Welcome to our class blog where we will be sharing learning, ideas and information about what is happening in our class. We hope you enjoy sharing our class news together and adding comments we can share in class.
Fiction and narrative books
We have been learning how to differentiate between fiction and non-fiction books. Non-fiction books contain true information and often have photographs or diagrams rather than illustrations and drawings. Non-fiction books often have a Contents and Index page too. Fiction books contain ‘made up’ and imagined stories, and narratives have at least one story problem that needs resolving by the end of the story. Fiction narratives also contain characters, at least one story setting and lots of events. We read the fiction book Huff and Puff and made event ladders of the story events. The beginning events are at the beginning of the ladder and as you climb the ladder you get more story events in order.
Showbags at the Royal Adelaide Show
We have been talking about the Royal Adelaide Show. We looked at the show website and how to make a show bag wish list. It was great to see what you could get in each bag. We saw how much the bags cost and what the real value of the bags were. Some bags cost $25 but were worth between $60 and $85 so they were great value for money if they were something we wanted.
Royal Adelaide Show
During show week we learned the ‘ow’ words and made a show picture to match our words. We made show bags and put our show maps and show bag data work in the show bags too.
Geography – Community Spaces
In Geography we have been discussing how local communities have shared spaces such as parks, playgrounds, shops, schools and possibly cinemas and/or libraries and community halls. Our school community also has shared spaces that are used for different purposes – we identified many areas such as classrooms spaces, the library, canteen, kitchen and kitchen garden, office area, the oval, playground, castle playground and the Hall. Then the children chose an area and made a diorama which we will use to talk about how these different community spaces are used for different purposes. Some of the photos are side views and some are ‘top-down’ or ‘bird’s eye views’. Can you see the different views?
Magic ‘e’ posters
The children made these ‘Magic e’ posters as a reminder of how ‘Magic e’ on the end of a word changes the preceding vowel from a short vowel to a long vowel. We revised vowels and consonants too.
Magic ‘e’
In phonics we have been learning about the Magic e or silent e, which lengthens the preceding vowel sound when it comes at the end of a word. This week’s spelling words are the a-e words and next week we will do the i-e words followed by the o-e and u-e words (all Magic ‘e’ words). The Magic ‘e’ changes the short vowel (letter sounds) into the long vowels (letter names).
3D shapes
In Mathematics we have been learning about 3D shapes and the difference between 2D and 3D shapes. 3D shapes have the extra dimension of ‘depth,’ while a 2D shape is a flat shape. A cube is a 3D shape and has 6 square faces. We made these “Jack in the Box’ cubes from the net of a cube. Some of our ‘Jack in the Boxes’ have footballs coming out of a box designed with football pictures and others have fish coming from underwater scenes. We had fun learning about cubes. Which views are side views? Can you find a photo that is a ‘top down view’ or ‘bird’s eye view?’
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Term 3 News/Sharing topics
Winter Words
In English we have been talking about winter words with the focus on words that are nouns. Nouns are naming words – at this level, the names of any person, place, animal or thing. We then differentiated Proper Nouns as being the names of people and places and so they must have capital letters. Our Winter pictures have labels which are nouns.
Sounds
In Science we have been learning about sound – how sound waves are a vibration and travel through air, water and solids. We also learned about how sound waves look for high sounds and low sounds. In English we discussed ‘sound’ words (onomatopoeia) and made a short story or sentence to match our sound picture.
RSPCA Empathy program
We had a visit from the RSPCA to discuss caring for pets. Its basis is quality Empathy between owner and animal and the responsibility for this is from the owner. It’s based on the same Golden Rule idea we use for the children – treat others as you would like them to treat you, but modified in concept to fit the animal/owner relationship. Five things to provide for your pet are – Food, Water, Shelter, Friends and Exercise.
Mathematics Problem Solving
In Mathematics we have been working on problem solving tasks. This work is more challenging because it means the children have to apply previously learned knowledge in new and varied situations so it requires some more advanced thinking. It also involves some representations diagrammatically and good organisation to help with accurate counting
Mathematics measurement – Time
In Mathematics the children have been learning about time – the duration of a minute/hour/day/year. Some of this has involved measuring what you can do in a second and compared to a minute or hour. Morning and afternoon and how it is divided by the mid-day and noon time has been discussed and events divided into morning and afternoon (events such as getting up, going to bed, going to school and having dinner).
Week 8 Sharing
Mathematics in Week 6
Some mathematics work this week has centred around different number combinations with the numbers 7,8 9 and 10 and number line work. The children were also asked to try their own number lines which could go forward, backward, diagonally and from different starting points. The connection was made between number lines and History Timelines. In Time different activities were matched to different times and number fluency (no aids) from 1-100 was checked.
