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Inquiry learning

Updated February 2017

Foundation

In Semester One, students had explored the Inquiry Unit on ‘All About Me’ and ‘Mini Beasts’. In Term One, students had learnt about five senses, healthy eating, families and feelings. Students had consolidated their learning on an excursion to ‘Woolworths’ and had experiences of selecting, purchasing fruits and made a fruit salad. In Term Two, we learnt about ‘Minibeasts’, their lifecycles, habitats, body parts and needs. Students made real-life connections to the unit while experiencing an educational trip to Melbourne Zoo and Ecolink.

Year 1

In Semester One, students explored the Unit of Inquiry on ‘Friendship, Hobbies and Habits’ and ‘Weather’. During Term One, students had developed the concept of sharing, caring and getting along. They were also able to recognise the need for healthy personal relationships with their friends and other members in their community. In Term Two, students had explored the Unit of Inquiry on ‘Weather’. They investigated weather and observed the characteristics and causes of many different kinds of weather. They have understood the effects that weather has on our lives and the environment. Students were also able to research on how weather forecasts may help them decide what to wear, where to go for an outing or what to eat. Students made real-life connections to the unit while experiencing an educational trip to Ecolink.

Year 2

In the Inquiry Unit “Our Health, Our Responsibility”, students explored how the choices they make impact on their health. They used inquiry style questioning and research to investigate the topic. Students have distinguished healthy foods from unhealthy ones and explored the resulting effects of each. Students further studied the functions of the Food Groups and their implications on consuming a balanced diet. They have also learned that a healthy lifestyle incorporates daily exercise and good hygiene habits.

In the Inquiry Unit, ‘Wonderful Water’, students discovered how the water cycle works and the implications it has on our planet and in our lives. They conducted a series of experiments and activities to investigate each of the processes that make up the water cycle including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. They used their knowledge of the scientific method to plan, predict, conduct, and analyse investigations to examine how water changes physical state to be recycled on Earth. Additionally, students applied their knowledge to ascertain the impact that people and the environment have on the water cycle. Students also understood the limited supply of fresh water on our planet and thought about ways to maintain and preserve this water for human use.