Pirorirori, 2025 Term One
Learning
Starting with a fizz and a bang, students will be introduced to the inquiry Crazy Chemistry. Emerging mad scientists, students will explore the Material World while participating in a variety of experiments that show chemical reactions.
Students will be making predictions, observations, and recording reactions and changes when different materials are mixed together. They will discover that what looks like a magic trick has a scientific explanation. Oral language will be developed by explaining what they can see and vocabulary will be extended as students discover new words and their meanings.
Timetable of Experiments
- Week 1 - Water Tension
- Week 2 - Osmosis (the motion of water through a barrier)
- Week 3 - Alkaline or Acid
- Week 4 - Carbon Dioxide & Oxidation
- Week 5 - Fluorescence & Luminescence
Integration into other curriculum areas will include:
Science: make observations and simple measurements
Mathematics: grouping materials, measurement of materials, recording time, changes in volume and weight, and recording data on bar graphs.
English: follow a process, writing instructions, hypothesising (sharing information) and labelling.
Technology: recording experiments using videos, before and after photos, and researching additional information from other sources.
Ministry of Inspiration - Coding
Each class will be completing an hour-long coding session with an expert from the Ministry of Inspiration. This is a charity that seeks to provide schools across New Zealand with a facilitator who specialises in teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). As well as giving students the opportunity to learn coding, they will also improve their digital literacy, problem solving, critical thinking and creativity skills.
Tūwharetoa Taiopenga
Kapa haka sessions will be held for students who are wanting to perform on stage at the Tūwharetoa Taiopenga in Term 3. Students who are not part of the performance will be undertaking Te Reo lessons in classes.
