in which category the cheeses listed below belong. a) Cheddar types - (i.e.. cheddar) b) Eye cheeses - (i.e.. gouda) c) Stretched curd - (i.e.. mozzarella) d) Hard grating - (i.e.. pecorino) e) Fresh cheeses - (i.e.. cream cheese) f) Mould ripened cheeses - (i.e.. camambert) g) Other types - (i.e.. havarti)
EDAM COTTAGE GORGONZOLA RICOTTA COLBY PEPATO PIZZA TILSIT LEICESTER ROMANO QUARK RIGATINO BRIE FETA PARMESAN COW MOON
STEP 2 - INVESTIGATING BREAD CONCEPTUAL LINKS:
• the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each individual member or part, & visa versa • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its interactions (networks, relationships) • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • systems require energy to survive • ecological systems are shaped by macro-constraints (climate, soil etc)
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.6, 4.10, 4.11, 4.13, 4.15 Science - 4.7, 4.8 Health - 4.7 Technology - 4.9 Maths - 4.11, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.23, 4.27
LETTERS TO CONTINUE INTEREST - Essential Learning The Kitchen Kitchen Cottage Kitchener, 8319 Today Dear Pongo It has been a while since we’ve been in touch, I think, but hen again , I can’t be sure. Nevertheless, I thought you should have the attached letter from the Wheat Board, which I received yesterday. I was most anxious to get my hands on the evidence they mention, but as you know, I have little sense of direction and cannot work out which is the 4th of my 6 kitchens. Please come quickly and help me discover the evidence. Sincerely Your grateful and loving uncle Obadiah The Wheat Board Capital City A.C.T. 2000 Sometime Dear Mr. Obadiah Olson Several weeks ago you wrote a letter of enquiry regarding the whereabouts of your missing cheddar cheese sandwich. At the time we had no knowledge of the missing item. However, over the last week a sandwich was sighted in the 4th of your 6 kitchens by Grollo, who works part time for us as a cleaner. The sandwich was disguised as gluten protein dressed up as dough. This may or may not be of significance. To assist you we have gathered evidence at the scene of the sighting and left it there for you to examine. We hope this is of assistance. Sincerely Hans Silo
FACT FINDING QUESTIONS - Essential Learning (Using the dictionary and the collective knowledge of students, write brief definitions of the following items. Display the list of definitions.) • protein • gluten • yeast • fungus • dough • carbon dioxide • damper Ask students if any families routinely make their own bread, and if so, if the students know how this is done. List thoughts and knowledge. SYSTEMS IN BREAD MAKING - Essential 1) Using information from appendix 2 and further research if necessary, draw a flow chart to represent systems in wheat growing (refer to sample flow chart for cheese in appendix 2) 2) Write a recipe for bread making complete with full cooking instructions. 3) Present a TV demonstration of how to cook bread. BREAD CROSSWORD - Essential ACROSS 1. Flat savoury biscuit from Scandinavia 16. In addition to 17. Everyone 7. Tip out liquid 18. 2-toed sloth 19. Deceased 20. Colloquial for thank you 21. Number more than 1 22. Buns or mooncake form China 23. A colour 24. Commented 25. Not out 14. Mined from earth 15. Santa says this often 26. Used to stiffen things 27. Not bumpy DOWN 1. Flat bread from India 2. Preposition 3. Flat bread from Egypt 4. Ante Meridian 5. Bean jam pancakes, Japan 6. Not she 7. State of being 8. Flat bread, Middle East 9. Soft, thick, creamy noodles, Japan 10. Pasta parcels, China 11. Desire 12. State of being 13. Geometric shape 14. Either 15. Not she 16. Personality 17. Obey 18. Exclamation
HISTORY OF WHEAT - Essential 1) Refer to Appendix 2 and use additional research material to help write the following creative story: ‘James is a wheat plant who lives on a farm run by Mr McKenzie. He likes the farmer a great deal because he did so much for him. But James found life fairly dull - day after day the same old thing. He wanted to be out and be a swinging wild thing! So, one day without Mr. McKenzie knowing, he took off. It hadn’t been too long however, before James returned, limp and weary and very much the worse for wear………’ 2) In your story, tell why James failed to be a swinging ‘wild’ thing. 3) To help write the story, consider the following points: • what is an introduced plant? • what are indigenous plants? • what are perennials & annuals? • what are growing seasons? • what are growing conditions? • what is a domestic crop?
