Year One

Dear Year One Community,

We are officially three-quarters of the way through the year! Only 11 more weeks of Year 1 left...Can you believe it?! 

The students have been very busy the last couple of weeks. Read on the find out more about what they've learned in and outside the classroom.

Reading:

In Reading, students have continued focusing on Synthesising, where students have been exploring more animal-related books that incorporate our Unit of Inquiry topic. 

This term we have continued our guided reading groups, and students have been progressing each week and moving up in their reading levels. It has been fantastic to see how well students are collaborating in their groups with their active engagement and thoughtful discussions. 

In Spelling, our focus is the digraph /oo/ making the long /ooo/ sound as in 'moon'. Students have also been developing a good understanding of phonological awareness, and manipulating sounds in words. We have also been discussing prefixes and suffixes in our reading lessons.

Writing:

In Writing, students continued to work on persuasive texts, with a focus on emotive language as a persuasive device. In class, students discussed the meaning of an opinion and how opinions can differ. They explored how they can use emotive language to support their opinion and enhance their reasoning. This week students used a graphic organizer to help them sort their ideas for their persuasive text inspired by the book 'The Day the Crayons Quit'. Students were then asked to identify the emotive language used within the book to persuade Duncan to give each colour a break.  Students were encouraged to select a colour and to focus on the emotive language around why that specific crayon was quitting.  Students were then challenged to use this to support them in writing their very own persuasive letter to a crayon colour of their choice, convincing them to come back! 

Maths:

In Maths, students have been learning all about MONEY! They focused on Australian coins, what they look like, and how much each coin is worth. Students challenged themselves by ordering the coins based on their value and their size. It didn't take long for students to realise that the size of the coin is not as important as the colour and the numbers on it. 

Inquiry:

In Inquiry, students revised their understanding of living and non-living things. They learned that a toothbrush is not living because it doesn't expend energy, it doesn't reproduce, it doesn't change or grow, and it doesn't respond to the environment. 

We also started looking into our first two lines of inquiry 'the characteristics of living things' and 'the characteristics of habitats and how living things survive there'. Students worked in groups to research a given habitat and write down the characteristics of the place, the animals, and the plants that live there. 

To extend our thinking beyond the classroom, students went on an excursion to Animal Land Children's Farm in Digger's Rest. At the farm, students recognised lots of different animals and even identified some familiar habitats like the pond (wetlands). Students were able to describe the characteristics of these animals and discussed how these characteristics helped them to survive on the farm. For example, the chicken's sharp beak helps it to peck the food from the ground. However, it wasn't all just learning! Students also took part in some fun activities like pony rides and farm sports. As well as some not-so-fun activities like poopa scooping...ew!

Reminders:

• Students are expected to bring their satchel to school every day filled with their take-home reading books, diary, and homework book.
• Students are expected to bring their iPad to school every day fully charged. 
• Late arrivals (8:40 am onwards) require a late pass from the office.
• If your child is absent, please ensure the reason is entered on XUNO; if you need support with this please reach out to the office staff or your classroom teacher.
• Students should be completing nightly reading and spelling as part of their Year One Homework Expectations. Please refer to SchoolBox for the updates. Homework is due every Friday. Students receive their spelling words in their homework books every Monday and will be tested every Friday.

Thank you for your continued support in your child’s learning journey! Have a lovely holiday and see you back in Term 4!

Kind regards, 

The Year One Team.