Learning & Teaching

Josy Reeder

NAPLAN Online for Grade 3 and 5 students

Federal, state and territory education ministers agreed that all schools will gradually transition from the current paper-based tests to the computer-based assessments, with the aim for all schools to undertake NAPLAN online by 2022.

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents and carers to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.

NAPLAN Online provides a better assessment, more precise results and is more engaging for students. The assessments can run through a real-time internet connection or onscreen without an internet connection. Watch the short clip: Understanding NAPLAN Online (2 min 11s).

Watch the video NAPLAN accessibility (6 min 23s), where students, parents/carers and teachers talk about the benefits of NAPLAN Online. Video transcript (PDF 92 kb)

Read the NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers (PDF 133 kb), also available in Simple English (PDF)

Fun activities to do at home during the school holidays

(click the underlined to get the link!)

Treasure hunt (with clues, hide a favourite toy somewhere in the house)
Make a batch of play doh
Tint shaving cream with food colouring, paint the windows or glass doors (or the inside of the shower glass) then rinse it off
Go through clothing from previous seasons, try on and cull things that are too small
Play dress ups in mum and dad’s clothes – do a photoshoot
Graffiti the garden fence with chalk
Make a small bowl, plate, egg cup or statue from air dry clay
Day spa – do a Mani/Pedi/foot soak/face mask
Go through old photos and videos, and old craft and paintings
Have a Living Room disco – play freeze, musical chairs, have a dance off
Go through recipe books together and have a bake off challenge
Do a backyard scavenger hunt
Make Origami animals or paper ninja stars
Gardening – pull weeds, trim bushes, collect flowers for a vase
Make a mud kitchen in the garden, make different coloured rock paint
Practice hammering nails into a plank of wood
Organise the books on your shelf into a rainbow of colours
String up a sheet tent in the backyard
Find three toys to give to charity
Using Lego characters or other small toys, make a stop motion movie (download the app Stop Motion to your phone or Ipad)
Organise your Lego and then have a building challenge. Who can build the best house, hotel or shop?
Write notes of love, compliments or doodles and hide them around the house for family to find
Do a marshmallow toothpick engineering challenge
Create a “God’s eye” weaving using sticks and wool
Build a teepee fairy house
Try shadow drawing, leaf rubbings, painting bark or stones
Build a bug hotel
Try leaf threading and make a nature chandelier
Use a mirror to draw a self portrait
Create an Alfoil river in the garden and float things down it
Learn to braid hair
Create an obstacle course
Build a fort using the couch and every cushion/pillow you can find
Thread pasta into jewellery
Make 3D paper rainbows
Make your own bubble blower
Put goggles and swimmers on and swim in the bath
Go through your board/card games and challenge yourself to play them all. Design your own game
Make greeting cards for the stationery cupboard to be used for birthdays and other occasions
Paint a family portrait to be framed and hung
Choose a picture book each and read aloud to each other in the biggest bed in your house
Have a handball tournament
Write a short story or poem that includes a dog, an umbrella and some sushi
Find 10 different shaped leaves in the garden
Create a paper crown for a member of your family and decorate it
Make a paper chain to hang up in the dining room
Try the travelling water experiment
Fill a small spray bottle with water and aromatherapy oil and then spray and wipe the house
Fold paper and cut out paper snowflakes
Make pom poms out of wool
Play drawing games like Simon Says drawing
Put on a puppet show using toys behind the couch
Make DIY rain clouds in a jar
Do the magic milk experiment
Create a sensory shaker bottle using an old bottle, glitter and water (and whatever else you’d like to put in there!)
Outdoor games like egg and spoon race, tag team races, three legged races, or play stuck in the mud
Fold paper planes and see how far they will fly
Build the highest block tower you can
Learn how to bake bread
Make a Lego zip line
Keep a balloon in the air as long as possible
Build a house with a deck of cards
String up the Christmas lights in your living room
Play cinema – make tickets, popcorn, give your guests a rug and watch a movie together
Play hotels using your bedrooms as ‘hotel rooms’ or restaurants by setting up the dining room like a restaurant with menus (or hospitals, vets, banks, etc)
Make up a workout and do it together (eg: 25 star jumps, 20 squats, 15 crunches, hop like a bunny around the lounge room, frog leap your partner)
Choose an inspirational quote and create a poster for your room
Change the bedsheets and build a sheet city in your bedroom before they get washed!
Press flowers within a few heavy books
Play the gummy bear game (using dice and 5 gummies each. Roll a 1 you eat one in your pile, a 2 you pass one bear to your left, a 3 you pass to your right, a 4 you keep it, a 5 you eat it, a 6 you keep it – keep playing till the gummies are gone!)
Make sidewalk paint
Make a magic potion using aromatherapy oils, glitter, water, petals
Take some garden clippings and see which ones you can get to grow roots for replanting
Use masking tape to make a race track. Race matchbox cars. Or use the inside of your bathtub as a ramp for racing
Listen to a kid’s podcast or audio book. Podcast suggestions:
- Brains On
- Wow In The World
- Circle Round
- Little Green Pod
- Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
- Fierce Girls
- Story Pirates
- But Why?
With some old clothes, cut and create clothes for your toys
Take everyone’s height measurement on a door frame
Using butchers paper, trace a partner’s whole body. Now try to include as many body parts and organs as you can
Give someone a back, foot or head massage
Try sharpie tie dye using a sharpie and rubbing alcohol
Take some artistic photos in black and white. Play around with filters and see what you can create. You could use a phone or learn how to use the proper camera (if you have one)
Water play – buckets, scoopers, whisk, pouring jugs, straws, bubbles!
Have a picnic lunch outside. Take books and toys with you
Sort through all your crafts and art supplies. See if something inspires you. Organise and sharpen all your pencils and test all your markers
Make a bottle rocket
Make rainbow paper
Make a stained glass window using clear contact & cellophane
Make a marble run
Paint a stick gnome
Make a rainbow stick
Jump rope – can you get to 100 without stopping?
Take apart an old appliance. Can you put it back together?
Research your family tree – see how far back you can go
Make a time capsule of this time to be opened in 10 years
Get swimmers on and wash the car or your bike!
Set up camp in the garden and play inside the tent
Write a letter to a friend, relative or teacher to mail
Lie on a rug in the garden and spot cloud shapes. Make up a story about what you see.
Work together to a family emblem, motto or song. Include elements that are important to you and your family
Learn to finger knit, french knit or braid wool into friendship bracelets
Sketch your dream red carpet look!
Try Michelangelo drawing under the table
Make a pretty lantern using an old jar, tissue paper and glue
Make an infinite paper flipper!
Make frozen dinosaur eggs (or you could use fairies, or Ooshies, etc)
Make a paper cut out family
Make a paper plate whale
Try dying some old plain fabric using natural dyes
Do a chalk photo shoot
Interview the members of your family
Make a popsicle stick catapult
Can you draw or paint with your feet?
Do a Yoga class together

Josy Reeder

Learning and Teaching Leader