NUTRITION MATHS - Essential 1) Nutrients are chemical constituents of food that must be supplied to the body to maintain health. Nutrients are water carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins & minerals. Energy is the body’s first nutritional priority. It is measured in kilojoules. The chart below represents the recommended daily allowances in Australia for boys and girls between the age of 7-11. Energy used to be expressed in calories which are one quarter the value of kilojoules. What are the average caloric allowance for boys & girls aged 7-11? 2) Carbohydrates are simple or complex. Cereals are grain contain about 70% complex carbohydrates. Using the conversion of 4kj = 1 calorie, how many grams of carbohydrate would a boy and girl aged 7-11 need to consume daily to reach their energy needs? 3) Cereal grain provide 50-70% of the world’s protein intake. a) What is the average protein allowance for a boy and girl aged 7-11? b) What is the range? 4) The fat content of cereal grain is low. But grains are a major contributor of B Vitamins & Vitamin E. Look at the recommended daily allowance chart. Name the vitamins. What are the total recommended daily allowances for boys and girls 7-11 for the 4 vitamins listed in milligramme values (mg)? 5) Cereal grains contribute significant amounts of essential minerals. Look at the chart. Name the minerals. What are the total daily allowances for boys and girls aged 7-11 for the minerals listed in milligramme values (mg)? Gender BOYS GIRLS Age 7-11 7-11 Mass 28kg 27kg Energy 9200 kj 8800 kj Protein 37-66 g 36-63 g Calcium 600-1000 mg 600-1000 mg Iron 10 mg 10 mg Thiamine 0.9 mg 0.8 mg Riboflavin 1.1 mg 1.1 mg Niacin 15 mg 14 mg Ascorbic acid 30 mg 30 mg Vit D …… …… Vit B12 1.5 micro-g 1.5 micro-g Foliate 100 micro-g 100 micro-g
SYSTEM OF WHEAT FARMING - Optional 1) Using information provided in appendix 2 and further research if necessary, draw a flow chart to represent systems involved in wheat growing (if necessary refer to the sample flow chart for cheese in appendix 2) 2) Write a piece for a children’s history book about the beginning of wheat farming in Australia.
SYSTEM IN FLOUR - Optional Learning 1) Using information provided in appendix 2 and further research if necessary, draw a flow chart to represent systems in flour milling (if necessary refer tot he sample flow chart for cheese in appendix 2) 2) Write and illustrate a story called ‘a day in the life of an ear of wheat at the mill”
MAKING DAMPER - Optional • To make damper you will need the following utensil. a) fork b) mixing bowl c) measuring cups and spoons d) baking sheet e) piece of paper the size of your hand • Ingredients: a) 3 cups of self raising flour b) 1 teaspoon of salt
MATHS ACTIVITY - Optional From the following clues and directions make a plan of Mr Olson's house comprising of 6 kitchens. (It may be necessary to do this as a class challenge on the blackboard) • A hallway runs W/E the length of the house with east and west doorways to the outside. • The 6 kitchens are arranged 3 rooms to the north and 3 rooms to the south of the hallway. • Kitchen A sits in the south west corner of the house and has a westerly window, a hallway door and a shared doorway to the adjacent kitchen. • Kitchen B sits due south of the hallway. It has a southern window, a shared doorway with Kitchen A and a hallway door. • Kitchen C sits in the south east corner of the house. It has an easterly window, an outside southerly door and a hallway door. • Kitchen D sits in the north west corner of the house. It has western and northern windows, a hallway door and a shared door with the adjacent kitchen. • Kitchen E sits due north of the hallway. it has an outside door, a hallway door and a shared door with Kitchen D. • Kitchen F sits in the north east corner of the house. It has northern and eastern windows. It has northern and eastern windows. It has a hallway door. • Kitchen 1 has the most light in the morning (write down which rooms could be kitchen 1) • Consider the following statements. if the first three are true, then the final statement is also true. a) all rooms have a hallway door. b) some rooms have a hallway door and a shared door c) some rooms with a hallway door and shared door have an outside door. d) kitchen 1 is unique • Kitchen 5 and 6 sit side by side and do not share a connecting door. • Kitchen 3 has the most doors and the least light. • Both kitchens 2 and 4 will have some light at dusk. • Kitchen 4 has the same number of doors as kitchen 5 and 6. • Kitchen 6 shares something unique with kitchen 3. • Kitchen 2 has less light at dusk that kitchen 4. • Kitchen 4 has the same door arrangement as kitchen 5. Describe in words the location of kitchen 4.
