journals: week october— october 2016 “what hurts the earth ... · journals: week 3—17...

Journals: Week 3—17 October—21 October 2016

Monday, 17 October 2016

“What hurts the Earth?” - Felix

One of our PYP lines of inquiry is an inquiry into sustainability. On Monday we began our morning meeting by posing the

question ‘What is sustainability?’. The term sustainability was a tricky word to define but as a group we broke down the

question and it was clearly evident that they had a strong grasp of sustainable practises. From this initial discussion the

children raised a rich array of ideas that demonstrated their strong knowledge of protecting the Earth and which will drive our

inquiry throughout the term.

What is sustainability?

Olivia: When the octopus ink comes out.

Gigi: If you stain something you can’t get it off.

This term we want to focus on how some of the things people do impacts the environment in a good and bad way/

Felix: What hurts the Earth? If you cut down trees.

Angus: If you chop lots of trees down it will hurt the Earth. It will smash the Earth. If we get too much air it will explode

the planet.

Arabella: It would make the planet hurt.

Blake: Nothing will hurt the planet.

Taj: If you dig for treasure.

Lexi: Trees help you breathe.

Angus: Yes, because they make up air.

Lexi: They get their oxygen from the sky.

Gigi: If all the trees were cut down it would suck up the oxygen and we would die.

Lexi: The oxygen all mixes up.

Gigi: You can’t see oxygen.

Thomas: If you chop trees down when it falls down to the ground it will hurt the roots.

Milan: The Earth will die. If there is no water the fish will die.

William: If there is no water the Earth will break. The fish live in the water. Everything lives in the water. People can’t live

without water.

Harper: If we cut the trees down the ground will get rough and we can’t breathe.

Chloe: If all the trees are cut down our world will be crashed down. We would have to move country. Because then we

won’t breathe. If they are all cut down it might hurt some houses. The trees wave around from side to side.

Isobel: You can get the water from the lake and then it brings it into the tap.

If we didn't have trees what would happen?

Blake: There would be no animals, lizards, birds, sugar gliders.

Billie: Caterpillars.

Angus: Earwigs live in trees.

Henry: Some trees grow spruce.

Harper: Monkeys live in trees.

Lexi: Birds make their nests in trees.

Angus: Things lay eggs and nest in trees.


PAGE 2 Monday, 17 October 2016

Continued……..

What will happen to the animals if there is no trees?

Kyler: Maybe because they need leaves to eat.

What animals need leaves to eat?

Clara: Caterpillars.

Aiden: Orangutans.

Billie: Koalas.

William: If penguins are birds, why don’t they live in trees?

Thomas: In some places some people are chopping down the Orangutans trees to make palm oil.

Blake: They are an endangered species. They are almost extinct.

What does extinct mean?

Harper: They are dying.

Angus: There are not much left.

Thomas: Pandas are extinct as well.

Why?

Angus: Because people are chopping down their trees.—Bamboo.

Billie: There is not much frogs left in Melbourne.

What does endangered mean?

Blake: It means they are nearly gone from the world. Because people are cutting down their homes and turning them

into houses.

Thomas: There is no more dinosaurs left .They are extinct.

How are the orangutans effected by people cutting down their trees?

Thomas: They are endangered.

Blake: When there is too much trees cut down their numbers go down.

Milan: If hunters cut the trees the orangutans can’t live in the trees.

Aiden: the proboscis monkey’s trees are getting cut down.

Why do people cut down trees?

Angus: Because they don’t want the animals to live there because they want to make houses.

Thomas: They want to make palm oil to put in bickies. They don’t need to use palm oil they can use something else.

Felix: They didn't know it was their house so they cut it down.

Felix: Do something good for the Earth!

What can we do that’s good for the Earth?

Felix: Give the Earth some water.

Billie: You can walk to work. Or ride your bike or scooter if your house is near.

Gigi: You have to put your rubbish in the bin—that will help the world.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework

IDENTITY – Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity;

The children demonstrated their personal knowledge of the concept of sustainability and through this discussion are broadening their understanding of the world in which they live. This was clearly evident in the discussion that was held on Thursday’s creative movement

class where the children knew about palm oil and the impact this is having on the orangutans in the Indonesian rainforest.


Tuesday, 18 October 2016

“They have oxygen. Oxygen is air and it helps you.”- Ruby

Following Monday’s rich conversation we looked at the children’s responses and ideas raised to investigate some concepts further. The importance of trees was a strong theme throughout Monday’s conversation.

Why are trees important?

Gigi: I said “If the trees are all cut down we would die.”

Harper: They help us breathe.

Ruby: They have oxygen. Oxygen is air and it helps you.

How do the trees help you breathe?

Ruby: They get it from the sky because they are taller than anything else.

Felix: No! They are not they are not taller than Eureka Tower. Eureka Tower says the way the air goes. The tallest trees get more because tall trees have more leaves.

How does oxygen come from leaves?

Blake: They soak up the oxygen with their branches.

Angus: The leaves are so small they can get lots of oxygen.

Gigi: They want to cut down the trees to get more oxygen.

Milan: The leaves have oxygen and you can breathe.

Harper: If they cut down all the trees we won’t have paper because the trees make paper.

Angus: Their bark makes the paper.

How can paper be made from trees?

Angus: I didn’t know that.

