special places | OpenSTEM Pty Ltd

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 7

This week our younger students are preparing for their play/ role-playing presentation, whilst older students are practising a full preferential count to determine the outcome of their Class Election.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Our youngest students in Foundation/Prep/Kindy (Unit F.4) and integrated classes with Year 1 (Unit F-1.4) are working on the costumes, props and practising getting into character for their People in the Past play. These activities help students to understand the differences and similarities between our lives and those of people in the past. Teachers can use the activities to facilitate discussions around these points. Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.4), 2 (Unit 2.4) and 3 (Unit 3.4) are also preparing for their Different Families Around the World presentation. Students in Year 1 are concentrating on identifying different family members and their roles within the different family structures. Students in Year 2 focus on where the families live, what places are special to them and compare these to the students’ own lives. Students in Year 3 examine communities and how celebrations and special occasions within the community are shared by the families.

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 in the midst of their Class Election activity. This week they determine the outcome of the election, an exciting moment! The result is determined by a full preferential vote count. Using the resource, Preferential Voting, students learn how preferences are allocated on a vote by vote basis. Students who have been chosen to be Election Officers will lay out the ballot papers according to the first preference votes, and then re-allocate the votes according to second preferences, choosing the candidate with the lowest number of votes as the first to have their votes re-allocated. This process is repeated until only 2 piles of votes (for 2 candidates) remain. The teacher can then explain that this stage is called “Two Party Preferred”. Finally the winning candidate, with the highest number of votes, is announced and students then compare this result to the first preference vote to see if there have been any changes. Where there is a clear winner, there will often be no changes, but in a tight result the flow of preferences can make a significant difference.

Undertaking this activity themselves, seeing the votes counted and re-allocated according to preferences and comparing what happens at different stages of the process gives student a deep understanding of how our Australian electoral system works. This will stand them in good stead as they grow up to be responsible citizens with a full understanding of their civic duties and rights and the power of their vote and how to use it effectively.

This Week in HASS – term 4, week 3

This week our youngest students are looking at special places locally and around Australia, slightly older students are considering plants and animals around the world, while our older students are studying aspects of diversity in Australia.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Students in standalone Foundation/Prep/Kindy (Unit F.4) and combined classes with Year 1 (F-1.4) are thinking about special places this week – what places are special to them and their families? What places are special in Australia? This focus gives the teacher a chance to guide the students through the process of considering natural beauty and how we and other agencies, such as the government, can look after special places and places of natural beauty. Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.4), 2 (Unit 2.4) and 3 (Unit 3.4) are continuing their focus on the stories of families from around the world from week 1. This week Year 1 and 2 students are focusing on plants and animals from the places described in the stories in week 1. Students in Year 3 also consider the role of climate in the diversity of plants and animals.

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 studying different aspects of diversity this week. Students in year 3 are looking at Aboriginal people and the environment, in the context of climate. Students in Year 4 consider both Aboriginal people and technology with respect to the Australian environment. Students in year 5 are starting to consider how Aboriginal people’s interactions with the environment over millennia have set the stage for the recognition of Native Title in Australia; while students in year 6 examine the history of Aboriginal suffrage and Native Title in Australia. These studies of diversity in Australia provide information for the students to start planning a celebration of identity and diversity in the last week. Students in Years 3 to 6 also continue with their scientific experiment of growing a plant.

This Week in HASS – term 4, week 2

This week our youngest students are looking at transport in the past, slightly older students consider places that are special to people around the world and our oldest students are considering reasons why people might leave their homes to become migrants.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Students in standalone Foundation/Prep/Kindy classes (Unit F.4), as well as those in combined Foundation/Prep/Kindy and Year 1 classes (Unit F-1.4), are considering how people used to get around in the past. How did students get to school 100 years ago? Students also think about how these modes of transport moved. Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.4), 2 (Unit 2.4) and 3 (Unit 3.4) are continuing their study of families around the world by looking at places that are special to these families. Students will also find these places on the OpenSTEM® “Our World” Blackline World Map, practising their Geography skills. Different year levels will consider different aspects of these places, for example, year 3 students will consider the distance, both geographic and cultural, between these places and Australia; year 2 students will consider which places are natural and which are built and their significance for the people who live there, while year 1 students will compare these places to places that their own families find special.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Year 3 doing Unit 3.8, Celebrating Diversity, will choose a migrant group to study and consider what it is like for people to leave their home country and move to another place. They will also examine the contributions which their group has made to Australian society and look at celebrations special to that group. Students in Year 4 (Unit 4.4) will consider what factors influence people to leave a place and choose somewhere else to live. Students will also examine contact between different groups in Australia and the influence migrants have had on Australian society. Students in year 5 (Unit 5.4) choose a group of migrants to study and consider the changing factors that have influenced migration to Australia over time. Students in year 6 (Unit 6.4) choose a migrant group to study and consider the conditions in the country of origin of the migrant group, how those conditions influenced the migration of those people and how those factors have changed through the course of Australian history. These examinations prepare students to consider the nature of diversity in Australian society in the next lesson.