Grade 1/2 News

What we have been up to...

Last week, our focus text was A Bag and a Bird. This thoughtful and heart-warming story follows a young boy and his mother as they walk past famous landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on their way to have a picnic in the Botanic Gardens. During their outing, a plastic bag is blown away and becomes tangled around a curious ibis. The book teaches an important lesson about littering and protecting wildlife. Students retold the story through drawings and writing, including key details such as the characters, key events, the problem, and the solution. 

This week, our focus text is The Great Rabbit Chase. This story follows a mischievous pet rabbit named Gumboots who escapes into the neighbourhood. A little girl and her mum begin the chase and are joined along the way with many people from the neighboured. We looked at how we can make connections to the story by discussing the message of “community spirit” and reflecting on times at school or beyond when students have seen people working together and supporting one another.

In Writing, students have returned to exploring narratives. They are learning to identify the different parts of a narrative, analyse relationships between characters, describe settings, and develop problems and solutions within their stories. 

In Mathematics, our focus has been on addition. Students have been strengthening their recall of number facts using a range of strategies, including “bridging to 10”. We have been practising solving problems efficiently and building confidence when working with numbers mentally.

Photos from the last fortnight...

Maths Challenge!

Well done to our Term 2 Week 4 Maths Challenge winners - 1/2 Patrao-Hurley! Please find the new Maths Challenge below!  

Mathematics and numeracy at home

If you’re looking for ways to support your child’s Mathematics learning at home, this website offers helpful videos, resources, and ideas: https://www.vic.gov.au/mathematics-and-numeracy-home

This week's tip ... Teen Numbers

Here are some easy and fun ways to help your child develop their understanding of teen numbers:

Block towers

Build block towers of different heights using 11-19 blocks. Build the first 10 blocks quickly and then add on some more. For more practice counting teen numbers, recount the number of blocks in each tower at the end. 

Ask your child how many more than 10 the number is. For example, ‘15 is 10 and how many more?’

If your child is unsure of the answer, count together to 10, pause and then say ’15 is 10 and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 more’, pointing to each block greater than 10 as you count.

Just a handful

Take a handful of a healthy snack such as sultanas. Count how many there are. Ask them, ‘is it a teen number?’ Add or take away sultanas to make the snack a teen number. Ask your child to tell how many more than 10 the total is; for example, 13 is 10 and 3 more.

What’s missing?

Write the numbers 11-19 on scraps of paper and place in order. When your child is not looking, remove one of the numbers and remove the gap created. Have them to tell you which number is missing. Return the number and then take it in turns to find the missing number. Ask your child to describe the missing number as ‘10 and how many more?’

Upcoming Learning

Week 7 and 8

Reading, Writing and Spelling: 

Our focus texts for Week 7 and 8 are:

• Mooie’s Stories 

• The Midnight Possum

   

Phonemes and Heart words for  the rest of Term 2 include: 

Week 7: oy, oi

💗 – boy, toy/s,

Week 8: oo (boot)

💗 – food, soon, zoo, school

Week 9: eer

💗 – dear, hear, year

Week 10: Revision based on student need

Mathematics: In Mathematics, we will continue learning about subtraction and explore more about how it is connected to addition.

Topic: In Topic, we will be exploring how growing plants can help support the sustainability of our planet.

Respectful Relationships: This term, our Respectful Relationships topic is Personal Strengths. Over the next few weeks, we will be learning about respect.

Our team and emails are as follows:

Madie Floyd: Madison.Floyd@education.vic.gov.au

Tegan Edwards: Tegan.Edwards@education.vic.gov.au

Jane Rodda: Jane.Rodda@education.vic.gov.au

Sami Craig: Samantha.Craig@education.vic.gov.au

Chris McClellan: Christopher.McClellan@education.vic.gov.au