What is the importance of trees?

Blake: They have lots of nutrients for animals to feed on like bugs, lizards, and insects.

Chloe: The trees catch the air to keep us safe. And they sway side to side.

Angus: Elephants don’t have real fans to fan them. Their ears are so big to fan them.

Aiden: Because the trees help the animals breathe.

Isobel: Birds nest. They nest in tall trees.

Is it good to cut down trees?

Felix: Not for birds. Because they make nests.

Angus: They nest in really tall trees so the eggs won’t fall.

Thomas: People are chopping down the orangutan’s trees to make way for palm oil trees.

What can we do?

Thomas: We can try– we can stop buying things with palm oil. Maybe we can make them stop doing it by not buying bickies and cakes with palm oil. Mummy told me, its happening in some parts of Indonesia and Borneo.

Why can’t the orangutans live in the palm oil trees?

Thomas: The Palm Oil trees are spikey and the orangutans need to be in soft trees that have the right food for them.

Felix: We could plant new rainforest seeds.

Angus: Where would we get the seeds from?

Felix: I know what we could do we could make up a shield for them.


COMMUNITY – Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world; Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the

reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active civic participation.



IDENTITY – Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity;

Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect and recognise the contributions they make to shared projects and experiences.

Aiden

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

We have been looking at different birds nests

over the term and on Wednesday Blake brought in

another birds nest he found in his street. He shared

this with the group. Our conversations about the

environment and importance of trees led

Wednesday’s morning meeting discussion to a rich

understanding about the different habitats animals

call their homes.

What is a habitat?

Aiden: Where the animals live.

What sort of habitats do animals live in?

Blake: Lakes, rivers, rainforests, marshes.

Felix: Swamps.

Lexi: Eels—they live in dirty water and the sea.

Felix: Stingrays swim in the water.

William: Trees are habitats for birds.

Aiden: The rainforest—Orangutans.

Henry: Some animals live in holes and trees.

The children regularly create a zoo using

fabric, natural materials and the blocks. On

Wednesday morning we challenged the children to

create the different habitats for the animals. The

conversations were rich with the dialogue going

backwards and forth as they decided where each

animal needed to live. It was a great opportunity for

the children to seek out each others expertise on

animals and block construction as they used their

imaginations, using the blocks and the materials to

make different habitats such as trees and caves. It

was an opportunity for the children to be leaders in

the play and work cooperativity together on a

common interest.

The children have been exploring the different

habitats they can find in the playground that insects

like to live in.


Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Pizzas On Wednesday we made pizza! Kyler

brought in some pizza dough bases to share with

the children. The children enjoyed stretching the

dough with their hands to individually make their

own pizzas which they ate at lunchtime. They

noticed how the dough smelt like bread and rose

when it was put in the oven.

Thanks Kyler for sharing this experience with us.


Thursday, 20 October 2016

We could say, “Can you please stop chopping down the orangutan’s trees?” - Thomas

In our Creative movement session with Mrs. Zachest we travelled to Indonesia again on our magic carpet. This time our journey was to investigate what is happening to the orangutan’s habitat in Indonesia. We arrived to find that the beautiful rainforest was no longer there as machines had come and cut down the trees that are the orangutans habitat. We thought about what other animals live in the rainforest.

Angus: I found a frog.

We sort some help and advice from a friendly komodo dragon.

Why have the trees been cut down?

Felix: They wanted to make more oil.

Thomas: It’s called palm oil.

Milan: The trees were old.

Gigi: They cut them down to make paper.

Blake: If the tree are gone the animals can’t blend in.

Can we save the rainforest?

Olivia: We can help get the trees back.

Harper: We could plant some seeds to get them back.

Why can’t the orangutans live in the palm oil trees?

Thomas: They want to plant the palm oil trees. The trees are too spiky for the orangutans.

The children pretended to hold a little frog, and searched for a part of the rainforest that they could put it back. As they were searching they heard the roar of the trucks. They decided to hold a meeting with the worker.

What can we do?

Felix: Stop the machines. We can show them how to be mindful.

Thomas: We could say, “Can you please stop chopping down the orangutans trees?”

Harper: We could do a dance to stop them by distracting them.

Felix: When they're dancing we could drive their trucks backwards.

Is it only in Indonesia that the rainforest is being cut down?

Aiden: I would say—STOP cutting down the orangutans trees and other country’s trees where all the animals live because they won’t have a home and they will become extinct.

Angus: We could say it in Indonesian to stop it.

Blake: We’d have to do it in South America.

Thomas: Count in Indonesian.

Mrs. Zachest: Don’t worry all the animals—we are here to protect them.

Thomas: They are the orangutans trees.

Gigi: There are birds who need homes.

Milan: The orangutans might be sad.

How can we get the message through?

Mrs. Zachest: We are powerful when we work together. How can we save the rainforest?

Felix: Shut the machines down.

Are there any endangered species in Australia? Billie mentioned a frog the other day.

Aiden: The corroboree frog is endangered. It is yellow and black—it makes a different sound.


COMMUNITY – Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world; Children begin to explore, predict and hypothesise about how their actions have consequences on the environment.

They use play to investigate, project and explore new ideas that contribute to group outcomes.

journals: week october— october 2016 “what hurts the earth ... · journals: week 3—17...

Documents