From FHR

This term, FHR students brought in one of their favourite stories to share with the class. Each week, we explored a different part of their chosen book, including the characters, setting, plot and moral.

In the final week of term, students presented a book review to the class. They gave a brief description of their book, explained what they liked about it and shared who they would recommend it to. Students also gave their book a star rating out of five. If they did not give their book five stars, they explained what they would change to make the story even better!

This learning connected closely with our literacy lessons, where we have been exploring a range of mentor texts. Our first mentor text was Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen. We learnt how to use clues from the text to make predictions. Students looked carefully at the front cover and title to predict who the characters might be, where the story might take place and what could happen. As we read, we explored the plot and created storyboards to show the important events in order.

We have also explored well-known fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. Students identified these stories as fiction because they include imaginary characters and events. We discussed the heroes and villains and used their actions and behaviour to explain our thinking.

Through these stories, students also investigated cause and effect, learning that actions can have consequences. We discovered that fairy tales often teach us an important lesson, known as the moral of the story. For example, Little Red Riding Hood helped us discuss the importance of being careful around strangers.

Our literacy learning also connected with our Integrated Studies topic. We explored characters and setting through the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Each student created a character from the story using playdough, before working together to act out the story. We also created the setting using a variety of materials, including felt, cardboard, wood and paper. This gave students a fun and hands-on way to bring the story to life while showing their understanding of its characters, setting and plot.

It has been wonderful to see students sharing their ideas, making predictions, being creative and developing a deeper understanding of the stories they read.

We hope everyone has a lovely break and we look forward to seeing you in term 4!

From FHR