To the best of my knowledge these resources were developed by the Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) Studies of Society and The Ennvironment (SOSE) KLA STRUCTURE
and Victorian Association for Environmental Education (VAEE)

CSF Home page is currently http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/curriculumatwork/csf/so/ksso.htm

 

Sample Unit in SOSE Level 5 using Information Technology

Activity Title:

The Ice Man Mystery

Key Learning Area:

Studies of Society and Environment

Strand:

Time, Continuity and Change

Level:

5

Task Objectives:

Students develop knowledge and skills in:   

  • investigating a range of evidence
    •
  • reconstructing an event based on research and evaluation of evidence
    •
  • working cooperatively to achieve a common goal
    •
  • designing, creating and presenting slides in a Power Point presentation

 

Overview

This activity forms the conclusion to an investigation of the discovery of a prehistoric human body known as the Ice Man found in the Italian Alps in 1991.

Students will present their final conclusions according to the evidence in the form of a Power Point presentation. This particular software requires the elimination of unnecessary descriptive and narrative information so that students have to identify and present logically ordered key points. In addition, the design of the background, the animation chosen and the interpretation of graphics allows students to further add meaning to the information using a visual medium of communication. Students are also required to speak to the presentation and elaborate on their key ideas to develop confidence and oral communication skills.

The opportunity to consider the emergence of new evidence from a range of perspectives and methods including scientific, historical and archaeological sources addresses the SOSE learning outcome at Level 5 in Time, continuity and change strand; explain people’s motives and activities from various perspectives. The need to integrate a range of views into the student’s own concise Power Point presentation provides further opportunity to demonstrate the learning outcome supported by the use of information technology.

 

B

Resources

  Publications: 
Examining the Evidence: History, Archaeology and Science. Kenworthy, et al ( Jacaranda, QLD 1993). 
Discovering History Paul Grover (OUP,Aust., 1993) 
National Geographic, June 1993 
Time October 26 1992 
Discover January 1992 p35 

Audio/Visual: 
Video The Ice Man Panorama (BBC) 

Web sites: 
http://www.anatomy.su.oz.au/danny/ 
http://www.altea.it/Alt...senales/otzi/index.html 

Software: 
Microsoft Office Power Point 
Microsoft Word

 

C

Pre entry requirements 

This activity has been developed assuming that the students have the following 

technical knowledge and skills 

    • word processing
      •
    • file management (name and Save)
      •
    • file insertion
      •

content knowledge and skills 

    • ability to summarise and record accurate notes
      •
    • ability to identify key ideas
      •
    • ability to compare and contrast
      •
    • ability to reach conclusions
      •
    • ability to support conclusions with evidence.

 

D

Assessment

 

What to assess

What criteria will be used

Suggested techniques for collecting and recording evidence of achievement

Knowledge 

  • understands the key events in the discovery of the body (Ice Man)
    •
  • understands the reasons why evidence may lead to a series of different conclusions
    •
  • understands how historians and scientists test evidence
    •
  • understands the time difference between the discovery and when Ice Man lived.
    •

Skills 

  • plan presentation techniques, ie.planning the report format to suit a particular audience
    •
  • designs and creates tables using Microsoft Word
    •
  • investigates and evaluating evidence
    •
  • summarises and reaches conclusions based on the evaluation of evidence
    •
  • designs slides using Power Point
    •

 Suggested techniques for collecting and recording evidence of achievement

  • exercises involving the examination of evidence are successfully completed
    •
  • clear accurate table and line drawing, showing rank order, are created
    •
  • written report of findings and research methods used
    •
  • evidence is read and discussed with understanding
    •
  • arguments for and against theories suggested by the evidence are selected and convincingly presented
    •
  • slides are well designed for visual impact
    •
  • students create charts, timelines and diagrams using Microsoft Word to show arguments for and against reliability of theories created from the evidence
    •
  • students write press releases and present findings to the class to display links between evidence and hypotheses
    •
  • class discussions occur at regular group or meetings
    •

students develop storyboard summary of layout and content for Power Point slide presentation. Teacher collects and comments on draft
  • students develop a Power Point presentation
    •
  • students present Power Point presentation to the class and teacher and/or peer assessment is carried out

 

E

Classroom Management

STAGE 1 Understanding the Evidence 

The evaluation of the evidence surrounding the discovery and death of the Ice Man needs to be undertaken by students. This phase requires time to fully explore the material as well as guidance in the ways in which evidence is gathered, for example, scientific and archaeological and the use of modern medical technology. In most classrooms it is appropriate to vary the type of activity and allow students to work together to creatively explore the range of material and to develop their own theories. Teachers may wish to give examples or details of the processes involved in the use of evidence to create a hypothesis, establishing the idea of feasibility and the need to support conclusions with examples is a useful first step at this stage. 

