As part of their Science lessons with Mr O'Leary, the children in Year 5 have been learning about Forces.
The principal focus of science teaching in Upper Primary is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At Upper Primary, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.
Having studied the theory behind gravity and air resistance, the Year 5 children headed to the Maker Space in the Li Building. Their mission was to design parachutes that slowed down the rate of a falling object. After testing their first design and comparing it to peers, they were then given the chance to change one variable and see how that impacted the effectiveness of their parachute.
By Steve O'Leary
Year 5 Kookaburras Class Teacher
