Leaf litter Leaf litter: exploring the mysteries of a hidden world by Rachel Tonkin Cover illustration by Rachel Tonkin Cover reproduced with kind permission of Angus & Robertson, Australia Do not reproduce Review

Activity 1: First impressions of Leaf litter: exploring the mysteries of a hidden world Brainstorm what is a natural environment?

• Record responses & discuss. (TS2.1)

Introduce & read Leaf litter: exploring the mysteries of a hidden world by Rachel Tonkin

• Where can we find a similar environment to investigate?
• List some predictions about where minibeasts could be found at school.
• Identify where and how it would be safe to look. Use a map of the school to go and investigate.
• Select an area that is rich in organic matter where plants and animals can grow and move through their life cycles.
• In pairs mark out a one square metre area of the playground or garden to investigate (hint take a magnifying glass).
• Write down two actions you did during your investigation, for example, 'we moved a rock and looked under it.' (LTS2.7)
• Photograph or sketch your area, take notes. Divide into groups & let each group focus on a specific section. (LTS2.3)
• Draw, describe and try to identify some minibeasts. (LTS2.3)
• On the grid (see Rap sheet 5) students record their observations of mini worlds existing within their area. (LTS2.3)

How can we record & present & share our findings/data using ICT skills?

How can we recreate our environment?

• Draw a model of one square metre of our natural environment? (DMS2.8)
• Using Microsoft Word, insert a table, insert graphics, or draw with Microsoft Paint. (UTS2.9)
• Discuss your exploration of your section of this environment. (TS2.1)
• Download your photographs and enhance, adding labels in Word or Paint. (UTS2.9)

Activity 2: An environmental response

Navigate to the Leaf litter teaching notes on the Harper Collins website. There are many discussion points found here.

• Divide the class into interest groups so that they can select activities that will engage them. Select from Questions to follow shared reading, Ecology activities and Lifecycles,
• Discuss why leaf litter is good for the environment and why human litter is often an environmental problem? (VA6)
• Using Rap sheet 6 fill in the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) table. The result could be used for a talking and listening activity or a class debate. (TS2.1)

Activity 3: Garden Detective explore an Australian garden

NSW government schools log on to DET Teaching and Learning exchange (TaLe), (after logging on to the DET portal), then go to The Learning Federation (TLF) & download Garden detective explore an Australian garden learning object.

NSW DET schools can log on to the NSW DET portal.

• Once you have agreed to the acceptable usage policy, click on the NSW DET Intranet homepage.
• Log on to DET Teaching and Learning exchange (TaLe),
• Click on Primary, then click on Search Primary, The Learning Federation resources. Search for Garden detective explore an Australian garden.
  

Non government and schools in other states of Australia and New Zealand will have their own access to this TLF learning object through their particular learning exchange repository.

Once Garden Detective has been introduced students can explore it themselves. They could save a screen grab of their collected insects into their own school folder. This could then be enhanced and sent to the rap for inclusion in our READiscover rap Picture Gallery.

• Use an interactive white board (IWB). Students can drop and drag objects collected with their fingers. (UTS2.9)
  

N.B. All of the online activities in the rap can make maximum use of an interactive white board (IWB) if you have access to one. This will allow the whole class to view the learning technologies. Individual students can be selected to click and drag to navigate particular stages of the activity. Student engagement will be increased as individuals are able to participate in this online learning experience.

Activity 4: Food Webs

Identify sources of food for minibeasts. (RS2.6) (LTS2.3)

• Locate information in the library or on the Internet to find out what they might eat.
• Identify the dangers for your minibeast. What other animals want to eat it?
• Draw a simple food chain.
• Identify how plants would get nutrients from the environments. Identify producers (make their own food); consumers (eat readily available plants and animals); decomposers (break down dead plant and animal matter).
• Look at an example of a food chain.
• Revisit the area in the school you studied. Think about the animals and plants you found and draw a flow chart of a food web.

The class could also experience Gould League food webs – build your own, or refer to What’s on the menu?

Posting response to Rap point 2

• prepare the response to Rap point 2 with the class
• student/s (rap representative) type the response, edit and save.
• teacher facilitates the students/s use of the word and email programs.
• send 3 screen grabs of the Garden Detective insect collection results for the rap Picture gallery.
• send 3 examples of different food webs that students have created.
• rap rep/s send the response to Rap point 2 once the teacher has approved the final text.