Nicer Loos :: Unit Plan

Unit Plan

Context: Nicer Loos Year: 3-4 Duration: 3 Weeks (actual 5 weeks)

Key Skill/Knowledge/Component of Practice Underpinning Unit

Knowledge : light and colour, affect of colour on well being, hygiene regulations
Principle : user friendly (our loos should not be unpleasant for students to use i.e., they should have an acceptable level of cleanliness and smell, students should feel okay about using them).
Practicality (our loos should be easy to keep clean)
COP : Brief development

Technological Areas/Contexts

Materials, ICT, possible process and production

Community Links

School health nurse
Possible – mural painter, video-maker, ICT, chemist, aroma therapist

Cross Curricular Links

Health : Healthy Communities and Environments – Societal Attitudes and Beliefs, Community Resources, Rights, Responsibilities, and Laws
Science : Physical world – Understanding light and colour
Maths : Geometry – enlarging, grids, patterns; graphing survey results
English : Visual language – viewing and presenting
The Arts : Visual arts – developing ideas in visual arts, Developing practical knowledge in the visual arts

Safety Issues (Refer to MOE Revised Health & Safety Guidelines.)

Personal health

Resources – Human and Physical

See Community links. BOT and cleaners. Paint, clay, ingredients for aromatherapies or potpourri

Learning experience Opening intro re the project what we are going to do – include first step is to explore the issue to establish a brief/discussion of what a brief is and why it is important. Use examples of brief development from Techlink case studies (AT, AM, Sl) Keep a photographic record of progress. Group diaries. As an important aspect of reflection, evaluation and future planning. Visit the loos (NB gender appropriateness). Brainstorm what it is that the students don't like about the loos. What makes them unpleasant to use? Survey to find out likes and dislikes. What's unpleasant on Monday, Tuesday, etc. Gather and present data. Students to interview 2 children from other classes (stakeholders). What would we like our loos to be? Link back to brief – we are beginning to establish attributes. Students explain to the stakeholders (including cleaners, other students, and staff) their goal to improve the state of the school loos for the school community. Discuss with the school cleaners what they like and don't about the loos. What causes the things we don't like? Numbers of children using the loos? Misuse of the loos? Again knowledge that will be useful for revisiting/refining attributes.	Predetermined Learning Outcomes	AOs	Assessment Criteria	Assessment Strategies
Monitor loo usage. How many times a day, and when do kids use the loo (may need to be anonymous)? Check hygiene regulations for school toilets. What does your family do to have a user friendly loo? Health nurse to talk about illness related to loo usage/hygiene. Arrange visits to other high use loos. Set up photo display of high use loos. Are these loos user friendly? Do they have similar problems? How are they overcome? Compare the loos. Build a list of features worth considering. Compare with Kawakawa, Abel Tasman and Hukanui School. Establish a set of criteria for the improvement of the loos. Consider: Available time and resources; Students' capabilities; Help available in the wider community.	Knowledge LO hygiene regulations	1,3,7 & 8	Can explain school health regs in relation to toilets and discuss the implications of this for what could and couldn't be done in their toilets	1-1 discussions, recording in diary, contributions to class discussion about possible attributes of a user friendly loo.
What can we do to make our loos nicer to use? Ideas regarding light, colour, smell, music and effects on sense of wellbeing. Set up experiments on light/colour and in particular its impact on the immediate environment. The kids could undertake survey work to determine how generic things are – do all people feel better in so called 'cheerful' colours? Mini research project could also link in with maths.	Knowledge LO light and colour, affect of colour on well being	This could include links to science curriculum physical world AA and technology AO 2&8	Criteria from science AO – level. Explain the way different lights and colours make us feel and why this might be. (explanation is linked to class survey results)	Conferences, answer to questions recorded in diaries, results and conclusions of experiments, class discussions, survey results, diary entries justifying the use or not of different lights/colours in the loos.
Brainstorm possible solutions e.g.; an infomercial, sandwich boards, rhymes and jingles (adapt popular TV commercial jingles), posters, mural, potpourri, fragrances (masking or neutralising), tiles, etc. Groups select a possible solution. Develop an initial design brief based on established criteria. Share briefs with whole class for okay – refine as necessary. Negotiated skill LO will probably come out of these decisions – in which case some skill development learning experiences would be added in here. Teacher and students gather resources (physical and human). Presentation to the BoT and stakeholders. Develop, trial, further research, evaluate and refine brief and use this to guide modification of solutions. Implement solutions. Evaluate against the final brief (Make some informal assessments particularly in these last few sessions with regard to ODE so informed judgments can be made re starting level of children in the next unit focussing on ODE.) Celebrate with a 'Grand Loo Opening' – with song, dance and ribbon cutting ceremony (no food!).	Can undertake brief development?	1,2,3,4,5,6, 7&8	See matrix indicators – previous work would indicate allowing for achievement at level 1,2 and 3	Discussions surrounding initial attribute establishment, initial brief developed for selected solution focus, 1-1 conferences as students trial, experiment etc, refined briefs, evaluative, reflective comments in diary, final brief, justification of brief in terms of developed knowledge and skill throughout the unit, evaluation of outcome in terms of meeting the brief.

Possible Negotiated Learning Outcomes?
Skill required to implement chosen solution.
Planning of celebration – selected/assigned roles could become negotiated LOs