Year 1/2 News
English
Reading
During Term 2, students will be learning how good readers ask questions before, during and after reading to help them make meaning from a text. They will revise what a question is and how questions need an answer. They will have the opportunity to write or say any questions they have about texts, to strengthen their understanding of the text and help them look for answers in their reading.
Students will also be applying comprehension strategies such as determining importance, summarising and making connections with the range of texts we read. They will be learning about new vocabulary, including subject-specific/technical words and strategies they can use to help clarify unfamiliar words in a text.
Students will continue to focus on retelling fiction and non-fiction texts to strengthen their understanding of this comprehension skill. They will also work on making meaningful connections. These connections include text-to-self connections, where they connect the story to their own experiences, and text-to-text connections where they connect a text to another text they have read before. When reading non-fiction texts, students will be exploring the different structures and features eg. headings & subheadings, contents page, glossary, pictures/diagrams and captions.
Students will also continue to work on fluency, word-solving strategies and the phonological awareness skills of blending, segmenting and manipulating the sounds in words to read and process texts.
Writing
The Grade 1/2 students will have two areas of focus this term in Writing. At the beginning of the Term students will be learning about Procedural Texts. Throughout this unit the students will be exposed to different experiences where they will participate in a procedure by following instructions to make something. The students will then be learning to apply the structure of a Procedural Text to write about their experience. They will also be learning about using different language features such as verbs and adverbs when writing.
Our major unit in Writing this term will be Information Reports. During this unit the students will be learning about the structure and language features of an Informative Text. They will also have the opportunity to research topic areas of interest to write their own Informative texts. Students will begin to learn about subheadings and how these are used to organise writing, as well as being able to include topic sentences to begin their writing.
Mathematics
To begin the term our students will be learning about recognising and understanding the features of Australian coins and notes. The students will spend the first week exploring money through hands-on activities. Our Number and Algebra focus will be Addition and Subtraction. During this unit the students will be learning about different strategies that they can apply to solve addition and subtraction problems. These strategies include counting all, counting on, tens facts, skip counting and doubles. Alongside this unit the students will be learning about measuring Length. They will be using informal units of measure such as hands and feet to measure the length of various objects inside and outside the classroom. Towards the end of the term the students will be learning all about 2D Shapes and Transformations. Whilst learning about 2D shapes, the students will be learning to identify shapes through identifying their common features. Students will also use their knowledge of common features to sort 2D shapes. When learning about transformations, the students in 1/2 will be learning to slide, flip and turn various 2D shapes and investigate the changes when making these transformations.
Inquiry
During Inquiry this term students will explore a unit titled From All the Lands on Earth We Come. By the end of this unit, students will be able to explain that cultures have practices and social norms that guide the way in which people live their lives. The key questions guiding our inquiry are:
- How do I belong to my culture?
- What is culture?
- How do cultural practices differ around the world?
The unit will focus on developing students’ understanding of their own culture by learning to explore the way families live in our community. Students will also learn to empathise with and respect other students’ cultural stories shared during our learning. Students will discover that Australia is made up of people from many different parts of the world, with a variety of cultural practices that are both familiar and different to their own culture.
Science
Welcome to term 2 Science where the Grade 1_2 students will be focusing on the Earth and Space Science strand and learning that Earth’s resources are used in a variety of ways. Students will investigate and identify the Earth’s resources, with a focus on water and soil, and will explore and describe how they are used in our school community and in the home. Through various investigations and activities, students will explore how a resource such as water is transferred from its source to its point of use, consider what might happen to humans if there were a change in the availability of water as a resource, and identify actions, such as turning off dripping taps, that can save water.The students will learn to create posters also this term.
Looking forward to working with Grade 1 and 2, in Term 2!
LOTE-AUSLAN
Welcome to Auslan, Term 2! It is an exciting time as teaching and learning will begin this term. Grade 12’s will learn about Auslan being a signed language using the hands, with no voice, which is used by the Deaf Community. They will learn the Auslan Alphabet, and frequently use signs associated with Colours, Family, School, Farm Animals, and Describing Animals. Grade 12’s will also learn to sign Numbers in Auslan using their dominant (writing) hand. This learning will be introduced through explicit sign teaching videos, games, stories, and group practice. Learning Auslan will involve both expressive (signing) and receptive understanding skills (reading back what others’ sign), hence activities are designed to develop these skills. Students will be encouraged to participate in lesson related activities and to share their learning and understanding with their peers and teacher.
Art
Welcome to Term 2 Art! This term, Grade 1 and 2 will explore the elements of line and shape. Students will learn how to form different lines (straight, wavy, curly, zigzag and spiral) to make shapes. They will also identify and describe lines which are horizontal, diagonal or vertical. Learning these skills will provide opportunities for students to make connections when they are drawing lines e.g. drawing wavy lines can create waves in a sea landscape. Students will look at artworks of classical artists such as Van Gogh and apply their knowledge of lines and shapes to analyse how these are used in the artworks. They will use different mediums and describe the lines and shapes they used to create their own artworks.
Looking forward to working with Grade 1 and 2, in Term 2 and exploring these wonderful elements of art!
P.E
During this term the grade 1/2 students will be focussing on the sports of soccer and athletics to develop the various fundamental motor skills found in each of these sports. In the soccer unit of work the movement skill of kicking will be focussed on while also working ball control. Passing and shooting will be worked on and the aim for all our students is to use the learnt skills of soccer in gameplay situations. Every student will be given the opportunity to play in games and use problem solving to achieve successful outcomes. When the students are playing soccer, they will learn how to kick a soccer ball to pass, kick a soccer ball to score, and dribble a soccer ball while keeping control of it. At the conclusion of this unit of work we will move into athletics and several different events that are seen in athletics carnivals. We will focus on throwing events such as shot put and discus. Towards the end of this term the whole school will be participating in athletics week. The Grade 1/2 students will be active and involved in this week which should be very engaging and fun for everyone. I can’t wait for a great term with the grade 1/2 students, they are a fun group and are always a joy to teach! We have plenty of wonderful learning ahead and I am looking forward to all of it.
