I worked with the Prep team at Elsternwick Primary School throughout Term 4 to implement the above planner. I supervised students on excursions and at incursions and took on an extra role in the Going Further stage of the Inquiry. 

 

I developed a learning experience with the Prep team to integrate Asian Literacies into their unit of Inquiry. After exploring their history, use and creation (courtesy of UNICEF and our LOTE teacher's expert advice), I worked with students to create Chinese Shadow Puppets and research their chosen animal’s names and symbolism in Mandarin. I was inspired to develop this learning experience after several students expressed interest in visually and kinaesthetically displaying their understandings and one student asked to research the name of her chosen animal in Mandarin. To promote the inquiry learning assets of collaboration and communication, we invited students to present their puppets however they wanted. Some experimented with light and constructed their own puppet theatres using recyclable materials, other wrote narratives, coloured sets and some filmed their stories. This activity enhanced students’ intercultural awareness through play and investigation and built on students' interests and learning styles. Students showcased their puppets along with their final projects to their parents and the school community at the Animal Expo.