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Methods in teaching middle years Learning journal
Module 1

Defining the middle years Describe a middle years learner: These students are growing physically, mentally, academically socially and emotionally so there is lots of changes occurring in their lives. The most important thing to note as a teacher is that each student will learn differently, some will learn well by doing, others will learn well by listening and as a teacher it is important you take these things into consideration. It is also important to note that these students are sensitive and are subject to mood swings so you will need to be careful about everything you say.

The teenage brain Identify and describe three ways you will use this information in your teaching of adolescence? The brain is different from an adult brain: they have not fully developed and not at the point of adulthood yet. As a teacher you will need to be patient with their reasoning and allow them time to think through complicated situations because their brains are not fully developed yet. These students may make silly decisions (may not think logically like an adult) Need to treat each individual differently: each student is finding their own feet and determining their own likes and interests, and as a teacher you need to respect this and encourage them for what they believe in. (as long as this is good behaviour) Need to be respectful of students emotions: each student is at a different stage in development and may appear moody, or grumpy. As a teacher you need to accept this and make sure they are ok and continue teaching. Note the main importance is to not embarrass the students because this is the age that they can lose all their confidence.

Three stages of learning development Note any observations you have made about middle years students and their learning development from the two tables and the video clip. It is more important to focus on the development of self (social, emotional and physical) opposed to focusing on their test results. By focusing on each individual you can help the, achieve great things in what they are interested in and help boost their self efficacy and confidence. If you are just looking at the test scores of each student you are only looking at one aspect of the child’s life. In this case if the child is not academic it can be quite harmful on the confidence of the fragile student.

During the middle years of learning students really focus on working in groups, creating friendships, problem solving together and begin to think logically. During these years children start to display many employable attributes such as logical thinking, organisation, be able to set goals, reflect on their work, make their own decisions and start to build leadership skills.

The middle years of each students schooling are essential for setting themselves up for life after school because this is where they learn they abilities and interests and gain confidence to shine in the real world.

Teaching and Learning strategies Resource 1 – teaching channel The four strategies discussed in this blog are: embrace their social nature; develop growth mindsets; provide structure; take time to breathe. Do these strategies cater adequately for the learning needs of adolescents? Embrace their social nature: Yes! Students in middle years want to belong therefore it is important to focus on creating strong relationships because students respond well with peers. This can be done by working in class in pairs, groups and with the help of peers. (Vierstra, G. 2015). When working together it is more likely that they can brainstorm and think of better ideas compared to working by themselves. Develop growth mindsets: Yes! It is important to learn from your mistakes from a young age so you can continue to do so later in life. This is more of a lifelong skill that is needed opposed to school specific academic skill. Provide structure: Structure is good within a classroom to keep the teacher on track but it is also good for students because they know what to expect. This is especially true for children with autism as they do not like ‘surprises’. Take time to breath: This is good to calm students down which is helpful with getting them focused for their school work. Social and emotionally these students have lots going through their mind and will struggle to focus from time to time. Therefore allowing them to destress and focus is a great idea.

[[Resource 2 – The adolescent learner key questions about adolescents and win-win teacher response List the top 10 teaching strategies you can use for your middle years students]] •	Introduce concepts relating to the students’ lives •	Use peer interaction •	Be flexible and reflect •	Offer strong introductory activities •	Show your respect for the students •	Provide students with feedback •	Make sure you get to know your students, their interest and beliefs •	Provide clear expectations with assignments etc. A good example is having an example of what the assignment should look like. •	Speak to students individually, ie they hate being singled out in front of their peers •	Begin lessons with warp up activities to build on their prior knowledge (Bongolan et.al, 2009, p7-14)

Resource 3 – 5 general categories for non-cognitive factors related to academic performance Summarise using dot points your learning about how academic behaviours, perseverance, academic mindset, learning strategies and social skills can impact the learning of adolescence. •	Academic behaviours: This includes going to class, doing homework, being organised, participating in class and being prepared to study. These behaviours are all extremely important when achieving academic success, but there can be other influences such as social life that can effect this. •	Academic perseverance: This is closely linked to academic behaviours with the use of self-discipline and self control. This refers to handing in work on time, completing study and being organised and prioritising your study. •	Academic mindset: This is also closely linked to the behaviour and performance of each student. The mindset is the attitudes and beliefs towards the particular subject. To be successful they need to have a good academic mindset to allow themselves to focus on their study. •	Learning strategies refers to the different ways information can be delivered to students to make sure they are actively engaged and learning the specific content. •	Social skills: This relates to the interpersonal skills of each student, their responsibility and empathy towards others. (Farrington et.al, 2012. P8-15)

