Prep Bulletin
A snapshot into Maths
Learning intention: To use a calendar to locate dates in a year.
Learning experience overview:
Launch: Each class listened to one of the below songs introducing the order of the months in a year.
12 Months of the year - Jack Hartmann
Months of the year - Kids TV123
The Months of the year Rap - Jack Hartmann
Explore: Together we wanted to create a class calendar to keep track of all the special events and activities we have till the end of the year. The students brainstormed all the events occurring until the end of the year below.
Students identified the following events:
- Swimming lessons
- Time capsule
- Fun Run
- Class birthdays
- Last day of Prep
- Christmas
- Curriculum day
- Transition Sessions
- Playhouse Opening
- Grandparents Day
- Christmas Concert
- Junior Sports
Next to each event we listed the date.
Then students selected an event and decorated a piece of paper to match the event. Once finished the students had to use the date of the event to identify the correct location on the calendar.
Step 1: Is the event in November or December?
Step 2: What date is the event?
Step 3: What day of the week does the event fall on?
Enabling:
Students were given month and day clues. For example, it goes on the November calendar and is on a Monday.
Extending:
Can you work out how many days until your event?
Can you give clues to find an event?
In this learning experience, students work towards:
- Understanding the features of a calendar
- Identifying months and days on a calendar
- Using a calendar to identify a date
- Labelling a calendar with important dates
Examples of students work:
What you can do now to continue the learning at home from this experience:
- Create a calendar at home of all the events you have coming up
- Use the class calendar we send home to get organised for each upcoming event
- Practice language used when reading calendars (How many days until…, When is halloween? What month is swimming in? Do you have any upcoming events on a Monday in November? etc)
- Ordering days of the week
- Ordering the months of the year
- Listening to songs that go through the days of the week or the months of the year
- Asking what comes before or after Monday a particular day (or what day will it be three days from now).
Alyssa, Paisley and Julian
Prep Team
Alyssa.Thermos@education.vic.gov.au