Prep

Literacy 

We started the term by writing a simple story about a boy with a net at the beach. The students also listened to the storybook 'There is a sea in my bedroom' to provide another piece of provocation about the sea and the treasures you might find. The students began by planning their story, drawing and labelling the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution. Once the plan was complete, the students wrote a few sentences about their story. The reading and writing of tricky words are essential when students begin to read and write. Each day we practise writing upper case and lower case letters, reading and writing tricky words and constructing sentences that make sense. Seeing many students independently writing tricky words in their stories was wonderful. We have been learning about digraphs, and our focus digraph is /sh/. 

Maths 

Shapes have been our focus in Maths. We have explored the names and properties of two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional objects. The students used their bodies to create two-dimensional shapes and took photos of shapes in our school surroundings. 

They collected different three-dimensional objects to investigate their properties. Students selected objects that can be stacked, rolled or can slide. They discuss which objects were the best to stack, slide or roll and explain why. The Preps can describe two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes using language such as quadrilateral, triangle, rectangle, square, sphere, prism, cube, cone and cylinder. 

Inquiry 

In term 4, we will be investigating the concept of creativity using their imaginations as they explore this concept through the lens of traditional fairy tales. To begin the unit of inquiry, the students were asked what they think the word 'creative' means, and then we discussed our ideas. Then they were asked to think creatively and make an object using various materials. Once the students completed their objects, they were encouraged to think creatively and consider adding additional materials to improve their objects.