Ladybirds
In Reading we have been reading a big non-fiction book about Ladybirds. We were interested because we are finding lots of ladybirds at school – so we have been looking at their life cycle, their predators and their habitat. Some Reading comprehension work has focused around ladybirds and one section asked the children to draw a specific picture and add labels.
The power of ‘Yet’
In these motivational videos for children, the concept of ‘growth mindset’ is explored. They provide strategies to overcome ‘hitting the dip’ moments and are great for helping to develop self-motivational skills.
Time – How long do things take?
Some great Sharing ideas using time measurement. How long does a minute take, or an hour or a season or a year?
Big numbers song
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In Mathematics we have been learning about patterns – they are evident in number work, spatial and algebraic maths. This video helps the children visualise how big numbers ‘grow’ with multiples of 10.
Hitting the ‘Dip”
These motivational videos show strategies for self-motivation when things become a bit difficult (hit the dip). The answer of course is to reflect on your thinking (this may involve talking to others, research etc), but the power for this is within you as a person.
Class Sharing Topics for Term 2
Big Ideas – Growth Mindset
In class we have been discussing how how important it is to put effort into things we undertake – whether it is sport, schoolwork, different challenges and friendships. We know these skills underpin successful learning and many life skills, and these You Tube clips are ones we have used to present these ideas to the children. Skills for developing Growth Mindset include collaborating with others (to extend on ideas), persistence, making good effort and developing personal skills such as confidence and questioning. It promotes the concept that challenges and effort help develop neural pathways and connections, and neuroscience research shows intelligence is fluid not static – with the implication that using your brain and reasoning power promotes brain development.
Tens and Ones
We played the Tens and Ones game with a partner. We had to take turns and after we had ten Ones in the Ones column we had to bundle it into a group of ten. At the end of the game we had to add our Tens and Ones to find our score and see who had the highest number.
Road Safety Centre
Last week’s excursion to the Road Safety Centre was fun, educational and very informative. The children learned about how and where to cross roads safely (and at this age, with an adult), using the safety door of the car (the door by the footpath), safe places to play (not roads) and when wearing a bike helmet, don’t wear a cap too (it can make the helmet slide around). They also learned about the importance of being a safe passenger and not be distracting for the driver. The children rode bikes around the roads specially built for the Road Safety school. Yes, it was very hard to keep to the left, watch the lights and stop for pedestrians all at the same time. Then the children had turns at being safe pedestrians and crossing the roads while others rode bikes.
Mathematics – teen numbers
In mathematics we are consolidating the concept that numbers under 100 are made up of tens and ones. ‘Teen’ numbers can be problematic with reversals (such as 17 being written as 71) sometimes happening when there is no learning issue – just that it’s tricky to remember which numeral comes first. We use this Rap to help us remember.
Two vowels together
In phonics we are learning about the ‘oa’ words ready for our visit to the Road Safety Centre. We looked at the You Tube ‘When 2 vowels go walking the first one does the talking.’
Polygons
A polygon is any 2-dimensional shape formed with straight lines. Triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons are all examples of polygons. The name tells you how many sides the shape has – for example, a triangle has three sides, and a quadrilateral has four sides.
Free Choice News Ideas
Octagons
In Mathematics we learned about Octagons. They have 8 sides and 8 angles. An octopus has 8 tentacles and this connection helps us remember information about octagons.
Vowels and consonants
To help us learn the vowels we use this vowel rap/song. Y is a semi-vowel and all the other alphabet letters are consonants.
History Survey letter to parents and History Survey
Natural, Constructed and Managed Features
In Geography we have been learning about Natural, Constructed and managed Features in our world. Natural features are not made by people and were in a place before people came (like rivers, mountains, soil, plants and animals). Constructed features are made by people (like roads, footpaths, buildings and signs), and were not always in that place. Managed features are those that are looked after by people (like parks, farms and planted forests). They are environments that have been changed by people.
The children had to make pictures that included at least one natural, constructed and managed feature. Our next step is to label and list these features.
Easter News
As part of our History Curriculum we look at celebrations in different countries and cultures. So far this year we have looked at Australia Day, birthdays and Easter. The children made Easter baskets and chicks, and we discussed how a chicken hatching from an egg is a symbol of new life and this has a comparison with Easter.
‘Whistleless Recounts
A Recount is a genre in English Writing that is part of the Year One curriculum. It must have an introduction (that hopefully refers to who is in the story/where and when it happened/ and what happened). The events then get written in order and a conclusion finishes off the work. We sequenced seven events in picture form before we started.
