The Golden Sun Newsletter

Monarch Community Report

Issue 11

Monarch Community Report September 

 

Reading

 

This term in our reading learning students have been focussing on understanding what they are reading by using questioning. They have been creating questions for texts using information that is in the text along with questions that require them to put clues together to answer the questions. Students have been answering ‘Right Here’ questions – questions where the answer is directly in one part of the text, ‘Search and Think’ questions – questions where the answer is in multiple sentences students must think about and connect ideas and ‘Author and Me’ questions – where students need to make a connection to the text and use evidence in the text to answer.

We have really been enjoying reading ‘Holes’ and will be finishing off the term by watching the movie version of the book. Students will be making comparisons between the movie and the book.

Aitken Hill celebrated ‘Book Week’ with a dress up day and a door decorating competition. The 5/6 community collectively created a door decoration using the theme of ‘Holes’. We are really proud of the way our door looked in the end!

 

 

Writing

This last couple of weeks the Monarch Community have been learning about poetry. To begin our poetry topic we had to learn and understand language devices such as Metaphor, Simile, Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Hyperbole and many more to support our poems. We have explored different types of poetry such as, haiku, couplet, quatrain, and limerick. We have read examples and then followed the structure and rules to create our own.  For example, a haiku poem has 3 lines but the first line needs to have 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the third line has 5 syllables. We needed to follow these rules carefully to make sure our poems were correct. 

 

 

Maths 

In Term 3, the Monarch community has explored mathematical concepts related to Multiplication and Division and the links between the two operations. Some of the terminology students worked towards understanding included:

  • Factors
  • Multiples
  • Products
  • Lowest Common Multiples
  • Highest Common Factors
  • Prime Numbers
  • Composite Numbers
  • Numerical Algorithms
  • Dividends
  • Divisors
  • Quotients
  • Remainders
  • Whole Numbers

We worked towards the automatic recall of fact families by developing, practicing and consolidating efficient mental and written strategies to use when solving mathematical problems that used Multiplication or Division. For example, we used:

  • Counting On From 5x
  • Arrays
  • Factor Rainbows (to understand the factors of a given number - and the relationship between Multiplication and Division)
  • Skip counting
  • Number Lines
  • Number Grids (such as the ones in the photo stream to explore multiples and common multiples)
  • Drawings
  • Shared Groupings
  • Partitioning
  • The Bus Stop Method (also known as Short Division)
  • Digital resources, such as:
    • Mathigon.org (such as Factoris, which shows the Commutative Property of Multiplication, in that 9 groups of 1 is equal to 9 but is visually different to 1 group of 9 which is also equal to 9).
    • My Numeracy on Essential Assessment
  • Thinking boards
  • Counters
  • Cards
  • Dice
  • Games

We examined written problems that involved Multiplication and Division and used many of the above strategies to help us solve each one.

 

 

 

Inquiry 

This term in Inquiry students have been learning about global warming and the impact humans have on the environment. Students have created podcasts about issues relating to climate change.

We also had a great day visiting the Zoo, where we learnt more about how humans affect the environment and the way in which the Zoo helps endangered animals, such as the: Baw Baw Frog. 

 

 

 

Gala Day

On 2 September year 5/6s attended Gala Day. We played Capture the Flag and End Zone. We played against numerous schools from our district. All year 5/6s that attended showed great team work and were able to congratulate other schools for their wins. 

 

 

Friendly Reminders

Please remember:

  • It is important to have a water bottle each day and that it is labelled. 
  • School uniform is mandatory, please supply mentor teachers with a note if your child is out of uniform. 
  • Please ensure your children are attending school as  ‘It is not ok to be away’.
  • Students complete 15 minutes of reading and 15 minutes of numeracy home work each night. 
  • Students are to record their home reading in their school diaries with a signature. This needs to be returned to school each day. 
  • Brain Food is fruit or vegetable snacks that children may eat in class. It is important to include this as an additional snack in their lunch box. 

We look forward to another great term in Monarch for Term 4!

 

The Monarch Community Teachers