WORD MATCH - Optional Learning 1) PLAIN 2) SELF RAISING 3) BAKER’S 4) WHOLEMEAL 5) SEMOLINA 6) BRAN 7) POLLARD 8) WHEAT GERM
a) whole of wheat grain b) natural Vit E & B c) endosperm of wheat d) high protein for bread e) outer coating f) plain with raising agent g) mix flour/bran/germ h) durum wheat for pasta
BREAD OF LIFE - Optional 1) Bread is used as a central part to many religious and cultural celebrations around the world. 2) Divide class into small groups of 3-5 students. Choose one of the types of bread listed below. Research celebrations and/or festivals associated with the bread. • Matsoz - Jewish - Passover • Host - Christian - Communion • Harvest loaf - Christian - Harvest • Panettone - Italians - Christmas • Stollen - German - Christmas • Hot cross bun - Christian - Easter • Christopsomo - Greeks - Festive 3) Things to include. • history of the celebration • features of the celebration • cultural aspects • place in Australia’s multicultural society.
PROBLEMS WHEAT FARMING - Optional 1) Land gets eroded naturally by wind and water. But European settlement of Australia has sped-up the process of erosion. Settlers changed the landscape to meet their needs. They cleared the land to grow crops and grass for pasture. Timber was used for housing and fuel. Animals were introduced. 2) When settlers cleared the land they cleared the flat plains as well as the hillsides and steep slopes. The trees and grasses they removed had held the soil in place and used up much of the ground water. Plants replacing natives didn’t hold the soil well and couldn’t hold as much water. This meant more water ran down the slopes and carried soil with it, causing more erosion. 3) Divide the class into small groups and have them research one area of land degradation. • drought • rabbits • lack of vegetation • bare soil 4) When research is complete students design a frieze to illustrate different factors affecting land degradation.
LETTER TO HAS SILO - Optional 1) Students, writing as Pongo, respond to Hans Silo regarding the location of the 4th kitchen. 2) Included in the letter must be: • a summary of all the class has discovered so far about wheat • a summary of all the class has discovered so far about flour • a summary of all the class has discovered so far about bread 3) Students must BOTH discuss their perspective AND raise questions regarding the following question: • is a piece of bread part of a sandwich, a product of flour, a product of wheat, a slice of bread, or what?
STEP 3 - INVESTIGATING BUTTER CONCEPTUAL LINKS:
• the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each individual member or part, and visa versa • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its interactions (networks, relationships) • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • systems require energy to survive
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.6, 4.10, 4.11, 4.13, 4.15 Science - 4.7, 4.8 Health - 4.7 Technology - 4.9 Maths - 4.11, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.23, 4.27
LETTER TO CONTINUE INTEREST - Essential Learning Dairy Farmer’s Union Portland, Victoria Soon. Dear Mr Obadiah Quentin Olson. We received last week, on your behalf, a letter from a private detective (or so we assume), named Pongo (a most extraordinary name, if I might be so bold as to comment). The detective in question referred to a missing cheddar cheese sandwich and related with some small degree of pleasure, that already slices of bread and cheese had been located. Much as we found this of interest, and we wish you well in your search, we at the Dairy Farmer’s Union are at a loss to see how we can assist. Our organisation is concerned with milk and milk products. Although we handle production of both butter and cheese, we fail to see how we can assist you with the location of a sandwich, which is not a dairy product. Our humblest apologies Gupta Whey
The Kitchen the Kitchen Cottage Kitcheners, 8319 Another Today Dear Pongo. What do you make of this? Am I missing something? I though this Gupta Whey chap of yours was going to locate our missing butter? How can he say he has nothing to do with our sandwich? What do you think? Your confused Great Uncle Obadiah.
LETTER IN RESPONSE - Essential 1) Students will write as Pongo in response to Great Uncle Obadiah and Gupta Whey. 2) Comment on the attitude that a cheddar cheese sandwich has nothing to do with the Dairy Farmer’s Union.
FACT FINDING EXERCISE - Essential (Using a dictionary and the collective knowledge of students, write brief definitions of the following items. Display the list of definitions.) • cream • lactation • colostrum • ruminants • udder Ask students if any families routinely make their own butter, and if so, if the students know how this is done. List thoughts and knowledge.
SYSTEMS IN BUTTER MAKING - Essential 1) using information provided in Appendix 2, draw a flow chart to represent systems involved in butter making (if necessary refer to the flow chart for cheese in Appendix) 2) Write and illustrate a cartoon strip to for classmates about butter making.
BUTTER DEBATE - Essential 1) Gupta Whey has implied that butter has nothing to do with a cheddar cheese sandwich. Yet we know that butter is part of the ingredients of a cheddar cheese sandwich. Have the class divide into small groups and look at the following statements. Discuss and list their thoughts: • a system can be constructed by putting together individual parts. • individual parts can only be understood in terms of their contribution to the system. 2) Share these ideas in a full class brainstorming. 3) In small teams have colutieers debate these perspectives.