Transitions Video – Preparing for school ABC Interview Confronting to begin with which can create a decrease in confidence, these students could be anxious, experience anxiety. There are so many changes in such a small amount of time, this is both socially, emotionally and physically. Students need to develop coping skills to help them get through their school and working life. There are also parental anxieties because they have views from personal experiences. Students want to find new friends, they want to be different. It takes about 6 months to feel comfortable within the school environment. Some students who were happy to speak out in primary school are not happy to in high school and this can take quite a lot of time to take confidence to speak out again.

References Vierstra, G, 2015 Four Strategies to create a culture of success in middle school retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/10/16/success-in-middle-school-edtx/

Bongolan, R., Moir, E., & Baron, W. (Eds.). (2009). Keys to the Secondary Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to the First Months of School. Corwin Press.

Farrington, C. A., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Nagaoka, J., Keyes, T. S., Johnson, D. W., & Beechum, N. O. (2012). Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners: The Role of Noncognitive Factors in Shaping School Performance--A Critical Literature Review. Consortium on Chicago School Research. 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

Module 2 – Curriculum in the Middle Years

Cross Curriculum priorities and general capabilities Activity – What are the cross curriculum priorities? -Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Histories and cultures -Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia -Sustainability

Activity – how would you integrate the general capabilities into your teaching? I will chose my method of mathematics You need literacy for everything, for example reading questions out of a text book or having a discussion. ICT I would like to use smart boards, tutorials and interactive activities to keep students engaged. Critical and creating thinking, I have a game called Kahoot, this is where students use the knowledge they have learnt and make a quiz for the class. This can show me the extent of their knowledge. Personal and Social capacity will involve activities where students will get a chance to show their own interest. Ethical understanding involves discussing ethical issues. We may look at statistics of suicide and discuss the issues about this in class and ways to lower it. Lastly intellectual understanding involves understanding the materials taught. It may be good to use reflective activities so students can realise their learning capabilities.

Reflect – How is cross curriculum priorities and general capabilities integrated into the curriculum? In Victoria they learn about the cross-curriculum priorities of aboriginal and Torres strait islanders, Australia and its relationship with Asia, and sustainability are embedded into all learning areas of the curriculum.

Curriculum for year 7 – 10 Record in your learning journal a summary of the information found in each your State's curriculum documents which you will need to refer to when teaching Years 7 - 10. The capabilities that the Victorian Curriculum wishes for us to include in or teaching are critical and creative thinking, ethical, intercultural and personal and social. The learning areas are much the same as other states with subjects such as mathematics, English, humanities, and sciences. In year 7 and 8, students will have an opportunity to engage with all learning areas and capabilities, but with a focus on maths, English and science. Years 9 and 10 will focus on a broad education to begin their plan on what they wish to study later in years 11 and 12.

Humanities Reflect – what are the 5 most important thing that you learnt about the Humanities curriculum? 1) Humanities is broken up into different topics such as: -History -Geography -Civics and citizenship -Economics and business 2) Students will learn to question critically, solve problems, face real life issues, look at real life situations, and communicate effectively to understand the world that we live in. 3) Economics and business are still relatively new topics for year 7 students as they have not had extensive lessons on it before. 4)As you get further into your schooling the humanities will become more in-depth and reveal some horrific past times. 5) There is now a shift on looking at other cultures history as well as Australia’s within the curriculum.

The Arts Reflect - Record in your learning journal the 5 most important things you have learned about The Arts curriculum. 1) The arts curriculum is made up of -Dance -Drama -Media Arts -Music -Visual Arts	2) Prior to this new curriculum not all students had access to the arts curriculum. 3) The curriculum is much more in depth than it was in the past. 4) The aim of the arts curriculum is to engage, inspire, and enrich all students 5) The curriculum also looks to include the cross curriculum priorities such as aboriginal paintings.

