Materials

The unit that I have worked on is called "MATERIALS", it is part of the subject Technology and the content and learning outcomes set here correspond to 3º ESO.

In technology, the contents are usually presented in a spiral curriculum (that means that every year we work on the same topics but each year the information and skills are more developed).

The topic of the unit is very clear in its title: "MATERIALS", we are going to study the materials, their uses, their properties... Specifically, the learning outcomes of the unit are:
-   To know the different materials and their properties.
-   To associate each material to its main uses.
-   To understand the process of obtaining and manufacturing of each material.
-   To use this knowledge in a real project.

The main tasks through which the learning will be made are:
-   Writing an essay about a news item.
-   Filling a table with information (after some research).
-   True or false activities, filling gaps activities, matching activities.
-   Final project in groups. Four stages: planning (report), construction, oral presentation and assessment of others’ project

The unit is supposed to last ten sessions, whose detailed development is:
-   1st day: the lesson will begin with an introduction activity (by launching open questions to the whole group, the aim of this is to activate their previous knowledge and to motivate them).
    In addition, the first step of linguistic scaffolding will be presented, a very useful visual dictionary (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dim_NiBlIOAyHtbonWxiIjHwgt1DkK7jNg5OkscEnpo/edit?usp=sharing).
    After that, the teacher will start the explanation of theory (mean photocopies and the book).
-   2nd day: the explanations will continue and activities will be done in class. preferably by the whole group. Most of the activities can be taken from here (http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/educacion/descargasrecursos/aicle/html/pdf/119.pdf).
    By the end of the lesson, some review activities will be given to the students so they can go through them at home and ask questions the following days, this activities are these (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fqWOF22mCbms4HYbsjeWhc_upDHYZv2zvwNRtTeehvc/edit?usp=sharing).
    The explanations can also be completed with come videos, such as:
    METAL SHEETS MANUFACTURING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6rVl8TfTmA
    WOOD PROCESSING PLANT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT6RBAcCpJ0
-   3rd day: the students will have to read a news item and write an essay giving their opinion about the article.This is the adaptation of the news item chosen to the students' level (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fMjUaG-tyYik1_5euVujqIttjLSSk7vJbu2S1ItPACM/edit?usp=sharing) and this is the linguistic scaffolding proposed to help with the essay (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZwjsVAdkpqwwVaWlQMsoFPMW01pM4zT60itV8l3UP2E/edit?usp=sharing).
-   4th day: for this activity a room with computers is needed. In pairs, the students will have to make some research and look for some information to fill a table. This is the table used in this activity (http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/pdfs/materials2.pdf).
-   5th to 8th days: during these days, the students are supposed to plan and build a project in groups, at their own paces. They will have to write a report (list of materials and tools, stages, problems, drawings...). If they have enough time, they can do it in class, but if not, it will be sent as homework. By the end of the unit referred before, there is an explanation of the project.
-   9th day: finally, the students will present their projects to the teacher and their classmates. Everyone must assess each other's work.
-   10th day: a final test will be done.

The evaluation of this unit will take into account the everyday work (that means the participation on the class activities) with a 10%, the project (including the construction item, the report and the presentation) with a 60% and the final test with a 30%.