This meeting was held on Thursday 6 November with a small and enthusiastic group of teachers. We looked at resources, eg Blacksmith movie, blacksmith book, vocabulary list and images.

Julie added some rhyme and rhythm to the blacksmith story;

 He pulls the handle up and down.

Bellows blowing the air out now

into the fire – hear that sound!

The forge heats up, the fire roars.

The bellows blow out air that soars!

Cynthia’s students were responsible for the interesting questions in the blacksmith movie, eg, Can you cook pizza’s in that oven? It was suggested that we create 2 movies of about 2 minutes each. The word list could be part of a word wall for future writing. These resources will be available on the Sovereign Hill website, in the teacher section, and Early years. Future resource suggestions were: Butcher, Baker, Stables, Tinsmith, Store, Lolly Shop. There are links to other curriculum areas eg Science, the different colours the metal goes when it heats up , red, orange, yellow and white the hottest.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/blacksmith-tim-bignell-talks-about-anvils-20140704-zswci.html

Over the years of working at Sovereign Hill it never ceases to amaze me how interesting the Blacksmith is to all ages but particularly to younger children. The sound of the wooshing bellows, the banging hammer on the anvil, the black metal objects hanging around, the hot forge and the different smell add to the environment you find in the blacksmith. The Dilges Blacksmith Shop is at the bottom of the Main street of Sovereign Hill it shows the varied business of an 1850s smithy, as visitors watch the blacksmith make simple mining and domestic ironware, using huge bellows to keep the furnace coals glowing. An important part of the blacksmith’s work is the shoeing of Sovereign Hill’s horses.

Recently students in year 2 from Manor Lakes visited Sovereign Hill  to trial different ways of using their ipads.

https://ca-sas.bbcollab.com/p.jnlp?psid=2014-04-29.2314.M.679CA0AB9E420AA6C538CA04FA59EA.vcr&sid=2007026

The above link is for the recording of the latest Blackboard Collaborate teacher Professional Learning web Conference. We hosted 3 Early Years teachers from Manor Lakes P-12 College who discussed how learning takes place at their school and how their students used  a visit to Sovereign Hill as a spring board for further learning. Kim explained the Inquiry  and the Kath Walker approach and spoke about how the various Investigations in the classrooms were set up. The mix of Investigation stations are set up for children to pursue their interests and draw out further learning. Michelle talked about how ipads are used and Bec showed how the Investigations that happen in the classroom are linked to AusVELS History and allow for historical skill development.

This recording is well worth a listen.

The first meeting for 2014 of the Sovereign Hill Early Years reference Group was held on Thursday 13 February.

We began our meeting discussing Prep, Year 1 and the different ways teachers approach history. The question of what constitutes “Early Years” arose?

The DEECD (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) and VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) states it is the Learning and development from birth to 8 years. It brings to mind another question. Should we include Kindergartens and Early Learning Centres in our group? Initially it would be hoped that we be concerned with Prep through to Year 3 and the History AusVELS relevant to these years. Birth to eight years is the internationally recognised period of early childhood development.

The first eight years of life are a critical time for learning and development, when children acquire essential foundation skills and knowledge and when brain development is at its peak.  Children within this age range are characteristically different from children at older ages.

Inquiry based learning is a common approach. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009) recognises inquiry as a central component in effective learning, not only in childhood but also throughout life.

“One form of inquiry-based learning is project work which involves children investigating a question or problem over a period of time. While a project often starts off with a particular question or area of interest, how it develops is affected by children’s changing ideas and responses… Projects can be unpredictable, and develop with the interest of the child, it is a personal approach and each child will be working on a different project”.

Teachers “support children to follow and investigate their own ideas, they not only foster learning about the specific ideas under investigation, they also enable children to exercise their growing sense of agency and autonomy and promote inquiry, curiosity and exploration as valuable approaches to learning”.

(National Quality Standards Professional learning Program Newsletter no 45 2012)

Sovereign Hill Early Years Reference Group meeting dates:

Thursdays starting at 4.30pm either at Sovereign Hill or the Gold Museum, TBC:

29 May, 4 September, 6 November

Online Professional Learning History in the Early Years, a Blackboard Collaborate web Conference:

Wednesdays 4.00 – 5.00pm, 30^th April, 23 July, 15 October

Sovereign Hill has established an expert group of teachers to develop and trial activities and materials to teach history in the important early years of school. There will be a focus on literacy and fun. Teachers will share their experiences of trialing various ideas, activities and resources.

Welcome to the Sovereign Hill Early Years Reference Group Blog.

This group of local Ballarat teachers met and held their first meeting in December 2013. All sectors of the Education system were represented. The aim of this group is to develop new ideas, activities and resources as models of best practice in teaching AusVELS History in the early years.