MILK MATHS - Optional • Refer to information in Appendix 2 and answer the following questions: 1) If 10% of the 4027 types of mammals in the world provide mild drunk by humans, how many types produce human consumption milk? 2) If an average cow herd is 120 cows and the average milk produced in 251/cow/day, how much mild does the average herd produce in a day, week & month? 3) A milk tanker carries 25000 litres. How many dairy farms can it visit before it is full? 4) Each cow drinks 100 litres of water daily. What capacity dam would a farmer need to water a herd for a month? 5) If a cows udder can weigh 25kg, what is the weight of each teat and associated chamber? 6) If each cow eats 80kg of pasture per day, how much pasture is eaten by an average herd daily, weekly and monthly? 7) To produce 1 litre of milk, 400 litres of water must flow through the udder. If the cow has a body capacity of 45 litres of blood, how many times does the total blood supply pass through the udder. (Remember to round to the nearest unit) 8) How many times would the blood pass through the udder daily?
MAKING BUTTER - Optional 1) 2) 3) 4)
Churned cream turns milkfat into a lump. This is the first stage to butter making. After cream is separated it is left to ‘ripen’ in a vat for 12 hours. Butter is 16% water, 80% milkfat, 2% salt 2% other solids i.e.. proteins. To make butter: • cup of cream in a jar • pinch of salt • screw lid on tightly • shake vigorously • pour off butter milk • shape into a pat
MILK CRATE MATHS - Optional * A milk crate holds 24 bottles shaped as a rectangle 4 x 6. (4 rows, 6 columns) 1) Can you put 18 bottles of milk in the crate so that each row and each column has an EVEN number of bottles in it? (how many different ways can you find) 2) If you are having difficulty, try placing 6 bottles in a crate with 3 or more rows and 3 or more columns.
STEP 4 - INVESTIGATING SUSTAINABLE FARMING CONCEPTUAL LINKS:
• sustainability of the earth depends on a limited resource base • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • ecological systems are shaped by macro-constraints (climate, soil etc) and this principle can be applied to all systems. • self-sustaining communities are the fundamental unit in ecological systems and this principle can be applied to all systems
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.6, 4.10, 4.11, 4.13, 4.15 Science - 4.7, 4.8 Health - 4.7 Technology - 4.9
LETTER TO CONTINUE INTEREST Earth Watch, Greenpeace Place Canada. Everyday Dear Mr. Olson and Detective Pongo. It has come to our attention at the main office of Earth Watch, that you are in pursuit of a missing cheddar cheese sandwich. Further, it has come to our attention, that in your pursuit of this sandwich, you have visited the Wheat Board and the Dairy Farmer’s union. You will therefore have begun to realise how important Primary Industry is to the Australian economy. You may also have begun to see that sometimes, things we do economically damage the environment. We put it to you. What use is a cheddar cheese sandwich if you don’t have a world to live in? Or, is a cheddar cheese sandwich still a cheddar cheese sandwich if there is no society in which it can be consumed? We are sending you a present. Take good note of the green pages. Your fellow Earth Citizens Guy and Gaia Greensleaves. (Teachers will present to class a copy of the Workbook Series Wheat Book)
THE Workbook WHEAT SERIES - Essential 1) The Workbook Series covers Australia’s major farming industries. They are well laid out, informative and factual texts with additional student workbooks available separately. The series is available through the Kondinin Group, 177 Great Eastern Highway, Belmont, WA ph. (09) 4783343. 2) It is recommended schools or teachers purchase the book and use it as a main reference for this section. If the book is unavailable, main foci of importance are listed and can be researched by teachers independently. 3) The task for students is to build or draw a model of a sustainable wheat farm. (Refer to pages 58/59 in the Workbook Wheat book. The illustrated farm reflects the following considerations regarding running a sustainable farm) a) To draw up a whole farm plan farmers look at (p 57 Workbook Wheat Book) • the land and what it is capable of producing • the water • best suited crops • types of soil • native flora and fauna • areas needing regeneration or repair • landscape aesthetics b) Farmers repair the land by (P 59 Workbook Wheat Book) • growing trees, shrubs and perennial grasses • leaving soil uncultivated or covered with stubble • minimum tillage sowing • rotation of crops • legume growing c) They consider remnant vegetation (plants in existence before the farm) and biodiversity (maintaining a range of plants and animals to create balance)
OPTIONAL LEARNING Weathering 1) Much of the human need for shelter came as a result of the need for protection against the elements. 2) Now days, with housing so much more substantial, weathering affects structurally rather than people, and for many people structural degradation due to the elements is the loss of a dream. 3) In this activity students could explore the following areas: CHEMICALS - Optional 1) The question of chemical use on any farm is an important one (Workbook Wheat Book p62/63) • Find out what chemicals would be used on a wheat farm. • What does it mean to be biodegradable? • Of what relevance are chemicals to wheat farmers, consumers and environmental balance?
