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English

InitiaLit

Students are continuing to develop their ability to hear single sounds and use them to make words (Phonological Awareness),  and match sounds to written letters (graphemes).  They are able to recognise blends, digraphs,  compound words and break long words into syllables, all valuable skills needed to be confident, competent readers and writers.

Each student in Year 1 and Year 2 has been given a learning goal as the next step to develop their English skills.  The four areas of focus are:

Comprehension

Fluency 

Vocabulary  

Accuracy

Each area is colour coded as there are multiple levels of development in each one.  This enables every student to be academically stretched based on their learning needs.  Your child's goal has been glued to the back of their Reading Diary so that it can be referred to at home and be the focus when reading to you.

New Reading Diaries for Term 3 will be issued when all the Term 2 lessons have been completed.  The Reading Diary reflects what is being introduced in lessons at school.  As you would be aware, the InitiaLit program did not begin until Week 5 at the beginning of the year as we were waiting for all the resources to arrive and we finished a week earlier for Term 2 holidays due to Covid19.  As a result of this, weeks for lessons do not match the term week. If you have run out of space to write readers down, please ask for some printed sheets until the new reading diaries are added. 

Students have become familiar with the structure of lessons and the way new vocabulary and terminology are introduced. Here are some student reflections about the program from Year 1 and Year 2.

"I like tricky words because it lets us learn more."  Aarush M2

"Well, I like how it makes me understand more words and I also like writing the tricky words in sentences because then we know how to use those words in sentences."  Madison M2

"InitiaLit helps me learn new words." Yoseff M2

"It's fun when we get into groups and do different activities."  Gracie M1

"I like the spelling.  I like spelling new words." Annabelle M1

We have learnt how to spell and say words correctly. Blasko M5

We have learnt about nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Isaac M4

We have learnt about digraphs - digraphs are 2 letters which make 1 sound for example - ai/ay/oo. Vassi M4

As part of the InitiaLit program we have learnt a lot of new words and what they mean. We have learnt about trigraphs - they are 3 letters that make 1 sound. Justine M4

I like completing the comprehension reading activities. The comprehension sheets are new and they are fun. Annie M4

Genre Writing.

In Term 3 our main focus in Year 1 is on Narrative writing and in Year 2 is Persuasive writing. 

Narration is the act of telling a story, frequently in some kind of chronological order. ... Narration generally means any kind of explaining or telling of something. It is usually used in reference to storytelling.

Persuasive writing, known as creative writing or an argument, is a piece of writing in which the writer uses words to convince the reader that the writer's opinion is correct with regard to an issue. ... It is also a form of writing in which someone tries to get readers to agree with a position.

In Term 4 our Year 1 genre writing focus will be on Procedures and in Year 2 Explanation writing.

Bookmaking

Bookmaking is an important part of English as it encourages students to create their own pieces of writing on topics they are interested in.  It gives them an opportunity to use the variety of features and strategies that authors have used in books they have been listening to and learning about during lessons and discussion times throughout the day.  By making their own decisions about characters, plot, setting and writing features, students can use their imagination to express ideas and entertain others.

Maths

The focus in Maths for Semester 2, is to develop students' understanding and skills in geometry and measurement, statistics and probability and continue to develop number and algebra so that students are sufficiently proficient  to solve everyday Mathematical problems with the most efficient strategy.

Students will develop topic specific Mathematical language so that they can express what they know and understand about shapes, how to draw inferences from data collected and broaden their understanding of the base 10 number system.  

ICT

All Year 1 and 2 students have the opportunity to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the form of iPads and Chromebooks, provided in each learning area, to support and enhance teaching and learning programs at LNPS.  The purpose of ICT’s is to enable students to develop research skills, become fluent with device functions and features of programs, to stimulate creativity and to develop responsible internet citizens with an awareness of the need for cyber safety.