celebrations | OpenSTEM Pty Ltd

Celebration Time!

Here at OpenSTEM we have a saying “we have a resource on that” and we have yet to be caught out on that one! It is a festive time of year and if you’re looking for resources reflecting that theme, then here are some suggestions:

Celebrations in Australia – a resource covering the occasions we celebrate here in Australia

Celebrations Around the World – a resource comparing some familiar and some different celebrations around the world

Celebrations in the Past – sometimes students can gain a new approach on the past by seeing how familiar celebrations used to be commemorated. This resource looks at a range of celebrations (including Christmas) and has lots of historic photos and images to help students experience a different perspective.

If you’re looking for activities to keep spirits alive in the final weeks of term, or ways of keeping excited young people entertained, then we have some resources which may help:

Games from the Past – students can play a variety of games from around the world and through time. Some of these are good for running around in open spaces and some can be done in the classroom. All of the them tie in to themes that students have covered in HASS subjects through the year.

Food in the Past – if you’re looking for ideas for a class party or other celebration, this resource contains recipes for celebratory foods from around the world and through time – students can experience the past through their taste buds!

If you’re looking for stories – Living in the Past and Children In the Past contain tales of fictional children in realistic historic settings around the world, including Australia.

These are just some of our resources that can be used to brighten up the final weeks of the year and keep students engaged. If you have a subscription, now might be a good time to browse through the site checking for new or updated resources or grabbing that resource that you saw earlier and thought looked interesting.

However you celebrate, all of us at OpenSTEM wish you a very Merry Festive Season and a wonderful start to 2018! We look forward to catching up in the New Year!

Happy Holidays, Queensland!

It’s finally holidays in Queensland! Yay! Congratulations to everyone for a wonderful year and lots of hard work! Hope you all enjoy a well-earned rest!

Most other states and territories have only a week to go, but the holiday spirit is in the air.-

Should you be looking for help with resources, rest assured that the team at OpenSTEM are not yet on holiday, so feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

This Week in HASS – term 4, week 9

Well, we’re almost at the end of the year!! It’s a time when students and teachers alike start to look forward to the long, summer break. Generally a time for celebrations and looking back over the highlights of the year – which is reflected in the activities for the final lessons of the Understanding Our World® HASS Units. All of the Understanding Our World® HASS Units run over 9 weeks, to make sure that everyone has a chance to breathe and catch up on the inevitable weeks when other activities cut short lesson times. So this week is the last week of our HASS units for the year!

Foundation / Kindy / Prep to Year 3

Our youngest students in Foundation/Prep/Kindy (Unit F.4) and those in classes integrated with Year 1 (Unit F-1.4) are performing their class play: “People in the Past” this week. This performance brings together their work over the whole term, from the stories read in the first lesson, to the props and costumes prepared and the lines and individual performances practised. Furthermore, aspects of the year-long approach to learning about how the past (and others’ experiences) differ from today are brought together. It is also a great opportunity for parents and other carers to attend and see what their children have been working on. Since assessment is already completed, teachers can encourage students to just enjoy the performance, without feeling stressed about how it goes on the day – also a great vehicle for dealing with issues around resilience and supporting each other.

Slightly older students in Years 1 (Unit 1.4), 2 (Unit 2.4) and 3 (Unit 3.4) are also presenting their dramatisation or other presentation this week. Students in Year 1 have been comparing family structures from around the world and re-examining families in Australia. Students in Year 2 focus on the places special to families around the world, including Australia; while students in Year 3 focus on communities and the families within them in different countries around the world, including Australia.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Year 3 (Unit 3.8), 4 (Unit 4.4), 5 (Unit 5.4) and 6 (Unit 6.4) are celebrating with a class party this week! The party may be influenced by treats won through the Class Election held earlier in the term. Using one of the suggested Diversity themes for the party enables students to explore aspects covered throughout the term (and over the course of the year). Whether or not food is included in the party, students have a chance to explore cultural diversity through choosing decorations and colours, music, dress and other indicators of cultural identity. Students in Year 3 examine diversity within Australian communities by choosing from cultural groups in local communities. Students in Year 4 have been encouraged to consider the cultural identity of different Aboriginal groups, and others, within Australian society. Students in Year 5 incorporate what they have learned about people from Britain and Europe, as well as others, who came to Australia and their contributions to our society. Students in Year 6 have excellent opportunities to include aspects of Asian cultures, represented by people who have come to Australia from different parts of Asia. Students may even be able to enjoy the fruits of their Growing a Plant science activity, as part of their celebration!

