Year -1/2 Unit

It’s hard to believe we’re already in Week 7, the term is flying by! Students have been working incredibly hard across all areas of learning, and we’re excited to share some of the wonderful things happening in our classroom.

In writing over the past few weeks, students have proudly completed their explanation texts and are now diving into persuasive narratives. A persuasive narrative is a story that includes characters, a setting, a problem, and a solution—but within the story, the main character is also trying to persuade someone using clear reasons. Instead of listing their arguments like in a traditional persuasive text, students weave their reasons naturally into the storyline.

The class has really enjoyed the creative process of planning their stories, developing interesting characters, and deciding what persuasive reasons their characters will use. We are now working through the drafting stage, and it has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm and thoughtful ideas shining through.

In Reading, students have been building their comprehension skills by working with a range of texts and question types. They have been practising how to answer literal questions, where the information is found directly in the text, as well as inferential questions, which require them to combine clues from the story with their own prior knowledge to explain their thinking. Students have also been developing strategies for answering multiple-choice questions, learning to read each option carefully, check for meaning, and eliminate choices that don’t fit. This has helped them deepen their understanding of what they read and become more confident, thoughtful readers.

In Maths, our focus has been on location and position. Students have explored the placement of objects around the classroom, followed directions to find hidden items, and given instructions to help classmates navigate from one place to another. They have also been learning directional language such as left, right, quarter turn, and half turn to help give clearer, more precise instructions.

A highlight has been using BeeBots to practise giving and following directions. Students programmed the BeeBots to move around maps and obstacle courses, applying what they’ve learned about movement, turns, and positional language in a fun and hands-on way.

As part of this unit, students have also enjoyed creating their own maps of the classroom. They have been using symbols, simple keys, and directional clues to represent familiar spaces and guide others around their map. This has helped them understand how maps represent real environments and how direction helps us move safely and accurately from place to place.

In Inquiry, students have absolutely loved creating their own clay fossils. They collected leaves and flowers, pressed them into clay, and observed the imprint left behind as the clay dried. Through this hands-on experience, students gained a deeper understanding of how fossils form in nature and why they are important for learning about plants and animals from the past.

Year 1/2 Teachers

Greer Arnold/Iain Sparrey (12A), Christine Endress/Laura McLennan (12E), Lyndsay Adamson (12L), Katherine Richardson (12R), Juliet Smith /Emma Beaumont (12S)