Year Five/ Six
Communicating with the Year Five/Six Team
We look forward to partnering with you in 2021, and welcome your input:
Llewela Humphries (Class 56A) Llewela.Humphries@education.vic.gov.au
Melissa Woollard (Class 34C) Melissa.Woollard@education.vic.gov.au
ENGLISH in Year Five/Six
Writing
Allowing our students to experience all curriculum areas to their fullest potential is a vital part in quality teaching and planning. Both teachers, are continually planning through the inclusion of multiple exposure across curriculum areas. During writing, reading, inquiry and homework tasks, we are covering similar topics so the students are able to develop an in depth understanding.
This week we have begun to write Information Reports on a human cell. Using VOICES to guide our writing sessions we have focused on the Organisation of the correct structure of information reports.
Students have also viewed a range of non-fiction texts where they had the opportunity to identify text features suitable for information reports and non-fiction texts (glossary, diagrams, labels, captions, index etc...).
We are also using the writing process of research, plan, draft, edit, conference and publish to promote all our senior students to become responsible for their own learning. With teacher guidance and conferencing students will experience the reward of finishing a selection of reports.
As stated previously, our Inquiry focus is learning about the body, with a particular emphasis upon the Human cell.
Students have been able to select their own cell and completed an information report on it. Here are a few examples:
Next week we are focusing on selecting natural world environments (desert, polar, temperate etc...) and identifying how the human body has evolved / adapted to live in those environments.
Students will put together all of their information report pages to develop a Non-Fiction text, linked to the Inquiry focus - The Human Body. This Non-fiction text will be our Term One Inquiry Portfolio task.
Reading
Students have been engaging in sustained reading session to develop their reading stamina. We have had a reading focus each week which highlights different Thinking Tracks. So far we have discussed and identified how to develop open ended Questions, make suitable Predictions, identified physical Reactions the characters and students may have, moving into make Connections (self / text / world) with books being read.
The Reader's workshop model is giving our students time to learn new skills and then transfer and make connections to their Just Right novels.
Update of Mathematics:
During this term our Year Five and Six students have had a focus on the Number and Algebra strand. Particular focus has been on Place Value, Addition and Subtraction. Both classes are revisiting the correct processes involved with answering different mathematical equations. Students are then using / transferring their knowledge to complete a range of worded problems during our investigation sessions.
A couple of good links that parents may view at home which explain how we are teaching the Addition and Subtraction process, which involves carrying, borrowing, regrouping and renaming, are through the Kahn Academysite. Examples to view are:
In the coming week we are introducing the Cartesian Plane to all Year Five/Six students. This will involve the students understanding:
- the four different quadrants (+/+, +/-, -/- & -/+)
- pinpointing positive and negative coordinate positions
- following given positive coordinate positions to complete set drawings
- following given Cartesian plane (positive and negative / x and y) coordinates to develop a picture
- participate in playing games of Battleship with their peers.
Look out in the next Newsletter for some pictures of our battle arenas.
CHESS Tournament
During our Year Six transition session on Fridays, we have been learning the skills involved in playing Chess. So far we have learnt the movements involved with all game pieces, played a few games against the computer (students are able to play through their iPads) and participated in warm up games against a mixture of their peers.
This Friday 26th February, we will be starting a Chess tournament.
Good luck to all of our students.
HOME LEARNING
Home Learning has started for Term One. We have now completed two weeks worth of tasks. In both 5/6A and 5/6B, Home Learning folders will go home on Friday, and are due on the following Wednesday.
Each week, we expect the students to cover a mix of curriculum tasks such as:
Reading - home reading (record pages)
Spelling - select five words from personal spelling lists
Maths - times tables practice
Inquiry - mini poster linked to the weeks inquiry topic.
The Home Learning expectations and tasks can be found in the link below.