Learning and teaching in 1/2 B

Moonee Ponds Central School

This is a brief catalogue of the highlights in Teaching and Learning for each term in 1/2 B – Lara’s Class for 2010. By Lara Ronalds

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TERM 1

Our Interests

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TERM 2

The Island Project

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TERM 3

Connections in Nature

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For a week almost the whole class got involved with this sand city during play time.

This a student’s model of a habitat. He completed this at home by choice. It was fantastic watching him share his findings.

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OUR INTERESTS Term 1 2010

As a part of Integrated Studies and getting to know each other, we pursued mini-projects based on topics of interest and the exploration of skills: building, making, designing, inventing, creating, researching and performing. Children worked individually or in small groups and from their interests a project was developed. Once they established their area of interest they had to draw plans, list the resources they needed and then pursue their project. It then became my role to scaffold their learning with books, challenges and setting expectations that linked their learning with the curriculum and the development of essential skills.

Learning Groups There were several interest groups. Some children pursued their interest individually whilst others worked as a part of a group.

The Café Group: This groups role played a café, made menu, collected word lists, researched roles in a café and considered the social skills needed to work in a café. They documented their learning in a book.

The Car Group: This child was particularly interested in making a car and as a part of her study she researched the history of cars and how they developed.

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Welcome to the Café. These are customers waiting for their meal.

Café Menus

The Titanic!

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OUR INTERESTS Continued

Learning Groups

The Drawing Group: This small group of children who wanted to focus on their drawing skills. They often worked very quietly and they planned what they would draw based on their interests. Over time they collected their pictures and we discussed what could be done with them. They were very excited by the idea of displaying their work in the area and they then learned what an exhibition was. They published and decorated their own profile. As a lead up to the exhibition we spent some time talking about artists from the past and some of our ‘Artists’ selected a painting they liked best. The ‘Artists’ designed their own invitation. Egyptian Studies: One child was interested immediately in learning about Egypt. We looked for factual information first. He read and talked to his family to develop this knowledge. His interest in pyramids meant that he was interested in making a pyramid. He was asked to draw a plan and he then headed off to create it. It was very challenging! He then read more about Egypt and began learning about the sphinx and he was interested in the Egyptian alphabet. Often he used the internet and documented some of his learning using Word. He wrote many sentences to show what he was learning. He also joined the building group for a while to explore the building of pyramids. This display was the culmination of his work. The Building Group: This group of boys loved creating structures from Lego, connect-a-cubes and blocks. After deciding that they wanted to use these materials they had to draw and write a plan of what they wished to make. In this plan they drew a labeled diagram. From their plan they created their object. Once the objects were completed these children were then asked to write about how they made them/a story/or a description of what they made. They took photos themselves and were asked to publish their work. They chose to create a book. They had to work as a team to plan a presentation of their book and models. This was challenging for these students’ as they had to negotiate their ideas and support other students in their efforts. This allowed these children to practice and develop their ability to work and listen to others and to develop a task as a team. The Titanic Group: This group of boys launched into creating and making a boat out of boxes. They very quickly stopped and re-planned their ideas (a condition to the making table - all creations must be planned and drawn.) Once they had built much of the boat they were asked to research information about the Titanic. They worked very co-operatively to share information they knew, to read together and to bring in the information they found at home. Together they came to understand the story of the Titanic. This prompted them to create more parts to the boat and story; the dock, the lifeboats, the captain’s quarters. The creating allowed for much re-creation and imagining of the events related to the Titanic. To present their learning they created a short role-play of the Titanic sinking using the models they created. They have all relived the sinking of the Titanic through their many practices!

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The Island Project

Term 2 2010

The Island Project was an integrated study incorporating learning around the children’s interests and involvement. It was interactive and included

Numeracy, Literacy and Integrated Studies. More

importantly children experienced working as a whole group, in

small groups and as individuals.

This unit began with the class standing as a whole group close together in a random shape. A chalk line was drawn around the outside of the ‘clump’. When they stood back away from the centre they were asked, “So, what do you think the capacity of this shape is?” This began our exploration of shape and measurement. We explored the capacity, the Area, the Perimeter and the length of the shape across its width and height.

To link this unit to Literacy and Integrated Studies we then called it an Island and labeled parts of

the island related to our study or water and energy. This focused on the water system from mountains to the ocean. We documented these findings drew maps and named the villages.

To incorporate the addition strand of Numeracy the children made little people and located them throughout the Island. We then added the people to create totals. This allowed for an informal exploration of groups of and repeated addition.

In groups we estimated and info-

-rmally measured the Area, Perimeter and Length of the Island using a variety of tools.

This unit of study allowed for authentic writing experiences explaining the learning experienced, imaginative stories and explanatory text related to the function of water on the Island.

Students were involved and on many occasions came up with additional ideas and theories.

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and summarising. 1 /2 B documented their learning through the creation of a habitat island.

Students then planned how they could share their findings and represent their habitat within the ‘island’ (our classroom).

Students chose a wide variety of ways to present their findings and they created their own models, wrote the text and planned and made their posters, books or talks.

It was an excellent opportunity for students to work in teams, plan their work and develop their communication skills whilst also building their knowledge.

THE HABITAT ISLAND We began the development of our Habitat Island by drawing a floor plan of the room. We then discussed the habitats we may like to include in this island. Students chose their habitat of interest and then went about reading books, making notes using sticky notes, to summarise their learning.

Connections in Nature Term 3 2010 This unit was based on the 1/2 level Integrated Studies unit that was integrated more fully into the Literacy program. As a year level we initially explored nature through poetry and discussion.

The second part of the unit was studied through the literacy program and exploration of information text, visualisation

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THE HABITATS: Beach: This group focused their learning on animals on the beach, crabs and crustaceans. They made a model and created a large book. Rainforest: This group did a hanging model of trees, vines and birds. They wrote their findings on cards that hung from the display Cave: This group created a cave under the tables with stalactites and hanging creatures. They created a book and hanging facts. Ocean: This group created a wall display across the window and focused on the 3 parts of the ocean and created animals that lived in those regions. They presented their findings by giving a talk based on questions and answers from the audience. Desert: This group researched many animals in the habitat and then made a book showcasing those animals. They made a model and created a search quiz for people viewing the display. Mountains/Lakes/Swamps: This group worked in a team but as individuals. They worked hard to keep track of their work and created models and posters to show their findings. Jungle: This small group was most creative in making a wall display with interactive pockets. They presented their findings in these pockets and created complex models out of plastercine and paper. They gave a talk to share their findings.

TERM 4 Waste Not Want Not. The 4 R’s

AIMS:

* To allow my students to practice the skills they have gained throughout the year.

* To be creative.

* To use initiative in developing their understandings.

* To make authentic links to other curriculum areas.

* To allow students to express their learning in a way that is

authentic to them.

* To learn the information that will allow them to respond to the

key questions for the unit.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Year 1 / 2 B

Teacher: Lara Ronalds Moonee Ponds Central 2010

“As a teacher I must inspire an interest in learning, ensure my students succeed and promote the potential of the children I teach.”