STEP 5 - INVESTIGATING SYSTEMS CONCEPTUAL LINKS
• the essence of reality is unity and connectedness, and this assumption of wholeness is a perspective essential to understanding society. • the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each individual member or part, and visa versa • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its interactions (networks, relationships) • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • cycles within systems act as feedback loops to maintain balance • systems require energy to survive • ecological systems are shaped by macro-constraints (climate, soil etc) and this principle can be applied to all systems. • ecological systems are changed by impacting the bottom of the pyramid and this principle can be applied to all systems (i.e. to change political systems you must impact the grass roots rather than the leaders) • self-sustaining communities are the fundamental unit in ecological systems and t his principle can be applied to all systems • in ecological systems growth is a homeostatic process (i.e. feedback, interactive process), benefiting everyone, and this principle can be applied to all systems
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.2, 4.10, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.3, 4.6, 4.10, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17 Science - 4.7, 4.8. 4.10, 4.11 Health - 4.7, 4.9, 4.11 Technology - 4.9, 4.10
LETTER TO SYNTHESIZE LEARNING- Essential Learning The Kitchen, Kitchen Cottage, Kitchener, 8319, Another Today Dear Pongo. An amazing thing happened to me today. Having got up quickly knowing I had an appointment to meet, then forgetting what the appointment was, I dressed appropriately in a suit (an item of clothing I wear very rarely and only really for appointments and the like). Reaching into my jacket pocket to check for loose change for the train fare, I discovered to my utter amazement, my missing cheddar cheese sandwich. (Although I don’t suppose technically we can call it missing since now it is found). The very odd thing about the sandwich was that it was carefully bagged in a small airtight sandwich bag and accompanying it was a note with what I think must be riddles or puzzles or jokes or something along those lines. Only, I can’t quite figure them out. So I have sent them to you to see what you can make of them. Please write back when you have an answer. Your Great Uncle, Obadiah
ACCOMPANYING NOTE - Essential • To whom it may concern. Before eating this food, please discuss the following: (if you eat this food without discussion you may eat something quite different from what you thought you were eating and you might get indigestion!) • Q- When is a cheddar cheese sandwich not a cheddar cheese sandwich? A- When it is a slice of bread and cheese. Is this a joke or a true statement?) • While you can’t change the world in a day, the world can change is an instant.Is this a paradox or a true statement? - (comment) • If a cheddar cheese sandwich loses the top slice of bread, is it still a cheddar cheese sandwich or an open sandwich? - (discuss) •Think about the previous question. Was the top slice of bread always to tops slice, or only the top slice once it was removed? - (discuss) • If you take a collection of parts (i.e. cheese, bread, butter etc) and make a whole (i.e. a sandwich), are the parts considered a sandwich, or is it only a sandwich when it is all together? - (discuss) • If eating cheddar cheese sandwiches was proved to cause over-farming and environmental destruction, who would be at fault - the farmers; the government; the consumers; everyone; no-one; or who? • Having discussed all these issues and challenges in class have students respond to Obadiah. • The letter could be written by the whole class, in small groups, or individually.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION: CONCEPTUAL LINKS:
• the essence of reality is unity and connectedness, and this assumption of wholeness is a perspective essential to understanding society. • the success of a system as a whole depends upon the success of each • sustainability of the earth depends on a limited resource base. • stability and endurance of a system depends on the diversity of its interactions (networks, relationships) • partnership strategies are essential to sustaining systems • cycles within systems act as feedback loops to maintain balance • systems require energy to survive • ecological systems are shaped by macro-constraints (climate, soil etc) and this principle can be applied to all systems. • ecological systems are changed by impacting the bottom of the pyramid and this principle can be applied to all systems (i.e. to change political systems you must impact the grass roots rather than the leaders) • self-sustaining communities are the fundamental unit in ecological systems and this principle can be applied to all systems • in ecological systems growth is a homeostatic process (i.e. feedback, interactive process), benefiting everyone, and this principle can be applied to all systems
CURRICULUM FOCUS:
English - 4.1, 4.5, 4.9, 4.2, 4.10, 4.8b S.O.S.E. - 4.3, 4.6, 4.10, 4.13, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17 Science - 4.7, 4.8. 4.10, 4.11 Health - 4.7, 4.9, 4.11 Technology - 4.9, 4.10
ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION IDEAS 1) Much incidental and anecdotal assessment will have occurred through: • maths challenges • letter writing • research projects • synthesizing activities 2) Using a variety of factual and fictional texts relating to wheat and dairy industries, and storytelling, assess the following - (for this unit you would expect the majority of students to be integrating a variety of reading strategies, adapting their reading to different types of texts and beginning to critique texts). • show the ability to construct meaning by integrating knowledge of text structure, text organisation, language features etc • show ability to retell and discuss own interpretations of texts • show ability to adjust reading strategies for different texts • comment on character development and their importance to stories and texts • infer and predict based on explicit and empirical information • generalise • use a range of strategies to retrieve information • read with developing fluency and expression • select appropriate texts • compare a selection of texts • self-correct reading errors • retread to clarify meaning • respond sensitively to stories
