How The World Works

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; humans and their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

Central Idea:

Observations lead to understanding

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into patterns in the natural world

An inquiry into using patterns to make predictions

An inquiry into the consequences of disrupting a natural cycle

Provocation

Kinder began this unit with a provocation, where they were asked to make a pinwheel but were not given instructions. The students were shown the end product and left to work out how to do it by themselves. Some children felt very frustrated, others worked in teams to work it out. Afterwards, with many confused students, we discussed how they could have been more successful in creating their pinwheel. Most students said they would have been successful if they had listened to instructions and watched someone else make one first.

Patterns in the Natural World

After the provocation, Kinder discussed which skills they needed to be able to understand the instructions. They discussed using observation skills to gain an understanding. Then, they applied these skills to find patterns. The students found patterns in the natural world, around our school and created their own patterns. The students also explored patterns in cycles such as the seasons, day and night, days of the week and the water cycle.

Using Patterns to Make Predictions

With their new knowledge of patterns, seasons and the water cycle, Kinder made predictions about the weather.

The Consequences of Disrupting a Natural Cycle

Kinder explored what the consequences would be if we disrupted a natural cycle, such as the water cycle. They looked for reasons why the water cycle would be disrupted, the impact on the environment and people and ways to take action to help the environment.