Design+Rationale

Introduction
This unit of work has been prepared for a Year 3/4 cohort comprising nineteen boys and eight girls. The class profile includes four low level literacy males and one gifted and talented female. One low literacy male has low muscle tone and finds writing for sustained periods difficult. The majority of the class enjoy drawing as evidenced in the previous terms work when they each enthusiastically drew an illustration //before// writing an accompanying short story. The unit includes working with sand as a tactile stimulus for a number of kinaesthetic learners in the classroom. Marzano and Pickering (2006, p. 18) state that by 'providing for students' individual differences and learning needs the learning manager creates a feeling of acceptance in the classroom which results in improved student learning.' This unit considers the needs of the learners by providing for mixed ability groups thereby offering peer support and peer mentoring opportunities, and negotiable construction of the final art work providing choice in preferred ways of working.

In the previous term students spent time with the school librarian learning how to navigate several web sites to gather information for inclusion on a template reflecting the history of the local community. This learning experience focussed on locating information, cutting and pasting information verbatim and working with text boxes on a word document. The student's ICT skills range from adequate to advanced. All students are familiar with electronic games such as PlayStation and Wii and approximately two-thirds of the class have access to a computer at home. The Principal has embraced the advent of technology and is keen for staff and students to become skilled ICT operators. The classroom has eleven computers and a Smart Board. Students have access to a Maths software program on individual desktop computers and to a range of interactive educational games on the Smart Board before school. Students have experienced using digital cameras and creating a Photostory during a science unit in which they recorded the lifecycle of a sunflower. Similarly students have previous knowledge and experience of the Paint program.This unit of work is an opportunity for the learners to revise and practise various ICT skills. The prior ICT knowledge that students bring with them to this unit will assist them in the learning of new knowledge (McInerney & McInerney, 2006, p. 104). The learning manager will make links to the skills students already have when demonstrating new skills to be developed.

The original action plan for this unit focussed on developing an understanding of all levels of government and the rules, rights and responsibilities of 'Australian' citizens. The summative task however asked the learners to solve a problem at a local level of government. As the unit developed and as feedback was provided from peers, it became clear that the assessment task did not link cohesively to the learning sequence. Therefore the focus of the learning experiences has been adjusted so that the learners will develop a deeper understanding of their local community whilst maintaining links with the desired learning in the visual arts strand. This adaptation also allows the unit to follow on more cohesively from the work the children have been involved in with the librarian.

Orientation phase
To provide the students with an audience, a representative from the Youth Development Unit of the Gympie Regional Council is presented as a Voki character. This animated presenter defines the task and introduces the learners to the class blog site. Additionally, the learners meet a graphic design consultant during a Skype Video call. He informs the class that he will follow their blog and add feedback and comments on their postings. Using Skype allows the learners to connect with the real world in real time and adds authenticity to the task. Students can see that the task they are being asked to work on is a 'real' job. This approach to the unit is in line with Piaget's theory that children construct their learning from their experiences with the world (McInerney & McInerney, 2006, p. 49). The learners will not only construct meaning about the work being done - the content - but also how the work is done - using ICTs to engage with information and experts.

The class blog is introduced during the orientation phase of the learning journey as both a delivery and record keeping tool. Initially it houses the Voki character and the task description. Students witness and assist in all further additions to the blog site. Blogging is a new concept for the learners. The first lesson will therefore include defining some of the key terms that students will use in the coming weeks. Students are introduced to websites and navigation of the blog site in a structured way. This scaffolding is designed to support the learner in completing the tasks. The concept mapping tool Bubbl.us is used as a summary and note-taking tool.

Both the orientation phase and the following enhancing phase take a constructivist approach to learning. Students work in mixed ability groups of three or four to research and review information. Students engage with a community group representative who explains how the group works together and makes decisions. Students then transfer this information to their own group and reflect on the way in which they will work together. According to Kearsley and Shneiderman's engagement theory (1999) "students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks." In this unit of work students satisfy this requirement as they engage with each other and with experts outside of the classroom in order to design an emblem or logo that ultimately represents themselves and their community.

The Year 3 Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) Learning and assessment focus (Queensland Studies Authority, 2007) state that students "see the place of social and environmental inquiry in people's work and community lives." Throughout this phase the learners engage with a number of community members who are involved in providing services to the community in which they live.

Enhancing phase
The Year 5 Essential Learnings for SOSE (Queensland Studies Authority, 2007) states that students "use ICTs as an integral component of their learning, to inquire, create and communicate within social and environmental contexts." The tools used during this phase are included to support the students as they locate information, gather data and transfer it into a summary format. Throughout this phase the class blog acts as the recording device. The learning manager models the addition of blog postings prior to students 'having a go' themselves.

The websites that students use are chosen specifically for each task by the learning manager to ensure safe and effective use of time. The Powerpoint template "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" will engage the students in a challenge and sense of fun as it is a familiar television program. Including this template design provides an engaging socio-cultural link between home and school. For the learning manager this Powerpoint aids delivery of assessment and acts as a revision tool further building and refining knowledge and understanding for the students.

Synthesising phase
In this phase students move from group based work to individual demonstration of what they know and can do as a result of their learning experiences. The class blog has been an important tool throughout each phase of learning. In this phase it is used as a journal for reflection and revision - a valuable reference point as learners move higher in their thinking from analysing to evaluating and creating. It is in this phase that the student's creativity is exposed as they make the step from analysing factual information to designing a symbol that represents it. It is important to nurture this creative thinking in students. Florida (2002, p71) states that "Everywhere we look, creativity is increasingly valued." This unit of work is designed to provide students with an opportunity to experience and practise using their creativity.

In this phase students will record their work using a digital camera. Whilst this is a skill which they have acquired previously it is a skill that requires practise. The camera supports the lower literacy learners as the images will speak for themselves demonstrating the work they have produced and been a part of. Creating a photostory will serve as evidence of what the learners know and can do. McInerney and McInerney (2006, p. 390) point out that projects as a learning measurement strategy are difficult to grade objectively however they do offer the potential for the task to be related to 'real life'. By incorporating a 'work sample' at the end of the project students are able to clearly demonstrate their ability to investigate, reflect on and design a symbol to represent their new understandings.

Conclusion
On reflection this unit is largely about creating. Creating a class blog site as a learning record, creating an emblem or logo as the summative task, creating rules and understandings of how groups and communities operate and creating a photostory as evidence of learning. Sir Ken Robinson (2006) said "creativity is as important now in education as literacy". This unit serves then as a creative, visual literacy journey allowing low level readers and writers to engage in authentic tasks and higher order thinking. The engagement theory of Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) is woven throughout the unit as students work in teams and 'focus their efforts on application of ideas to a specific context' as they create a solution for their audience, initially the Youth Development Unit of the local council and ultimately the young people of their community. The unit aims to build a sense of belonging for the students as they learn about their community and the value of visual art elements in symbols to convey meaning.