Health and Physical Education Reflect - Record in your learning journal the 5 most important things you have learned about The Arts curriculum. 1)It is mandatory for young students to complete 1.5hrs of health and PE per week and 3 hours for the older students. Some of this must be done within class. 2) The importance of this subject is to create awareness of obesity and how to reduce it and live a healthy life. 3) It is more than just movement and physical activity, but also personal, social and community health. 4) Under these two categories I just mentioned there are sub-strands such as moving your body, being healthy safe and active and contributing to healthy and active communities. 5)The focus area in years 7 to 10 is not on active play and fundamental movement skills.

Module 3 – Integrated Programs

Introduction Reflect – What is your opinion about the concept of ‘silo’ and ‘non-silo’ learning in middle years? Silo’s is a very traditional method of teaching that has been used for many years. I actually don’t like this method because it can shelter you from different teaching idea’s and activities that other subject areas use. I have a good example from my first practical placement. I had a Health and PE teacher sit in on my mathematics class and she had suggested that the students work together at the end of the lesson to go through their answers from the lesson. Now, not one maths teacher had thought of doing this, but when implemented the students loved it. The school system is moving to a more integrated approach when it comes to learning, teachers need to work together to make the content they teach relevant to the students lives so they can fully engage and understand what they are learning. Another thing from my first placement that made me realise this was that every lesson I would be asked ‘when will I ever need this?’ and saying ‘you’ll need it for the exam’ is not enough!! Definitions Activity and reflection – Investigate Connected learning: is a type of learning that involves the personal interest of students such as technology in attempt to keep them engaged. Curriculum Integration: is where you link an area of study across different subjects with the emphasis of unifying subjects. Disciplinary: is a method of enforcing discipline. Multidisciplinary: refers to the combination of several academic disciplines in an approach to a topic. Interdisciplinary: refers to more than one branch of knowledge Transdisciplinary: refers to the research conducted by various disciplines such as maths and English and working to create innovations for common problems.  Inquiry based learning Reflect – Using a SWOT organiser use your knowledge of inquiry based learning to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths: Students have ownership of their learning Students develop higher order thinking needed for lifelong learning. Teaches students how to think critically. Students are at the centre of the learning process Students are more likely to be actively engaged Weaknesses: Some students need much more guidance than others. It may be hard to be organised in advance as teachers need to take each lesson as it comes. Opportunities: Students explore, question and investigate Working collaboratively to solve problems Scaffold learning enables students to be guided in their learning. Learning content will be based around the students questions. Allows you as the teacher to learn about your students thinking processes or logic. There is the opportunity for much more learning in the classroom. Threats: It may take longer for students to learn material Students may guide themselves in the wrong direction to learning the wrong material. It may take longer for students to understand the tasks that are required to be completed. Students who are slower at learning may not learn as efficiently as other students.

Integrated Curriculum Reflect – What are three facts you have learned about curriculum integration from exploring these resources? 1)	Integrated learning is a good way to engage students in significant social topics such as human rights, climate change and social issues and allows them to focus on the multidimensional of the issue in complexity. 2)	Integrated curriculum incorporates problem solving and higher order thinking which will prepare the students for todays and tomorrows societies. (Mansilla, V. 2008) 3)	Teachers can work together to create new resources, idea’s and learning opportunities. Hood River Middle school revealed with their integrated curriculum that they exceeded the state average in all learning categories! So they are obviously doing something right. (Hood River Middle School, 2016)

Approaches to integrated curriculum Reflect - Record your thoughts about these types of curriculum integration. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary are possibly my favourite two integration methods because it allow students to learn the full extent of particular topics over a variety of subjects. For example the Olympics you can use Humanities to learn the history and countries involved. With Health and PE you can participate in some of the sports/events from the Olympics. With arts you can create your own uniforms and flags etc. I also like this idea because you get to utilise ideas from other disciplines that you wouldn’t normally think of. This creates new ideas and opportunities within your teaching. Transdisciplinary is fantastic because it allows students to gain a strong understanding for the topic far beyond what is required. If they have learnt in depth there is a much higher chance of retaining and remembering information.

