Science

Communicating with the Specialist Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2024, and welcome your input:

Hayley Oliver (Science)  Hayley.Oliver@education.vic.gov.au

Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and were able to take some time out, to spend as a family. I am excited to be back teaching Science again this year and am looking forward to seeing what the year holds. I know there have been a few excited whispers over the though of studying Space, later in the year! I’m excited too!

All the students from years three to six, started this year with a discussion about the expectations in the Science room, in relation to our school values, respect, responsibility and resilience. Students shared their ideas and I have put their words into our Science behaviour matrix, for all to see as a reminder of their ideas and their own values. 

This term we are studying Chemistry. After we unpacked out behaviour matrix and discusses expectations in the Science room, I introduced the students to the Periodic table of Elements. I have put the link to one of the songs we listened to about atoms, as they all particularly enjoyed this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLp9ihOYjjM

Below is the link to the elements song, which we didn’t get a chance to listen to in class, but I thought you might like to share with your kids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgVQKCcfwnU

Although at a primary school level students don’t need to know the elements, we had a discussion about what the numbers and the symbols on the element mean. Students were then given a copy of the table and had a go at making their own name out the elements, of course all the ‘J’ and ‘Q’ names had no element, so they were able to make up their own element! I was so proud of every student for attempting this task. I am in the process of getting them up on display (it’s a lot of letters to organise), but it’s already looking great! 

Level 3/4 Learning: 

This term in Chemistry, the Grade 3/4 students are learning about solids and liquids and that they can change state by adding or removing heat. This week I introduced them to the terms solid and liquid and we had a discussion around what the definition of each might be. I then brought in some melted solids and the students had to guess what the object was originally and what shape it may have been before I melted it. We had lots of interesting guesses and focussed discussions!

Level 5/6 Learning: 

This term in Chemistry, the Grade 5/6 students are learning about reversible and irreversible changes to materials. I tried to trick them with Skittles! They had to put the Skittles in an order and then shake them around, we discussed that once they were in a different order, they could still be put back, so that change was reversible. I then came around and poured water into their container. The students all noticed how the colour came off the Skittles, the water was changing colour and the Skittles themselves were getting smaller! I then challenged their thinking by asking them if this change was reversible or irreversible. We had a big discussion about the fact that colour coming off the Skittles, was still a reversible change. We then talked about what some of the signs are that a change is irreversible. Mostly, I think the students were just excited to eat Skittles!