3) Use the following methods (and others) as assessment tools • observations - during silent reading, small group collaborative work, shared reading sessions, written responses, conferencing • discussions - during small group work, whole class brainstorming, individually • student self-assessment • analysis (when necessary) - miscues, cloze, readers' writing, word identification, strategies, oral retelling, story writing, project work • reading logs - these provide information about the use a child makes of reading. It is a record of what has been read and how it has been used • reading journal - provides students with an opportunity to reflect in writing on what they have read, and gives teachers the opportunity to assess direct comprehension and layered understanding. It provides scope for generating personal reading goals for each child • written retells - can be done as a comprehension exercise or more meaningfully, as a story- writing exercise, TV ad etc • research projects - demonstrate the ability to select and retrieve appropriate information from texts; synthesize, order and assimilate information; and restructure information to present particular opinions or factual material. • media productions - demonstrate the ability to visually and verbally represent information for a particular audience in ways meaningful to the intended audience • art and collage - demonstrates non-verbally the ability to synthesise and represent conceptual understandings • debates - demonstrates the ability to present different points of view, assimilate information from a specific perspective, and critiques arguments.
4) Assessment and evaluation should be done in such a way that it demonstrates a student's mastery of the learning outcomes. 5) Some student characteristics that indicate mastery of learning include: a) If a child can teach something to another child, they demonstrate mastery of the subject matter b) If students can produce a video/play/musical etc reflecting key concepts of a study/topic/story, they demonstrate synthesis of information and mastery of concepts. c) If students can produce an Internee Web page or bulletin board page related to a particular pursuit or topic B they show mastery of analysis of data and synthesis of information. d) If students can plan and produce a major mural or piece of art depicting a particular topic or issue, they demonstrate mastery of the topic. e) If students can design, build, trial and use a game reflecting concepts integral to a particular topic, they demonstrate mastery of the topic. f) other.....
PERFORMANCE OF MOST WORTH 1) For this unit, students are challenged to demonstrate mastery of understanding at the conceptual level by producing a stage play entitled : ‘The Great Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Caper - a study of systems in action” a) divide the class into 5 groups to write scripts. Each script will reflect the conceptual understandings gleaned as a result of the unit. • Cheese • Butter • Systems
• Bread • Sustainable farming
b) Divide the class into a production crew. This will include: • directors and producers • costumes and set designers
• stage managers • actors/actresses
c) Using reader’s theatre techniques, produce the play for a school assembly or another class.
Section 4: APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: NATIONAL CURRICULUM LINKS ENGLISH TEXTS 4.1 - Interacts confidently with others in a variety of situations to develop and present familiar ideas, events and information. 4.5 - Justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events in texts containing some unfamiliar concepts and topics and which introduce relatively complex linguistic structures and features. 4.9 - Uses writing to develop familiar ideas, events and information. CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING 4.2 - Considers aspects of context, purpose and audience when speaking and listening in familiar situations. 4.10 - Adjusts writing to take account of aspects of context, purpose and audience. 4.8b - With peers, identifies information needs and locates resources. S.O.S.E. TIME, CONTINUITY & CHANGE 4.3 - Portrays an event or occasion from a particular perspective. PLACE AND SPACE 4.6 - Describes different views of individual and groups about issues related to care of places. RESOURCES 4.10 - Describes factors that affect resource use and development. NATURAL & SOCIAL SYSTEMS 4.13 - Describes responses of different elements to change in natural systems. 4.15 - Identifies decisions that have to be made by groups and individuals about production and consumption. INVESTIG. COMMUN. & PARTICIPATING 4.16 - Data required and how to get it. 4.17 - Translates info. from one form to another. SCIENCE LIFE & LIVING 4.7 - Identifies events that affect balance in ecosystems. 4.8 - Explains the functioning of systems within living systems. NATURAL & PROCESSED MATERIALS 4.10 - Identifies factors that determine the choice of materials for particular purposes. 4.11 - Uses models of the substructure of materials to explain their properties and behaviour. HEALTH & PHYS ED PEOPLE & FOOD 4.7 - Issues relating to why groups/individuals in same community have different food patterns. TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS 4.9 - Relationships between elements in systems and sequences through which elements work. MATHEMATICS NUMBER 4.11 - Counts, orders, estimate describe with common and decimal fractions. 4.13 - Chooses operations involving whole and fractional numbers to construct and complete statements of equality. 4.15 - Mentally adds/subtracts 2 digit numbers and multiples and divides multiples of 10 by one digit numbers. 4.17 - Calculator used for operating decimal numbers. MATHEMATICAL TOOLS & PROCEDURES 8.2a - Uses calculator to carry out sequences of operations on decimal numbers. 8.2c - Uses database. CHANCE & DATA 4.23 - Places events in order from least to most likely based on evidence. 4.27 - Reads and describes information in tables, graphs, diagrams, fractions, means etc.
