Curriculum News
Our Curriculum Overviews for the Term
English
Reading
Now that students have learnt and consolidated their first 26 single letter sounds, and are able to read these in 3 letter words, we are ready to extend their learning. We begin by introducing the addition of ‘s’ and ‘es’ for plurals, as well as blending consonant sounds and learning our first digraphs - two letters making one sound. We will continue to read familiar texts to build students fluency when reading, as well as introducing new decodable texts as we complete each stage of learning.
Writing
As well as writing using our specific phonics knowledge in our main literacy block, we will start to work more on sentence structure through creative writing - allowing students to explore their own knowledge and become confident in trying to spell unknown words. Our main focus for this term will be on spacing between words, as well as using capital letters correctly and adding full stops at the end of each sentence.
Speaking and Listening
Oral Language underpins many parts of Literacy and the students will complete activities that focus on improving their oral language skills during Literacy activities. We will also use our creative writing sessions as a time to share our stories with the class - building confidence to present to a partner first, and working on our ‘presenter voice’ to speak to the whole class. In Week Three students will have the opportunity to present to the whole school as part of our class assembly. Our Magic Box and Take Home Toy, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, will also continue this term.
Mathematics
We will introduce 3 new units throughout the term, as well as revising and consolidating our knowledge of our Term 2 units of Part/Whole, Counting, Place Value and Shape.
Addition and Subtraction - Students will use materials, real-world depictions and drawings, say number stories, and use ten-frames to link the concepts to familiar scenarios. The unit also explores finding differences by adding on, taking away, and using a number track, incorporating various strategies and manipulatives for a comprehensive understanding.
Sharing and Grouping - Students focus on the concept of 'equal' in the context of sharing. The teaching approach focuses on fairness in distribution, connecting the abstract idea of equal shares to real-world scenarios. Additionally, students grasp how to identify the specific amount in each equal share or equal group through counting and using specific language that builds understanding of sharing and grouping.
Measurement (Length, Mass & Capacity) - The initial focus of this unit is on understanding attributes like long, short, tall, heavy, and light through hands-on activities. Students progress to direct comparisons of length, learning to identify, compare, and order objects based on these attributes. The unit also delves into mass, teaching hefting and using balance scales for comparison. In the capacity section, students develop an understanding of how much a container can hold, predicting and comparing capacities using visual attributes. Throughout, students actively engage in sorting, predicting, and hands-on comparisons, fostering a practical grasp of these fundamental measurement concepts.
Inquiry/Religion
In Inquiry, students will be focusing on the big concept of ‘Story’. We will be focusing on understanding our own personal story, including where we were born, where our family members were born and how we communicate our history to others through different storytelling methods.
We will be linking our Religion unit to the same concept of story, where we will be exploring how we can develop our relationship with God, through our understanding of parables and stories within the Bible. Throughout Term 3, the students will also be celebrating significant events in the church calendar, including the Feast of St Mary of the Cross, Mary McKillop, and the Assumption of Mary, mother of God.
Genius Hour
This term we will be using our genius hour time to link together our exploration of the big concept ‘Story’ with our literacy skills, by investigating the many different ways we can tell stories. We will begin the term by acknowledging NAIDOC week and exploring the ways that first nations people told stories, as well as moving through mediums such as music, dance and art, before choosing a way they can present a creative story of their choice.
Wellbeing
Our Wellbeing focus for Term 2, using the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program, is Positive Gender Relations. We will consider the importance of respectful relationships, and the positive impact this can have on us and our peers. Through role play we will practise the skills needed to support positive relationships, and explore strategies we can use to seek help and keep ourselves safe when situations don’t feel right.