Wonderful learning & student creativity in 1/2J

This Term has been filled with lots of wonderful learning and chances to show student creativity.

English
This week in English, we have continued our learning about persuasive texts. The students have been exploring the purpose of persuasive writing and learning how writers can use their words to share an opinion and convince their audience. We have been discussing the difference between simply stating what we think and providing strong reasons to support our ideas.

Throughout our lessons, students have been identifying persuasive language and considering which words and phrases can make an argument more convincing. We have also been working on organising our ideas so that our writing is clear and easy for the reader to follow. Students have had opportunities to discuss topics, share their opinions with their classmates and develop reasons to support their point of view. It has been fantastic to see many students becoming increasingly confident when expressing their ideas and explaining why they hold a particular opinion. We will continue to build on these skills as we develop our persuasive writing further.

Design and Technologies
Our Design and Technologies lessons have provided lots of opportunities for students to design, create, test and improve their ideas. After recently completing our moving playgrounds, we have now begun creating our own moving toys.

Our previous work with moving playgrounds introduced us to different types of forces and helped us understand that forces can make objects move, stop or change direction. We explored pushes and pulls, as well as the effects of friction and gravity. Students have been able to draw on this knowledge as they begin thinking about how they can make their own toys move.

The students have been working through the design process by developing an idea, selecting materials and considering how different parts of their toy will work together. They have been encouraged to test their designs and make changes when something does not work as expected. This has been a wonderful opportunity to develop creativity, problem-solving and persistence. It has also encouraged students to understand that designers do not always get everything right on their first attempt and that testing, changing and improving are important parts of the design process.
Have a look at one of the moving toys we will create as a class next week!

Science
In Science, we have been learning about Chemical Sciences and investigating the properties of different materials and the ways they can change. We have been particularly interested in physical changes and have explored what happens when materials are bent, twisted, scrunched, folded and ripped.

Students have been encouraged to observe materials carefully and describe what has happened before and after a change. We have discussed the properties of different materials and considered how these properties can make a material suitable for particular purposes. This has helped students begin to think like scientists by making observations, asking questions and using evidence from their investigations.

One of our creative investigations involved making paper sculptures. Students experimented with folding, bending, twisting and shaping paper to create their own structures. This allowed them to explore the properties of paper while also using their imagination and creativity.

We have also been investigating what happens to substances when they are heated and cooled. A particularly exciting investigation was making our own ice cream. Students were able to observe a change in the mixture as it cooled and discuss how temperature can affect materials. These hands-on experiences have helped make our scientific learning meaningful and memorable, while encouraging students to make connections between what we learn in the classroom and things they experience in everyday life.
To investigate the properties of certain materials we made our own recycled paper, also talking about sustainability and its importance at the same time. We are really looking forward to making Oobleck in the next few weeks.

HASS
In HASS, we have continued our learning about the history of technology, toys and transportation. We have been considering how things have changed over time and comparing technologies and objects from the past with those we use today.

This week, we focused on communication and explored how people communicated messages before the modern technologies that we are familiar with today. Students thought about how difficult it would be to communicate with someone who lived far away without phones, computers or the internet. We discussed different forms of communication and learnt about Indigenous Australian message sticks and their important role in communicating messages.

Students then had the opportunity to create their own Indigenous-inspired message sticks. They carefully considered how symbols, patterns and designs could be used to represent an idea or communicate a message. This activity encouraged students to think about communication in a different way and helped them appreciate that people have developed many creative ways to share information throughout history.

Art
In Art, we have continued creating landscape artworks and exploring the different ways artists can use line, colour and texture to represent the world around them. This week, we have been inspired by two very different artistic styles.

We looked closely at the work of Vincent van Gogh and explored his use of swirling lines and expressive brushstrokes. Students experimented with creating movement in their landscapes by using curved and swirling marks rather than simply drawing straight lines. We discussed how the direction and style of a brushstroke can change the feeling and appearance of an artwork.

We have also been exploring the work of Claude Monet and his use of blending and dabbing techniques. Students experimented with applying small dabs of colour and blending colours together to create different effects. They have been encouraged to look carefully at how colours can work together and how artists can build up an image using many small marks.

It has been wonderful to see students experimenting with these techniques and making their own creative choices. Their landscape artworks are developing into colourful and expressive pieces, and students have shown great enthusiasm when trying new techniques and sharing their ideas about art.

Maths and religion:
In maths we have been working on multiplication and division. We made a class array city and played many fun times table games. We are about to move on to measurement: telling the time. In religion we spoke about the seven sacraments of the church, and we are now moving on to learning about bible stories and undertaking more Godly play with Bianca Cotton.

A Wonderful Week of Learning
It has been another very busy and rewarding time in our classroom. Across our learning areas, students have had many opportunities to investigate, create, communicate, problem-solve and work collaboratively. A common theme throughout our learning has been encouraging students to be curious and to understand that learning often involves trying something, testing an idea and making changes.

From designing moving toys and investigating forces, to exploring physical changes in Science, learning about communication in the past, developing persuasive writing skills and experimenting with artistic techniques, the students have embraced a wide range of experiences this week. We are very proud of the enthusiasm, creativity and persistence they continue to demonstrate in their learning.

We look forward to continuing our learning and the many exciting activities we have coming up such as: Marty Mcbubble coming in next week for a fun bubble science show, Street Smart to talk about road safety, and grandparents day.