The activities in this guide are arranged according to the learning cycle. Every unit includes activities that help develop an understanding of the main concept in the unit. Every unit also includes activities that help the students apply the concepts they have learned to unfamiliar situations. The activities in these two categories comprise the core material of the unit, and correlate with the core material outlined in the curriculum guide. In addition to the core activities, some of the units have additional activities which at the discretion of the teacher can be used as alternatives to the core activities, for enrichment, or for evaluation.
Teachers are not obligated to use any or all of the activities in this activity guide. The activities are intended to be adaptable to the needs of different classrooms. In some cases, the activities as outlined may not be useful, but they may contain valuable resource material which teachers can adapt to their own needs and teaching styles.
The activities are mostly designed to be student centred so that students can use the material for Independent Learning, both individually, and in groups. This is not intended to suggest that only this kind of learning should occur in the classroom. If and when some direct instruction s necessary, the material can be adapted accordingly. Effective classroom management generally involves using a judicious mix of instructional approaches that vary from indirect styles to more teacher-centred direct styles of instruction. It is the teacher who is in the best position to make the professional judgment about which instructional approach is most appropriate for the class.
Cross-referencing to the Curriculum
In the suggested teaching and evaluation strategies column of the curriculum guide near the top, there is a reference to the specific activity that could be used to teach the particular set of concepts and content described at that point in the curriculum. This was done to allow you to easily match the activities in the activity guide to the requirements of the curriculum guide.