Learning and Teaching
During Term One, all year levels used OCHRE Novel Studies to support both reading and writing programs. Students were highly engaged with the novels and picture story books explored throughout the term. These rich texts provided opportunities to develop vocabulary and explicitly teach grammar concepts such as nouns and verbs, while also supporting students to write across a range of genres. Below are some reflections from the students.
Evie & Benny (FE) - We read "Three Billy Goats Gruff". The three billy goats tried to cross the bridge. We had a big billy goat, a middle billy and a little one. We learnt that a story has to have three parts, the start, the middle and the end. At the end of the story the big billy goat pushed the troll off the bridge and they went over to the grass.
Maddie (1C) - We read “A Year on the Farm” and we learnt about taking care of animals and nouns. A cow is a common noun. April is a proper noun and it must have a capital letter.
Zara (1C) - We read “The Owl and the Grasshopper”. We used adjectives to tell us about the grasshopper and the owl, like the lovely grasshopper or the mean owl.
Ashton (2A) - We read “The Fabulous Friend Machine”. We learnt that all stories have to have characters and problems. They found a friend's machine and then there was a problem. The problem in our story was that there were werewolves and the friends came and saved them.
Sadie (2A) - In the "Fabulous Friend Machine", Popcorn the chicken was the kindest chicken on the farm. Every morning, during milking time, she came and told stories. We learnt about the end of stories. In the end of this story all of her friends came and saved her because they were really kind.
Amelia (Yr 3/4R) - We read "Matilda" and learnt about how Matilda learnt to read books. We learnt that a story has to have little problems that lead up to a big problem. We then wrote our own stories and had to have little problems before our big problem.
Ben (Yr 3/4R) - We read "Kensuke’s Kingdom" in Term One. It was about a boy who got lost at sea and ended up on an island with someone else. We learnt how to write a persuasive text and paragraphs. We had to have three arguments and an introduction and a conclusion. We had to use high modality words like without a doubt to convince our audience.
Juliet (Yr 6) - We read “A Ghost in my Suitcase" and learnt a lot about old and new culture in China and how they combine in different ways. For example, in a lot of the houses they have modern facilities inside but the outside is still older. We learnt about the structures of a persuasive text and how to use high modality words to make it more convincing - ie. undoubtedly instead of maybe/probably.
Alfie (Yr 6) - A "Ghost in my Suitcase" taught us how important family history is important and how it can help your mental health. It showed us how to hook your reader in, and not start with a boring beginning. For example, “It is undeniably important that you learn about your family history.”
With thanks
Cassie Dirckze (Maths and Science Leader) and Suzie Ripp (Literacy and Humanities Leader)