Working either in groups, as a class or individually, students examine the evidence presented in the range of references listed in the resources section. 

 

 

 

Some of the teaching and learning activities in STAGE 1 could include: 

  • class discussion of theories, eg. a modern murder mystery; an accidental death, such as a mountaineer lost in a snow storm ... before specific evidence has been studied
    •
  • place the events in chronological order and create a timeline of these events
    •
  • investigate conflicting evidence and formulate a plausible reason for the conflict
    •
  • read and create diagrams and maps to show the location of the body and position of the body
    •
  • present a case to the class for the circumstances surrounding the death as suggested by the evidence
    •
  • construct tables and charts in Microsoft Word to show rank order of importance of information and the arguments for or against theories about the identity of the body
    •
  • write a press release to share conclusions about new evidence
    •
  • present brief conclusions for the class to discuss.
    •

 

 

STAGE 2 Learning To Use Power Point 

The second stage is to arrange for students to be trained in the use of the software. This works best when the teacher has the facilities and expertise to display the software on a computer screen to a large group. If the teacher is conversant with the basic workings of Power Point and takes students through the steps for creating a slide presentation they very quickly explore further features of the program and become proficient in its use. 

If training is to be undertaken by someone other than the classroom teacher it may be necessary to have them on standby once the training sessions are over. Team teaching is an effective way to feel secure and learn at the same time. Note the technical tips on the Student Activities Sheet to improve the presentation. 

Finally the availability of computers in the classroom will be a factor in how these lessons are planned. If classes are working in the computer room it will be necessary to have a planning phase in class when the layout and content of the Power Point slides has been decided. A storyboard similar to those used for determining the flow of a movie script is very useful for this purpose. 

At the conclusion of the process students present their slide shows to the whole group and the major assessment is completed according to predetermined criteria sheets which can be issued to students at the beginning of the project. The assessment may be undertaken as peer assessment, teacher assessment or a combination of the two. 

 

Power Point presentation tips 

How to make the most out of your Power Point presentation to the class: 

  • plan your slide style and content by making a story board on paper first
    •
  • choose animation, build effects, sounds, picture and videos which will enhance the message
    •
  • don’t use too many gimmicks; this will slow down your presentation
    •
  • check that the size of the font you have chosen can be read from afar - 36 for text and 44 for headings work well
    •
  • some colours make the words difficult to see
    •
  • include only the key ideas on each slide and use the slides notes to expand on these ideas when you present your findings
    •
  • finish with a blank slide as it looks more professional: ‘The End’
    •

 

 

 

STUDENT ACTIVITIES SHEET

The Ice Man Mystery

Setting the scene   

In 1991 a German couple, Erica and Helmut Simons, discovered a body partly wedged into the ice of a glacier on the peak of the Finalspitze in the Otzal Alps. At first they were shocked to think that they may have uncovered the body of a murder victim. The head and shoulders of the body were clear of the ice in a pool if melted water produced by the thawing of the glacier in the unseasonably warm conditions. 

  The first people on the scene after the Simons notified them of their find were police and rescue authorities. There were records of people who had gone missing in earlier decades, but no one was to guess the truth about this body for many days. 

 

Was this an accidental death? Who was this lying in the ice? How were the experts going to find evidence necessary to solve this mystery? 

 

Your job is to use the evidence which the scientists, historians and archaeologists have discovered to answer the questions raised by the discovery of ‘Otzi’ the Ice Man. 

 

Your task is to find: 

  • the identity of the deceased
    •
  • the time of death
    •
  • the place of death
    •
  • the cause of death
    •
  • the manner of death
    •

 

 

 

 

Your presentation 

Choose one of the following and present your official report using Power Point. 

  • Using the evidence you have discovered, present your opinion on the events which happened on the last day the Ice Man was alive. In your report include the likely cause of his death.  

OR

  • Imagine that you are a historian and are making a presentation to the press about your theories on what the Ice Man was doing in the glacier when he died. Try to explain what you believe as well as how you have come to these conclusions.  

Assignments adapted from Grover Discovering History and Examining the Evidence: History, Archaeology and Science. Kenworthy, et al (Jacaranda, QLD 1993 ).