Library News | Junior School

Library News | Junior School

Classroom learning

At the end of last term, Year 3 was inquiring about sustainable food production for their Unit of Inquiry. During Library time we were considering how the rain has impacted our fruit and vegetable supplies in Australia. The news of the week had been about the price of iceberg lettuce and that fast food companies were resolving the issues in their restaurants by using cabbage instead of lettuce. Thinking through how we could be more sustainable with our food options, a decision to grow our own lettuce seemed like a good idea.

I spoke with Mrs Bargwanna, our Green Patch teacher about whether we might be able to grow our own iceberg lettuce here at school. She was really excited to be part of our problem solving solution, and over the weekend, popped into Bunnings to buy some seeds.

Only, when she went to Bunnings, there were no iceberg lettuce seeds to be found! Mrs Bargwanna even went to two more Bunnings to see if they had any iceberg lettuce seeds and they had all sold out too! Clearly everyone else had the same idea.

In the end she bought some Cos lettuce seeds and the boys and I planted them in Week 8.

A photo of where the iceberg lettuce seeds should have been in Bunnings. All gone! What Mrs Bargwanna bought instead.

Here we are planting the lettuce seeds 15cm apart in our Year 3 garden beds in the JS courtyard.

Three weeks later…. We have our little  lettuce seeds have started growing into plants!

To end the lesson we read the book We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines. We reflected on how families like the one in this story are becoming more resourceful at growing their own gardens. It was great to be able to discover practical ways that we can contribute to sustainable food production here at Trinity.

 

Using Thinking Routines in the Library

Harvard’s Graduate school of Education’s Project Zero have been designing and implementing ways for students to be creative and reflective in their learning. Over the last two decades they have created a set of thinking strategies that help our students to become better thinkers. These set of routines are really helpful in Library lessons for hooking and engaging students with the learning process.

Last week, Year 2 did the ever popular See, Think, Wonder thinking routine as they looked at an old-fashioned typewriter for their Unit of Inquiry on how people’s lives are affected by machines.

Year 3 did the Think, Puzzle, Explore thinking routine for their inquiry about how spaces provided people a sense of community. We used a picture of the rotunda at Yeo Park as the provocation for this.

Thinking routines really help to ignite curiosity. These Year 3 boys continued their conversations and wonderings to the board as they looked and analysed the role and function of the Rotunda at Yeo Park.

 

Week 5 Book Week Reminder

Only three more weeks until Book Week. Keep thinking about who or what book character you would like to come dressed up for the parade on Friday the 19th August.

Nikki Bowden | Teaching and Learning Librarian

Share this post