MRN

This week MRN experienced some very different challenges. We started the week exploring the functions of the NXT Robots. The students had to complete a range of challenges that involved maths, literacy and problem solving. Some of the tasks included getting the robot to simply move in a straight line for a set distance and performing more complex movement such as tracking around set points and figure eights.

The robots are a great learning tool and allow students to analyse situations and apply logic and reasoning. Of course the students found them a little frustrating at times, because what they ‘thought’ they have programed the robot to do, isn’t exactly what they hoped for. But in the end everyone had them working successfully.

On Tuesday MRN looked at a maths investigation involving designing surfboards, skate boards or snowboards for the Australian market. The boards had to have an original design that was visually appealing and included geometric shapes, symmetry and tessellating patterns. The investigation took a few days to complete and the finished work can be viewed in the ‘Student Contributions’.

My nomination for The 2009 Edublog Awards is:

Best educational use of audio - Neroli Gilmour - Aussiekids http://aussiekids.podbean.com/

This year MRN has been nominated for ‘Best Class Blog’ and ‘Best Teacher Blog’. Check the nominations at The Edublog Awards 2009

A few students have been busy this week completing their ICT Journals and demonstrating the required skills for their Level 1 ICT Certificates. The students must demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a variety hardware and software and be able to explain their use, intended purpose, advantages/disadvantages etc. This does not just apply to computer hardware and software but also common technologies such as DVD players, mp3, flash memory drives and so on. They must also demonstrate their abilities with the computers, accessing the internet, sending emails, creating blog entries, transferring files using their USB drives and much more. It should be noted that many of the students demonstrated limited knowledge of how to even log onto the computers at the start of the year. Now, they are almost entirely independent when comes to deciding upon and using the appropriate digital tool to independently complete a task. Some are even supporting others and offering worthy advice. They should be proud of their achievements. I know I am.

The students have also been working on their term project which is to create their own country! They had to decide on the size and population of the country, design a coat of arms and a flag, list imports and exports, create a map showing all key land features and finally provide a written explanation justifying their choices.

Our last assessment task for this unit is upon us! In the lead up to the final task, the students again worked in groups and discussed what makes a good law? What are the qualitities of a good law? With some coercing we eventually agreed upon 3 major qualities including - 1. The law must be fair and equitable 2. Everyone should have a comment or a say in the making up of laws , and 3. Everyone should know the law (i.e. it should be written down).  Some additonal thoughts worth mentioning include, that there should be an element of safety in all laws and that laws should be easy to understand.  The actual assessment task involved the students receiving a letter from another school written by Year 3 and Year 4 students asking for support in getting some of their ideas being passed as laws. MRN students were assigned a law each, and proceeded to work through a series of questions. From this they were able to create a document outlining everything they have learnt over the course of the unit and apply it to this situation.

This week we discussed the difference between rights and responsibilities. The students were then organised into groups and given a variety of scenarios to discuss. The scenarious ranged from sporting activities and classroom behaviour, to using facilities such as the library or canteen. The groups then brainstormed all the possible rules they could think of and match these to a responsibility. We later progressed to a more indepth discussion on ‘What makes a good rule?’ and ‘Who should make the rules and why?’ This really had them thinking and a few ‘democratic’ debates broke out. Future politicians in the making? Quite possible!

This week in math the students have been investigating the possible outcomes of certain events. We discussed terms like ‘possible/impossible’, ‘likely/unlikely’, ‘certain/uncertain’ and so on. Using examples like the weather and a horse race, we observed that there are often many factors that result in a certain outcome which are not acknowledge when making a prediction. Hence the students now understand that they must understand the nature of an event before making a prediction about an outcome.

Another busy week has been and gone for the students of MRN. The students got a real taste of democracy this week when they were divided into 3 groups and took on a design challenge. The activity involved the students designing a tower on paper within 30 minutes.  Easy right? Not quite. Each group had to work under a particular system of government. Group one was the ‘Absolute Monarchy’ system lead by Jemima.  She had total authority over the group and they had no say in the design process. Group 2 was the ‘Direct Democracy’ system whereby they had to vote as an entire group on every aspect of the design and could not proceed until everyone had voted and they had a majority ruling. This was very similar to Ancient Athens system of democracy. Lastly, group 3 was the ‘Indirect Democracy’ system and they elected 3 members to carry out the design with advice seeked and given at any stage. It was very interesting (if not entertaining) to see the varying amounts of success experienced by each group.

Finally the students completed their Physical Activity promotional posters as part of their assessment for HPE. The posters are being uploaded in the Student Contribution section of the blog.  A short explaination of their work has been provided by each student.

In maths this week, students revised basic direction terminology and further investigated the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary compass points. They also supported their learning with some activity sheets and Learning Objects on the computer. Some hands-on basic orienteering on the oval gave them first-hand experience with using a compass.

This week the students presented their speeches. After selecting a person from either Ancient Egypt (Pharaoh, Vizier, Tradesperson or Slave) or Ancient Athens (Emporer, Metic, Citizen, or Slave) the students constructed a speech outlining their person’s political standing in the chosen community and what rights this person may or may not have had and what their role entailed. The students had to also compare this person role to another in the same society and note the advantages and disadvantages. Nerves aside, most have done a fantastic job and spoke very well!

I thought it was about time I provided a section to support parents and guardians. The majority of the MRN blog is focused towards supporting the students directly, whereas this section will be aimed more at providing helpful information to parents and guardians that isn’t directly related to the curriculum. Topics could include information about behaviour management, developmental stages of children, and so on. Think of it in the way of teachers supporting parents supporting students. If you have any site that you believe may benefit others, please email them to me and I will them to the list.

  Hi everyone,

Attached is a Word document with a list of useful websites for Year 5 Maths.

year-5-maths-weblist.doc

NAPLAN results were issued to students on Friday of Week 1. For more information please visit Education Queenland’s NAPLAN site. The link is in the EQ & Government section of this blog site.

Swimming lessons for MRN start Friday, Week 2. Students will be travelling to Elders Swim Centre in Islander Road. For information please contact the school or Elders on 41 284 888.

  Our minor unit this term is called ‘Let’s Get Physical’ and is about promoting the health benefits of physical activity.  Australia is faced with the challenge of keeping people active enough to maintain their health and prevent disease. Students will investigate the benefits of physical activity on the physical, social and emotional dimensions of health before creating an advertisement to highlight these benefits to teenagers. Check out the links to useful websites in the HPE section on this site!