HASS | OpenSTEM Pty Ltd

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.

History and Geography for Primary program

OpenSTEM’s History and Geography for Primary program provides an integrated curriculum implementation, which aims to provide holistic learning for students in both Key Learning Areas. By integrating History and Geography, not only is the level of engagement higher, as students are able to gain a more rounded understanding of processes in places through time, but the time needed for teaching is optimised.

With complete lesson plans!

Australian Curriculum

The program is tailored exactly to the requirements of the Australian Curriculum so that all curriculum strands in both curricula are addressed efficiently. The focus is on providing a broad overview of global events and then focussing in on specific issues. A particular focal point, as determined by the Australian Curriculum, is Australian History, with Aboriginal History, sustainability and the environment as important foci as well.

Our Approach

Student engagement is the primary aim of this curriculum implementation and a range of activities ensure that learning takes place in a very hands-on and multimodal way.

Scientific research has identified that children are more engaged, with better retention of information, when a range of input stimuli are provided. In particular, visual and kinaesthetic methods of input have the broadest range of uptake of information in pre-puberty age groups. OpenSTEM’s blend of activities and resources addresses these methods directly.

The material is designed so as to provide for flexibility in use. Teachers can choose to utilise the individual resources within their own teaching framework, or they can choose to use the detailed weekly lesson plans as laid out in the Teacher Handbook. A Student Workbook is also provided, with a continual assessment option, to complete the package.

OpenSTEM uses particular techniques (such as coloured words within the text) which address a range of learning styles and have been shown to increase focus for students with concentration challenges.

Availability

The term 1 teacher units and supporting resources are now available, and already in use by some schools. Additional units and resources are made available progressively during this first year of this program, and updated thereafter.

You may purchase individual teacher units and resource PDFs, or subscribe (from an individual teacher or family to an entire school) and get the teacher units at half price and the resource PDFs for free!

You can also download some sample PDFs (at no cost, no login/details required) so that you are able to see and assess the quality of our materials.

If you need more information and for any questions you may have, please contact us.

Cross-curricular options

OpenSTEM’s History and Geography program provides a range of cross-curricular options. In particular Science extensions are provided to address the Science curriculum. Some aspects of the Mathematics curriculum also follow naturally from this material.

These cross-curricular components help students apply newly learnt concepts and skills in a broader context.

Multi-Year-Level

OpenSTEM materials are designed to be adapted for use in multi-year level classrooms. Suggested implementations for multi-year level classes are provided in the Teacher Handbook for each unit.

In some cases the same resources and topics are used by different year levels and it is the depth of understanding and analysis required which is all that changes between the year levels. The Student Workbook for each unit reflects the differing requirements for different year levels. Using this structure, the teacher is not trying to teach different material simultaneously in order to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum.

Homeschoolers

Homeschooling parents also have great flexibility in their use of this material. The program is designed to be easily adaptable for the homeschooling situation. Parents can choose to use the resources within their own program, or allow the student to explore the material as their interest leads them. Alternatively, the parent can use the Teacher Handbook and Student Workbook to provide a series of lessons, knowing they will thus match all the curriculum requirements.

Non-linear learners can approach the student workbook in a non-linear fashion, referring to the matching resources as required in order to engage with the material. Using this material, the parent can tailor the learning to match the speed, abilities and particular challenges of each student.

The potential for extension and acceleration will suit students with those particular needs, whilst the shift between broad and narrow focus in the resources will provide consolidation for those students who need more time to work through learning material.