geography | OpenSTEM Pty Ltd

This Week in HASS – term 2, week 2

It is hoped that by now all the school routine is shaking back down into place. No doubt you’ve all got ANZAC Day marked on your class calendars, and this may be a good time to revisit some of the celebrations with the younger students. This week our younger students are looking at types of homes and local Aboriginal groups. Students in Year 3 are investigating climate zones and biomes of Australia, while students in Years 4 to 6 are looking at Europe in the ‘Age of Discovery’ (the 15th to 18th centuries).

Foundation/Prep to Year 3

Students in our stand-alone Foundation/Prep class (Unit F.2), in line with the name of the unit “Where We Live”, are examining different types of homes and talking about how people get the things they need (such as shelter, warmth etc) from their homes. Students examine a wide range of different types of homes including freestanding houses, apartments, townhouses, as well as boats, caravans and other less conventional homes.

Students in integrated Foundation/Prep classes (Unit F.6) and in years 1 (Unit 1.2), 2 (Unit 2.2) and 3 (Unit 3.2) are finding out about their local Aboriginal groups, in the area of their school. Students will be considering how the groups are connected to the land and what changes they have seen since they first arrived in that area, thousands of years before. Remember, if you need information about your local Aboriginal group, feel free to contact us and ask.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Year 3, doing the Unit “Exploring Climates” (Unit 3.6) are consolidating work done last week on climate zones and the biomes of Australia. This week they are focusing on matching the climate zone to the region of Australia. Students in Years 4 (Unit 4.2), 5 (Unit 5.2) and 6 (Unit 6.2) are shifting focus across to Europe in the 15th to 18th centuries – the ‘Age of Discovery’.

This sets the scene for further examinations of explorers and the research project students will undertake this term, as well as introducing students to the conditions in Europe which later led to colonisation, thereby providing some important background information for Australian history in Term 3. Students can examine Spain, Portugal and England and the role that they played in exploring the world at this time.

Science!

Did you know: the Understanding Our World™ program also fully covers the Science component of the Australian Curriculum at each year level, integrated with the HASS materials!

In line with the Age of Discovery explorer theme, student start their Science activity: “Ancient Sailing Ships“. A perennial favourite with students, this activity involves making a simple model sailing ship and then examining the forces acting on the ship, the properties of different parts of the ships and the materials from which they were made, examining different types of sails (square-rigged versus lateen-rigged), as well as considering the phases of matter associated with sailing ships.

Some schools set up water troughs and fans and race the ships against each other, which causes much excitement! This activity also helps students understand some of the challenges faced by explorers who travelled the world in similar vessels.

This Week in HASS – term 2, week 1

Welcome to the new school term, and we hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Many of our students are writing NAPLAN this term, so the HASS program provides a refreshing focus on something different, whilst practising skills that will help students prepare for NAPLAN without even realising it! Both literacy and numeracy are foundation skills of much of the broader curriculum and are reinforced within our HASS program as well. Meantime our younger students are focusing on local landscapes this term, while our older students are studying explorers of different continents.

Foundation to Year 3

Our youngest students (Foundation/Prep Unit F.2) start the term by looking at different types of homes. A wide selection of places can be homes for people around the world, so students can compare where they live to other types of homes. Students in integrated Foundation/Prep and Years 1 to 3 (Units F.6; 1.2; 2.2 and 3.2) start their examination of the local landscape by examining how Aboriginal people arrived in Australia 60,000 years ago. They learn how modern humans expanded across the world during the last Ice Age, reaching Australia via South-East Asia. Starting with this broad focus allows them to narrow down in later weeks, finally focusing on their local community.

Year 3 to Year 6

Students in Years 3 to 6 (Units 3.6; 4.2; 5.2 and 6.2) are looking at explorers this term. Each year level focuses on explorers of a different part of the world. Year 3 students investigate different climate zones and explorers of extreme climate areas (such as the Poles, or the Central Deserts of Australia). Year 4 students examine Africa and South America and investigate how European explorers during the ‘Age of Discovery‘ encountered different environments, animals and people on these continents. The students start with prehistory and this week they are looking at how Ancient Egyptians and Bantu-speaking groups explored Africa thousands of years ago. They also examine Great Zimbabwe. Year 5 students are studying North America, and this week are starting with the Viking voyages to Greenland and Newfoundland, in the 10th century. Year 6 students focus on Asia, and start with a study in Economics by examining the Dutch East India Company of the 17th and 18th centuries. (Remember HASS for years 5 and 6 includes History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business – we cover it all, plus Science!)

You might be wondering how on earth we integrate such apparently disparate topics for multi-year classes! Well, our Teacher Handbooks are full of tricks to make teaching these integrated classes a breeze. The Teacher Handbooks with lesson plans and hints for how to integrate across year levels are included, along with the Student Workbooks, Model Answers and Assessment Guides, within our bundles for each unit. Teachers using these units have been thrilled at how easy it is to use our material in multi-year level classes, whilst knowing that each student is covering curriculum-appropriate material for their own year level.

This Week in HASS – term 1, week 8

As we move into the final weeks of term, and the Easter holiday draws closer, our youngest students are looking at different kinds of celebrations in Australia. Students in years 1 to 3 are looking at their global family and students in years 3 to 6 are chasing Aunt Madge around the world, being introduced to Eratosthenes and examining Shadows and Light.

