Year 1/ 2
English
Reading
This term, the Grade 1/2 students embarked on an Author Study, exploring the wonderful texts written by Nick Bland. Throughout the study, they immersed themselves in books from The Very Cranky Bear series and strengthened their comprehension skills. They worked hard on vocabulary, predicting, making connections, inferring, and retelling/summarising, with a special focus on making connections and inferring as they analysed and critiqued the author’s work.
As the term progressed, the focus shifted to nonfiction, where the students explored persuasive texts. They examined different types of persuasive writing and used their comprehension skills of inferring, analysing, and summarising to deepen their understanding.
Grade 1/2 students also continued to build their phonics knowledge through daily instruction. They consolidated their handwriting skills, practised segmenting and blending sounds to read and write words, and made great progress in developing their reading fluency.
The students should feel incredibly proud of all they have learnt and achieved this term!
Writing
As part of their Author Study on Nick Bland’s The Very Cranky Bear series, students developed their narrative writing skills by creating their own original bear stories. They used key language features, such as adjectives and adverbs, and confidently applied narrative structure to reimagine stories featuring familiar characters from Bland’s books.
Later in the term, students explored persuasive writing. They learnt to distinguish between facts and opinions and practised forming and expressing their own viewpoints. As part of this unit, they constructed persuasive pieces, including letters designed to convince someone to give them something they wanted. They learnt how to clearly state an opinion and support it with logical, relevant reasons.
The students should feel very proud of the creativity and confidence they displayed in their writing this term!
Mathematics
Grade 1/2 students completed daily reviews at the start of each maths lesson throughout the term. These reviews helped them strengthen their retrieval skills and consolidate previously learned mathematical concepts.
In Number and Algebra, students built on their understanding of Multiplication and Division. They applied their skip-counting skills to efficiently count collections by creating equal groups and equal rows. Following this, students moved into a unit on Fractions, where they explored the concept of equal sharing. They were introduced to halves, quarters, and eighths and developed a solid understanding of part-whole relationships.
Students also investigated Data and Capacity. In the Data unit, they collected, represented, and compared information using simple graphs. During the Capacity unit, they used informal units such as water and sand to measure and compare the capacity of different containers.
Inquiry
This term, our Inquiry focus was We Share the Environment. Students explored different types of environments, including natural, constructed, and managed, and learnt how people interact with and care for these spaces. They investigated the features of various environments and developed an understanding of the importance of looking after them.
Students identified and described the features of both natural and constructed environments and applied their learning by designing their own environment.
Through these learning experiences, students deepened their awareness of the different environments we live in and how we can all contribute to their care and sustainability. The Grade 1/2s developed dioramas of chosen environments to showcase their learning and thoroughly enjoyed exploring their creative sides!
Science
During Term 4 , Grades 1/2 Students have been learning about the physical changes that can be applied to different materials and objects. Throughout the unit, they explored how bending, twisting, folding and stretching can alter a material’s shape, and investigated whether different objects return to their original form or remain changed.
The class engaged in a wide range of hands-on practical activities to deepen their understanding. They made play dough and explored how combining materials can create new textures and properties. Students experimented with foods such as cooked and uncooked spaghetti, popcorn kernels, melted chocolate and more to observe how heat, pressure and movement cause physical changes. They also used a variety of classroom materials to construct different objects, allowing them to apply their learning creatively and see how materials can be shaped and reshaped for different purposes. This highly practical unit was thoroughly enjoyed by the students, who developed strong inquiry skills while experimenting, observing and discussing the physical changes they created.
Well done Grades 1/2s for an awesome year in Science!
LOTE
During Term 4 in Auslan, Grade 1/2 students learnt about: – Junk/Take Away Food, Telling the time, Around the House – Bathroom & Laundry, On the Weekend, Opposites, Handshapes #4, Going to the Beach, Sign Languages Around the World, Party time and Revision.
These new lessons showed signs being used in a variety of social settings, and we explained that there are many sign languages used around the world.
The Revision lesson involved an Auslan story, using many signs that we learnt this term and presented the challenge of ‘reading back’ the signs to understand the story.
The students gained confidence, through experience, in both signing, (Expressive) and understanding others’ signs (Receptive). Well done Grade 1 and 2’s on a wonderful year of learning Auslan!
Art
What a fantastic final term we’ve had in Art! Grade 1/2 students revised and consolidated their pattern skills by repeating lines and colours in their art pieces. They also used the elements of form and texture. Students were able to apply their maths skills and cross- curricular learning to understand how the element of form is used in artworks. They made mixed media artworks using a combination of different materials. These artworks focused on using and refining a range of skills that were covered in previous terms.
Lots of experimentation and discussion took place as we discovered exciting creative possibilities. Well done Grade 1/2 on a wonderful year in Art!
P.E
What a fantastic final term we’ve had in Art! Grade 1/2 students revised and consolidated their pattern skills by repeating lines and colours in their art pieces. They also used the elements of form and texture. Students were able to apply their maths skills and cross- curricular learning to understand how the element of form is used in artworks. They made mixed media artworks using a combination of different materials. These artworks focused on using and refining a range of skills that were covered in previous terms.
Lots of experimentation and discussion took place as we discovered exciting creative possibilities. Well done Grade 1/2 on a wonderful year in Art!
Music
This term students in Grade 1/2 composed rhythms using ta (crotchet), ti ti (two quavers) and tika tika (four semi-quavers) using musical symbols. Students created a simple melodic pattern with three to four notes of the C major scale (white keys on the piano). Grade 1/2 students used musical elements such as dynamics (loud and soft) and incorporated pitch by singing melodies and phrases. Students also practiced techniques on the keyboard and drums. rough learning new songs and listening and responding to a variety of music.
