In Our Classrooms

Prep Writing Overview 

The Prep students have been developing their understanding of recounts by sharing and writing about events from their weekends and adding a picture to match their writing to help bring their ideas to life. They have been learning how to include important details to tell their experiences in sequence. Students have also explored onset and rime, focusing on patterns such as -am, -an, -ip, -ap, and -in to support their spelling and word building in writing. Students have also been focusing on correct handwriting formation, developing their ability to form letters accurately and consistently. We are so proud of the enthusiasm and growth students are showing in their writing journeys!

Year 1 Writing Overview 

The Year 1 students have been working hard to build their writing skills this term. In Handwriting, students have been practicing correct letter formation, while also focusing on writing all letters neatly and remembering to use finger spaces between words.

Additionally, students have been learning how to choose more interesting and descriptive words and discussing the meanings of new vocabulary. They have also explored nouns by identifying naming words such as people, places and things, and using them to add more detail to their sentences. Students have also been learning about verbs by identifying action words and thinking carefully about what characters are doing.

Creating fairy bread was a highlight for students as they explored procedural writing and learnt how to write clear step-by-step instructions. After making their fairy bread, students worked hard to write detailed procedures and draw matching pictures to explain what they did and how they did it. They have been using sequencing words and clear instructions to help others follow their steps.

It has been wonderful to see students so engaged, enthusiastic and proud as they continue developing their confidence and skills as writers.

Year 3 Writing Overview 

This term, the Year 3s have been focusing on Information Reports in writing. Students chose an animal of interest and researched various facts from different sources (non-fiction books on EPIC and Reading Eggs, animal websites and documentary Youtube videos). Students completed a plan and then began drafting their report, by including a title, classification, sub-headings, interesting facts and labelled diagrams. Students then published their work.

Year 4 Writing Overview 

In Writing, students have been exploring a range of text types including sequential explanations, imaginative and factual recounts, persuasive arguments and part-whole information reports. They have been examining the structure and language features of each text type and applying this knowledge throughout the writing process. Students have been planning, drafting, revising and editing their work to create published pieces, while continuing to build their confidence and creativity as writers.

A particular focus this term has been sequential explanation writing, where students have demonstrated their understanding of sequencing, text structure and appropriate language features to clearly explain a process or procedure. Students are currently working on persuasive writing pieces, where they are demonstrating their understanding of the structure and language features of persuasive texts. They have been developing their writing skills by planning, drafting, revising and editing their work to create published pieces. Students have also been strengthening their spelling skills through investigating spelling rules, word origins and morphology, while identifying the different sounds letters and letter combinations make. Take a look at some of our work!

Year 5 Writing Overview 

Our Year 5 students have been developing their understanding of information report writing through researching and writing about an animal of their choice. Students have explored the structure of an effective information report, including writing engaging introductions, organised body paragraphs, and clear conclusions. They have also focused on key writing skills such as writing in the present tense, using third person perspective, maintaining a formal and factual tone, and carefully editing their work to improve clarity and accuracy.

As part of this learning, students have strengthened their understanding of how to construct detailed body paragraphs by including topic sentences, supporting facts, and linking sentences. They have also been encouraged to expand their vocabulary through the use of Tier 2 and Tier 3 words to make their writing more precise and informative. It has been wonderful to see students growing in confidence as writers and applying these skills while researching fascinating facts about their chosen animals.

To celebrate their learning, students have had the opportunity to publish their information reports in booklet/paper form. This has allowed them to explore different ways of presenting information visually through the use of diagrams, graphics, and captions. Students have developed a deeper understanding of how visual features can support readers and enhance the overall effectiveness of an information text.

Year 6 Writing Overview 

This week we wrapped up reading our class novel ‘Our Australian Girl - Rose’ set in Melbourne in 1901. We began reading the first book of the series at the start of the term and have just finished the second book. Many classes enjoyed reading the series and have chosen to continue reading the third book during lunch eating time. We can’t wait to see Rose’s next adventures!

Last week in Writing, we planned our historical narrative using a planning booklet to record our ideas. The booklet allowed us to dive deeper into our planning to create detailed plans of our orientation, main characters, setting/s, narrative features and historically accurate events, facts and vocabulary. 

During Writing this week we brought our stories to life by writing a draft copy in our books, editing them using CUPS and ARMS and then publishing them. We were able to choose how we would like to publish our narrative. Many students chose to type them and use a cursive font to make them look handwritten. It was a challenge to make sure our stories were historically accurate and realistic to Australia in the early 1900’s. We enjoyed learning new vocabulary to use in our writing and making our published pieces look “old fashioned”.

Italian - Year 3

Students in Year 3 are using manipulatives to learn the Italian names of stationery that we use in class. The cards show pictures of stationery and their names in English. Students have to match the English name of each stationery to the corresponding one in Italian, and find similarities and differences between the different languages. The task assists students in reading, visualising and memorising the stationery names in Italian for a following writing activity.