1/2 Learning News

Hello,

Week 4 already! Time is flying by.

We have continued to make great choices in the playground and classroom, and are referring back to our class beliefs when needed, to ensure our learning environment is positive and supportive. The swimming sports were fantastic, the children enjoyed working with and cheering on their teammates and it was great to see some pushing themselves outside their comfort zone and competing in events they hadn't experienced before. 

Literacy

We have launched into our new Literacy program, Initial Lit. At this level, the program focusses on phonics (the sounds letters make) as well as 'tricky words' that don't follow traditional spelling patterns such as 'said' and 'were'. It has been an adjustment for the children, but they are  adapting well to change and we are already beginning to see an improvement in the children's segmenting when spelling simple words and blending sounds together when reading. Most pleasing is seeing the children's pride in their own abilities, as they see their own development in their reading and writing skills.

Mathematics

This week we have started looking at basic graphing. The children began by learning about how to record data using tallying. We used red, blue, yellow and green dinosaurs and had to work as a team to sort them, count them and represent them using tally marks. Following this, we decided to survey each other about our favourite ice cream flavours. We had to ensure that we kept the options to a small amount and that we asked each person in the class. We used varying strategies for this such as working down a class list to writing each person's initials before converting to tally marks. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me on Dojo, gstewart@sjnagambie.catholic.edu.au or come in for a chat.