APPENDIX 2 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR CHEESE: • It takes 10 litres of milk to make 1 kilogram of cheese (10L = 1kg) • To make cheese, bacteria is added to warm milk. • The bacteria is called the starter culture. • The bacteria quickly multiply and turn lactose into lactic acid. • Rennet is added to coagulate the milk. • Acid and rennet turn milk protein into curds (formed when casein protein curdles) • Curds trap fat in the milk to form lumps while the watery whey is drained off. • The curds are cut into small blocks, heated, stirred and the additional whey drained off • Curd then milled to break it into fine pieces, salt added and pressed into blocks of cheese. • Any remaining whey drained. • Enzymes and bacteria work on cheese as it matures, breaking down fat and protein to create flavour. SAMPLE CHEESE FLOW CHART FOR CHEESE 10L MILK - bought in - dairy or - packaged - sold - transported - milked - cows WARMED bulk supermarket stored BACTERIAL STARTER CULTURE MILK LACTOSE BECOMES LACTIC ACID RENNET COAGULATES CASEIN PROTEIN. CURDS WATERY WHEY DRAINED OFF CURDS HEATED, STIRRED AND DRAINED CURDS MILLED SALT ADDED - bought in - supermarket - packaged - sold to - transported - mined bulk wholesalers merchants milkbars FINAL DRAINING MATURED SOLD - bought by cheese - sold to supermarkets - bought by homes merchants/ shops/ delicatessens EATEN
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT WHEAT • Wheat is annual cereal • Cereals are types of grass that have seeds (grain) that can be eaten. • Cereals are names after Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture. • Wheat is a non-native Australian crop, introduced in 1788. • Australia averages 15 million tonnes per year • Grows best in loam soil with 230ml - 380ml water during growing season of MayOctober. • Seed contained in ear of the wheat stalk. • The average size of a wheat farm is 1200 hectares. • There are about 30000 wheat farms in Australia. • The average yield is 2 tonnes / hectare • 10 million hectares are planted each year BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT FLOUR After harvest wheat is cleaned, water added and left for 20 hours = conditioning. • Conditioning toughens the outer layer (bran) and softens the endosperm. • The endosperm breaks into chunks called semolina. • Bran and semolina pass through a sieve to separate them • Purifier removes last bits of bran and semolina • Reduction rolls grind the semolina about 12 times turning it to flour. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT BREAD • The protein in wheat is called gluten • Flour, water, yeast and salt mixed together to make dough • Yeast causes dough to rise • Yeast is a single celled, microscopic fungus • After kneading the dough is allowed to rise • Rising is caused by proofing = when the yeast makes bubbles of carbon dioxide Cooking sets the bread and stops proofing and rising. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT BUTTER • Milk contains all the main nutrients needed by humans plus water (protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals) • Milk comes from mammals who lactate through mammary glands • There are about 4027 types of mammals in the world, of which the domesticated cow supplies greatest food and milk to humans • Most dairy farms in Australia are in the coastal areas of southern and eastern Australia. • Cows produce 25 litres of milk per day • Cows eat 80kg of pasture per day • Along with sheep and goats, cows are ruminants with 4 stomachs. • A cows udder can weigh more than 25kg. • To produce 1 litre of milk 400 litres of blood flows through the udder delivering water and nutrients. • A cows total blood capacity is 45 litres • It takes 50-70 hours to turn grass into milk • Cows are milked 10 months a year with 2 months off before giving birth to new calf. • An average herd has 120 cows • A milk tanker carries approximately 25,000 litres of milk • Cows drink approx 100L of water /day Main protein in milk is casein • Butter is made from churning cream, turning milk fat into a lump.
