Learning in Term Two

English

Initial Lit

In Term Two, we will be continuing our InitiaLit program. Each week learners engage with five focus lessons. These focus lessons will introduce them to new phonemes such as long vowel sounds and split digraphs, as well as base words and suffixes. Learners will also explore different text types in our two Storybook lessons each week. These storybooks will expose learners to imaginative, persuasive and informative text types. Each lesson will unpack key Reading Comprehension skills such as questioning, predicting, inquiring into new vocabulary and summarising the text. 

Following the philosophy of the InitiaLit program and to support learners in their acquisition of the English language, learners will continue to interact with five Spelling words each week in their Home Learning. The set spelling tasks will encourage learners to apply the phonemes (sounds) they have been exposed to in the InitiaLit program rather than simply memorise the words. For your reference, the phonemes students have learnt so far include: 

Note to use this table: Letters without any brackets next to them means we have learnt the initial sound (sounds that the letter makes at the beginning of a word, e.g. /k/ at the beginning of ‘king’. The letter combinations with a word in the brackets denotes the sound(s) that the letters make. For example, the letters ‘th’ can make an unvoiced /th/ sound as in the word ‘thumb’ or a voiced /th/ sound as in the word ‘feather’ or ‘that’. 

To support your child’s learning at home, you could engage in the following: 

• Listen to your child read their reader each day and invite them to record this in their Reading Diary. 
• Encourage learners to read their reader or a book more than once, using the first reading to decode unknown words and explore the meaning and the second reading opportunity to understand the text and connect it to their life. 
• Pause at the front cover or various stages of a book or movie and predict what might happen next with your child. 
• Log in and use ‘Reading Eggs,’ which contains a variety of texts, lessons and learning tasks.

Writing

Students will develop their understanding of ‘Sustained’ writing. They will also create a personalised Writing goal, utilising our Whole School Approach, VOICES. We will be focusing on persuasive writing through the lens of enriching vocabulary and understanding structure and features. They will engage in a variety of rich learning experiences, including, crafting compelling arguments, and engaging in lively debates, and craft activities that will support them in writing a persuasive piece. Learners will consider multiple perspectives and evaluate evidence critically. This process fosters critical thinking skills that are essential for academic success and lifelong learning. Learners will also explore Informative texts. Learners will discover about the world around them and develop research skills. Students will experiment with a range of language devices such as emotional language to ensure their writing is descriptive and appropriate for their intended audience. 

To support your child’s learning at home, you could: 

• Persuasive: 
  • Explore examples of persuasive writing from everyday life, such as through advertisements, opinion pieces in newspapers, and even social media posts. 
  • Write a persuasive piece about a topic of interest- include persuasive language to convince the reader of your opinion
  • Show how persuasive language is used to influence opinions, behaviors, and decisions. Share examples of persuasive writing from everyday life, such as advertisements, political speeches, opinion pieces in newspapers, and even social media posts. Show how persuasive language is used to influence opinions, behaviours, and decisions. 
• Information: 
  • Share examples of information texts in our environment daily lives, such as newspaper articles, magazine features, instructional manuals, and online resources. 
  • Point out how these texts present information in a clear, organized manner and explain complex topics in accessible language.

Mathematics

In Term Two, students will focus on the Mathematics curriculum strands, Number and Algebra, and Measurements and Geometry. Learning and teaching will be underpinned by our Whole School Approach to Mathematics, SURF. We will develop a rich understanding of the four strands; Problem Solving, Understanding, Reasoning and Fluency. Learners set individualised goals and continually revisit these goals throughout the unit. This monitoring will allow learners to progress in their learning. 

To begin the term, students will continues exploring ‘placing value’ by exploring different ways to represent numbers. They will utilise a range of strategies including physical objects, images, equations and mental strategies to develop flexibility and confidence with numbers. Additionally, student will start to explore Number & Algebra, where they will develop their learning of addition, subtraction, skip counting and multiplication. They will learn about Subtraction and link the concept and associated strategies back to Addition. Later this term, student will develop their understanding of ‘Measurement and Geometry’ by measure and compare the lengths, masses and capacities of pairs of objects, and reading the time on analogue and digital clocks. This units enable students to link the learning of Mathematics to real life situations.

