Prep
What a fantastic first term of school we have had! I am very proud of all the students and how well they have adapted to school and the classroom routines. I am looking forward to all the new learning in Term 2. I hope you have a safe and restful Easter break.
In literacy, we learn to identify the beginning and end sounds in words, clap the syllables in words, segment words, and blend sounds. These skills are essential as the students begin to read words in a text. The students learn the reading strategy to stretch a word into sounds and then blend the sounds to hear the word. In addition, we continue to read stories. Last week we read Possum Goes to School. The students thoroughly enjoyed the many discussions about what would happen if a possum came to our school. These stories provide students with multiple opportunities to engage in discussion with others, and they practise taking turns, listening to others and making connections to events in their own lives. After reading the story, the students made possums, and our possums are hanging quietly in the classroom from the rafters.
Language experiences also provide rich oral language development opportunities and encourage good listening behaviours. Last Friday, the students made Fairy Bread as a language experience activity. They used their five senses to describe the experience. I was very impressed with the students' great descriptive words to describe each sense. Everyone was very excited because they got to wear their party hats made in our Inquiry project. After making the fairy bread, we also sequenced and recounted how we made the fairy bread.
This week in literacy and maths, we have been reading the 'We are Going on a Bear Hunt' story. In maths, the students have been learning to describe the position of their bodies and using positional language such as over, under, beside and between. This story is wonderful for students to act out and retell the story. Each student also made their own Bear Hand Puppet to assist in both maths and literacy.
How many different ways can you show a number? In Maths, the students have been showing the 'manyness' of a number by using concrete materials, practising writing the digits and names of numbers. We have also pegged numbers on a string line, we have created a number line to 20 and ordered numbers from the smallest to the biggest number, we have played number bingo and sung songs such as Ten Green Bottles and listened to stories such as Ten Apples and Ten Little Dinosaurs.
This week in Maths, we are exploring the language we use to describe the location and position of our bodies. The students demonstrated words such as under, across, around, through, over and between, using locations inside and outside the classroom.
Over the term, we have been exploring the properties of man-made and natural materials. The students brought various materials to school and discussed the properties and origins of the materials. We also sorted the materials according to our five senses. Finally, the students decorated party hats with their materials.
Who is Jesus? During Education in Faith, we listened to stories about Jesus, for example, Jesus the Good Shepherd and Jesus Blessing the Children. We reflected on being part of Jesus's flock of sheep, and Jesus will protect us and bring us back to his flock if we get lost.
