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Term 4 Week 2

Magnify Around the Classrooms

#magnifysandhurst

Foundation

The Preps have been learning the sounds /th/ (with) and /oo/ (moon) and are about to start learning the new sound /ng/ (king).  As always, they are regularly revising previously learnt sounds and tricky words.  Their current tricky words are What, Where and Want.  In writing, the Preps are learning about Recounts.  They have talked about the Who and What parts of a recount and have been learning how to describe a character.  Their new writing focus will be centred around the parts of a narrative text, with emphasis on what happens at the beginning, middle and end of a story.  They will also learn that there are actions and events that happen in a story.  Grade Preps have just finished reading the text, “Superworm” by Julia Donaldson and will soon begin a new story book called, “My Two Blankets” by Irena Freywood. This book will be the focus of rich discussion for the next fortnight.  They will learn the new vocabulary, strange, whispered and lonely.

Gr 1

Grade Ones have been learning about contractions.  They have been learning how to use an apostrophe to show which letter/letters are missing when two words have come together to form a new word – eg. Can not (can’t).  Grade Ones are have been learning to read and spell words with the phonemes /ear/ (near) and /eer/ (deer).  They have also been spelling words with the /air/ (hair) and /are/ (beware) patterns.  In writing lessons, they are expanding sentences by answering When, Where and How questions to make their writing more detailed and informative. They have been learning how to write a Report and next will learn how to write a Procedural text.  Grade Ones finished reading the story book “Migaloo the White Whale” by Mark Wilson and will now enjoy listening to the text, “Dingo” by Clare Saxby and Tannya Harricks.   

Gr 2

Some Grade Twos have been learning about the /ch/ (church) and /tch/ (patch) sounds.  They have learnt a rule to help them know which spelling choice to make: If there is a short vowel sound immediately before the /ch/ sound, then you use ‘t, c, h’ to spell the word.  Eg. Patch, witch, splotch.  Children have also completed some lessons spelling words with the spelling pattern ‘tion.’  In these words, the ‘t, I' go together to say /sh/, such as in the words station, operation and invitation.  This week the children have been learning about the /or/ (sport), /ore/ (before), /au/ astronaut and /aw/ (claw) sound.  Our reading focus has been on Finding the Main Idea and Summarising a text.  Grade Twos have just completed a story book focus on “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka.  This text led to a lot of discussion about the character of the Wolf.  The students compared this story to the original fable by completing a Venn Diagram together.  They then summarised the text.  This story was enjoyed by all.  Grade Two will focus on a piece of poetry for their next story book.

Foundation

Grade Preps have been working on the unit of Data.  They have been learning that data can be collected and represented in different ways to help enhance meaning.  Children have been presented with data and asked to answer specific questions about the data and what it shows.  The Grade Prep children will collect their own data and then answer Yes or No questions about their data.

Gr 1 

Grade Ones have been focusing on Sharing and Grouping in mathematics.  They have completed problems that involve making groups of a given number and have identified the number of groups needed for equal sharing.  They have been using skip counting and arrays to assist them with their working out.

Gr 2

Grade Twos have completed their unit of work on Multiplication and Division.  They have begun work on their new topic of Fractions.  They have looked at how to identify half of a collection using arrays. They have also Identified the whole from a given part of a collection.  Next they will identify quarters and eighths of a collection.  Their unit of work on fractions will go for a couple of weeks.

Gr 3 and 4

The book: My name is Walter 

His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda is a mystery-fantasy novel centered around a group of students and their teacher who are stranded overnight in an old, eerie house. There, they discover a strange handwritten book titled His Name Was Walter, which tells the story of a young orphan named Walter, who faces a series of dark and mysterious events. As the group reads the tale, they realise that Walter's story is deeply connected to the house they're in and the people who lived there. Uncovering secrets of love, loss, and betrayal, the students and their teacher find themselves entangled in a powerful and haunting narrative that blurs the lines between past and present. 

In Literacy: Students are reading and comprehending text using knowledge and structures and language, and by monitoring comprehension. Students are combining simple sentences together to form a complex sentence. They will use and understand new vocabulary words encountered in a text. They will also write sentences using the conjunctions 'because', 'but' and 'so.' 

In Maths: Students are identifying, sorting and describing 3D objects, based on their features. Students are working on worded problems with division and multiplication. Students are creating, interpreting column graphs with non-unit scales.  

In Science: Students are learning to examine the evidence that shows some animals from the past are now extinct. They are learning to identify different types of fossils and the features of dead things that can become fossilised and relate the location of a fossil in rock layers to how old it is. Students are also learning to describe what fossils can tell us about the environment in the past. 

Gr 5 and 6

In Maths, the Grade 5 students have been learning about measurement, and focusing on length. 

The Grade 6 students have been learning about data investigation. We have been focusing on different types of data, and ways we can collect data.

In English, the Grade 5 students have this week continued their class novel called ‘The Grandest Bookshop in the World’ by Amelia Mellor. 

This book is centred around Pearl and Vally (Valentine) Cole who live in Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne. It is 1893 and it is the grandest bookshop in the world, run by their eccentric father and filled with curiosities and delights. 

Pearl meets a mysterious Obscurosmith and realises that her father has risked both his life and the Arcade in a deal to bring her dead sister, Ruby, back to life. To save the father and Arcade that they love so much, Pearl and Vally embark on a game. They must defeat seven challenges set by the Obscurosmith by midnight or lose their father, the Arcade and their memories. Each challenge takes place in a different part of the Arcade and comes with its own risk; they must use all their wits and cleverness to solve the riddles and puzzles and outsmart the tricks. 

During this unit, students will be writing a narrative. 

In Grade 6, we have started our new book called  ‘Nevermoor’. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend follows the story of Morrigan Crow, a young, unloved daughter of state Chancellor, Corvus Crow, of Great Wolfacre, living in a place called Jackalfax in the Wintersea Republic. Morrigan was born on Eventide, considered a cursed day. Because of this, she’s blamed for every unfortunate event in her town and is destined to die, like all cursed children, on her twelfth birthday. When Eventide unexpectedly arrives a year early, Morrigan is dramatically rescued by a mysterious man named Jupiter North, who takes her to the magical city of Nevermoor. 

In Nevermoor, Morrigan discovers a world filled with wondrous creatures, eccentric citizens, and magical customs. She's offered a chance to compete for a spot in the prestigious Wundrous Society, which promises her protection, a family and a sense of belonging which she longs for. However, to gain entry, Morrigan must face a series of four gruelling trials, all while concealing that she doesn't possess a visible "knack" (a unique talent or magical ability), which is required of all candidates. As she navigates the trials, she learns more about her mysterious powers and the danger she still faces. This whimsical fantasy tale combines adventure, friendship, and self-discovery as Morrigan explores the magic of Nevermoor and fights for a chance to escape her cursed fate.  

During this unit, students will be writing a narrative story.

In Science, The Grade 5’s are studying ‘Natural Disasters’, and the Grade 6’s have started a new topic all about ‘Electrical Circuits’.   

During humanities, the Grade 5’s have continued their unit called ‘Changing Communities’ and the Grade 6’s have continued their unit all about ‘Federation’.