Grade 1

Literacy

Over the past fortnight, students have continued to strengthen their reading skills through focused work on word knowledge, phonics, and fluency. In Week 7, we reviewed the sounds ow (as in cow) and ou (as in cloud), learning how these sounds can appear in different positions within words. Students enjoyed sorting and reading word examples to help them recognise when each spelling is used. We also revisited the suffix –ed, discussing how it signals past tense and practising how it can sound different in words like jumped, played, and landed. These activities supported students in building both decoding and writing accuracy.

In Week 8, our focus shifted to reviewing the sound –y at the end of words (as in puppy), noticing how this ending can make a word sound like it finishes with a long ‘e’. Students applied this understanding by reading and building their own –y words to consolidate the pattern. We also introduced Tricky Words – Group 11, spending time recognising, reading, and using these high-frequency words in context. Through games, guided reading, and short writing tasks, students continued to grow in confidence, showing greater independence in applying phonics and spelling knowledge across their learning. It’s been wonderful to see their progress and enthusiasm shine through each lesson!

Writing

In Weeks 7 and 8, our Grade 1 students continued engaging with rich narrative texts and targeted sentence-level writing. In Week 7, students explored The Imagineer by Christopher Cheng and Lucia Masciullo, using the text as inspiration to plan and write their own narratives. They learnt to describe character traits by noticing what characters did, said, thought, and felt, and they practised joining ideas using the conjunctions ‘if’ and ‘when’ to create complete, meaningful sentences. Students developed a story plan with a clear beginning, middle, and end, which they then used to write their own imaginative story.

In Week 8, students began a new text study with Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. They deepened their comprehension by sequencing key events and identifying characters, settings, problems, and solutions. They revisited proper nouns and types of sentences, statements, questions, and exclamations, while practising correct use of capital letters and end punctuation. Students also had opportunities to edit simple sentences and complete a free write, applying their understanding of sentence structure, spelling patterns, and punctuation.

Throughout both weeks, students engaged in Think Pair Share discussions, independent writing tasks, and scaffolded activities to help build confidence and clarity in their writing.

Maths

In Week 7, students explored three-dimensional objects through hands-on activities and problem-solving tasks. They identified and described common 3D shapes, compared their features with those of 2D shapes, and counted faces, edges, and vertices. Students built models using a set number of blocks, created different designs using the same amount and explained the reasoning behind their choices. They also sorted objects, recognised 3D objects in the environment and recorded their observations in tables. Throughout the week, students practised using mathematical language, demonstrated their understanding of shapes and shared their thinking during number talks.

In Week 8, students focused on addition and subtraction within 20 using number lines. They learned to add by starting with the larger number and counting on, and to subtract by counting back or by finding the difference using counting on. Students practised writing equations to match number lines, finding missing numbers, and choosing the most efficient strategy for each problem. They also explored how addition and subtraction are related, used tens frames and “friends of ten” to help solve equations, and added three numbers by starting with the most significant number first. Throughout the week, students counted forwards and backwards on number lines, identified number pairs to 10, checked their answers, and explained their thinking using clear mathematical language.

Additional Subjects

Over the past two weeks in Integrated Studies, students have been learning about local places and planning a diorama to represent an environment and season of their choice. They revisited natural, constructed and managed environments, explored the four seasons, and used a modelled example to guide their own planning. Students also prepared for next week’s writing by discussing what makes a place special and why others should visit it.

In Respectful Relationships, students learned what consent means and practised asking, giving and saying no in respectful ways. They discussed that consent only counts when both people say “yes” because they truly want to. Students also learned which parts of the body are private, how to recognise early warning signs when they don’t feel safe, and how to move to a safer space when needed