Integrating the Australian Curriculum Reflect – What are the two conditions for purposefully connected curriculum that Jenny refers to? Purposefully connected curriculum refers to the planning for teaching and learning drawing on two or three curricular areas. The two key conditions include: maintaining the integrity of the curricular areas, and using a clear and conceptual link of the concepts taught. Think pair and share is an example. What are some factors that should be considered for authentically connecting curriculum? Working with teachers is a must, this allows you to work together to integrate and make links between what you are teaching between each of the topics. You need to ensure that the aims, rationale and cross-curriculum priorities fit in the with lessons that you have planned. Important notes, if it doesn’t fit don’t force it! This will just make the lesson difficult for both you and the students.

References Murdoch, K. (2006). Inquiry learning: journeys through the thinking processes. Teacher Learning Network, 13(2), 32-34.

Latrobe University, 2016. Inquiry Based Learning. Retrieved on the 1st of July 2016 from http://tlweb.latrobe.edu.au/education/learning-materials/inquirybased-learning/IBL_005.html

Mansilla, V. 2008. Integrative Learning: Setting the Stage for a pedagogy of the contemporary. Retrieved on the 1st pf July 2016 from http://www.pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Peer%20review_RealityCheck.pdf

Hood River Middle School, 2016. Collaborative planning: Integrating curriculum across subjects. Retrieved on the 1st of July 2016 from http://www.edutopia.org/practice/collaborative-planning-integrating-curriculum-across-subjects

'''Module 4 Literacy in Middle Years'''

Literacy defined Reflect - 'All teachers are teachers of literacy.' Discuss this statement with reference to your understanding of literacy. Literacy is much more than reading and writing, it is involved in almost all aspects of our lives. We use literacy to read people’s emotions, have conversations with them and to understand real life issues, therefore literacy is used in every subject! This is even more the case now with the boom of technology. Tech devices such as laptops and smart boards require you to be able to read, type and communicate and are used in almost every discipline today. An example of how literacy is used in different subjects include, reading problem solving questions in maths, creating a play/writing a script in drama, communicating to your peers in a game of basketball during PE. As you can see literacy is involved in all aspects of schooling.

Literacy is something you will need your entire life, you will begin to learn literacy prior to school by communicating, reading emotions and learning technology. You will also need to use it after schooling with communicating, reading, writing, with technology, and criticality thinking. Without teaching literacy at school, it will be impossible to learn, and achieve!

Literacy and the Australian Curriculum Reflect – Take your own notes about each of six literacy elements Comprehending text through listening, reading and viewing: This is about the receptive language (receiving) and teaches you how to learn from listening to information, emotions, questions etc. To determine whether students are learning in these area’s you would work on comprehension activities. Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating: This explores the elements of expressive language. This is done by delivering presentations, creating written work and using language to communicate to others. Text knowledge: involves the learning of structure and cohesion of texts. This is where students learn to write fluently and comprehend text properly. Grammar knowledge: this is where students learn the grammatical features about how to construct texts. Students will understand knowledge of sentence structure, words and word groups, opinions and points of view. Work knowledge: this is where students increase their vocabulary by learning and understand new words. This also includes the correct spelling of these words. Visual Knowledge: is the learning how to interpret graphs, tables etc. and how to evaluate images and other graphical representations.

With reference to different learning areas, identify some ways in which you can develop literacy in The Arts, Health and Physical Education and Humanities and Social Sciences for Grade 5 & 6. Arts: Students must be able to read a drama script and attempt to re-act it. This take visual literacy and comprehending text into consideration. Health and Physical Education: Students are required to communicate to each other when playing group games. This involves visual literacy and understanding through listening and speaking. Humanities and social sciences: Under inquiry and skills, students are required to develop appropriate questions to guide an inquiry about people, events, challenges and places. To do this students must use their comprehending skills and their writing skills. Mathematics: In years 5 and 6 basic addition and subtraction worded questions are used form the curriculum. Therefore students must use their literacy skills to read the worded question to be able to answer the question.

Reading and comprehending Reflect – What are the main features of each part of this model? Semantic cues: relate to the context of a word. Syntactic cues: relate to the rules of the English language. Letter sound: relates to how the letters sound out. Three cueing model: Semantics: involves context cues Syntax: involves the word order and construction of the work. Phonics: relate to the information received to the brain.