It is hoped that for all students the year can end on a high note, with lots of fun celebrations! Teachers can relax, confidant in the knowledge that their students have covered the entire curriculum, with all strands, for all the HASS subjects (including History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business), as well as Science. The students are thus excellently prepared for their move up to a new year level next year, and Year 6s can move on to high school with a firm foundation, having already learnt many of the techniques and skills that will be built upon in secondary school.

This Week in HASS – term 4, week 8

Well, the end of term is in sight! End of year reporting is in full swing and the Understanding Our World® activities are designed to keep students engaged whilst minimising requirements for teachers, especially over these critical weeks. The current activities for all year levels are tailored to require minimal teaching, allowing teacher aides and other helpers to assist students while teachers can be free to concentrate on reporting and other requirements. All year levels have now passed the threshold of completing all curriculum material for the year for all HASS subjects as well as Science, so no more formal assessment is needed. The final weeks are focused on fun, whilst carrying the themes covered earlier in the term, and year, forwards, so that the fun enhances the learning, rather than detracting from it.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Our youngest students in standalone Foundation/Prep/Kindy classes (Unit F.4) or integrated with Year 1 (Unit F-1.4) are doing the final preparations for their play next week. Costumes should be finalised, whilst the students practise their lines and using props. Those classes which have chosen not to dress-up should be finalising their drawings of their characters and the equipment they could use. Students will say their lines and explain their drawings and what their character is doing. Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.4), 2 (Unit 2.4) and 3 (Unit 3.4) are also preparing for their presentation or dramatisation next week. Students in Year 1 are considering the roles of each member of their role-play family group – who does the cooking or cleaning, who works outside the home? Students in Year 2 are considering the role of technology in the lives of their chosen group – what technology do they use for which purposes? Students should also be encouraged to consider where this group lives and how practical it would be to travel to where they live from where the students live – what technology would be involved? Students in Year 3 are considering the roles of their characters in the community where their chosen group lives and whether any representatives of similar groups are present in their local community.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Years 3 (Unit 3.8), 4 (Unit 4.4), 5 (Unit 5.4) and 6 (Unit 6.4) are reaping the benefits of their class election and moving on to plan a celebration for the last week of term. The theme of the celebration is “Diversity in Australia” and students will look back to the migrant group they studied earlier in the term to gain ideas to add to the celebration. Teachers can decide whether food will be included in this celebration, or not. If not, it is recommended that students prepare a menu of the sort of foods that their group might have at a celebration. Other aspects to include may be music, symbols and decorations or even national dress. Students in Year 3 will have chosen from a wide range of possible migrant groups earlier in the term or may also choose an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander group. Students in Year 4 will have concentrated on groups from South-East Asia and Australasia. Students in Year 5 will have chosen a group from Europe, Britain or Western Asia, whilst students in Year 6 will have chosen mainly groups of migrants from Asia. Some students may wish to include Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural representations in the celebration.

To complement this celebration, some students may have plants, from their Scientific Investigation, which can now be used in the celebration, either contributing resources, such as tomatoes, or perhaps flowering or having other characteristics which represent a migrant group.

