With the start of a new term (and a new year!) so we are just beginning to think about our new unit of inquiry on Materials. It is in the Organizing Theme: 'How the world works' and the Central Idea is that ‘The world is made up of different materials which have different uses’.
During the unit we will pursue the following Lines of Inquiry:
· Where materials come from
· Properties and uses of materials
· Changing materials
Questions such as Where do materials come from? What are materials like? What can different materials be used for? How do materials change? will be posed.
As we work towards answering such questions, we will investigate the origins of a range of materials, describe and sort materials according to their properties and examine, for example, the effects of heating and cooling on different materials.
During the unit a range of skills will be developed; from Social skills where children will learn to share materials; Research skills where children will describe and record observations; Thinking skills where children will grasp meaning from material learned; Communication skills where children will read for information; and Self-management skills where children will plan and carry out activities effectively.
The main emphasis of course will be on science, but there will also be opportunities for work across the curriculum, including using different tools and materials for different outcomes in art activities and sorting shapes according to specific properties and/or attributes in maths.
Why not watch this space and keep an eye on where our curiosity about our 'material' world takes us?
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