Grade 1

Reading

This fortnight in Reading, students have been developing their decoding skills by learning to recognise, read and write multi-syllable words. They have been practising breaking longer words into smaller parts, identifying vowel sounds in each syllable and blending the syllables together to read unfamiliar words. Through word-building activities, students have been strengthening their confidence when reading longer and more challenging words.

Students have also revisited the ‘Bossy e’ rule, exploring how a silent ‘e’ at the end of a word changes the vowel sound, such as cap/cape, kit/kite and hop/hope. They have also been learning about homophones, recognising that words such as see/sea and their/there sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Students have been using clues within sentences to identify and select the correct homophone.

Throughout the fortnight, students have continued to practise reading and spelling Tricky Words, including new words such as laugh, people, every, walk, talk and know. Through reading activities, word games and sentence writing, students have been consolidating their knowledge of spelling patterns and developing greater accuracy, fluency and independence when reading.

Writing

Over the past fortnight, Year One students have been exploring narrative text elements while studying Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe. They have continued consolidating their knowledge about using the narrative sequence (character/setting, problem/feeling, solution/ending) to retell the story. Students have also used this narrative sequence to plan their own narrative story. Through the exploration of Jetty Jumping, students have also learnt about combining two simple sentences with the connective ‘and’ when both sentences have the same subject (who/what).

Maths

Throughout this fortnight, the Year One students explored the concept of time. Students learnt to identify the features of an analogue clock, recognise the hour and minute hands, and read and draw times to the hour (o’clock). They also developed their understanding that there are 60 minutes in an hour and practised estimating and measuring time through everyday activities. Students explored which activities were best measured in minutes or hours and used their mathematical thinking to solve time-related problems.

Additionally, the Year One students explored two-dimensional shapes. Students learnt to name, identify and describe shapes, recognise them in their everyday environment and investigate the features of regular and irregular shapes. They also explored quadrilaterals, identifying shapes with four straight sides, describing their features and creating different quadrilaterals using a range of materials. Through hands-on activities, students practised sorting, comparing and describing shapes while explaining their mathematical thinking.

Home Learning

Reading:

Practise reading longer words by breaking them into syllables, such as fantastic, remember and unhappy. Clap each syllable before blending the word together.
Go on a ‘Bossy e’ word hunt in books, looking for words such as cake, bike, home and cube. Discuss how the silent ‘e’ changes the vowel sound.
Practise reading and spelling Tricky Words in your child’s Home Reading Journal, including laugh, people, every, walk, talk and know.

Writing:

Practise retelling stories you may read together at home using the narrative sequence.
Write your own narrative story using the narrative sequence.
Practise writing your own sentences using the connective ‘and.’

Maths:

Practise telling the time: Encourage your child to read o’clock times on an analogue clock at home. Ask them to identify the hour and minute hands and explain where each hand should point.
Make a clock: Create a paper clock with numbers from 1 to 12. Practise drawing the hands to show different o’clock times.
Estimate and measure time: Choose an activity, such as clapping, hopping or jumping, and estimate how many times it can be completed in one minute. Use a timer to check the estimate.
Go on a shape hunt: Look around your home or neighbourhood for two-dimensional shapes, such as circles, triangles, squares and rectangles. Encourage your child to draw and label the shapes they find.
Explore regular and irregular shapes: Draw different polygons and discuss whether their sides are equal or unequal. Encourage your child to explain how they know whether a shape is regular or irregular.
Investigate quadrilaterals: Find or draw shapes with four straight sides. Discuss their similarities and differences and identify which shapes have equal or unequal sides.