From the 5/6 Classrooms
Year 5/6 History of Melbourne Excursion
Written by the Year 6 Administration Pillar
Paige 5/6T, Ariana 5/6B, Olvin 5/6M, Matthew R 5/6M, Gavin 5/6T, Athea 5/6B, Daniel 5/6B, Chloe 5/6M, Indie 5/6T, Eva 5/6B, Yuvaan 5/6M and Cindy 5/6M
On Thursday May 14th, the Year 5/6 students travelled into the city for an exciting day of learning. We took part in a Melbourne Colonial Era Walking Tour, followed by a visit to ACMI and the Wurrdha Marra exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
Throughout the day, we explored how Melbourne has changed over time and learned about the people, stories and events that helped shape our city and nation.
We began our walking tour at Birrarung Marr, where we learned about the Birrarung, meaning “River of Mists,” and the importance of the Kulin Nation before European settlement in 1835. We discussed the impact that explorers and settlers had on First Nations peoples and considered how Melbourne’s history can be viewed from different perspectives.
As we walked through the city, we visited important historical sites including Federation Square, St Paul's Cathedral, Block Arcade, Royal Arcade and Melbourne’s historic General Post Office. We discovered that stones on the ground at Federation Square actually contain fish fossils!
We learned about the gold rush and how it helped Melbourne grow into “Marvellous Melbourne.” We also explored how the Eureka demonstrations contributed to democracy in Australia and how Federation helped shape the country we know today. Along the way, we examined colonial architecture, old warehouses, arcades and Melbourne’s famous tram system, discovering how the city developed during the 1800s. During the tour, we also learnt about people who have shaped Melbourne.
At ACMI, we visited The Story of the Moving Image exhibition. We explored how film, television, videogames and digital media have changed over time and how storytellers use light, sound, colour and movement to entertain and communicate ideas.
One of the highlights was using the interactive exhibits to create sound effects, experiment with animation and explore movie-making techniques. We received a Lens device, which allowed us to collect our favourite exhibits and continue our learning back at home.
We also visited the Wurrdha Marra exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. “Wurrdha Marra” means “Many Mobs” in the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung language, and the exhibition celebrates the diversity and creativity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and design.
We viewed a range of artworks including woven fish traps, sculptures and paintings.
The excursion was a great opportunity to connect our classroom learning with real-world experiences.
Home Learning
A friendly reminder that each week, students are expected to complete the following:
Nightly Reading: 20 - 30 minutes each night, choosing a mix of fiction and non-fiction texts that interest them
Weekly SMART Spelling: practise their spelling words each night using a Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check process. Additional activities are also provided in students' Home Learning books to further reinforce spelling skills and word knowledge.
Mathematics Grid: complete one task from the Mathematics Grid each week. Parents sign once the task is completed.
For students who are still developing recall of multiplication facts up to 10 × 10, regular practice at home is strongly encouraged.
Optional Online Tasks: Optional My Numeracy and My Literacy tasks are available through Essential Assessment for students to explore online.
Students are to bring their Home Learning Book and School Diary to and from school each day.