Reflect – how will you use this technique in your teaching? Reading and comprehending will be used within my classes. My method is mathematics therefore it is more challenging to implement this but by the use of worded problems students will be able to utilise their reading and comprehending skills.

Writing Reflect - Look at these resources, then identify and explain two different ways you will help your students develop their writing skills. Writing needs to be promoted across all subject areas. Analysing writing with students before they write their responses: This is where you as the teacher guide your students in the right direction by discussing the key points, summarise etc. This can give students a starting point when they write their response. Make students plan what they should be writing before they do so. This will provide them with more structure and that you will stay on track. This is more useful when writing essays. Lastly you can always make writing more interesting by allowing them to write about what interest them. Reflect – is it important to teach handwriting to middle year students? Why or why not? Yes, writing is important throughout middle school and throughout your whole life. The best time to learn how to write properly is during school because you will learn how to write to difference audiences, write responses and stories. It is even more important during the middle years of schooling because of the impact that technology is having on young students. Many people are beginning to not write properly due to short hand writing on social media sites such as Facebook. Therefore students will learn at school that this is not the proper way to communicate. This will be helpful for students when they finish school when writing resumes, letters and at work.

Multi-literacies What are the five most important ideas you have learned about in you exploration of multi-literacies? 1)	There are 6 elements of meaning which include Linguistic meaning, visual meaning, audio meaning, gestural meaning, spatial meaning and multi-modal patterns of meaning. This shows there are multiple forms of literacy. 2)	Technology has limited the amount of literacy written on paper these days. It is mostly found with the use of technological devices such as ipads. This is economical too because it saves paper. 3)	Many students today are more literate with the use of technology than using pen and paper. In saying this it is important to incorporate both forms of literacy to keep students engaged. 4)	By adding pictures students may find reading and understanding literacy much easier. It helps students grow a picture about what is happening without reading yet. 5)	Multi-literacies include different language, visuals, technologies etc.

The 4 resources model Reflect - Is this a helpful model for you to use? Why/why not? Yes think would be useful for most teachers, even for me as a Mathematics pre-service teacher! A good example, when you read a worded problem solving problem, you need to break it down ‘code breaker’. You then need to break it down by looking at a series of features, for example, what is the question asking? And what parts will be relevant in answering the question? Using the text functionality is the least relevant to my subject but can still be included, for example adding worded answers. Lastly includes the text analysis to make sure you have completed the question properly. Although this is useful, I believe it will be much more useful for teachers in English.

Reflection – What do you think about the idea’s expressed in this clip? Needs to be about reading different versions of the world. This helps us get an understanding of different culture, places and different views

Literacy in years 7 – 9 What are the three most important factors to consider about teaching literacy to Years 7 - 9? •	Learning literacy in many different forms such as reading, writing, speaking, viewing, and creating are extremely important for life after school and are essential to survive in the world. Setting the students up with these complex skills is essential for their entire life. (Latrobe University, 2016) It is also important to note that students need to have sufficient literacy skills to excel in other classes such as Maths and Science. •	An important factor is that you need to relate the literacy to their lives, because if you teach something that is not relevant to them then they are less likely to engage and retain information. •	When learning about literacy it is important to remember some students learn by listening, doing, or visualising therefore as a teacher you need to cater for these learning styles.

How will you teach literacy to middle years students in your teaching area/s? I will teach literacy through communication and feedback. Students always need some guidance and direction in a lesson and this is best done by speaking to them. This is especially true if you are introducing new ideas and concepts. I would also like to teach literacy by doing. A great example is discussing some mathematical concepts such as speed and then showing a real life example of speed so students can get a visual understanding as well as verbal. (I did this on practicum and the students loved it) Lastly I will teach literacy by using appropriate terminology and making sure students understand what they are learning. I will aim to teach them new words if they don’t already know what they mean.

Literacy in Years 5-6 What have you learnt about teaching literacy to Grade 5 & 6 students? Grade 5 and 6 students generally have 2 hours of literacy at the start of the day which is split into two blocks, reading and writing. Many students keep a reading diary so they can record proof of their own reading. This is generally checked by a teacher to see the progress of each student. It is not uncommon for teachers to split students into groups relating to the learning ability and interest of each student. This can be an efficient teaching method to allow students to all work at their own level. Lastly handwriting is about practicing and drawing letters to create neat writing.