Foundation to Year 3

Our standalone Foundation/Prep students (Unit F.1) are studying celebrations in Australia and thinking about which is their favourite. It may well be Easter with its bunnies and chocolate eggs, which lies just around the corner now! They also get a chance to consider whether we should add any extra celebrations into our calendar in Australia. Those Foundation/Prep students in an integrated class with Year 1 students (Unit F.5), as well as Year 1 (Unit 1.1), 2 (Unit 2.1) and 3 (Unit 3.1) students are investigating where they, and other family members, were born and finding these places on the world map. Students are also examining features of the world map – including the different continents, North and South Poles, the equator and the oceans. Students also get a chance to undertake the Aunt Madge’s Suitcase Activity, in which they follow Aunt Madge around the world, learning about different countries and landmarks, as they go. Aunt Madge’s Suitcase is extremely popular with students of all ages – as it can easily be adapted to cover material at different depths. The activity encourages students to interact with the world map, whilst learning to recognise major natural and cultural landmarks in Australia and around the world.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Year 3 (Unit 3.5), who are integrated with Year 4, as well as the Year 4 (Unit 4.1), 5 (Unit 5.1) and 6 (Unit 6.1) students, have moved on to a new set of activities this week. The older students approach the Aunt Madge’s Suitcase Activity in more depth, deriving what items Aunt Madge has packed in her suitcase to match the different climates which she is visiting, as well as delving into each landmark visited in more detail. These landmarks are both natural and cultural and, although several are in Australia, examples are given from around the world, allowing teachers to choose their particular focus each time the activity is undertaken. As well as following Aunt Madge, students are introduced to Eratosthenes. Known as the ‘Father of Geography’, Eratosthenes also calculated the circumference of the Earth. There is an option for teachers to overlap with parts of the Maths curriculum here. Eratosthenes also studied the planets and used shadows and sunlight for his calculations, which provides the link for the Science activities – Shadows and Light, Sundials and Planets of the Solar System.

Next week is the last week of our first term units. By now students have completed the bulk of their work for the term, and teachers are able to assess most of the HASS areas already.

This Week in HASS – term 1, week 7

This week our youngest students are looking in depth at different types of celebrations; slightly older students are examining how people got around in the ‘Olden Days’; and our older primary students have some extra time to finish their activities from last week.

Foundation to Year 3

In the stand-alone Foundation (Prep) unit (F.1), students are discussing celebrations – which ones do we recognise in Australia, how these compare with celebrations overseas, and what were these celebrations like in days gone by. Our integrated Foundation (Prep) unit (F.5) and students in Years 1 (1.1), 2 (2.1) and 3 (3.1), are examining Transport in the Past – how did their grandparents get around? How did people get around 100 years ago? How did kids get to school? How did people do the shopping? Students even get to dream about how we might get around in the future…

Years 3 to 6

At OpenSTEM we recognise that good activities, which engage students and allow for real learning, take time. Nobody likes to get really excited about something and then be rushed through it and quickly moved on to something else. This part of the unit has lots of hands-on activities for Year 3 (3.5) students in an integrated class with Year 4, as well as Year 4 (4.1), 5 (5.1) and 6 (6.1) students. In recognition of that, two weeks are allowed for the students to really get into making Ice Ages and mud bricks, and working out how to survive the challenges of living in a Neolithic village – including how to trade, count and write. Having enough time allows for consolidation of learning, as well as allowing teachers to potentially split the class into different groups engaged in different activities, and then rotate the groups through the activities over a 2 week period.

Upcoming free event in Brisbane (24 November): Understanding Our World – showcase @ Seville (Holland Park)

At the start of 2016, Seville Road State School replaced their existing History and Geography units with the integrated Understanding Our World HASS + Science materials developed by OpenSTEM. As this school year draws to a close, we’d like to invite you to come and celebrate the marvellous outcomes that the students and teachers have achieved: Thursday 24 November 2016, 3:30pm.

This is your perfect opportunity to look at the materials and actual class work, as well as ask lots of questions! Meet with Cheryl Rowe (Principal), Andrea Budd (Head of Curriculum), several teachers, OpenSTEM’s Arjen Lentz (Chief Explorer) and Dr Claire Reeler, who leads the Understanding Our World program development.

Join us on Thursday 24 November 2016, 3:30pm at Seville Road State School library!

Free event. RSVP today. Drinks and nibbles will be provided.

You can also download this invite as a PDF leaflet to pass on to others.

What is Understanding Our World ?

Complete integrated units, 4 units per year level
Prep to Year 6, with multi-year level integration:
- P-2: History and Geography + Science
- 3-4: History, Geography and Civics & Citizenship + Science
- 5-6: History, Geography, Civics & Citizenship and Economics & Business + Science
Aligned with the Australian Curriculum for HASS + Science (comprehensive)
Assessment tasks aligned with achievement standards in the Australian Curriculum
Teacher handbooks, student workbooks, assessment guides
Hundreds of beautiful colour resource PDFs with many custom maps and photos
More information: https://openstem.com.au/programs/understanding-our-world

Can’t make it on the 24^th?
Contact OpenSTEM to arrange a visit to your school and discuss implementation options.

New Viking Site in North America

The Vikings were the first Europeans to reach North America, more than 1000 years ago. The Vikings established settlements and traded with indigenous people in North America for about 400 years, finally abandoning the continent less than 100 years before Columbus’ voyage.

The story of the Vikings’ exploits in North America provides not only additional context to the history of human exploration, but also matches ideally to the study of the Geography of North America, as the names used by the Vikings for areas in North America provide a perfect match to the biomes in these regions.

Long consigned to the realms of myth within Norse sagas, the first archaeological evidence of the truth of the old stories of “Vinland” (Newfoundland) was uncovered by a Norwegian archaeologist in 1960. In recent years archaeologists have uncovered yet more evidence of Viking settlements in North America. OpenSTEM is delighted to share this story of how satellite technology is assisting this process, as we publish our own resource on the Vikings in North America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/science/vikings-archaeology-north-america-newfoundland.html

The site was identified last summer after satellite images showed possible man-made shapes under discoloured vegetation on the Newfoundland coast.