Teaching and Learning News
Term Four is already two weeks in and students are engaged in Inquiry learning.
In a primary school, subjects other than English, Mathematics, Religious Education and those taught by specialist teachers (Performing and Visual Arts, Languages other than English and Physical Education) are taught in a combined and interconnected way.
This makes the learning connected, purposeful and manageable. We call this Inquiry Learning.
Teachers design journeys of inquiry with and for learners that help them see connections across learning areas and between ‘school’ learning and the world beyond school.
They teach learners how to collaborate as they investigate problems, projects and passions.
Inquiry learning is a process and it is ultimately the skills and dispositions of the learner that are as important as the content.
Taking an inquiry approach to learning means you have to be a researcher, a thinker, a self-manager, a communicator and a collaborator.
Teachers plan an Inquiry for their students based on their knowledge of a broad curriculum so they can address as many Victorian Curriculum outcomes as relevant. Big concepts that drive Inquiry Units include change, sustainability, history, culture, ecosystems and relationships.
Every couple of weeks, on Seesaw, class teachers provide an overview of learning for the following two or three weeks.
This is so you know the big ideas and key learnings and can support your child's learning and connect their in school learning with real world learning.
You are encouraged to share your own knowledge, help them to access relevant resources like experts, books and videos and discuss your experiences of the topic.
You might take them to places to build their knowledge of the topic and ask probing questions and draw their attention to relevant past experiences.
The Units of Inquiry for Term 4 are as follows:
Year level | Inquiry title and big question | Snap shot of the Inquiry |
Prep/Ones | What lives here? | A science inquiry into living and non living things and the features and needs of animals. |
Year Two | How does it grow? | A Science inquiry into habitats and living things and their habitats and their features that let them survive in different habitats |
Year Three/Four | What is beneath my feet? | An Science inquiry into our earth and how our surroundings are formed and shaped including the changes to soils, rocks and landscapes caused by natural processes and human actions. |
Year Five/Six | How is energy created and what role does it play in our lives? | A Science inquiry into various sources of energy; light, sound, solar, electrical, magnetic and alternative sources of energy. |
We look forward to all learners in your home, young and not so young, journeying together as inquirers in Term 4.
Denise Kelly and Elise Coghlan
Deputy Principaland Literacy & Numeracy Leader