Learning News 1/2

Years 1/2

Science

In science, we have been learning about space. Students are exploring Earth as a planet in the solar system and identifying patterns in the changing positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in the sky.

We have already learned about the Mars rover and used Google Earth and maps to explore our school through satellite photographs. We have also begun learning the order of the planets and are practising remembering their names using a mnemonic device. Our memory trick is: My (Mercury) Very (Venus) Educated (Earth) Mother (Mars) Just (Jupiter) Served (Saturn) Us (Uranus) Nachos (Neptune).

In our classroom, we have a space-themed play table that students use during Friday rotations. These rotations incorporate play-based learning, which encourages students to explore concepts in an engaging and hands-on way. Through play, they develop creativity, problem-solving skills, and collaboration while reinforcing their understanding of space in a fun and meaningful way.

Below are some exciting space events happening in March that you may want to observe with your child(ren).

Writing

In writing, we have started learning about the structure of narratives. Narrative writing is storytelling, allowing children to create and share stories with a clear structure: a beginning, middle, and end. Through narratives, children develop their creativity, vocabulary, and writing skills while learning how to engage a reader.

Our narratives will be based on space to connect with our science topic.

What Does Narrative Writing Involve?

Students learn to:

• Create characters – Who is in the story?
• Develop a setting – Where and when does the story take place?
• Build a problem or event – What happens to make the story interesting?
• Resolve the problem – How is the issue solved?
• Use descriptive language – Words that help bring the story to life.

Here is some writing from our most recent Big Write, "The Day I Met an Astronaut."

I met the astronaut on the moon and he said he lost his helmet. I looked everywhere for it. I looked on Mars and found it there. I gave it back to the astronaut and we went home. Aahana 

I was flying in space in space when I saw an astronaut. He was stuck on the moon. I helped him and took him home. 

Logan.

I went to school with Issie. She dropped her bag and ran to the oval. I ran to Issie, my mouth dropped open. There was a rocket there. Issie went inside and I went inside too. I pressed a button and we went zooming into space. We found an astronaut wearing pyjamas. He lost his space suit, he asked us to help him find it. We helped him find his space suit and he took us back to Earth. 

Millah