:ANZAC Day
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Approach: Team Level: Year 8
Focus:  Planning information gathering and appropriate questions
Resources: A3 answer sheet, 2 A4 answer sheets, 1 brainstorm instruction card, 2 pair question instruction cards, highlighter pen
148KB
Questions / instructions:
In this activity you are going to start planning a study on ANZAC Day. You are going to do a brainstorm about ANZAC Day, which means writing down all of the ideas and information you know.
Give out blank A3 sheet and pen.

This piece of paper is for you to write down everything you know about ANZAC Day. Remember to write down everyone’s ideas. Here is a card to remind you what you have to do.


Read instruction card (ANZAC Day Brainstorm) to team. Stand back and allow sufficient time.

Now you are going to work in pairs to decide what other information you might need for a study on ANZAC Day. After that, I want you to write four questions about ANZAC Day that would help you to search for the information you need. These are questions that you don’t know the answers to. This card will remind you what you have to do.
Read card (ANZAC Day Pair Questions) to team.

You have about five minutes to make up your questions.

Assign students to pairs - Students 1 and 2; and students 3 and 4. Give each pair an answer sheet, pencils and instruction card. Allow about five minutes.

ANZAC Day Brainstorm
1. Choose someone to write
2. Write down everyone's ideas
3. Make sure everyone says their ideas.
4. Tell the teacher when you have finished.

ANZAC Day Pair Questions
1. Talk about what you need to find out about Anzac Day.
2. Write four questions that will help you to search for the information you need about Anzac Day.
Now you are going to work together as a group again. Show and read your four questions to each other. After that, decide on three of the best questions that will help you to find the information for your study. Use the highlighter pen to mark them.

Allow time for the group to identify three questions.

Now read to me the three questions you highlighted.
   
% responses
2005 ('01)
Y8
Brainstorm process:
  
Involvement –
all members contributed substantially
  
45 (38)
3/4 or 2/3 members contributed substantially
 
42 (43)
1/4, 2/4 or 1/3 members contributed substantially
 
13 (19)
Acceptance –
all ideas received constructively
 
82 (62)
majority of ideas received constructively
 
16 (38)
half or less of ideas received constructively
 
2 (0)
Rejection –
no member had all or most of their ideas rejected
 
96 (90)
one member had all or most of their ideas rejected
 
3 (10)
two or more members had all or most of their ideas rejected
 
1 (0)
Selection of final three questions:
 
Collaboration –
decisions made by consensus, involving constructive dialogue
 
21 (22)
decisions made by consensus, quick agreement without much discussion
 
49 (36)
decisions made without consensus, through initiative of one or two members
 
28 (40)
decisions made after disagreement, with disagreements clearly not resolved
(at least one person unhappy about decision)
  
2 (2)
Questions selected:
 
First Question –
gave relevant “new” information, potentially very rich in detail/depth
 
32 (37)
gave relevant “new” information, but likely to be quite succinct
(eg. single fact)
  
66 (58)
gave irrelevant information or information already available in brainstorm
 
2 (5)
Second Question –
gave relevant “new” information, potentially very rich in detail/depth
42 (43)
 
gave relevant “new” information, but likely to be quite succinct
(eg. single fact)
55 (55)
 
gave irrelevant information or information already available in brainstorm
 
3 (2)
Third Question –
gave relevant “new” information, potentially very rich in detail/depth
 
59 (48)
 
gave relevant “new” information, but likely to be quite succinct
(eg. single fact)
  
41 (50)
 
gave irrelevant information or information already available in brainstorm
 
0 (2)
Total score:
6
 
7 (10)
 
5
 
35 (25)
4
 
42 (42)
3
 
13 (21)
0–2
 
3 (2)

Commentary:
The performance of year 8 students, on this task, closely parallels the performance of year 4 students on the similar task, Spiders. A high proportion of the groups made their decisions in a positive, collaborative way. Almost half developed either two or three strong questions, suitable for gathering rich information. Performance was similar in 2005 and 2001.
 
 
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