Year 1 Teaching & Learning

English 

This term, our students will explore the captivating world of narratives and context in picture books! Students will participate in discussions about the stories read, giving them opportunities to ask clarifying questions, listen and respond to group conversations and recount narratives with the key components. They will learn to understand and appreciate stories by focusing on key comprehension strategies such as predicting, visualising, and connecting with the text. These skills will help them engage with narratives more deeply, enabling them to anticipate what might happen next, create mental images of the story, and relate the content to their own experiences. 

Students will learn how the sequence of events in a story is important because it helps readers understand what happens and when, showing how one event leads to another. Authors and illustrators choose specific words and images to create emotions and vivid pictures in readers’ minds, making the story more enjoyable. A character's background and experiences shape their actions and the events in the story, helping readers see why they make certain choices. Additionally, authors carefully select settings to create the right mood and influence what characters do, adding depth and engagement to the story.

Students will develop essential skills in reading and writing their own narratives. They will be guided through the writing process, learning how to structure their stories with a clear orientation, complication, and resolution. Our lessons will focus on grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, empowering students to express their ideas clearly and creatively. As they refine their writing skills, they will gain confidence in crafting engaging narratives that captivate their readers.

We are also excited to continue our phonics program, where students receive explicit instruction on sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes), which is crucial for developing their spelling skills. Each lesson will focus on the relationship between sounds and letters, enhancing their reading and writing capabilities. Additionally, students will receive instruction in handwriting, learning to form letters with the correct slope, size, and style, which will further support their overall literacy development.

Students will continue engaging in literacy groups each week throughout the term. These small group sessions are designed to reinforce the skills and knowledge they've gained from explicit lessons in reading and writing. Each week, students will engage in focused reading activities with their teachers, allowing for targeted support. These sessions will help them progress towards their individual learning goals, fostering a deeper understanding of texts and enhancing their literacy skills. By working in small groups, students will also benefit from collaborative learning, sharing ideas, and building confidence in their reading abilities. 

We look forward to an engaging term filled with storytelling, creativity, and the joy of reading and writing!

Mathematics 

This term, we will explore a variety of mathematical concepts. Our lessons are designed to combine explicit teaching with independent activities tailored to each student's needs, ensuring challenging and engaging learning experiences. Each lesson will include explicit instruction to ensure clear understanding, followed by differentiated independent activities for students to practice and consolidate their learning. 

Weeks 3-5: Representing Whole Numbers & Position 

In this cycle, students will dive into counting forwards and backwards as well as skip counting by twos from a given number. They will also learn about 'odd' and 'even' numbers. For position, students will practice giving and following directions to familiar locations while recording this in models and drawings.

Weeks 6-8: Combining & Separating Quantities & Length

In this cycle, students will use advanced count-by-one strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems, enhancing their mental maths skills. They'll also explore measuring by using uniform informal units to compare the lengths of different objects. Activities such as "measure the classroom" will allow students to apply these concepts in practical, hands-on ways.

Weeks 9-11: Forming Groups, 2D Shape & Area

In this cycle, students will explore skip counting patterns of twos, fives and tens, counting in multiples through rhythmic activities like clapping and jumping games. They'll also learn to transform 2D shapes by sliding and reflecting them using activities such as paper-folding. Additionally, students will compare rectangular areas, using activities that involve covering surfaces with tiles or other informal units to better understand the concept of area.

Geography, Science & Technology

This term, our students will embark on a fun journey exploring the sky and land in our integrated Science and Geography unit! We will learn about amazing changes in the sky, like day and night, weather patterns, and the changing seasons. One of the highlights will be discovering Indigenous stories, including "Emu in the Sky," which teaches us about the stars and their connection to nature.

Students will also become young scientists as they conduct experiments and collect data about the weather! They'll observe the sun’s pattern, draw star constellations, graph the weather, and sketch different types of clouds. This hands-on learning will help them understand how weather affects our lives and the environment around us.

Throughout the unit, students will use digital technologies during library sessions to explore how we represent data and learn about the different parts of digital systems. We can’t wait to see their curiosity and creativity shine as they dive into these exciting topics!

Personal Development, Health & Physical Education 

This term, our students will dive into an exciting PDH unit focused on character strengths and recognising these strengths in ourselves and others. We’ll explore what character strengths are, how we demonstrate them in our daily lives, and why they are important for our personal growth and social development. Students will engage in fun activities and discussions that help them identify their own strengths and spot the strengths in their classmates. They will learn how these strengths contribute to building positive relationships, fostering teamwork, and creating a supportive classroom environment. By understanding and celebrating character strengths, students will gain confidence in themselves and learn to appreciate the unique qualities of those around them. We’re excited to see how this focus on strengths will encourage kindness, resilience, and collaboration in our school community!

In PE, students will continue participating in SISA activities to promote physical activity and develop cooperation skills while practicing a range of fundamental skills with equipment. 

CAPA 

In the Stage 1 Creative Arts curriculum for this semester, we will focus on several key areas to engage students:

Music: Students will explore various genres and multi-rhythms, including classical, contemporary, popular, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional and contemporary music, as well as folk music. This exploration will involve hands-on activities, theoretical discussions, and multimedia resources.

Dance: Students will engage in movement and self-expression through a variety of dance styles, including classical, contemporary, popular, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional and contemporary dance, and folk dance styles.

Singing: Students will develop their vocal skills and explore their tonal quality through a range of songs, including classical, contemporary, popular, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional or contemporary folk songs.

During Semester 1, the primary focus in Music, Dance, and Singing will be on "Appreciation." Students will have the opportunity to learn, develop, and apply analytical creative thinking skills. They will also learn how to provide structured feedback and develop critical and design thinking techniques within a set framework. Additionally, students will be encouraged to perform and reflect on their creative processes.

Languages Other Than English      

In Term 1, students are learning about the things they use at school in Mandarin. They will explore simple sentence structures in Mandarin to introduce different school items in various colours. Students with prior knowledge will learn to describe school items in longer sentences in Hanzi.

In Term 1, Korean background students will learn about days of the week, months and how to tell the time in Korean. They will also create a party plan for their birthday describing the time, place, food items and plans for the party.

Korean Bilingual

This term, Stage 1 students will learn Korean through the Personal Development and Health program. They will explore character strengths in Korean and practice using guided sentences to communicate and express these strengths. Students will also identify ways to build their character strengths, fostering meaningful relationships within the school community.

Library 

During Library lessons this term the students will be exploring how to use Google Sheets in conjunction with their integrated unit on Weather. Students will be logging onto the library laptops, accessing Google Classroom and exploring the various presentation tools that are available in the Google Slides application. Students will be learning how to access Google Sheets and create and insert a number of graphs to display different types of weather information. 

Students may borrow up to two books a week in Stage 1 and can borrow from junior fiction, fast fiction, and junior non fiction. All students must have a library bag to borrow books. A library bag is any kind of protective bag that cover the books to and from school, so please no disposable paper or plastic bags. Students may loan books from the library for two weeks at a time. 

EAL/D 

Throughout the term students working on all phases of English as an Additional Language or Dialect, will continue to be supported in their classroom by specialist teachers and classroom teachers. Each program of learning content provides differentiated instruction and activities for all students to achieve progress in their learning.