Weeks 3&4 Aug 26th-9th Sept

Education Program

Date: 26^th August – 9^th September

Group: Blue Green

Teaching Intent:

For the children to engage in scientific thinking i.e. asking questions, looking for answers, leading investigations and gathering data.

Background information:

Science is all around us and children are natural scientists. Children are curious about the world around them, naturally ask questions and seek to solve problems. Before children begin their formal education they are using scientific thinking. Science in early childhood education is about active involvement in investigative experiences to support children’s scientific thinking.

Intended Outcomes:

The children will have the opportunity to engage scientific thinking as they explore a range of scientific areas through active exploration (buoyancy, floating and sinking, light and shadows, habitats, growing seeds/life cycle).

The children will have the opportunity to respond to and pose questions and make predictions about familiar objects and events.

The children will have the opportunity to make and record their observations.

Links to Frameworks

Learning outcome 2- Children are connected with and contribute to their world.

2:4 Children become socially responsible for and show respect for the environment.

Develop an understanding how living things live in different places where their basic needs, including food, water and shelter are met.

Use formal and informal measurements in the collection and recording of observations.

Learning outcome 4- Children are confident learners.

4:2 Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating.

Learning outcome 5 – Children are effective communicators.

5:2 Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts.

Use language to communicate thinking about quantities.

5:3 Children will make meaning using a range of media

Proposed Teaching Strategies;

Use the story of Ada Twist Scientist to explore the concepts of scientific thinking.

Children will listen to Rose read the story of ‘Alexander’s Outing’ and explore the idea of floating an item to the top of a container. The children will have the opportunity to predict how many cups it will take to float Alexander to the top.

Children will listen to the story of “ Whose shadow is it”. The idea is to ignite the children’s imagination for investigating shadow.

The children will be inspired by photos of children drawing around shadows of items and invited to share them with their teachers.

The children will explore shadow puppetry via a Utube clip for inspiring them to explore shadow using their hands.

The children will be encouraged to go on a snail hunt. The children will record where they found the snails and use this data to think about the where snails like to live i.e. their habitat. The children will be challenged to design and make a snail habitat.

Children will collect a seed from a fruit or vegetable they have eaten, dry it and plant it. They will record what their plant needs to grow and how long they think it will take to start growing. A Utube video link will be provided for children to learn about the 5 needs of a plant with a fun song.