To support your child’s learning at home, you could engage in the following activities:

• Practice addition and subtraction with everyday situations, like counting items or calculating change.
• Practice reading analogue and digital clocks to reinforce time-telling skills.
• Encourage your child to apply math skills to real-life situations, such as measuring ingredients while cooking or calculating distances on a map.

Inquiry

Big Idea: How do my choices affect living things?

Global Goal: Life on Land

The Term 2 Inquiry unit will focus on the topic ‘How do my choices affect living things’. We will be developing our understanding of living and non-living things and investigate how our choices affect them. Students will explore their ideal learning environment and the choices they have available to them. They will investigate choices involved in creating an ideal environment through the adoption of a class pet. Students will observe and care for a class pet, learning about the essential requirements for the animals’ survival, what they can do to allow them to thrive and how the pet might feel in response to their actions. The learning transfer will involve students creating a presentation on how to care for their class pet. We will be gathering student voice data about how students would like to present their learning on this topic. 

To support your child’s learning at home, you could engage in the following: 

• Engage in discussion with your child about their inquiry learning using questions to prompt your conversation:
  • What is the difference between living and non-living things?
  • What are the basic needs of living things?
  • How did you care for your class pet today?
• Go to a working farm, zoo, local park or even your own backyard and invite your child to explore the living things they can see?
  • What living things can you see?
  • Do they all need the same things to survive?
  • What do these living things need to thrive

The Resilience Project (TRP)

This term, students will continue to delve into the foundational principles of The Resilience Project: Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness, and Emotional Literacy. They will be provided with opportunities to explore and practice each aspect, equipping them with strategies to enhance their resilience. To build their capacity in emotional regulation, students will learn a variety of strategies, including belly breathing, creating personalised Zones of Regulation charts, and assembling a toolbox of strategies to manage their emotions during lesson transitions and learning periods. 

Furthermore, students will actively participate in the Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships program, a government-produced initiative designed to cultivate students' social, emotional, and relational skills. This evidence-based program empowers students to navigate conflicts, recognise and regulate emotions, and effectively manage stressful situations. 

To support your child’s learning at home, you could engage in the following: 

• Introduce short mindfulness exercises like mindful breathing or body scans before bedtime or during transitions throughout the day.
• Hold regular family meetings to discuss any challenges or conflicts that arise and brainstorm solutions together. Practice active listening and respectful communication.
• Implement a daily routine where you and your child check in with each other about how you're feeling. Use emoticons or a simple chart to identify and discuss emotions.

The Behaviour Matrix

This term the year one team has been busy working on developing a new Year One Behaviour Matrix. Essentially what that means is we as a cohort ask the learners what appropriate behaviour looks like in and outside of the classroom. We expect that all learners will carry out these expectations with them throughout the school day. Learners have been heavily involved in the decision process and have been busy learning about the different school values, and expectations. They have been collaborating through discussions and demonstrations of how we follow the school expectations. Students are exploring; classroom, walkways, playground, toilets, assembly and Specialist classes. We want all students to follow the Behaviour Matrix consistently in all areas of the school. 

Learners have put forward the following ideas to enhance our matrix:

“We tell a yard duty teacher if something is wrong.”

“We respect each other, our classroom and ourselves.”

“We use a respectful voice level during library time.”

Supporting your child at home: 

• Have conversations around being confident and resilient and what this looks like at home, in a club and at school. Talk out loud when you are modelling these traits.   
• Always praise them when they have made a positive choice, such as packing away their toys, setting the dinner table, helping with dinner, completing their reading or home learning. (You may set up a rewards system). 
• Praise your child when they independently ‘have a go’ at something, even if the outcome was not successful. Take unsuccessful moments or moments as an opportunity to talk about how we all learn differently and to have a growth mindset.