May the force be with you!

Stage 2 have been learning within the transdisciplinary theme ‘How the World Works’. The boys have been using the concepts of Function, Causation and Reflection to explore the central idea: Understanding scientific principles enables humans to adapt through innovation and invention. This term the boys have been investigating scientific principles of force, gravity, friction and magnetic attraction and repulsion. The boys have worked through a number of experiments by following scientific methodology. They:

• Made observations

• Formulated questions

• Stated a hypothesis

• Conducted the experiments

• Collected Data and

• Wrote scientific explanations explaining the forces.

The hypotheses the boys investigated this term were:

• That the heavier an object is, the quicker it will fall to the ground

• That the larger the surface area of a parachute, the slower an object will fall

• That the rougher the surface, the less distance a toy car will roll, and 

• That the greater the size of a magnet, the stronger the force of attraction will be.

The boys were all engaged and demonstrated the Learner Profile attributes of ‘thinker’ and ‘principled’ as they faced many hurdles, devised thoughtful solutions and made sure they were conducting ‘fair tests’.

The boys are now applying their understanding of these scientific principles to demonstrate how simple machines are used to meet our needs and make life easier. Stage 2 embarked on an excursion to the Australian National Maritime Museum where they were able to identify simple machines throughout the exhibits and how they were used to meet needs and solve complex problems. The boys are now working in expert groups based on a simple machine which they will use to innovate on ideas and create an invention to solve a problem within the school.

This has been a great Unit of Inquiry for the boys. The activities have been very hands on and both classrooms are full of inquisitive and engaged learners.

Angela Tonkin and Shayne Pollard – Stage 2 Teachers