Inquiry: Our Systems, Our World, Ourselves
Current big idea: Systems are interconnected
Systems have been showing up everywhere as students spotted connections all around them.
Water and electrical systems have been of particular interest to students. In gardening we had rich discussions about Princes Hill Primary’s rainwater and drinking water systems, exploring the connections between drains, tanks, toilets and our vegetable garden. Working in the construction space, students considered water and electricity sources and distribution as they constructed towns out of paper, applying mathematical thinking to calculate populations and overall needs.
The lead up to Reconciliation Week and our Reconciliation assembly has taken the neighbourhood by a storm as students learnt more about the connections between ecosystems and Wurrundjeri seasons. Students undertook research focusing on specific seasons and are excited to share their learnings. We have also been reflecting on the importance of learning from Indigenous knowledges and caring for Country.
Students’ posters alongside short speeches they’ve written to be presented to the school community at our Reconciliation assembly.
Our lacrosse incursion was a new experience for most students, they showed a great positive attitude to their learning and worked collaboratively to practise their new skills. It will be exciting to see them develop into even greater lacrosse fans when we do it again next Monday!
As readers we are continuing to build our strategies as questioners, clarifiers and summarisers to deepen our understanding of texts. Book Clubs continue to be a space for these discussions to occur.
Leading up to Reconciliation Week we also shared two texts during our morning home group meetings. These texts, Day Break by Amy McGuire and Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes helped us deepen our understanding of Indigenous cultures in Australia and the impact of European colonisation.
Next steps:
Mathematics
Students will be engaging with diverse representations of fractions, using physical manipulatives to build their understanding of the language and possibilities of fractions. Highlighting the way you use fractions at home will help them see the wide variety of ways we can see the world and the systems in it mathematically.
Writing
As writers we will be taking our researched words about indigenous Victorian species and organising them under subheadings, thinking about which information we want to convey and how best to do this.
Spelling foci: Dropping e when adding y, making words past tense by adding -d or -ed.
We will begin tuning in to our next big idea in our collective inquiry: Our understandings influence our decisions.
3/4N2