Stage 1 

 

Teaching & Learning

English

This term in English, students will embark on an enriching exploration of language and storytelling, investigating how authors and illustrators use characters to teach us about the world we live in. Through engaging texts like "Where the Wild Things are," "Hark, it's me, Ruby Lee!", "Giraffes can't Dance" and "Three" they will explore how authors and illustrators use characters to make readers feel different emotions. Students will compare and contrast characters to evaluate how some characters invite positive and negative responses from the reader.

The focus for writing this term is character description and imaginative writing. Students will be working towards creating their own character description by the end of the term. We will begin by looking at characters we all know and love in various texts, before developing our skills to use descriptive language, dialogue and actions to be authors ourselves and create our own characters. 

In speaking and listening students will participate in class discussions around texts studied throughout the term. They will have opportunities throughout the term to present their written ideas in small groups and to their class teacher.

Our students will be engaged and challenged in a diverse range of literacy activities on a rotational basis. These activity sessions include dedicated guided reading with their classroom teacher and participating in independent activities to develop their understanding of reading concepts. Students will continue learning new sounds and correspondence throughout the term and applying sounds in different letter patterns. 

English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D)

The English as an Additional Language or Dialect program supports students to access and participate in class lessons. This program assists all to develop English language proficiency and other EAL/D students are helped during co-teaching sessions. All areas of the curriculum are supported. The language development of targeted students is monitored and at the end of the term, students’ progress and support is reviewed.

Mathematics

Students will deepen their knowledge and explore various mathematical concepts in Term 3. They will learn about collections of ten and how useful they can be when grouping and counting numbers. Students will also cover the concept of equality, using number bonds to find missing numbers and solve equality number equations. Additionally, they will work on forming groups where they will learn to represent, model and describe the process of multiplication and division through arrays. Students will focus on the following concepts in Term 3

• Weeks 2 - 4: Representing Whole Number, Data and Chance
• Weeks 5 - 7: Combing and Separating Quantities, Length
• Weeks 8 - 10: Forming Groups, 2D Shapes, Area

Stage 1 will be exploring the different concepts of mathematics through explicit instruction and hands on activities. Students will be assessed on concepts during the three-week cycle so teachers can accurately model and guide students at their appropriate level of growth. They will learn about different working mathematically processes to communicate, understand, reason and problem solve when learning mathematics.

History 

With the change into Semester 2, students’ learning changes from geography to developing their understanding in history for Terms 3 and 4. This term will see students recognise and appreciate the history of their local area, Chatswood. Students will also learn about a significant cultural event and how its celebration has changed over time.

Science & Technology

This term in science and technology, students continue on their learning journey of the natural physical world, building on their previous knowledge by now exploring push and pull forces. Through observations, guided investigations and evaluations, students will learn how these forces and their energy produced can be used for specific purposes. This unit will connect with our incursion in Week 4 during National Science Week

PDHPE 

The personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) unit this term focuses on bullying. Students will learn how to recognize and respond appropriately when they observe bullying or receive a bullying report. Using the 3 Rs of Recognise, Respond and Report, students will learn crucial skills to stop bullying in it's tracks and not be a bystander who lets it happen. Students will complete the child protection unit, strengths and strategies for safety. They will explore positive ways of interacting with others and how strengths can be used to demonstrate respectful behaviour.

Creative and Performing Arts 

The study focus for Semester 2 is Art and Drama. Students will understand how to appreciate art in different forms, learning how artists represent ideas with subject matter. They will have the opportunity to create their own artwork after learning about different techniques and materials. In Drama, students learn about the elements of drama. Through engaging activities with teachers guidance students will apply the elements to convey a story and take on a role. 

Languages Other Than English 

In Term 3, Stage 1 students are exploring native animals in Australia and China. They will compare animals based on their habitat, appearance and favourite food. Students will learn how to introduce the animals in Mandarin. Students with prior knowledge in the topic will learn to describe the animals with longer sentences in Hanzi. As part of the cultural experience, all Stage 1 students will participate in the Moon Festival celebration in Week 8.

Korean Bilingual 

This term, the Stage 1 Bilingual students are focusing on learning to read and write the Korean alphabet, alongside an integrated PDHPE Program. They are learning about bullying and different character traits in Korean.