Learning Specialists
Literacy
'A child’s bank of vocabulary at the end of Year One, is a surprising indicator of high school reading achievement' (Hirsch)
Engaging in conversations with your child/ren about experiences as they happen will help to enhance their vocabulary and therefore their literacy outcomes.
As an example, when visiting the beach with your family you may introduce new words such as 'marine', 'tide', 'rip' and 'reef'. This will engage the child/ren in learning about the world around them and give them new language to draw on in conversations and their writing as well as assisting in the comprehension of texts they may read about the beach.
If you are looking for some areas to focus on, below is a list of our topics for the year F-6. You may wish to consider these topics when planning outings for your family or selecting books to read and talk about with your children.
| Year Level | Topics |
|---|---|
| Foundation | Me and My Family Staying Alive (living things) On the Move (how things move) Weather in My World / Celebrations |
| 1/2 | All About Me / Comparing Past and Present All Mixed Up (chemical sciences) Watch it Grow (living things) Under the Sea |
| 3/4 | Getting to Know You / Cyber Safety ANZAC / Life at the Beach Australian History (Ballarat focus) / Beneath our Feet (Earth science) Healthy Me / Feathers, Fur and Leaves |
| 5/6 | Readiness for Learning / ANZAC ANZAC / Oceans Sustainability Government |
Numeracy
How can I help build my child’s numeracy?
As parents you play a significant role in your child’s learning by setting expectations, nurturing curiosity, and encouraging a love of learning. You can help build your child’s numeracy through doing the following:
- be positive about their numeracy experiences and praise effort and perseverance
- let your child know that everyone can be successful
- seize everyday opportunities to capitalise on numeracy development
- involve your child in numeracy-related activities
- describe what you are doing in situations that involve numeracy
- explain why you make certain numeracy choices
- explore numeracy with your child
- learn alongside your child and encourage a sharing of numeracy ideas and thoughts.