Year 1 News

From Joey, Year 1 Teacher

All about me!

Phonics Plus

We have been busy reading and spelling both one-syllable and multisyllabic words containing the grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs) ‘ee’, ‘ea’, 'ie' and ‘e-e’.

We also explored compound words and suffixes—learning to read, spell, and explain their meanings. Students continued to build their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension through reading passages and writing dictated sentences.

Literacy Learning Highlight

Over the past two weeks, we have been immersed in integrated literacy learning, where Reading and Writing supported and enhanced each other. We participated in exciting projects that allowed them to transform the rich ideas and language features explored in reading sessions into meaningful writing pieces.

All About Me Project

In Reading, we explored a variety of biographies featuring sports stars and influential figures. We have learned to identify and distinguish between different text structures and features across genres. Building on this understanding, we applied our knowledge of informative texts to create an All About Me project.

We began by planning our projects through drawings and classroom discussions, identifying interesting facts about ourselves. We learned to organise information using headings and subheadings, and to add detail and explanations to make our writing more engaging for readers. To complete the project, students published their work as posters, enhanced with drawings and photographs to support and enrich the information they shared.

Cohort Writing Workshops

We were thrilled to have our literacy specialist, Mike, join us for a special writing workshop. With his passion for diving, Mike took the Year One students on an imaginative journey under the sea, planting the seed for narrative writing.

Mike shared his personal diving experiences and even passed around his underwater camera for students to explore. He also showed captivating underwater photographs he had taken, which sparked students' imaginations and inspired them to dream up their own underwater adventures.

The writing journey began with a “Draw, Label, Caption” activity, where students captured a moment from their imagined dive. They were then introduced to the C-SPACE narrative structure—Character, Setting, Problem, Action, Conclusion, Emotion—to help organise their story ideas.

Following the writing cycle, students planned and drafted their stories through sketches and simple sentences. They revised and edited their drafts by adding adjectives and figurative language to enhance their writing. Finally, students published their narratives with careful handwriting and detailed illustrations to add meaning and bring their stories to life.

Education Week

This year’s Education Week encouraged us to explore and appreciate different cultures from around the world—and within Australia. It inspired everyone to share their unique perspectives and celebrate the diverse contributions that enrich our community.

Year One students were fortunate to welcome several volunteer family members who generously shared their insights and cultural knowledge. During these sessions, students discovered both the similarities and differences between countries and cultures. They learned words in different languages, sang cultural songs, and explored symbols and representations from a variety of traditions.

These rich experiences deepened students’ understanding of cultural diversity and helped to foster a stronger sense of belonging for all children in our school community.