Curriculum News

Curriculum

Student progress in the areas of English and Mathematics continues to be monitored closely so that learning is targeted to the specific needs of each student in the form of explicit, whole class teaching and workshops.

English

WRITING, SPEAKING, LISTENING and READING 

In Semester 2 the writing focus for our senior students (Year 6/7) will be on developing skills in constructing information reports and review texts. The Year 4/5 classes will be exploring narrative writing and information reports. Vocabulary expansion will be dependent on text topics, integration of all other curriculum areas as well as words identified through class novels and independent reading. We also focus on "academic vocabulary" to empower our students to be successful in interpreting demands across all subjects and in a variety of learning contexts.

Students also have the opportunity to regularly express their ideas and work on specific aspects of their writing through creative writing tasks.  Making plans, proofreading and editing written work will also be a focus with the expectation that students take greater responsibility for this. 

Listening and speaking skills will be developed through class participation, assembly presentations, Seniors Graduate Speeches and class based oral presentations. 

Spelling investigations will be integrated within the English block whereby students will focus on understanding spelling generalisations and the origin of words, with the expectation students will then transfer skills into everyday writing.

Developing reading comprehension skills will take place through guided reading sessions, socratic discussions, class novels, and small group work targeting key reading behaviours and comprehension skills.

Mathematics

Learning Mathematics is an active process where students build their own mathematical understanding through interaction with the ideas they hold and alternative ideas held by others. Students are encouraged and supported to take risks and persevere with new or different and efficient ways of thinking and solving problems, and will understand that mistake making is an important part of their learning. 

Students will continue to develop understanding of the algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and will explore, and apply a range of written and mental strategies for computation to solve multi-step problems with a focus on measurement. 

Year 4/5 Mathematics

This term, students will continue to develop, apply and deepen their understanding of concepts related to place value, fractions, decimals and percentages. These will be explored through real life applications of mass and capacity. During Term 4, students will have opportunities to investigate angles, time and location. Statistics and Probability will follow on from this learning, where students will collect, represent and interpret data.

Year 6/7 Mathematics

This semester, our Year 6/7 students will be focusing on the strands Patterns and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability. Students will represent numbers using variables and create and solve algebraic equations. They will connect with geometric reasoning by focussing on the classification of triangles and quadrilaterals and investigating angles. Students will describe different views of three-dimensional objects and represent transformations in the Cartesian plane. This will lead into probability and statistics in Term 4 with many opportunities to represent and interpret data and to explore concepts relating to chance.

Interdisciplinary Studies

Including: History, Geography, Economics & Business, Science and Design & Technology 

We use an inquiry approach to assist the students’ learning of skills and attributes necessary to become successful, independent and lifelong learners. In addition to the subject specific concepts addressed, key skills developed through our inquiries include: questioning, researching, analysing, evaluating and communicating.  The Fisher staff plan and assess all inquiry units together.

Year 4/5 HASS

As part of our mini inquiry into the Olympic Games, year 4/5 Students are exploring mapping and the difference between a city, country and continent. We have identified locations where Olympic athletes were born and the connecting country and continent. Students have explored latitude and longitude as well as national flags from around the world.

Following this, students will continue inquiring into How Has the Past Impacted the Present and Future? This semester will focus on the key concepts of perspectives, empathy and cause and effect as we explore the questions:

What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?

How did colonial settlement change the environment?

What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?

During Term 4, students will be inquiring into democracy and what it means to be an Australian citizen. This will include levels of government, how decisions are made and how citizens can become involved within their community and with decision making. Students will present their ideas, conclusions and viewpoints in a range of communication forms using civics and citizenship terms and concepts.

HASS

Year 6 HASS

History

• Why and how did Australia become a nation?
• How did Australian society change throughout the twentieth century?
• Who were the people who came to Australia? Why did they come?
• What contribution have significant individuals and groups made to the development of Australian society?

Students will continue with our Term Two inquiry into learning about the way of life of people who migrated to Australia since Federation and their contributions to Australia’s economic and social development (significance, empathy).  In Term Three a particular focus will be placed on investigating the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, migrants, women and children during the twentieth century. In learning about Australia as a nation, students will compare a range of sources to determine points of view (sources, perspectives). They will develop their research skills by locating, collecting, organising and categorising relevant information to answer inquiry questions.

Geography

• How do places, people and cultures differ across the world?
• What are Australia’s global connections between people and places?
• How do people’s connections to places affect their perception of them?

During Term Four, students will develop their understanding of place, space, environment, interconnection and change. They will explore the diverse environments, peoples and cultures within the Asia region and expand their mental map of the world. Students will examine Australia’s various connections with other countries and places throughout the world, how these are changing, and the effects of these interconnections (interconnections, change).

Year 7 HASS

During Term 3, Year 7 students will be building upon their learning in Ancient History by inquiring into and the emergence of a number of ancient civilisations.  With a focus on 'How Do We See The Past In Our Present?' Through this unit, students will explore different civilisations and then have the chance to pick a 'home' civilisation that they will explore in greater depth. Learning about Laws, Social Classes, Farming, Trade, Inventions, Religion, and art are just some of the areas students delve into before researching SIGNIFICANT patterns from their chosen civlisations that they will then recreate on some pieces of pottery. Learning about Timelines and Archeology will also feature in this unit. By the end of the Term, students will walk away with an understanding of the following concepts - evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy, significance, and contestability. 

