Learning Community 2

Weeks 7 and 8 have been very busy in our classroom. Students participated in school photos and worked hard completing their NAPLAN assessments. All students are to be congratulated for their focus and resilience during this time

In Mathematics, we have been exploring 3D shapes. Students have been identifying and classifying shapes as pyramids, prisms and cylinders by examining their features. They have also been learning about the properties of 3D shapes, including faces, edges and vertices, and practising how to identify and count these on different shapes. Students also worked with nets to construct 3D objects, which helped them understand how flat shapes can be folded to create three-dimensional forms.

We have also been exploring direction and coordinates, where students are learning to describe and follow directions using positional language such as left, right, above and below. They are beginning to use simple maps and grids to locate objects and describe their position, as well as read and plot coordinates using the x- and y-axis. Through these activities, students are developing their spatial awareness and understanding of how location and movement can be represented visually.

In Writing, students have been focusing on creating a persuasive narrative. We explored how authors use persuasive language to convince the reader while still telling an engaging story. As a class, we examined the text Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and discussed how the author uses humour, repetition and strong arguments to persuade the audience. Students then began planning and writing their own persuasive narratives, using clear reasons and persuasive language to support their ideas.

In Reading, we have been revising important reading comprehension strategies to help deepen students’ understanding of texts. These strategies include visualising (creating pictures in our minds while reading), predicting what might happen next, inferring meaning using clues from the text, and identifying the author’s purpose. We practised these skills using the text The Great Kapok Tree. This text also connects closely to our Humanities learning about the Amazon rainforest, where students are exploring the importance of rainforests and the impact humans can have on these environments.