Category Archives: Stage 2

Comparing reindeer to boomers

Posted on by

Stage 2 students are still investigating People and their beliefs in HSIE. Today we compared Santa in Australia, a picture book by Maryann Pfeifer & David Van Asten with the song popularised by Rolf Harris, Six white boomers:


Six white boomers – a Rolf Harris tribute

We have read several Australian parody versions of “The twelve days of Christmas”, but here is a Youtube ciip of the original carol:


12 Days of Christmas – Christmas carol

Early Stage 1 students asked me to add this Youtube clip, one of their classroom favourites:


Aussie Jingle Bells – Bucko & Champs – the original

Learning about Buddhism and Judaism

Posted on by

The following Youtube clips should provide some field knowledge for the Stage 2 students’ research into Buddhism:


BUDDHISM the history and belief explained (using first five mins only)


What is Buddhism?

Mahabodhi Temple at dusk 6
“Mahabodhi Temple at dusk 6” by Triratna Photos on Flickr Creative Commons


Facts about Judaism

Investigating world religions

Posted on by

Stage 2 students are studying world religions and festivals in their HSIE work. A useful website should be Religion for kids.

These Youtube video clips will be our starting points to start explore essential field knowledge:


Religion Global History Timeline 1 min 30 sec (Was: History timeline: world religions conquest map HD)

See also:
The world must watch this video to respect Vedic Hinduism (from “Proud Hindus of India”).
The link above does not allow embedding of the clip into a blog entry.


Krishna: history or myth 1
(First few minutes are a broad overview of Hinduism; then moves to Krishna sect.)


Hindu creation story


Explanation of the Hindu Gods


Hindu Gods Ganesh

Akshardham Temple, Delhi
“Akshardham Temple, Delhi” by travfotos on Flickr Creative Commons


5 Pillars of Islam – part 1 | Cartoon by Discover Islam UK


The 5 pillars of Islam animated in English (includes previous clip at the beginning)

Taj Mahal
“Taj Mahal” by ndj5 on Flickr Creative Commons

Natural sounds, natural disasters

Posted on by

Next week, Stage 2 students will be predicting and researching the sounds of natural disasters in their science and technology unit, “Light, sound and communication”. These Youtube video clips will be useful:


Mount St. Helens disintegrates in enormous landslide


Amazing standstill tornado


Scientist gets too close to lava lake! – Richard Hammond’s Journey to the centre of the planet – BBC


Super creepy sounds in the sky during a storm in Finland!


The most shocking video of the tsunami in Japan


Skiing – Avalanches


Untamed Earth – Avalanche! (snow avalanche; lava avalanche)


Nyamulagira volcano continues to erupt


Hurricane effects: strong winds and lightnings

When lightning strikes

Posted on by

Stage 2 and Class 3-5R are studying lightning and electricity this term in their science and technology unit, “Light, sound and communication”.

They will be investigating the National Geographic‘s lightning webpage at: www.nationalgeographic.com.

These electrical saftey videos from Youtube will also be useful:


Dexter Duck: electrical safety video


Electrical safety tips


P.I. Plug’s home safety video
Note that this plug-like caricature is in the US configuration (compare with Australian electrical plugs). Measurements are imperial and the emergency phone number demonstrated is American. In Australia, we dial 000, or 112 (for GSM mobile and satellite phones), which is answered by a Triple Zero (000) operator.