Year 1 News

From Yolanda Andrews, Year 1A teacher

Big Emotions

I cannot start this edition without mentioning the incredible Year 1 Camp Experience last Friday! What a marvellous day it was for both teachers and students.

From a mind-blowing magic show to transforming an everyday classroom into a sanctuary for all things scaly and cold-blooded, there was simply too much fun to be had! Alongside all the frivolity, students also had the opportunity to learn about computer coding, play old-fashioned board games cooperatively, and repurpose rubbish into creative, and sometimes wonderfully abstract,  works of imagination and art.

It was a day filled with laughter, learning and the making of happy memories. Judging by the smiles on everyone’s faces, I think it was a definite winner!

In Literacy, the Year 1 students have been focusing on the ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ writing strategy. They practised describing an object or setting without actually revealing what it was, challenging themselves to create vivid images in their readers’ minds.

Students were encouraged to use their five senses to add detail to their descriptions, as well as carefully chosen adjectives to make their writing richer and more engaging. It was wonderful to see their imaginations at work as they experimented with language and descriptive writing!

In Writing, the students used the CSPACE planner to plan a story set at the beach. They drew on their five senses and their knowledge of adjectives to create detailed and engaging descriptions of their setting. It was wonderful to see the students use their imaginations and descriptive language to bring their beach settings to life!

In Maths, the students have been learning about data and graphing, with a particular focus on bar graphs and pictographs. They thoroughly enjoyed asking one another questions, collecting data and creating graphs to represent their findings.

The students confidently described what their graphs showed and explained how graphs help us organise information, identify patterns, compare different amounts and better understand what the data is telling us. To further develop their skills in reading and interpreting graphs, the students also learnt how to complete missing data by finding and discussing the difference between amounts.

In Wellbeing, the Year 1 students focused on building their understanding of ‘big emotions’, such as anger and sadness, and explored strategies that can help them manage these feelings.

We then added another layer to our learning by asking the students to think about small acts of kindness they could offer a friend who might be experiencing a ‘big emotion’. It was a beautiful discussion and a wonderful opportunity for the students to practise being thoughtful, caring and empathetic towards others.

Thank you for sharing in our learning. We wish you all the best for the holidays and cannot wait for all the fun of Term 4!