Curriculum Corner

Teaching  and Learning at our school is always rigorous, challenging and purposeful. This year, we have worked with a CIS education consultant specialising in intercultural education, international education and global competencies development, to take our Inquiry units to the next level and ensure students from Prep to Year Six are working in the Transcultural zone of learning. 

So what does Inquiry look like this term? 

Prep: 

This term, learners will be inquiring into the question ‘How can we use our senses to investigate our curiosities?’ Following the science inquiry skills within the Victorian Curriculum, they will learn to use their five senses to predict, observe and record experiments on light and sound. With their newfound knowledge, learners will explore how the use of light and sound can be transferred into enhancing a celebration through their Prep Prom.

Year One: 

Students will embark on an engaging journey of exploration centred around the question, 'How are we Impacted by our Environment?'. Throughout the term, students will explore the theme of water and how our environment impacts our daily lives. They will begin by understanding the significance of water and exploring the water cycle. Students will examine issues related to water access, investigate sustainability in water management and study water treatment methods. This learning will be enhanced using real-life examples and hands-on experiences, such as visiting CERES, where they will observe how changes in weather systems impact wildlife in local waterways, investigate the life that is supported in wetlands, and understand the impact we, as humans can have on it. Student voice data will be implemented when students will transfer their learning to design a water purifying model. 

Year Two:

Year 2 students will embark on a journey into the world of forces – push and pull. Through engaging activities and hands-on experiments, they will explore these concepts and discover how they impact objects in our everyday lives. Students will explore their surroundings to see forces in motion. From understanding the force needed to open a door to sliding down the slide, students will dive into our Inquiry question “How do force impact objects?”. This foundational knowledge will support them as they look at forces in play and explore a problem that can be improved. This learning will be supplemented by Global Goal 10: Reduce Inequalities as well as our Inquiry learning from the past three terms. Through engagement with the STEAM process learners will be encouraged to design a prototype to solve their identified problem in play. Their prototype must fit the design brief to include forces, be sustainable and bring people together through play. Learners will present their prototypes and design process at the end of the year at our Prototype Expo, where we invite parents and other GWPS students to witness our learning.

Year Three:

In Term Four, students will be exploring the Inquiry question ‘Why might humans react differently to natural disasters? ’whilst making connections to our Global Goal of ‘Climate Action’. In this Earth and Space Science unit, students will firstly analyse four different types of natural disasters and how they occur. They will then explore the impact these disasters have on our Earth and how individual people, communities and cultures respond in differing ways to a disaster. Student will then be investigating how to prepare for a natural disaster, the aftermath and the way humans come together to rebuild. Finally, students will transfer their new knowledge of natural disasters and human reactions by creating a project at school and presenting it to their Level 3 peers.

Year Four:

In Term 4, Level Four is inquiring into the question ‘Why do we need to understand physical science in design?’ Throughout this unit, learners will explore physical science around us and how it impacts our lives. They will investigate these concepts through hands on experiments. From their explorations and investigations, learners will come away with an understanding that:

• What contact and non-contact forces are.
• Forces can be exerted by one object to another.
• Energy from a variety of sources can be used to generate electricity.
• The STEAM process can be utilised to create a solution and create innovative solutions.

Additionally, a key element of our inquiry will involve transferring our understanding and making connections to Global Goal 7 ‘Affordable and clean energy’ and how our actions and decisions can impact our community. Learners will investigate a variety of designs, design processes and materials, comparing which materials and designs are more ethical, sustainable and affordable. This will guide them in creating their own design and follow the STEAM process to create their own solution for a relevant global issue.

Year Five:

In Term Four Inquiry, students will be guided by the question “How do business and consumer choices about the use of chemicals in products impact the world around us?” They will explore where chemicals exist, the periodic table and the scientific method used in different experiments using chemical science. Students will also investigate physical and chemical changes with reversible and irreversible changes. Following this, they will research what drives business and customer choices, the real-world impact of their decision making and how they can positively influence the world around them. 

Year Six:

The Inquiry learning students will be undertaking is underpinned by the question, ‘How can energy be generated and transformed ethically?’ They will begin the term by unpacking the scientific fundamentals, such as different forms of energy (kinetic, heat, light, chemical and potential), their properties and how they can be harnessed and transformed into electricity for human use. Students will also deepen their Science Inquiry toolkit, by conducting scientific investigations and experiments involving energy. The skills they will be enhancing include those within the scientific method, such as questioning and predicting, observing and accurately recording scientific phenomena, analysing results and formulating conclusions.

The Inquiry unit will also be connected to Global Goal 7, ‘Affordable and clean energy,’ where students will explore energy usage at a local and international scale. They will delve into energy usage in Australia, with a focus on the historical development of its infrastructure, current challenges and the nation’s vision for the future. This will coincide with an excursion to CERES and then widen their scope to the international arena, by analysing the potential challenges and barriers that different communities are facing in their fight for accessible, affordable, clean and sustainable energy.