Physics Main lesson: Mechanics of simple machines  

Class 7 has had a fantastic start to their high school journey with children bringing enthusiasm and focus to their science and mathematics main lessons. Our term began with an exploration into the mechanics of simple machines. This saw students participate in practical demonstrations to experience the mechanical advantage of simple tools. This lesson really gives children a chance to explore and describe key concepts through their own experiences. These included measuring their effort (heart rate) after pushing wheelbarrows up different inclined planes and understanding the principles of the lever through balancing their weight on a seesaw. Our unit ended with a focus on our science inquiry skills during an investigation into the Archimedes water screw.    

Algebra:

The second half of the term has been very busy with class 7 completing NAPLAN and their Algebra main lesson. The introduction of Algebra represents a significant conceptual leap for children, combining the world of logical rules with abstract ideas and unknown variables. Our journey began with a focus on prime numbers and the principles of integers, that included completing operations with negative numbers.  This led into the establishment of several important rules and processes of Algebra with students developing their skills in simplifying expressions, brackets and order of operations. In week 8 children were introduced to linear equations and the golden rule of balancing.  These skills will be further developed and applied to practical problem-solving during practice mathematics lessons in Term 2.

Sam Vinton-Boot