Lower Primary Learning

Overview

Literacy and Numeracy programs that utilise focused teaching groups have continued to be extremely successful in meeting the individual needs of students, and in ensuring that skills, strategies and processes are built upon. Specialist programs, Social Competencies, Technology, the delivery of our engaging integrated unit, and a variety of special events have encouraged and supported inquiry and problem solving skills.

This newsletter will highlight all those extra activities and incursions that have engaged and stimulated our student’s interest and learning. The range of activities that classes have been involved in and the learning that has occurred as a result of these has been impressive.

Students have continued to write recounts about some of our special experiences at school. For one language experience activity students went into the garden and planted some seedlings. They planted lettuce, beetroot, radishes and also watered some of the plants that were already there too. The language of who, where, when and what was used to introduce our experience. Students also used the words  ‘first, then, next and finally’ to organise our sentences and ideas. At the end we all gave our opinion about the experience to add an interesting detail!

Every Thursday afternoon PJL, PLB, PNC and PKD participate in language experience based rotations. Each term every child engages in cooking, science, movement and mindfulness or movie making. These activities are the focus for our recount writing. We identify and write about who, what, where and when the event took place, using the language of first, then and last to help recount the experience.

Students really look forward to the cooking component of this program. The students follow a pictorial recipe and learn simple cooking skills such as chopping, squeezing, mixing and spreading. They are also introduced to a variety of cooking equipment and learn about safety in the kitchen. After the cooking activity, the students write about their experience through drawing and composing a sentence about it.

Students have also have participated in lots of fun Science experiments. They have exploded lunch bags, made a rocket using Coke and Mentos, made a lava lamp and even made it rain inside.  This week we put pencils through a water filled bag, and the bags didn’t leak (well most of them didn’t!). The students have enjoyed wearing their lab coats and goggles so they feel like real scientists. Each week students make a prediction about what might happen in the experiment before actually doing it. After the experiment is completed, we do a short evaluation and see if it worked or not. Students have also been compiling a photo journal of their experiments. It is great seeing the students so motivated and engaged in these fun science activities. Looking forward to making water walk next week!

Mindfulness and Movement encompasses students overall wellbeing, by incorporating tasks that calm and focus the mind while getting the whole body moving. The program works on building fine and gross motor skills through relaxation, dance, sensory and hands on tasks that require concentration. Our sessions always begin with relaxation, where students each find a spot to lay down with a pillow and engage in deep breathing. Following on, we engage in a ‘Cosmic Kids’ Yoga session, which explores the basics of yoga. Students enjoy learning yoga through familiar stories and characters. The whole group then participates in a range of tasks which range from dot painting, colouring and jewellery making to using kinetic sand, shaving cream and playdough. Each week students have the opportunity to experience a different activity. For this week, students teared and scrunched small pieces of tissue paper, as the basis to constructing a rainbow, which promoted the use of fine motor skills. Our afternoon concluded with a ‘Just Dance’ song!

As part of the library and Science program students have been focussing on biological science and the study of minibeasts.  The students have been learning about life cycles of plants and minibeasts including tadpole to frog, seed to plant and caterpillar to butterfly.  They have examined the needs of minibeasts and have created mini habitats for our tadpoles, ants and worms.

As part of the multicultural focus on “Stories of the Past" students attended a dance workshop which incorporated the traditional Chinese dragon or lion heads that are used to tell traditional Chinese stories. The students were involved in creating an exciting dance performance and learning about Chinese culture and their stories at the same time. They were totally engaged by the performance, the colourful dragon and being able to assist in the creation of the dance and tell Chinese stories through movement and drama.

Over the next few weeks the inside classrooms will be participating in a Multicultural Cooking program as part of our integrated unit. Each week students will be investigating different cultures through food and cooking. This week students were in three different groups each preparing and creating a dish from either, Vietnam (rice paper rolls), Macedonia (zucchini slice) or India (tamarind rice). This was followed by a special afternoon tea sampling the food.

Each class has access to Occupational Therapy sessions throughout the week. Within these sessions, the students have been working on:

• Hand strength, in hand manipulation, dexterity
• Handwriting development, letter formation
• Cutting practice
• Gross motor, coordination and balance
• Independence in putting on shoes/socks, jumpers and coats
• Exploring a range of sensory items
• Increasing engagement within the classroom

PLB has been working hard on developing their hand strength and fine motor control during their Occupational Therapy sessions. They have been participating in rotational activities such as picking up pipe cleaners with tongs, squeezing pop toys, painting, cutting, using pegs and drawing under the table. These activities work on shoulder stability, strength, crossing the midline, developing a functional grip, hand strength and coordination.

The Sexuality program continues with our Preps joining the program. They are exploring the anatomical dolls undressing, dressing and bathing the dolls. Other classes are learning about the exemption people to the private body part rule. All students are extending their knowledge and awareness of their bodies and how to keep themselves safe.