Grade 1

Reading

This fortnight, students have been developing their phonics and reading skills through a variety of reading, spelling and writing activities. A key focus has been the suffix -ed, exploring how it can be added to verbs to show that an action happened in the past. Opportunities to read, spell and write words with this suffix have supported students in applying their understanding in different contexts.

Students have also been revising split digraphs (bossy ‘e’) and exploring how the final ‘e’ changes the vowel sound in a word. Through a range of activities, they have practised recognising these spelling patterns and applying them when reading and writing. Students have explored one- and two-syllable words, practised reading words with the suffix -s, and developed their reading fluency through the shared text Kate’s Bike. While reading the text, they also strengthened their comprehension skills by answering questions, locating key information and discussing their understanding.

The digraph /aw/, as in claw, has also been introduced, with students learning to identify, read and spell words containing this sound. They have practised segmenting words into individual sounds and using sound boxes to support accurate spelling. Throughout the fortnight, regular revision of tricky words has continued to build confidence and accuracy in both reading and spelling.

Writing

This fortnight in Writing, students have been learning to understand and respond to the story ‘I Want My Hat Back’ by remembering important events, asking and answering questions and sharing their thoughts and feelings about the characters and their actions. Students have been developing their ability to sequence the key events in the story and identify different sentence types, including commands and exclamations. They have also been practising using correct punctuation and creating dialogue that matches the characters and events in the story. Through these activities, students have been strengthening their comprehension, storytelling and writing skills while having fun exploring this storybook.

Maths

This fortnight in Mathematics, students have been learning to skip count in 2s, 5s and 10s and recognise how these number patterns grow and change. Students have been practising identifying and continuing skip counting sequences, as well as creating their own patterns using 2s, 5s and 10s. They have also been developing their understanding of grouping and organising collections into equal groups of 2, 5 and 10. Through hands-on activities, students have been exploring growing patterns by increasing quantities in 2s, 5s and 10s, as well as shrinking patterns by decreasing quantities. These activities have been helping students build their number sense, recognise patterns and develop confidence with counting and grouping numbers in meaningful ways.

Home Learning

Reading:

Read together and look for words containing split digraphs (bossy ‘e’).
Find words ending in -ed and discuss how this suffix can show that something happened in the past.
Practise reading and spelling words containing the /aw/ sound, such as claw, draw and straw.
Create a word list using split digraphs, -ed, -s and ‘aw’, and practise reading and spelling the words.
Revisit tricky words and practise reading, spelling and using them in simple sentences.
Play a word hunt by looking for the focus spelling patterns in books, signs, labels or other print around the home.
After reading a story, discuss and answer questions such as:
- “Who were the main characters?”
- “What happened in the story?”
- “How do you know? Can you find a clue in the text?”
- “What did you learn from the story?”
Encourage your child to explain their thinking and discuss any new or interesting words they discover.

Writing:

Encourage students to use correct letter formation and spacing between words.
Practice writing decodable words using known sounds.
Read and write simple decodable sentences.
Complete the weekly homework sheet.
Practice writing commands and exclamations.

Maths:

Practise skip counting in 2s together. Start at 0 and take turns saying the next number: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8…
Practise skip counting in 5s using everyday objects such as coins, blocks or toys.
Practise skip counting in 10s and see how quickly your child can reach 100.
Look for patterns around the home. Can your child find or create a pattern that increases by 2, 5 or 10?
Make groups of objects in 2s, 5s or 10s. For example, organise 20 buttons, LEGO pieces or pencils into equal groups.
Ask your child to continue a number pattern, such as 10, 20, 30, __, __ or 5, 10, 15, __, __.
Create a growing pattern using toys or drawings. Start with 2 objects, then add 2 more each time. Try again with 5 or 10.
Create a shrinking pattern by starting with a collection and taking away 2, 5 or 10 each time.
Play “What comes next?” Give your child a skip counting sequence with a missing number and ask them to work it out.
Challenge your child to create their own skip counting pattern and have a family member guess whether it is counting by 2s, 5s or 10s.