Learning & Teaching
Parent Engagement Session: Let's Look at Literacy, Reading Yr 3-6
On Wednesday we welcomed families to join us to learn and observe our Year 3-6 classrooms engaged in reading. The main focus of the session was to highlight how our children are being targeted at their point of need and what that looks like in their classroom. We began the session by looking at the science of reading principles. We explored how reading is a biologically secondary skill - a skill that needs to be explicitly and systematically taught rather than being picked up naturally like speaking, which is a biologically primary skill. We then looked at the simple view of reading and the ‘Big 6’ - keys to reading (see slides below). From there we went for a walk around the school to see reading in action across Years 3-6. During this learning walk parents were able to see some of the ‘Big 6’ in action. Fluency, vocabulary and comprehension were a focus of our year 3-6 classrooms to ensure that we are building their language comprehension. This was evident through focus teaching groups, where children were being met at their point of need. Our children develop and rehearse the skills of fluency, broadening vocabulary and building comprehension skills on a daily basis to ensure they are working on embedding that knowledge to their Long Term Memory and essentially acquiring the skills to be a proficient reader.
Yr 4 Inquiry: Learning About Chemical Change Through Baking Cupcakes
This week our Year 4 children explored States of Matter in chemistry by baking cupcakes. During the activity, they observed how ingredients like butter and sugar, which start as solids, change state when heated, becoming liquids. They also learned how mixing and heating cause these ingredients to combine and transform, resulting in a solid cupcake once baked. This hands-on experience helped them understand the concepts of solid, liquid, and gas in a practical way.
Maths Intervention at Holy Cross
At Holy Cross, we use Intervention teaching in Mathematics to support small groups and individuals by meeting children at their point of need. These lessons are evidence-based and involve teacher modeling and repeated practice. The sessions are interactive and responsive, with teachers continually checking children's understanding and adjusting instruction as needed. Intervention lessons often include engaging maths games, discussions, questioning, and explanations of thinking to help reinforce learning.
Below are some of the Counting and Place Value Activities that have been used in Maths Interventions this week.
Wipeout (Yr 3-6)
As the game leader - make a 4-6 digit number using the digits, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.
Hand out dice to each player (players take turns rolling). Ask the player to roll. The digit they roll can be wiped out of the leader's number, but only if the players make their request correctly.
EG: If the leader made the number 453, 216 and a player rolled a 3, they would need to say “subtract 3000.” Then they would have to tell the leader what the number would be now. Eg: "that leaves 450, 216."
The players have 12 rolls to wipe the leader's number out. If the number is not completely wiped out after 12 rolls, the leader wins.
Ladders (Prep-6)
This game can be adjusted to suit different age groups by altering the number of dice used (therefore the size of the numbers being generated).
Adding by Bridging Through Ten on a Number Line
Dynamic Counting (Prep - Yr 4)
The children sit in a group around the ‘dealer’. For Foundation level children, the dealer progressively adds or removes one counter from the table, while the group members must say the total together. They must trust the count instead of recounting all the counters each time one is added. For older children Dynamic Counting involves the dealer adding or removing either a group of 100, a group of 10, or a single unit. For example: 101, 201, 211, 111, 121, 122, 132, 232, 222.