APPENDIX 3 - EXTENSION EXPLORATION PERMACULTURE Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. Its aim is to create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute and are therefore long-term sustainable. There are certain principles inherent in any permaculture design, in any culture and of any size. These principles should be understood and explored by any students of systems. • RELATIVE LOCATION: - every element is placed in relationship to another so they assist one another. • FUNCTION: - each element performs many functions. • SUPPORT: - each important function is supported by many elements. • ENERGY: - there is efficient energy planning for house and settlements. • BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES: - emphasis on use of biological resources rather than fossil fuel resources • ENERGY RECYCLING: - occurs on the site • PLANT SUCCESSION: - accelerated natural plant succession to establish favourable sites and soils. • POLYCULTURE: - and diversity of beneficial species for productive, interactive system • NATURAL PATTERNS: - use of edge and natural patterns for the best effect.
Permaculture is a system by which we can exist on earth by using energy that is naturally in flux and relatively harmless, and by using food and natural resources that are abundant in such a way that we don’t continually destroy life on earth.
EARTH CARE In permaculture there are three main ethics. • Care of Earth means the care of all living and non-living things. It implies harmless • and rehabilitative activities, ethical and frugal use of resources, conservation etc. • If we care for the Earth then we must naturally care for people, so that basic needs for • food, shelter, education, employment and socialisation are met. Because people are capable of such profound impacts on the Earth, it is essential to meet their needs in low mpact ways. • Finally, it is important to contribute surplus time, money and energy to achieve these • aims for the Earth and its people. Ethically, permaculture recognises the intrinsic worth of every living thing. There are certain ways we can implement Earth Care ethics in our daily lives, and students of systems should consider these. • Think about long-term consequences of all actions. Plan for sustainability • Plant native species indigenous to the area to maintain natural balance. • Cultivate the smallest possible land area creating energy efficient intensive systems. • Provide stability through diversity (polyculture). • Increase the sum of yields considering the total yield of the system. • Use low energy environmental and biological systems • Reintroduce food growing to urban and city areas • Assist others to become self-reliant and promote community responsibility. • Reforest the earth and restore fertility to the soil. • Use everything at the optimum level ad recycle all wastes. • Work with solutions, not problems.
APPENDIX 4 - PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY INTERDEPENDENCE - all members of an ecosystem are interconnected in a complex web of relationships. SUSTAINABILITY - long term survival of any ecosystem depends on a limited resource base. DIVERSITY - maintenance and sustainability of an ecosystem depends on the degree of complexity and diversity of its relationships. The greater the diversity, the greater the stability. PARTNERSHIP - all living members of an ecosystem are inter-related in ways that depend on partnership strategies. CO-EVOLUTION - species co-evolve through an interplay of creation and mutual adaptation. FLUCTUATING CYCLES - interdependencies among members of ecosystems involve an exchange of information in continuous cycles. Cycles provide feedback loops. ENERGY FLOW - all ecological systems are powered by an external source of energy. Based on these principles, people can learn to ‘think ecologically’. Thinking ecologically means: • thinking in terms of wholes rather than parts. • thinking in terms of relationships rather than objects. • thinking in terms of process rather than structure. • thinking in terms of networking rather than hierarchy. • thinking in terms of quality rather than quantity. • thinking in terms of sufficiency rather than scarcity. • thinking in terms of sustainability rather than exploitation • thinking in terms of empowerment rather than powerlessness
REFERENCES AIDAB - ‘Food Aid’, Development Education Unit, 1994. Clark, E. ‘Ecoliteracy: An ecological strategy for re-designing modern social, economic and political systems’, 1994. Feely, J., ‘Mission Possible’, Dellasta Pty Ltd, 1991 Hamilton, F., ‘The Workbook Series Wheat’, Kondinin Group, Aust, 1994 Laszlo, E., ‘The Creative Cosmos’, Floris Books, UK, 1993 Mollison, B., ‘Introduction to Permaculture’, Tagari Publications Tyalgum Australia, 1991. Morrissey, D., ‘ Grain Foods’, Macmillan Company, 1988 Saxelby, C. & Venn-Brown, U., ‘The Role of Australian Flour and Bread in Health and Nutrition’, Wheat Board, 1980. Stacey, K., ‘Teaching Tactics for Problem Solving’, Curriculum Corporation,1991 Struwe, S, ‘The Micro-life of Yeast’, Longman, 1979. Taylor, N., ‘The Workbook Series Dairy’, Kondinin Group, Aust, 1995. Vaughan, M., ‘Wombat Stew Cookbook’, Ashton Scholastic, 1989.
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