Science, Technology, and Engineering

Communicating with the Specialist Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2023, and welcome your input:

Hayley Oliver (Science, Technology, and Engineering)  Hayley.Oliver@education.vic.gov.au

It has been a busy start to Term 2, in Science. This term we are studying Physical Sciences, the Grade 3/4s are learning all about force and the Grade 5/6s are learning about light. It is noisy, hands on fun in the Science room.

3/4 Learning

What’s the best way to learn about force and motion? Experience it!! The 3/4s started off the term playing a variety of table games such as; Dominoes, “Keepy Uppy” (keeping a balloon in the air), Marble hockey, using cups to throw and catch tennis balls etc. Whilst playing these games, they were learning that none of the objects they had, could move without some sort of force and that the strength of the force applied could change the outcome of the object they were moving. 

The students then had a go at drawing an annotated diagram of their game, showing whether they used a PUSH or PULL force, where the force came from and the strength of force. 

This week they have had more fun learning about force and friction, by rolling different sized cans over a certain distance. They observed that the weight of the can made a difference to the force they had to use, to get it to move, the speed of the two cans and also the force needed to stop the two cans. They experimented on different surfaces as well as different inclines. They then drew a story board to explain, using words and pictures, what happened when they gave the can a big push and a small push. 

They also used their bodies to experience how it feels to stop suddenly when sprinting, walking and skipping. They compared the three speeds and discussed why sprinting was harder to stop suddenly than walking and what would happen if they were on a different surface, like ice. 

5/6 Learning

The 5/6s have started to learn about how we see light. We started the term off discussing the ideas and knowledge we already have about light and shadows. Then this week, in small groups, the students made a light box. We made the room as dark as we could and then created a box with a peak hole at one end. The students placed an object in the box and observed that when there was no light coming into the box, we couldn’t see the objects. They then added another hole to their box and shone a torch through the hole and all of a sudden the whole box was lit and they could see the object.

The students learnt that if there is no light source, or the ray of light gets interrupted during its travel to the eye, they will not be able to see the object, although the object would still exist. They demonstrated this knowledge by drawing either a bird’s eye view or side view diagram of their light box, and then added a ray diagram to show how the light travelled for them to be able to see their object (eg. The light from the torch, hit the object and then reflected the light to their eyes, enabling them to see their object).