Drysdale Primary School is committed to planning and implementing a curriculum (outside the core subjects of English and Mathematics) that uses an Inquiry approach incorporating the E5 and Kath Murdoch models. Inquiry learning is a way of teaching our Victorian Curriculum which encourages the children to engage, question and explore the world around them. The students will work through an Inquiry process that supports them in becoming the leaders of their learning.
Inquiry learning process
| Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle
/E5 Inquiry Model |
Explanation |
| Tuning In/ Engage
|
Students are hooked into the unit during tuning in provocations, they uncover the Big Idea, develop individual wonderings and then group similar questions together. |
| Finding Out/ Explore | Via explicit teaching and student exploration, students will begin to learn about the Big Idea through each of the Essential Understandings. |
| Sorting Out/ Explain | Students will assess which wonderings they have answered by sorting out their knowledge and discoveries at this point. |
| Going Further/ Elaborate | Students will consider which wonderings remain unanswered after sorting out and how they could take their learning further. |
| Making Conclusions/ Evaluate | Students make decisions about what they have learnt in the unit, demonstrating their understanding of the Big Idea through a summative assessment task. |
| Taking Action & Reflecting | Students take action, applying their learning to the real world. Students reflect on the unit and look back on their learning journey. |
Each unit has a ‘Big Idea.’ This is a statement written in student-friendly language which summaries the central idea, key information or concept that students will understand in this unit. Below is a table showing the Big Idea for each Year group this term, any planned incursions or excursions and ways that you can support your child’s learning. If you have any questions regarding the Inquiry curriculum don’t hesitate to speak to your classroom teacher or Felicity Stark (Assistant Principal).
| Year group | Big Idea | Incursion or Excursion | How you can support this learning… |
| Prep | We are all preps, we are all unique and we all look after each other. | A celebration day called ‘We are all unique’ towards the end of term 1. We will be embracing what makes each of us unique and celebrating our first term in prep. More information coming soon! | -Talk to your child about their new friendships.
-Support them to understand and accept difference in others. -Develop and reinforce independence through establishing good school and home routines. -Support your child to make connections between what they are learning at school and the world around them. |
| Year 1 | Positive thoughts and actions leads to positive outcomes. | ‘Bravehearts’ incursion. This is an interactive personal safety program held on Wednesday 7th March at 10am. | -Students will be asked to prepare an ‘About Me’ box in the first full week of term, please support them to prepare this.
-Support students to talk about positive actions they have taken at home or at school. -Talk through positive resilience strategies learnt at school and encourage your child to use these at home. |
| Year 2 | We are part of a personal and local community where landforms and culture are different from place to place. | FREE Drysdale Explore ‘Walk-about’ Tour. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a guided community ‘exploration walk’ around the Drysdale Community. This experience aims to expand their understanding of what makes a community; encompassing aspects of history, culture, roles and responsibilities, organisations and features (both natural and man made.)
As well as answering… What makes our community and location unique? More information, including permission slips, coming soon! |
-Support students to research and explore their surroundings both locally in Drysdale, the Bellarine and the Greater Geelong Region.
-Bring in any news articles, books or artefacts related to our community. E.g. Family history, photos. – Discuss family travel destinations, origins and experiences locally, regionally, nationally and globally. |
| Year 3 | Living things have observable features and provide us with products. They depend on each other for survival.
|
FREE Excursion to Ecolinc.
The Ecolinc wetland and grassland is home to a variety of native plants and animals. Students learn that all these living things depend on each other and the wetland and grassland ecosystem to survive. |
-Observe the environment around you.
-Compare living things and non-living things. -Have discussions at home about living things
|
| Year 4 | Australian laws and values reflect our local democratic society. | In week 7 we will be going on a community walk to visit some of the local services in the Drysdale area. More information, including permission slips, coming soon. | If you (or someone you know) work for a local community service we would love to hear from you! Any information, resources or even a visit to chat with the students would be great. |
| Year 5 | Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star. | FREE Excursion to VSSEC (Victorian Space Science Education Centre) has been booked for Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February 2018. Students will take part in the Primary Mars and The Size of your Sol Programs. More information, including permission slips, coming soon! | -Support students to research the planet Mars (there will be a letter coming home about this shortly)
-Bring in any news articles, books or artefacts related to this unit -View clips or videos as a family that are related to this unit, Eg. Neil Armstrong moon landing |
| Year 6 | Living things grow and adapt to survive the physical conditions of their environment. | FREE Excursion to Ecolinc has been booked for Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th February 2018. Students will take part in the ‘Adaptations for survival’ program. More information, including permission slips, coming soon! | Support students to research:
-Physical conditions affect the growth and survival of living things. -Animal and plant adaptations -Bring in any news articles, books or artefacts related to this unit -View clips or videos as a family that are related to this unit, eg. David Attenborough |