We are inquirers... 

HASS

HASS incorporates the study of Humanities and Social Sciences. It encompasses History and Geography and we use the Inquiry approach.

For Semester 1 we will begin with Geography, and our main focus will be inquiring into How do we connect  to places? This unit is focussed on the world around us.

The following questions will guide our inquiry and learning experiences: 

• What is a place? Identify the features of the place.
• How are we connected to places?
• What factors affect my connection to places? 

Students learn that places can have natural, managed and constructed environmental features, and range from those that have largely natural features to those with largely managed or constructed features. There will also be a main focus on HASS vocabulary - look out for our focus words in our homework grid.

HASS In Action

Inquiry

What is inquiry? – The Characteristics.

Inquiry based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios - rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The overall goal is for students to make meaning. While teachers may guide the inquiry to various degrees (externally facilitated) and set parameters for a classroom inquiry, true inquiry is internally motivated. In Inquiry Learning, students take the lead and the teacher's role is to support students in their inquiry by helping students to refine their thinking with questions that enable students to work out what they need to do next.  Another  part of the teacher's role is to have a wide range of resources that students can independently choose and use in their learning. Inquiry based learning is an umbrella term that incorporates many current learning approaches (including project based learning, design thinking) and may take various forms, depending on the topic, resources, ages and abilities of students and other variables.

Inquiry learning is not restricted to a specific subject area, but is the how that underpins all subjects.  Students are encouraged to initiate their own topics or areas that they are interested in learning more about by posing wonderings or questions they have about a topic.  Because students have chosen an aspect they are interested in, they are highly motivated to find out about it. The poster below shows the 6 stage Inquiry cycle that students go through when investigating their own Inquiry.

Inquiry learning:

• Recognises the importance of substantial knowledge

Promotes the ability to ask higher order questions

Contributes to the development of creative and effective problem solvers

Increases the motivation and engagement of students

Encourages cooperative group work as well as independent learning

Requires students to become information literate

Cultivates habits of mind such as critical and creative thinking

Develops in students a sense of social responsibility and personal values

Increases an understanding of the student’s own cognitive processes

Shifts from teacher-centred activity to student-centred learning

• Develop skills for learning

Science

It has been a great start to Early Years Science with the year 1s and 2s eager to learn from day one. The focus in the first two weeks of school was building strong connections to set the foundation for a positive year. A welcoming environment has been created where students feel a sense of belonging with tasks aimed at student participation and engagement. Activities encouraged students to collaboratively work together to build positive relationships with peers and allowed them to problem solve.

M2, M3, M4 and M5 have a double lesson of Science per week while M1 has two separate lessons per week. 

The focus in Term One is on the external features of a selection of living things, habitats and their needs. We will also examine how they grow and change. Linking with the Australian Curriculum strand of Biological Sciences, students will be given the opportunity to predict, explore, investigate, identify and evaluate outcomes.

I look forward to sharing our learning with you and endeavour to help all students be successful throughout 2019.

Richard Barwa

Richard.Barwa911@schools.sa.edu.au