The grade 2 neighbourhood has been taking flight in recent weeks, using our minds to explore the world that we live in and our connections to it.
Through engagement with provocations about landmarks, BTN investigations as well as writing letters to our future selves, the students have been working hard to make connections between themselves and the world around them, as well as how history has helped shape us. To top it all off, the students have managed to even entertain their peers with a play about a girl and her unicorn.
At the end of the week we have also said goodbye to Lucy who is heading off to a new job at VIT. 2A are now looking forward to meeting their brand-new teacher in the future.
Found in Melbourne
To continue our deep drive into cities; we read the book ‘Found in Melbourne’ to explore what makes our city special. Using Melbourne landmarks to guide the students through a counting exercise, the book then provoked discussion about ‘what makes landmark a landmark, like why aren’t Woolies or Coles landmarks?’ – Elspeth or ‘we could make a map and a guide to Melbourne and different cities’ – Finn to even ‘We could figure out what landmarks are the most popular in percentages’ – Flynn
BTN investigations
After watching the most recent episode of BTN that featured a story outlining the tension between Russia and Ukraine, the students were curious about previous wars, especially those that had involved family members, such as great grandparents. Henry T.B. and Milo have used previous episodes of BTN to help them understand key features of WWI and WWII and the important role these conflicts played in shaping their family history. Henry has even found artefacts from home about his great-grandfather ‘William Turner’ and used this to find out more information about the role he played in WWI. Henry and Van have now decided to construct an army/ military base from their research.
Esther, Aaliyah, Sienna and Frances were also inspired by a story of the earthquake and tsunami in Tonga, to conduct their own research using BTN, into natural disasters. They chose to narrow their focus to tsunamis and tidal waves as well as tornadoes and cyclones. By understanding natural disasters, they have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the world they live in.
Writing to the future
After reading the poem, now we are six by A.A. Milne, the students have been writing letters to their future selves (for the end of the year) about what they hope to have accomplished by the end of grade 2. Students planned, drafted and published their letters, identifying goals that are achievable as well as congratulations to themselves on their potential successes. It will be great to revisit these letters at the end of the year to see what came true and how they have grown and changed.
We built this city…
‘I think that if we all have electric cars in the future we won’t have things like petrol stations’ – Aslan.
We have continued our investigation into cities, then and now, with the students designing and constructing cities, houses or important buildings in the construction space. From shopping centres like Barkly Square, to ‘modern’ and ‘Old’ houses, to electric cars, to airports and aeroplanes, the students have been exploring what makes a city, and what our cities of the future could look like.
‘I created two designs of houses, the more modern one is bigger, big houses use a lot more electricity and take up a lot of space’ – Finn
‘We decided to make a shopping centre with all the things in the one place so that you don’t need to travel so far to get what you need for food and clothing’ – Van and Leo O.
The play must go on
Neighbourhood 2 had the luxury of watching a play written by their peers during Garma (our weekly neighborhood celebration and sharing of learning experiences). The students organised tickets, popcorn, security and even a soundtrack to accompany their performance. Special mentions to director Billie and co-stars Esther and Lulu for such a wonderful performance.