Strategies for developing literacy skills List and briefly describe five strategies you will use for teaching literacy to middle years students. •	Making predictions about text: This can be used in English and also other subjects such as maths and science. You can make your own predictions about a text before reading it fully. This allows students to use their imagination and also their problem solving skills. In subjects such as science you can discuss an experiment, make predictions about the experiment before completing it, then reflect at the end and see how accurate the predictions were. (National professional development, p13) •	Recite information after reading it: This is where you discuss the overview of the paragraph you have just read. This allows students to consolidate their information and pick up on any information they may have missed. •	Making connections to the students lives: This is highly important with the middle years age groups as they sometimes struggle to understand things that do not relate to their own lives. To make connections you need to hold a class discussion and as a teacher you need to know your students, their interests and abilities. (Simon, 2015) •	Six word stories: This is where students can show their understanding of what they just read by writing a short 6 word sentence to summarise the information. This is helpful to see how well you students can understand what they are reading. (Australian Government, 2015) •	Creating from information: Many students learn by doing opposed to reading or listening. Therefore I like the strategy where you can get students to draw a story or create a visual display of the reading. This can allow the students to use their imagination and increase their understanding. The only downside of this is that it could take a lot longer than other strategies, therefore you wouldn’t use it regularly.

References Latrobe University, 2016. Methods of Teaching Middle Years: Literacy in the Middle Years. Retrieved on the 29th of July from https://lms.latrobe.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=1993691&chapterid=130199

National professional development program, 1996. Literacy strategies handbook. Retrieved on the 29th of July 2016 from http://portals.studentnet.edu.au/literacy/uploads/Literacy%20Strategies_Handbook.pdf

Simon, C. 2016. Read write think, Making connections. Retrieved on the 29th of July from http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/making-connections-30659.html

Australian Government, 2015. Literacy Activities. Retrieved on the 29th of July from https://www.literacyandnumeracy.gov.au/literacy-activities

Module 4

Numeracy in the middle Years Numeracy Defined 'All teachers are teachers of numeracy.' Discuss this statement with reference to your understanding of numeracy. Numeracy is more than just maths, it include telling the time, counting students, using percentages etc. This can be used across all subjects: •	PE uses time distance and speed •	food technology uses fractions when measuring out how much of a particular ingredient is needed. •	Computers may need to use calculations and formulas (depending on what you are doing) •	Humanities uses numeracy when you look at the different years in history and what happened in these years.

These are just a few examples of how numeracy is used within different subjects. Numeracy is different from Mathematics because it is the use of mathematics in your every day lives to meet the demands of your daily work. Perfect examples are telling the time, finding the correct size clothing, paying for items and counting numbers. Without numeracy unfortunately life would be very difficult to succeed in.

Numeracy and the Australian Curriculum With reference to different learning areas, identify some ways in which you can develop numeracy in The Arts, Health and Physical Education and Humanities and Social Sciences for Grade 5 & 6. Six elements: whole numbers: using whole numbers to solve everyday problems, for example using money to purchase items. Recognising relationships and patterns: using their problem solving skills to find relationships. Using spatial reasoning: this involve the students making sense of the space and environment around them, for example the use of objects in three dimensions, ie fitting a key in a door. Using measurement: This can e used for length, time, speed, mass, area etc. Using fractions, rates, decimals, ratios and rates: This is done every day when you look at the speed your car is travelling, how much money you earn per hour etc. Interpreting statistical information: refers to reading and relating to statistics such as 99% of students came to school today.

The arts: numeracy can be used in the form of measurement. A great example is measuring the amount of paint you may need for a canvas, or measuring the size of a painting etc. Health and Physical education: numeracy can be used in the form of speed, time, number and measurement. For example you may determine the speed at which you are running, the distance someone ca jump or the total score for a game. Humanities: Numeracy can be used when determining which year something happened, ie world war one was in 1914. Another example can be the use of money in economics and business (within humanities) Social sciences: Statistics are rather large within social sciences, therefore students need to be able to interoperate these.

