Year 1 Term Overview

Dear Year 1 Families,

Welcome back to school for 2022! This year we have ten Year 1 classes and the teachers are: 

1A – Hayley M

1B - Shanelle

1C – Hayley S

1D - Michael

1E - Danielle 

1F - Naomi

1G – Alex/Linda

1H- Katie

1I- Amanda

1J- Tegan 

The Year 1 teachers are extremely proud of the Year 1 student’s return to school and are looking forward to a year of refocus for their learning.

Curriculum:

Literacy 

Reading will be a priority for all Year 1 students with a larger emphasis on comprehension (understanding) of texts (understanding) and text features. As your child begins to develop their reading skills through decoding (solving the words) and fluency (notice and using punctuation to make meaning), they will encounter a larger variety of Fiction and Non Fiction texts which will further develop their love for reading. This term in reading, students will focus on identifying the purpose, genre and features of a text (Fiction and Non Fiction), developing their ability to infer, making text to self connections and summarising the important parts of a text.  To support the development of reading, students will engage in daily guided reading sessions, reading conferences, buddy reading and independent reading.

This term in writing, Year 1 students will be exploring how to write Descriptions and Personal Recounts. We will be using the 6+1 Writing Traits, with a strong focus on Ideas and Conventions (spelling, punctuation and grammar). Students will learn how writers develop their ideas and use this as inspiration to create their own for their writing. Through this unit, the main focus for students will be to write a sentence as a complete thought (starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop) as well as identifying and using nouns and adjectives within their writing. Each week, students will engage in phonics as well as handwriting practice to help improve their understanding of spelling patterns and letter formation.

Numeracy

This term in Numeracy, Year 1 students will begin the term exploring fractions (identifying half) through paper folding of different shapes and exploring terms such as ‘equal, whole, same, part’. Students will be drawing strong connections to maths in their lives through a focus on location and will practise giving and following directions using specific vocabulary to successfully reach a destination. Place value will be a core focus area throughout the whole year, especially in Term 1, where the students will be investigating counting efficiency (ones, twos, fives and tens) and describing counting patterns. Further, students will solve simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of strategies, such as counting on and partitioning. In the middle of the term, students will be learning about representing and interpreting data. Throughout the term, students will continue to be exposed to different mathematical situations where they will be required to problem solve using the skills of modelling, diagrams and equations. The term will conclude with students learning 2D shapes and 3D objects. To complement this unit, students will be using informal units to measure and order objects based on length, mass and capacity.

Inquiry - 

In Inquiry this term, our topic will be Physical and Mental Health and has a specific focus on how the decisions we make impact our lives. Students will delve deeper into this health-focused inquiry, where they will describe changes as they grow older, and examine health messages that help them to be healthy, safe and active. By the end of this inquiry, students will understand how to explain and reflect how our decisions affect our health now and in the future. Further, they will describe how the body reacts to physical activity and good health choices as well as thinking critically about their own health choices.

Ways to Help Your Child At Home:

Home Reading - We have started our Home Reading program. The expectation is for your child to read their take home book 5 nights a week, answer some comprehension questions that an older family member asks them and record the title, date and a comment in the yellow reading journal themselves. Take home books are for enjoyment and for your child to practise their reading strategies, and are not meant to be a challenging task for your child. In addition to the Home Reading program, Wushka, Reading Eggs and Literacy Planet are extremely valuable resources to help your child practise their reading.

Learning Goals - Your child’s individualised learning goals are listed on Compass (starting at the end of Week 4). There is a Reading goal, a Writing goal, a Maths goal, and an Inquiry or SEL (social and emotional learning) goal for your child. Please read these and support your child by going through the suggested strategies to help at home. These goals will be updated in Weeks 5 and 10, and you will also be informed of your child’s achievement of these goals.

Year 1 Team