STEM News

Dear fellow scientists,

This week, our Prep students have been learning to draw a pictograph independently. They counted the rigid and flexible materials shown on a laminated sheet and then drew the correct number of each material in their graph.

Our Grade 1 students have been busy investigating magnets! They made predictions, recorded their results, and compared their findings. Working together in groups, students tested objects such as paperclips, marbles, and aluminium foil cubes to see if they were attracted to a magnetic wand. Watch this video to learn more about magnets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXCeuSiTOug 

Grade 2 students are learning to use their prior knowledge to investigate and plan their Life Cycle Design Project. Working in groups, they decided which life cycle to explore — such as a chicken, frog, or butterfly. This project is helping them understand how living things grow and change while building their skills in planning and designing scientific investigations.

Grade 3 students are learning how to classify plants based on their features. They are exploring how Australian native plants are different, identifying their unique characteristics, and then classifying them into groups. This is helping them understand the amazing diversity of plants in our environment. Watch this video about a strawberry from seed time-lapse in 160 days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HABzhzcm_pg

Grade 4 students have been learning about food chains and what happens when they are disrupted by a disaster. They explored events that may change a food chain and described how each part is affected. This is helping them understand how all living things are connected in an ecosystem. Watch this video on predict how changes in an ecosystem affect food webs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V50Pw-oagGs 

Grade 5 students have been learning how to plan and carry out scientific investigations about how gases behave. They asked investigable questions, made predictions, recorded and processed data, and represented their findings in graphs. Watch this video on states of matter -gases: https://www.clickview.net/primary/videos/85229212/states-of-matter-gases?context=widget&contextId=346550075041808384 

Grade 6 students have been learning how engineers design buildings to withstand earthquakes. They planned, produced, and built their own structures, then tested them in a simulated earthquake! Working in groups, students selected materials, ordered the steps of their project, followed a design plan, and finally evaluated how strong their structure was when shaken. Watch this video on earthquakes: https://www.clickview.net/primary/videos/80352704/earthquakes 

STEM team