 Numeracy in the curriculum How would you describe the relationships between mathematics and numeracy? Numeracy is a part of the mathematics curriculum but is still very different. The outcomes of numeracy can be seen across all subjects and learning areas because numeracy refers to mathematics that will help you with everyday life skills, for example telling the time. Whereas mathematics is much more in depth in terms of the content involved. Mathematics includes topics such as algebra and trigonometry that are not necessarily used in your everyday lives.

List five reasons for why good numeracy skills are important? •	To survive life inside and outside of the school environment. Numeracy is everywhere and to get by in life you need to have an understanding of it, ie speed, distance, time, whole numbers. •	Employment opportunities: Employers are less likely to employ you if you can’t count, tell the time or count money. •	Social inclusion: Many students may feel left out if they experience difficulties understanding the time, or basic counting skills. •	The rise of the digital age: The use of technology is prevalent within society and this is not going to change. People need to use phone numbers, coding, time devices etc, and the need for these is only going to grow. So for students to keep up with society they need to be forever using their numeracy skills. •	Timing things: Example, you are watching Netflix and need to be at work in 1 hour but you want to watch another episode. You would need to determine if this was feasible? Or you are making cupcakes, if you need to leave them in the oven for 30 minutes, what time will it be? What are the key behaviours that are essential to being numerate? These key behaviours include: •	Counting whole numbers: counting people, scores, items etc. •	Being able to tell the time •	Measurement: being able to understand measurement and weight •	Speed and distance: this refers to how fast you could be driving, or how far you need to walk to get somewhere. What factors do teachers need to consider when planning for numeracy opportunities that arise across the curriculum? The abilities of the students: The students will not understand what you are trying to teach them if they do not have the basic numeracy skills that are required. Therefore you need to make sure you are teaching to your students! Need to look at what types of numeracy skills are involved and how they will be used throughout the lesson. Most importantly you need to look at the benefits of having these skills within class and make sure the students understand this.

What does the term critical numeracy mean to you? To me critical numeracy refers to the numeracy skills you need in day to day life. Best examples are paying for items with money, counting scores in sporting games, telling the time, determining the parts required to make a cake etc. Without these basic skills it would be very difficult to get through day to day life. How can a teacher encourage their students to take critical numeracy perspective across the learning areas? It is important to make sure students understand the importance of these in their everyday lives, bu more importantly relate these in ways they would use the skills. For example use football as an idea for boys to learn their 6 times tables etc.

Strategies for teaching numeracy in middle years List and briefly describe five strategies you will use for teaching numeracy to middle years students? Playing a quick introduction game at the start of the lesson to engage the students: This was done almost every lesson I have taught during my middle years placement. Each lesson has a game which is similar to the topic they are learning and it helps engage them before getting stuck into the content. For example year 7’s are learning decimals, therefore the first 5 minutes will be spent doing a stop watch game on their ipads where they need to get as close to 4 seconds as possible, then the person with the closest score wins etc. Making literacy relate to the students: When using numeracy within your class the students need the content to be related to their own lives. By doing this they are more likely to engage and retain information. For example on my placement I may discuss how people use numeracy when they play sports like basketball, football and netball which are all major sports in my area. Making numeracy hands on: Students learn differently therefore introducing numeracy strategies by doing and watching may also be beneficial depending on your class. Example could be learning about speed, therefore you can conduct an experiment to show the different relationships that determine speed. (this is just an example) Using units of investigation or open-ended problems: Students like to have freedom therefore if you give them some general guidance in an open-ended project they may become more engaged and want to take charge of their learning. A great example could be completing a project where you plan your dream holiday. You need to determine the costs involved and the practicality of the holiday. (Tout, 2007, p1) Building on existing knowledge: Students will learn best if you can build on existing knowledge therefore it is important that you can determine where they are at with their learning so you can make the learning content suitable to the students. (Tout, 2007, p1)

References Siemon, D.E., Beswick, K., Brady, K., Clark, J., Faragher, R., & Warren, E. (2011). Teaching Mathematics: Foundations to Middle Years. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Tout, D. 2007. Engaging all students in maths and numeracy. Australian Council for Educational Research. Retrieved on the 31st of July 2016 from http://www.vala.asn.au/numeracy/NumeracyDaveToutStratContextsResour.pdf