Year 5/6
We have had a lovely two weeks of learning. This week was a little sad as we finished our class novel, Once, and what a journey it has been! The story captivated the class from beginning to end, with many students describing it as emotional, thought-provoking and impossible to put down. We shared moments of laughter, suspense and sadness as we followed Felix's remarkable story. It has certainly sparked a love of reading, with many students now eager to continue with the rest of the series. A truly memorable book that will stay with us for a long time, with some of us close to tears!
Unfortunately, the weather has not been on our side over the past fortnight, with rain preventing us from attending our Wednesday tennis lessons with Birdy at the Tumbarumba Tennis Courts. Instead, the students have been enjoying creating their own WODs (Workout of the Day) an idea borrowed from Mr Francis!
Working in the COLA, students write different exercises on small whiteboards to create a circuit. Each exercise is completed for one minute, followed by a 30-second rest. Some of the activities have included planks, mountain climbers, bicycles, wall sits, running lunges, skipping and everyone’s favourite, burpees! We have also enjoyed a range of warm-up games, including mini Rob the Nest, Ready Set Ball (with a Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes twist) and a netball drill that focused on teamwork, speed and coordination. Through these activities, students have been developing their movement skills, working collaboratively and learning the importance of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.
PD3-MOV-01 Refines and applies movement skills and concepts in a variety of physical activity contexts.
PD3-SPE-01 Creates and participates in physical activities to promote health, safety and wellbeing.
In Mathematics, we have been exploring the topic of measurement and the many different ways we measure the world around us. We began by measuring objects in our classroom and even each other. These practical activities help students understand why different units of measurement are used and develop their ability to select the most appropriate tools and units for a given task.
The students then designed and tested paper planes, estimating how far they would fly before measuring the actual distance. Throughout these investigations, students practised drawing and recording data in tables. Learning to estimate is an important mathematical skill, as it helps students develop number sense, make reasonable predictions and check whether their answers are sensible. Comparing their estimates with actual measurements encouraged students to think critically about the reasonableness of their results and refine their understanding of length and distance.
More recently, students investigated the mass of different containers when filled with rice, comparing and measuring the weights of various objects. This hands-on investigation strengthened students’ understanding of mass and provided opportunities to solve practical problems using measurement concepts. The students have thoroughly enjoyed these investigations, especially when we have been able to take our learning outdoors. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm for hands-on learning and their growing confidence in applying mathematical concepts to real-world situations.
MA3-RN-03 Solves problems involving the multiplication and division of natural numbers, fractions.
MA3-3DS-01Measures and constructs three-dimensional objects and applies measurement concepts to solve problems.
MA3-RN-02 Represents and orders numbers, and applies place value understanding and multiplicative thinking in a range of contexts.