Term 3 and 4 will involve an Economics and Business inquiry: 'What types of work exist and in what other ways can people derive an income?' with students learning about the relationships between producers and consumers and the characteristics of successful businesses and entrepreneurial behaviours.  Students will create and then present a business model /pop-up plan to the 'Sharks' with the aim of making profits to contribute to school resources. 

We will also conduct a Health inquiry into puberty, its impacts and developing resilience to cope with physical, social and emotional change. More information will be sent home prior to beginning this unit.

Science

Food - Different by Design - NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK 2021

During Term 3, students will be delving into Biological Sciences. Senior students will investigate habitats and environments and what factors help to promote life. They will also be investigating Aboriginal Peoples’ knowledge and understanding of the physical conditions necessary for the survival of certain plants and animals in the environment. Year 4/5 students will be looking at the structural features of living things and adaptations that help them survive in various different environments.

With Science Week coming up in week 5, students will conduct activities based around this year’s theme, “Food - Different By Design.” We are also planning an incursion with a guest scientist who will conduct various Science demonstrations both indoors and outdoors. This will be an exciting time for all students.

In Term 4, senior students will focus on Earth and Space Sciences and be inquiring into how the internal and overall movements of the Earth create various phenomena including eclipses, seasons and tides, along with earthquakes and extreme weather events. They will explore these events through a number of hands-on investigations. Year 4/5 students will follow similar themes, but more focussed on the components of the Solar System and the importance of the sun.

Throughout the semester, students will continue developing their Science Inquiry Skills where they will get opportunities to conduct scientific investigations, plan and implement fair experimental methods and identify variables to be changed and measured. There will also be a particular focus on Science as a Human Endeavour where students will expand their scientific knowledge and make connections to the real world.

ARTS & Technologies

This year, Fisher students are participating in Arts within class groups. The learning includes Drama, Dance Music, Media and Visual Arts with students experiencing a range of programs to support their creativity.

In Visual Arts, 4/5 students:

• will develop an understanding of use and application of visual conventions as they develop conceptual and representational skills
• explore a diversity of ideas, concepts and viewpoints as they make and respond to visual artworks as artists and audiences
• draw ideas from other artists, artworks, symbol systems, and visual arts practices in other cultures, societies and times
• extend their understanding of how and why artists, craftspeople and designers realise their ideas through different visual representations, practices, processes and viewpoints.

All Fisher classes will focus on Digital Technologies this semester - investigating programming (Coding) using a variety of applications and digital devices. This is a great chance for students and staff to develop new skills, take risks and increase confidence. In Design Technologies, we will continue to investigate Makers Empire to develop design thinking opportunities and 3D design.

PE & Health

Y4/5/6 - Health 

Students will be...

• proposing strategies to help others understand points of view that differ from their own and to encourage further discussion about individual and cultural similarities and differences in order to tackle racism.
• year 4/5 students will continue participating in 'Program Achieve' activities around wellbeing and maintaining strong connections
• exploring and celebrating how cultures differ in behaviours, beliefs  and values.
• exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders understandings of special places and the connection of these places to physical activities.
• reading Dreaming stories unique to an Aboriginal group and comparing them to stories shared in different cultures.
• developing an understanding that individuals experience changes associated with puberty at different times, with differing levels of intensity and with different responses.

Fisher PE 

This semester, our Year 4 - 7 students will be learning through movement by practising, applying and transferring a variety of movement concepts and strategies with and without equipment. The focus sports for the semester will be Badminton, Volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee. During these sessions students will be demonstrating control and accuracy when performing specialised movement sequences and skills. They will be applying these movement concepts and refining strategies to suit different movement situations. They will also be encouraged to develop team skills, deferring to others and good sportsmanship, so that physical movement will become an enjoyable and regular part of their lives.

Languages - German 

Year 4/5 students

In Semester 2, Year 4/5 students will grow a bean plant and maintain an observation journal throughout the unit. Students will look after their bean plant and help it grow. Learning objectives related to this unit of work include identifying various German and Australian plants and their purpose in the environment, developing an understanding of the importance of plant life to humans, discussing how people rely on plants and their produce and discussing how sustainable plant growing can be achieved. This will be achieved through explicit teaching of topic related vocabulary and modelled language to document the bean plant’s progress. In Term 4, students will explore German food and traditions associated with Christmas. 

Year 6/7 students

In Semester 2, Year 6/7 students will explore the language and cultural practices associated with popular culture in Germany and Australia, with a focus on music. Students will learn how to express their opinion to communicate their likes, dislikes and preferences in relation to songs, artists and genres of music. In addition to an observation record of spoken interactions throughout the term, students will be demonstrating their learning by adapting and rewriting popular German songs. They will also spend time reflecting on how their own music preferences form part of their cultural identity and can be influenced by age, gender, time, place and culture. In Term 4, students will explore German food traditions associated with Christmas. The unit will culminate in a Lebkuchen Haus construction competition.