Theme: Earth is Our Common Home

Learning Goals

By going over this learning package, the target learners will:

• have learned to value Earth’s resources; and

• have considered being an advocate of environmental conservation

Intended Curriculum

The team used a generic curriculum as a starting point, specifically the Grade 3 K-12 English Curriculum Guide created by the Department of Education. The group chose this curriculum as it was suitable for the target learners and set age-appropriate, attainable learning competencies for the target grade level. The curriculum was chosen envisioning the learning package to be appropriate for young Filipino learners. One of the members of the group is a public school teacher handling Grade 3 students. A possible pilot implementation was considered by having the aforementioned students as the participants. Oral Language, Reading and Listening Comprehension, and Writing/Composition domains were looked into as the basis for drafting the learning goals of the learning package and in curating the learning objectives of the proposed lesson plans.

Target Learners

The learning package is designed for learners who are expected to have the basic literacy skills including basic decoding skills, understanding of various print and literacy conventions, recognition of high frequency words, and some basic fluency routines, which are mastered during the primary grades (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). Specifically, the target learners are Grade 3 Filipino pupils who are between the ages of 8-9, speaking Filipino (Tagalog) as their first language and basic English as their second language with an average level of cognitive competence. The proposed theme is developmentally appropriate to grade 3 learners as they are becoming increasingly aware of their environment and how they are part of it. The target learners are in Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage of development, where “children are able to demonstrate logical reasoning in which they become aware of external events” (MPPFC, 2022). As they learn about the natural world, it is important for them to explore their roles and responsibilities in expanding social contexts.

Justification of the Theme

Team PUNLA chose the theme "Earth is Our Common Home" in accordance with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically: SDG 3 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 13 Climate action, and SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production. The theme intends to provide literature-based lessons that feature aspects of caring for the environment and human responsibility in its conservation. The global movement to respond to climate change is relevant and timely, and young environmental activists such as Greta Thunberg, Mari Copeny, Ridhima Pandey, have proven that one can never be too young to make a difference. According to Kwuak and Winthrop (2021), “when education helps students develop a strong personal connection to climate solutions, as well as a sense of personal agency and empowerment, it can have consequential impact on students’ daily behaviors and decision making.” Due to the pressing issue of climate change, it is imperative that young people develop an appreciation for Earth’s finite resources and learn how they play a role in caring for them.

As a result, the group decided to design a learning package that would be instrumental in leading the learners to the realization that the way they value and interact with the Earth’s resources create a lasting impact on the environment. Therefore, the need to make a stand and take ownership of their responsibility toward environmental conservation is essential.

Justification of the Arrangement of Topics

The list of selected texts is grouped according to the chosen topics: What Nature Provides, What Humans Take from Nature, and What Humans Can Do for Nature. The topics have been arranged according to structural logic, allowing learners to gradually internalize the theme by developing their understanding of the environment and realizing how humans impact it. Learners are first introduced to the abundance in nature, then oriented to how nature provides the resources humans need for daily living. In discovering the impact of resource utilization, learners are then invited to foster a sense of accountability and advocate sustainability.

Text Selection Criteria

The texts are selected according to their relevance, variety, readability, and accessibility. The team initially collated a wide variety of reading materials that are suitable to the theme and topics selected. After further discussion in consideration of the target learners, possible accessibility issues, and applicability of the texts to the grade level, theme, and topics, the team decided on the selected texts listed below. The following are the team's text selection criteria:

• The texts are relevant to the theme: The texts may teach about environmental awareness either directly or indirectly. Relevance can be justified as they feature elements and/or underlying messages that present our chosen topics.

• As a collection, the different genres/forms of the texts allow the topics to be presented in varied, interesting ways: The texts are mostly short stories that can be presented as is or be accompanied and enhanced with other media, collaborative learning strategies, and authentic literacy activities since doing so will potentially help increase learners’ active engagement (Tompkins, 2017). The inclusion of other genres (poem/song) also exposes learners to variations in language.

• ·Manually-calculated quantitative readability ratings of the texts suggest they could be appropriate for Grade 3 learners: The group opted for texts with readability ranging roughly between Grades 1 to 5. The allowance of up to 2 grades above and below our target grade ensures that there are texts that can be appropriate to different learner levels (i.e. remedial, average, or advanced learners). Qualitative readability ratings were also completed justifying the use of material that resulted in having grade 6 and up quantitative readability ratings. Vocabulary, context, diction, and teacher’s discretion, as well as applicability to the target learners, were considered and put into consideration in choosing the material, Anak ng Pasig song, as it was not subjected to a quantitative readability test since the preferred readability formulas are based on the English language. Thus, the formulas may not sufficiently account for linguistic features of the Filipino language, potentially rendering the results invalid.

• The texts are relatively accessible: There are options for accessing the texts. Some are available as full-text open resources and some have been adapted/digitally formatted to be accessible under fair use.

Manually-computed quantitative and qualitative readability tests were carried out on the final text selection list before the lesson plans were created. More details on the text readability index and description can be found here.