This Week in HASS – term 4, week 1

The last term of the school year – traditionally far too short and crowded with many events, both at and outside of school. OpenSTEM’s® Understanding Our World® program for HASS + Science ensures that not only are the students kept engaged with interesting material, but that teachers can relax, knowing that all curriculum-relevant material is covered by the middle of the term, ensuring enough time for marking and preparation of reports. Furthermore, following the OpenSTEM® Understanding Our World® program across an entire year guarantees that your students have met the curriculum requirements for all of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business (HASS) and Science for the whole year, matched to their year-level, even in multi-year level classes. This term our youngest students are reviewing some of the material covered earlier in the year and then preparing for a Play (with props and dress-ups) matched to this material. Students in Years 1 to 3 examine modern families around the world and then prepare a short presentation or dramatisation based on what they have learned. Older students are studying migrants and cultural identity and using the information to plan an end-of-year celebration of cultural diversity. These students also hold a class election, with preferential voting.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Our youngest students – those in Foundation/Prep/Kindy (Unit F.4) and combined classes with Year 1 (Unit F-1.4) are start the term by reviewing Celebrations (this is a great time to grab that Class Calendar and look ahead to Christmas!). They then examine how people celebrated these occasions in the past. Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.4), 2 (Unit 2.4) and 3 (Unit 3.4) start looking at Modern Families Around the World. This resource includes stories about families in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. Teachers can choose from these stories to tailor the unit to the class’s needs and interests. Students are encouraged to consider family and community structures around the world and compare them to their own.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Years 3 (Unit 3.8), 4 (Unit 4.4), 5 (Unit 5.4) and 6 (Unit 6.4) start the year by examining their own Ancestry, prior to looking at Migration and Diversity. Students interact with the OpenSTEM® “Our World” map, in order to gain an understanding of the wide range of places around the world in which Australians have their ancestry. Students in Year 3 will be focusing on diversity in Australian society over the next few weeks and will choose a group of migrants to study in more detail. Resources on several migrant groups are available to complement this unit. Students in Year 4 will focus on Australia’s connections to other parts of the world through time and will study either a group of Aboriginal people, or members of other groups with whom Aboriginal people had early contact, such as Macassan traders, or Europeans. Students in Year 5 will focus on migrants from European countries, such as the Irish, Greek or Italian communities. Students in Year 6 will focus on migrants from Asian countries, such as the Chinese or Vietnamese communities.

Students in Years 3 to 6 will also grow a plant from a seed, as a Science experiment, linked to their HASS studies. Students have the option to choose a plant brought to Australia by the migrant group or other community which they are studying. They will investigate when this plant arrived in Australia, from where it came, what conditions it needs to thrive and what cultural importance it has for the group. The linking of these areas of focus helps add additional relevance and immediacy to the curriculum material for students.

This Week in HASS – term 3, week 6

This week all our students are hard at work examining the objects they are using for their research projects. For the younger students these are objects that will be used to generate a Class Museum. For the older students, the objects of study relate to their chosen topic in Australian History.

Foundation / Prep / Kindy to Year 3

Students in Foundation/Prep/Kindy (Unit F.3) are examining items from the past and completing their Scientific Report by drawing these items in the Method section of the report. We also ask students to analyse their Data by drawing a picture of how people would have used that item in the past. Students in combined Foundation/Prep/Kindy and Year 1 classes (Unit F-1.3), as well as students in Year 1 (Unit 1.3), 2 (Unit 2.3) and 3 (Unit 3.3) are also addressing the Method, Data and Analysis sections of their report by listing, describing and drawing the sources and information which the teacher has helped them to locate. The sources should include items which can be used to make a Class Museum, as well as old photographs, paintings, books, newspapers etc. Teachers can guide class discussions around how items were used in the past – which are familiar, and which are not and compare with the stories read in the first weeks of term.

Years 3 to 6

Older students are expected to analyse their Data in increasing detail relevant to their year-level, as well as listing sources in the Method section of their Scientific Reports. Students in Year 4 (Unit 4.3) are researching a topic from Australia at the time of contact with Europeans, which includes topics in Aboriginal and early colonial history. Students should consider each source and what information they can get from the source. In addition students should think about how objects, pictures and texts were used in the past and what inherent biases might be present. Students in Year 5 (Unit 5.3) are researching a topic from Australian colonial history. Teachers should guide students through the process of determining whether they are dealing with a primary or secondary source, as well as how to use that source to learn more about the past. Inherent bias in different sources should be discussed. Students in Year 6 (Unit 6.3) are researching a topic surrounding Federation and events in Australia in the early 20th century. Many of the sources available contain both primary and secondary information and students should be starting to develop an understanding of how to use, analyse and reference these sources. In preparation for the requirements of high school, teachers should guide these students through the process of building an interpretation of their analysis which is substantiated through reference to their sources (listed in the Bibliography of their report). Students should be able to show where they got their information and how they are interpreting that information. For students in Year 6, the Student Workbook is more of a guide for writing a complete Scientific Report, which they are expected to compile more or less independently.