Getting back into the swing of things!
Term 4 has seen the 5/6 students straight back into their learning through live workshops and targets on WebEx. They continue to use SeeSaw to document their learning and engage in provocations. We are so proud of the commitment already shown to being on time, present, engaged, and ready to learn. There were many hot topics of conversation that first Monday back, with the road map date for returning to school the front runner, with the earthquake shaking in a close second. Then it was straight into Inquiry and all things Growth!
Personal Growth inquiry project group have hit the ground running since we got back to Term 4. The students are hard at work continuing to progress with using the design process to be ready to document, teach, and share their learning with the rest of the student community. The students are planning, preparing, and making workshops, targets, provocations, speeches, debates, picture books, posters, and videos (to name a few) that are going to be shared with students from Prep to Year 6. This week, students shared with their peers to receive feedback from each other. It was a great opportunity to see students have agency in their learning, and we can definitely see some budding teachers in the making!
Historical Growth
The students in the Historical Growth Project have broken into small groups and after reading an article on the history of royals, they have chosen an area to research further. They will then tell the story of that part of history through either dance, song, animation, or skit. The students have two more weeks to put the final touches on their performance.
Some of the areas of focus are:
- The Elizabethan Era
- How cowboys came to exist and links with the British Empire
- Who Bloody Mary was
- The Victorian Era
- Henry VIII
- The impact on the internet and links with modern literacy
- Modern Royals
- The major royal/historical figures
- Coronations and the emergence of crowns
We have watched the Princess Bride parody that came out last year as an inspiration for how to film in isolation. Horrible Histories have also been a major influence on our project.
Students’ curiosities into growth and the Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships program, has led us to begin to explore gender identity. “Sometimes you get put into the wrong gender.” Maylin. Students have begun to engage in workshops and provocations that link to gender and stereotypes around gender. Tase said gender isn’t just who you are, it’s who you want to be. The students’ wonderings and reflections through workshops, provocations, and responses on SeeSaw are something to be very proud of.
The students’ were keen to share their experiences of the earthquake, and what better way to do that than with an authentic writing prompt. Chloe thought her Dad was moving the couch! Raff nearly fell out of the tree he was in! Students were able to share their writing in any form and we saw recounts, explanations, information reports, news articles, and even video filmed news reports. “The earthquake shook my entire house.” – Luke. So great to see the students have been able to share their experiences through authentic writing.
“You never know what you’re going to get next.” – Eva
What a great way to think about chance! Students have been exploring different collections around their homes this week to explore the concept of chance. What’s the chance I’ll pick a black mask? What’s the chance I have a red pencil? Students were able to identify the outcomes as fractions, and even applied their knowledge of converting their fractions to decimals and percentages to describe the possible outcomes for the probability. “Who knew there were so many possibilities?!?” – Chloe