Year One
Reading
Over the past fortnight, our Year One students have been building their reading skills by exploring non-fiction texts. We’ve been learning how to find and summarise the main idea of a text — such as who, what, where, when, and why — from texts about community helpers such as farmers.
Students continued practising how to identify important information and say it in their own words, helping them become more thoughtful and engaged readers. Students have also been learning to compare and contrast information across different texts or sections. This helps them deepen their understanding and explain what they’ve learned in their own words. By noticing similarities and differences, they are learning how to think critically and make connections between ideas.
We’ve also started learning about the author’s purpose — why the author wrote the text. We’re discussing whether the text was written to:
Inform (teach us something),
Entertain (make us laugh or enjoy a story), or
Persuade (convince us of an idea).
Understanding the author’s purpose helps students think more deeply about what they read and how to respond to it.
It’s been great to see the students grow as curious and critical readers. We look forward to continuing this exciting learning!
Mathematics
Over the past fortnight, our Year One students have been busy continuing their learning journey with subtraction and exploring the exciting world of fact families.
We’ve been practising subtraction in lots of fun and practical ways – using counters, drawings, number lines, and word problems to help make the concept clear and relatable. Students are learning to understand subtraction as taking away, counting back, and finding the difference.
We’ve also introduced fact families, which show how addition and subtraction are connected. For example, with the numbers 9, 4, and 5, students learn to create:
4 + 5 = 9
5 + 4 = 9
9 − 4 = 5
9 − 5 = 4
This helps them see the relationship between operations and strengthens their mental maths skills. It’s been a wonderful fortnight of learning, and we’re proud of how confident and curious the students are becoming with numbers!
Writing
In Writing this week, our students have been learning how to find and write important facts about various community helpers such as farmers using dot points. This helps students practise organising information clearly and building their skills in writing factual texts. We have been learning to listen for or read key facts to identify the most important pieces of information to write short, clear dot points
For example:👨🌾 Farmer
Grows fruits and vegetables
Looks after animals like cows and sheep
Uses machines like tractors
This type of writing helps students gain confidence in organising ideas and prepares them for writing full information reports. This helps students practise expanding their ideas and writing in paragraphs.
We’re so impressed with the enthusiasm and effort students are putting into their writing!
Inquiry
For this Unit of Inquiry, based on Community Helpers and how they contribute to a successful community, our students have had the opportunity to explore our unit through a variety of engaging reading and writing experiences. They developed research skills by reading a range of non-fiction texts and used what they learned to plan and write informative reports. Their learning was enriched through hands-on activities and visits from special guests, giving students real-world connections to deepen their understanding. To finish off the unit, students will have the opportunity to write thank you letters to our community helpers, expressing their appreciation for the important ways they contribute to our community.
Reminders
Werribee Mansion Excursion : Consent and payment are now live on XUNO. Due Monday 28th of July no late payments accepted.
Students are expected to bring their satchel to school every day filled with their take-home reading books, reading journal and homework book.
Students are also expected to bring their iPad to school every day fully charged, as well as a water bottle.
Premier's Reading Challenge has begun and runs until September 5th.
Year One Swimming Program: Consent and payment are now live on XUNO. Due by Monday, July 28th. No late payments will be accepted.
Classroom doors open at 8:20am and classes start at 8:30am. Students arriving late will require a late pass from the office. Dismissal is at 2:50pm.
If you child is absent, please ensure the reason is entered onto XUNO.
The end of term is almost here! Students have been working hard and showing great progress. As we wrap up, let’s keep the momentum going—stay focused and most importantly, take care of ourselves. Keep healthy and enjoy the well-earned break ahead!
Kind regards,
The Year One Team