Prep / 1 Mainstream
Celebrating Learning
What we have been up to:
PBL (play-based learning):
We’ve been engaging with our maths unit on chance in these first few weeks of school. Students have been discussing what makes something possible and what makes something impossible. There are many things that are possible during PBL, even though they might be challenging things. We’ve been working hard to differentiate between the idea of possible (but tricky) and impossible.
Students continue to use loose parts in their play and often engineer designs and solutions to real world problems. Last week a group of students built a vehicle and students worked together to modify the design to hold more weight.
Another group of students worked together to engineer a sewerage system:
- “Poop island has a water system and we put sand around it, so it’s stable”. - Azura
Maths:
Alongside our maths unit of chance, we have been exploring data collection. We have been choosing and asking each other questions with yes/no answers. We’ve also been talking about preferences and asking each other what we prefer using two, three or four options of items. We have started making picture graphs with our classmates using the data we have collected.
Reading:
We are getting really accurate in being able to tell when a character and a setting are introduced in a story read aloud. We have introduced these story grammar elements with a flash card and an action to help students recognise different elements of a narrative text.
In our reading groups over the past two weeks, we have been focussing on the following sounds:
Juliette and Jess:
- /b/ as in bear
- /h/ as in hat
- /n/ as in numbat
Matt was learning:
- /ph/ as in elephant
- /wh/ as in whale
Steph was learning:
- /ing/ as in digging, riding and flying
Writing/ speaking and listening:
Students recounted events and happenings from the school holidays in their writing. As a whole group students spend time with a partner, taking turns to both share and listen. Students are then asked to share what they heard their partner tell them. It’s a powerful tool in active listening and verbal recount and a great way to begin our writing sessions.
In writing reflection, many students are actively seeking the class audience to read their writing aloud to. Students are learning and practising the power of both being a great audience through active listening, and an engaging presenter through reading fluency and voice projection.
What’s to come in the next two weeks:
- Every student in F/1 has a take home reader now! We have been hearing exciting stories about how readers are being read every night to family members, friends and neighbours! Please continue the fantastic work! Readers can be swapped at school a few times a week. Please take care of our readers so we can continue to enjoy them for a long time.
- We will continue to use our story grammar flashcards and actions when reading a story. We will start to introduce our next elements, “attempt” (what does the main character do to try to solve the problem) and both “ending” and ”end feeling” (how do all of the characters feel at the end of the story).
- Please keep sending spare clothes as PBL can be very messy!
warmly
Juliette and Jess