Term 2 Curriculum Newsletters
Prep
The Preps have had an adventure-filled start to Term 2 and have been very excited to dip their feet into the next learning challenges that we’re exploring together. As we’ve witnessed through our swimming program early in the term, they are certainly eager and enthusiastic to jump in the deep end and further develop their independence, resilience, and confidence.
Literacy (Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening)
In Literacy, we will build on our learning from last term as we learn to write sentences using familiar sounds. Through daily written and oral practise, students will develop their sound knowledge, letter formation and understanding of sentence structure. They will learn to use capital letters at the start of a sentence, finger spaces between words and full stops and question marks at the end of sentences. Through modelled dictation and independent writing, students will write simple sentences that include a noun and a verb. Later in the term, we will learn to expand our sentences by including the "when" and the "where". Handwriting will be practised daily on Sky, Grass and Ground dotted thirds to help with correct sizing and direction.
Students will be reading short decodable texts and will continue to expand their sound knowledge through daily practise of building, writing and reading simple words with two and three sounds. They will do this by breaking the words into individual sounds and then blending the sounds back together to read and write the word. We will also read a range of rich picture books together and build our comprehension skills through class discussions.
Mathematics - Skills (count, match, write, compare collections & shape)
This term in Mathematics, we are learning to count collections and write the corresponding numeral. Students are building confidence in their ability to identify numbers to 20 and understand the value of these numbers. To advance this understanding, students are comparing collections using words such as ‘more’ and ‘‘less’, ‘same as/equal’. Recently, Prep students have been recalling and creating 2D shapes. They are building an understanding of the shape features such as sides and vertices. As part of our daily routine, we track and count how many days we have been at school and link the Days of the Week to familiar recurring events.
Inquiry - My School, Altona Green and The Resilience Project
This term, our Inquiry unit of study is “My School, Altona Green”. We will focus on personal and family history, our significant life events, special places and how to care for them. We will also look at what it means to be a part of a community. The Resilience Project further immerses us with strategies for recognising and managing our emotions.
Independence
We have already seen fantastic growth in students building their independence. Some ways you can further assist with this is to continue encouraging them to pack their own school bags and check that they have tools necessary for the school day, such as a drink bottle, a fully charged iPad, headphones and their library book (on relevant days). Our goal is for students to walk into the classroom independently and confidently by bringing in their own bag and waving goodbye to you at the door.
Thank you for your support,
The Prep Team
Grade 1
In Literacy, students will work on further developing their knowledge of the Extended Code and Polysyllabic Words. We will be exploring narratives, using comprehension strategies, such as questioning, summarising and inferring. As writers, students will practise expanding a simple sentence by adding adjectives, nouns and verbs. Students will be writing retells and will use transitional words to sequence the events. We will be working on editing, to check for correct spelling and punctuation.
In Numeracy, students will reinforce mathematical concepts through daily review. When solving addition and subtraction problems, students will use a variety of effective strategies, such as number bonds, counting on and counting backwards. Students will use balance scales to compare and order objects by mass. We will explore concepts of time, including duration of everyday activities, using o’clock and half past terminology.
Our Inquiry unit is ‘Then and Now.’ Students will explore their own history and that of their family, including stories from different cultures. Students will learn about continuity and change in family life and in the local area by comparing the present with past.
Grade 2/3
The 2/3s will be taking a step back in time this term with our Inquiry topic, the History of Melbourne. We will have a wonderful start to our Inquiry learning with an excursion to the Melbourne Museum next week, on Monday 15th May. Throughout the term students will learn about many aspects of Melbourne’s past, including significant people, events and locations. We will investigate how Melbourne has changed over the years, including in areas close to home such as Altona and Williamstown. Perhaps you have your own memories of Melbourne and the local area that you could share with your child.
To tie in with our Inquiry topic, the students will be reading and writing non-fiction texts. We will study their structure (e.g. paragraphs with topic sentences) and features (e.g. contents page, subheadings, technical language, images with captions and labels, glossary). These elements will be included when the students plan, draft and publish their own factual texts. Through the use of the Sounds Write program, students will develop their skills in the areas of reading and spelling. We will learn to use punctuation such as apostrophes, for contractions and to show possession, and capital letters for proper nouns.
We started our Term 2 Maths program with a practical measurement activity – following a recipe to make ANZAC biscuits. We used metric measurements such as grams, cups and teaspoons to produce a delicious batch of biscuits! This term we will build on our knowledge of place value to solve problems involving the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). Students will learn and practise a range of strategies to solve problems effectively and efficiently, e.g. the use of concrete materials, drawing diagrams, partitioning and vertical algorithms. In Maths we will also focus on data – collecting, displaying and analysing it.
A reminder that our focus for homework is Reading. Students should read daily for 20 minutes, and record their homework on the proforma provided by their class teacher. By being a learner and doing their Reading Homework, the 2/3 students can earn KEFAR tokens and watch their collection grow!
Grade 4/5
This term in our fun filled inquiry unit we will be looking at Australia, primarily during the 1800’s. Our unit will include the highlight of heading to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat to experience what life was like for people during this era. During the term we will study how the Australian colony developed over time and the impact that this colonisation had on the First Nations people. We will look through significant events that shaped our history and the people that were predominant in these events.
Our Literacy unit will be heavily related to our theme, early Australia. In Reading we will investigate just how Australia changed from 1788 and progressed every decade through to 1900. Students will take notes using the Cornwell note taking system, which means putting notes into categories on a chart. They will then present these findings to the grade. Students will unpack new vocabulary, explore different perspectives on the same event and infer just how an event impacted people’s lives. In Writing, the students will concentrate on ‘Persuasive Writing.’ They will look in depth at figurative language, explore similes & metaphors and work on emotive language to use in their pieces.
In Mathematics this term, students will be working on multiplication and division strategies, with a focus on knowing their times tables. As the term progresses we will look at working out the area and perimeter of objects and using this in the real world. While later in the term, we will focus our attention towards fractions. Which includes comparing and ordering fractions. Finally, students will be participating in daily reviews of all maths topics. This will include shape, place value, measurement, graphing and time.
Grade 6
This term in Inquiry, we are beginning a new unit on Australian History between the 1900s to early 2000s. We will be investigating a range of historical events that have occurred throughout the last century. Some notable events we will cover are Federation, the White Australia Policy, the Stolen Generation, World War 1, and Australia’s waves of migration. The students will also get the opportunity to attend an excursion to the city, where we will visit a few of Melbourne’s most famous landmarks and take a self-guided tour of the Immigration Museum.
Our history unit will be integrated with Reading and Writing this term. In Reading, we will be listening to a range of video and film clips, as well as reading informative articles and texts about the topics listed above. We will be analysing and taking notes on important dates, people, events, and key information related to the various texts. We will also be conducting a short film study, wherein the students will watch ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’. In Writing, we will then transform these notes into fluent sentences, and construct paragraphs that reflect our learning about these topics. By the end of the unit, the students will have constructed detailed information reports about Australian History over the last century.
In Maths, the students are continuing to develop their understanding of number and place value. We will cover topics ranging from the order of operations, fractions and decimals, and a variety of problem-solving strategies. Additionally, the students will be participating in daily reviews of mathematics topics from all areas, including number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability.