06-+SYLLABUS+DESIGN

**SYLLABUS DESIGN** **(Focusing on Scince)** **1. BASIC KNOWLEDGE BEFORE STARTING YOUR UNIT DESGIGN**
 * **Role of language in thinking development**

Education is based on mutual communication between the teacher and the learner. Any other process leading to acquisition of knowledge is based on communication between a certain source (a person, a book, other types of sources) and the person who aims at acquiring knowledge. The quality of the communication determines the quality and efficiency of the learning process and the quality, depth and completeness of the acquisition of knowledge – where by acquisition of knowledge is meant not a passive ability to reproduce memorized materials, but the sort of internalization that makes the learner capable of developing independent ways of reflecting and thinking on the material concerned. Language is the fundamental tool for communication, and has a fundamental role also in the development of abilities in other communication tools like visualization or the use of symbols. Language is also the fundamental tool for the development of thought and is, therefore, essential for all the inquiry aspects in the sciences and in the trains of thoughts leading from information to interpretation and ultimately to theory. 1 Learning the language of science is a major part (if not the major part) of science education. Every science lesson is a language lesson. 2 Language is a major barrier (if not the major barrier) to most pupils in learning science. //[|Learn more about "Language and thinking development"]//

Vygotsky described the Leading Activity as the activity during which most development occurs. The Leading Activity for preschool is mature, intentional make-believe play and the Leading Activity for kindergarten is the period of the transition between make-believe play and Learning ActivitY in which children engage in learning specific skills and content in a way that builds their understanding of themselves as learners.
 * **Leading Activity **

Also known as **task-based language teaching** (TBLT) or **task-based instruction** (TBI) focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (in other words the appropriate completion of tasks) rather than on accuracy of language forms. This makes TBLL especially popular for developing target language fluency and student confidence.  ** Pre-task ** In the pre-task, the teacher will present what will be expected of the students in the task phase. Additionally, the teacher may prime the students with key vocabulary or grammatical constructs, although, in "pure" task-based learning lessons, these will be presented as suggestions and the students would be encouraged to use what they are comfortable with in order to complete the task. The instructor may also present a model of the task by either doing it themselves or by presenting picture, audio, or video ** Task ** During the task phase, the students perform the task, typically in small groups, although this is dependent on the type of activity. And unless the teacher plays a particular role in the task, then the teacher's role is typically limited to one of an observer or counselor—thus the reason for it being a more student-centered methodology. //Learn more about designing tasks //
 * **Task-based language learning (TBLL)**

[|http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsis][|sues/syllabusdesign.html] Aspects of Task-Based Syllabus Design Discourse analysis is a primarily linguistic study examining the use of language by its native population whose major concern is investigating language functions along with its forms, produced both orally and in writing. Moreover, identification of linguistic qualities of various genres, vital for their recognition and interpretation, together with cultural and social aspects which support its comprehension, is the domain of discourse analysis. To put it in another way, the branch of applied linguistics dealing with the examination of discourse attempts to find patterns in communicative products as well as and their correlation with the circumstances in which they occur, which are not explainable at the grammatical level (Carter 1993:23).
 * **Discourse analysis **

<span style="color: #0cc038; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">**2. NECESSARY OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS FOR DESIGNING THE UNIT**

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 150%; text-align: left;"> "Castilla y León" official curriculum

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 150%; text-align: left;"> Portfolio for Primary Education

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 150%; text-align: left;"> Common European Documents   <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 150%; text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #0cc038; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; text-align: left;">**3. USEFUL RESOURCES**

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">**Here you can find many interesting resources for the design of Science Units**



**<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">You can also watch this video for ideas **