There has been a heightened air of discovery and inquisitiveness in Class Four this term.

We began with the History of Writing main lesson and were transported back in time to ancient lands to find out how writing began.  We put ourselves in the shoes of those of long ago and discovered how pictures, pictograms and symbols came to represent language.

Our curiosity was aroused as we found out what different things could be used to write on and write with; from clay tablets and parchments made from animal skins, to paper made from rags and leaves. 

We became familiar with reading and creating timelines from BC to AD.  We wondered at the beauty of ancient scripts such as Mesopotamian cuneiform and Chinese characters.

We made predictions and formed hypotheses about how we could mix matter to create ink.  We had fun making our own bamboo reed pens in woodwork with Gill, creating our own inks with Sophia and making our own paper and feather quills in class.  The highlight of this main lesson was receiving our own fountain pens to use in our main lesson books and to practice fine handwriting and calligraphy.

Then it was on to our second Mapping main lesson.  This main lesson revises our skills of map reading and following direction.  We remembered the compass points and the need for scale and a legend on a map.  We then practiced using grid coordinates to create maps of our own.

We have been considering the Kwoorabup boodja where we live and what a map of the area would have looked like 1000 years ago.  Following the water cycle and contour lines we can see the geographical features of our environment.  We learnt the Noongar names for prominent geographical points of interest we know.

With the coming of European people to the area the map has changed with roads, bridges, farms, vineyards and buildings.  This week we are off to visit the Denmark Historical Museum to investigate the people and activities who have impacted the area over the last 200 years.  Then we will be off to Ocean Beach and Prawn Rock Channel to enjoy water and beach activities with Brad and Sandra, as we observe the way people have impacted the natural environment over time.  Finally we will meet up with Noongar Minang man Lindsay Dean, who we met on our camp earlier in the year.  He will share with us his families stories and knowledge of the land around our town.  We are looking forward to seeing him again and have been practicing some songs in Noongar language to share with him.