Literacy

Reading

Students will continue to foster a love of books by reading on a daily basis at school and at home with you. Daily reading of decodable books and continued practice of our paired fluency will ensure our students are confident raeders.

As the texts your child reads become longer in length, it is not expected that they read one entire book per night. Depending on the book and conversations with your child’s teacher, they may read one chapter or half the book per night. 

It would be extremely beneficial if families could please spend time talking to your child about the text they are reading. Ask them questions about the characters, what is happening in the story or what facts they have learnt. Ask your child to give you their opinion about the text. Did they enjoy reading it- why or why not? or What made the text interesting?

Our major focus this term will be on Fiction texts- the structure/features and retelling of fiction texts. It would be great if you could notice what fiction texts you have at home. Your child could bring in their favourite fiction text to share with their classmates. 

Students will practise:  

SUMMARISING 

I ask and answer questions about the important parts of the story. 

I retell what has happened in the text.

I know how the problem was solved.

COMPREHENSION - Literal and Inferred meaning 

I retell what the author has written. 

I ask and answer questions about the important parts of the story. 

I use clues in the text to infer.

I infer how the character feels. 

I infer the character traits. The type of person they are. 

I describe how characters react to topic words

Add more information problems/challenges in the story. 

FLUENCY

I put words together in groups while I read.

I read using punctuation.

I read not too fast and not too slow.

I read with expression when a character is talking. 

I read smoothly like I am talking. (Intonation and stress)

MAKING CONNECTIONS/ VISUALISING

I make a picture in my mind using the author’s words. 

Writing

Students will continue to have choice over their own topics, paper and materials. They will be expected to follow the 5 stages of writing (Rehearsing, Composing, Revising, Editing and Publishing) to complete a writing piece. They are encouraged to write the high frequency words accurately and automatically, so practising these words at home will also help them. 

We will be focusing on the Fiction genre where we will be experimenting with the structure and features when writing our pieces. Students will be thinking carefully about the types of characters and settings they create in their fiction pieces. They will then come up with fantastic problems and solutions, so the pieces are interesting and engaging to the reader. 

Students will continue to share their writing and ideas to inspire and to seek feedback from others. They will then be able to revise their writing to lift the quality.

Handwriting will continue to be a focus and students will have daily practise of correct pencil grip, starting points of letters as well as line positioning on both whiteboards as well as in their handwriting books. 

Students will practise: 

NARRATIVES

I plan and compose a story using characters and setting

I plan and compose a problem and solution. 

I include adjectives and interesting words. 

I include dialogue for the characters.

I use transition words like first, next, and finally.