Curriculum News
Clear Expectations
Throughout the curriculum, students will be introduced to the lessons via LEARNING INTENTIONS. These provide the students with a clear focus of the intended learning. They are introduced to the intention as either: a skill, knowledge or understanding. Students are expected to address SUCCESS CRITERIA in order to maximise their learning outcomes.
English
This will incorporate, Writing, Vocabulary Development, Reading and Viewing and, Listening and Speaking with the focus being on learning how to use the English language to effectively communicate for a variety of purposes.
Vocabulary Development
Students will work on developing strategies which writers need when working out how to spell words to enable them to become proficient spellers. These strategies include knowing what words mean, how they sound, how they change form and where words come from. These strategies are referred to as the Four Spelling Knowledges: Phonological, Visual, Morphemic and Etymological.
Reading
Reading comprehension strategies are developed to empower students to be successful across the curriculum. Students will engage in many different reading activities in order to strengthen their abilities to comprehend and make connections to texts involving ‘HERE’, ‘HIDDEN’ and ‘HEAD’ information.
Opportunities to respond to literature will also be provided through a class novel. In addition, students will participate in group reading workshops aimed at targeting specific skills based on their individual needs.
Listening and Speaking
Listening and speaking skills will be developed through class participation, assembly presentations, Year 7 Graduate speeches and scheduled planned oral presentations.
Writing
Writing skills will be aligned to a specific text type. As the text type is explored, students develop knowledge and undersatnding of the structure, grammar and specific vocabulary required of that particular text type. Throughout this Semester the following text types will be explored : Yr 6/7 persuasive texts: discussions and reviews, Yr 5 /6: persuasive text: arguments and narratives??
Proof reading and editing of written work will also be explicitly taught with the expectation that the students take greater ownership and responsibility for this. Frequent Ten Minute Writing sessions will provide students the opportunity to improve their skills by responding to a variety of prompts with foci on accurate sentence and text structure, and using precise vocabulary.
All of the various skills and outcomes covered in the English programme have application across all curriculum areas.
PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE
Students are encouraged through the Homework Grid to read and participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge. The Challenge requires students to read 12 books between the beginning of the school year and early September. Information is available at the Reading Challenge website:
http://www.premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/prc/
READ THEORY
Click on this link to visit Read Theory - a website that tracks students reading and develops skills that they need to improve. For more information, please read the Parent Flyer. Students should have a username and password to log in - happy reading!
Mathematics
Learning Mathematics is an active process where students build their own mathematical understanding through interaction with the ideas they hold and alternative ideas held by others. Students will be encouraged and supported to take risks and persevere with new or different and efficient ways of thinking and solving problems, and will understand that mistake making is an important part of their learning.
Students will continue to develop understanding of the algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and will explore, and apply, a range of written and mental strategies for computation to solve multi-step problems with a focus on measuring lengths, heights and distances travelled as well as capacity and volume.
They will explore the properties of prime, composite, square and triangular numbers and investigate index notation and square roots. Students will calculate percentages and ‘best buys’ in relation to financial matters. Opportunities are provided to solidify and develop understanding of concepts related to place value, fractions, decimals and the representation and analysis of data.
Humanities & Social Sciences-HASS
We use an inquiry approach to assist the students’ learning of skills and attributes necessary to become successful, independent and lifelong learners. The emphasis is no longer on the learning of specific content, but rather how to be inquiring and how to access, evaluate and apply information and concepts. The Fisher staff plan and assess all inquiry units together.
This semester Year 5 students are inquiring about significant people, places and events in Australia throughout the 1800's. This will then lead into looking at geographical locations and how people and environments influence one another.
The Year 6 students will be inquiring into Geography and how they are connected to the world. Then they will be looking at Federation and events in Australia from 1901 during History lessons.
The Year 7 students will be inquiring into Civics and Citizenship before moving onto a focus on water in the world in Geography and the Ancient Civilisations which developed near fresh water sources in History.
The Arts & Technologies
This year, Fisher students will be participating in Friday Arts and Technologies. Each class will access units of Drama, Dance/Music, Visual Arts, Media and Digital Technologies. Classes will rotate through the units each term, working with a different Fisher teacher each time. As well as offering students a range of experiences and expertise, this programme also helps prepare students for high school by providing the opportunity to work with specialist teachers.
Ms Martin will be teaching Visual Arts, Ms Brook will be teaching Dance/Music, Mr Tarleton will be teaching Media/Digital Technologies, Mr Clayton will be teaching Photograpy/Digital Technologies while Mr Starr will be taking Drama. During Term One, students will work with their class teacher for Fisher Arts and Technologies.
Fisher 11 Tour the ABC
On Friday 26th February, Fisher 11 as part of their Media Art and Technologies unit, visited the ABC to tour the TV Studio. They met the Behind the News (BtN) presenters for questions and answers. Several students were chosen to represent Lockleys North Primary. You can visit ABC3 News and click on Friday 26th February.
