Year 1

English

Reading 

In Reading this term, the Grade 1 students completed an author study. We focused closely on the author Pamela Allen. Students started learning about Pamela Allen and who she is as a person and what kind of author she is. They were then  introduced to different books by the author, where students applied a range of comprehension strategies, including analysing, inferring, making connections and critiquing. Other lessons focused on aspects of the author’s craft, such as the characters, settings, problems, solutions, word choice, illustrations and humour in her texts. Throughout the unit, students had the opportunity to showcase their learning about Pamela Allen by completing various reading responses.

Students also focused on nonfiction texts that align with the topic of the fiction texts from the author study. This allowed the students to continue developing their understanding of the different types of nonfiction texts, how to read them and how to apply strategies to understand them.

Writing 

Students began Term 4  creating Explanation texts. During this unit we focused on creating non-fiction texts that describe how things happen. Students researched the life cycles of different animals including butterflies and snakes. Students then moved on to  writing Persuasive texts. During this unit, they have  focused on text features, such as opening statements that give their opinion and providing reasoning with evidence to support their opinion.  Throughout the term we have also continued with  ‘Sounds Write’ focusing on building, reading and writing words including a range of digraphs such as sh, ch, th and wh. 

Mathematics

 In Mathematics this year, students focused on a range of topics. Students started the first week with experimenting with data, focusing on gathering data based on chosen questions and representing given or collected data using simple displays.  After this, students explored fractions where they specifically looked at halves. They were given opportunities to halve shapes and real world objects. Then we focused on Location,  where they learnt about directional language to give and follow directions. Next, students explored capacity, where they practiced estimating and measuring how much different objects can hold. Towards the end of the term, students revised Place Value to extend their current knowledge and understanding of numbers.

Inquiry

In Inquiry this term, the Grade 1 students have been exploring a unit titled We Share the Environment. Students have explored three types of environments, such as constructed, managed and natural and learnt the many ways to care for each one. By the end of the term students will have completed a diorama  to show their learning about each environment. 

Science

During Term 4, the Grade 1 students continued to explore light sources. They have been learning about the different types of light sources such as the sun, torchlight and fire. 

The students have been learning about the physical changes that can be applied to different materials and objects. They have explored making physical changes through bending, twisting, folding and stretching. They have been learning about the effects that physical changes make to shapes and objects, including whether objects return to their original shape or are altered after being bent, stretched and/or twisted.   The students particularly enjoyed this unit as they were able to experiment with physical changes to foods such as cooked and uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. 

LOTE - Chinese

In term 4 Grade1s did the main cities in China in Chinese, such as Beijing , Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou; 4 directions in Chinese and 4 animal signs (tu 兔 long 龙 she 蛇 ma 马). We practised those Chinese characters in mini whiteboards and typed into iPad Book Creator. We also practised those characters in iPad Blooket game. At the end of the term, kids will get the opportunity to watch a Chinese movie to finalize the big term before Christmas holiday.

Art

During Term 4, students learned how to create artworks with negative and positive space. To achieve this they needed to understand that an object, person or landscape in their artwork is the positive space and the background surrounding these objects is the negative space. Grade 1’s revised and consolidated their pattern skills by creating patterned art pieces which included the use of repeated lines and colours. Students learned the element of Form and explored 3D art by working with clay and various mediums. Grade 1’s learned the concept of 3D art by adding dimensions to their artwork by including height, width and depth. Students were able to make connections with their mathematical skills by applying their knowledge of 3D shapes and their cross curricular learning was conducive to understanding the element of Form in art. Grade 1’s explored and responded to artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by analysing works from local artists and identified the features used in individual artworks. Congratulations to a wonderful year of Art, Grade 1’s!  

P.E