‘Whistleless’ – Viewing and Recounting
In English we watched the video ‘Whistleless.’ We then discussed the events in order and will use them to write a Recount with ordered events and an introduction and conclusion. If you select ‘Watch on Vimeo’ the video will play.
Term 1 Week 7 Diary Note
Sports’ Day Chants and team names
Another part of our Mathematics work has been mathematics games – to develop number work and logic. We played Snakes and Ladders with one dice to reinforce the quick recognition of the dice dots (it’s called subitising and it means to intrinsically know that mathematical pattern without needing to count it). This is an important part of mathematics, and this same skill is used when cards are played. Later on we will use 2 dice for our games, and this is a great reinforcer of doubles addition and addition facts to 12. Board games with 2 dice are a great way to maximise number fact work for your child in the context of family fun.
In Mathematics we have been looking at money and Australian coins. The children were asked to categorise our coins and came up with 2 different categories. They were gold and silver coins, and cents and dollar coins. Our mathematics task was to use your coins to make coin rubbings that showed these categories. If you have any coins from other countries we would like to see them as part of our mathematics work.
In English we are learning about vowels and consonants as part of our work in grammar. The vowels are A E I O and U, and Y is a semi-vowel. In our alphabet there are 26 letters, and the letters that aren’t vowels are consonants. Most words in the English language will have at least one vowel. Knowledge of vowels and consonants helps later on with spelling rules and a/an rules.
We painted self-portraits that showed our appearance. We talked about our features (eyes, ears, hair – colour), likes, dislikes and things we are good at doing. This formed part of our English work with oral and written descriptions.
Last week our Sharing Topic was ‘something about the sea.’ We had lots of great sharing, ideas and pictures and have included 2 of our pictures.
In Health we are talking about keeping safe as part of the Child Protection curriculum. We aim for a safe school and classroom environment and after playtimes we review safe play or social/play issues that arise. This encourages the children to talk about issues that might be bothering them and in a bigger picture, this same skill is a good life skill to develop. We made a ‘feelings puppet family’ – where we identified a range of feelings, such as happy, sad, confused, embarrassed, bored, excited, frustrated, angry, OK, loving, ashamed, scared and worried. With this more explicit language, the children are more able to explain and identify their feelings. Then the children had a chance to make a puppet play with their puppets.
In Mathematics we have also been learning information about our ‘teen’ numbers. We watch the teen rap about numbers in the teens being a ten and a 1 (11), ten and a 2 (12), ten and a 3 (13), etc and used ten frames to make these numbers pictorially. We also practice finding the teen numbers in a pile of number flashcards, and clap whenever we find a teen number. We had fun while we learned our numbers.
In Mathematics we looked at ways to sort shells and then order them. We also discussed what was the same and different about each shell and ways to describe their features.
In Phonics we have been doing the SH words. We made these fish and wrote our words on the fish. We can sound our words too.
Our school had a visit and workshop with the authors (Jane Godwin and Michael Wagner), and the illustrator (Andrew Joyner) of Bear Make Den. Later on we had a workshop with the illustrator and he showed us how to do great drawings. An author writes the book and an illustrator draws the pictures.
In Health we have been talking about sun safety. Sid the seagull from the cancer council helped us learn to SLIP on a shirt, SLOP on sunscreen, SLAP on a hat, SEEK shade and SLIDE on sunnies. Stay safe in the Sun!
Sharing Topics for Term 1
We have been discussing good listening skills and social skills that involve turn taking and being aware of the feelings of others as we interact. We have made ‘noise meters’ where we can set the meter to the loudness level we want while we work (Whisper / Normal /Shout) or to any level in between. We discussed how it’s appropriate to shout at the football or soccer, or maybe outside, but not OK in class or to friends while we are talking. We will have our noise meters on our tables while we work. They are fun and useful.
We have been talking about getting along well with others and why it’s important to listen when others are talking and take turns in games. We discussed respect and the 3 parts – respect for yourself, others and the environment. The Golden Rule is to ‘treat others as you would like them to treat you.’
We made a graph of our favourite season. We needed to survey our classmates and record which season they liked best. We asked names politely when we were talking to new people and introduced ourselves so people knew our names. A quiz for you! Can you see which 2 seasons were the most popular? Which was your favourite season and can you say one thing that happens in each season?
Big Numbers Song. We have been talking about patterns in numbers and doing lots of counting. After 100 there are more number patterns each time you add a zero – 100, then 1000, then 10,000….. Did you know zero is a number? Note to parents – this link will take you to the song, but the ad before the song may change. Just google “You Tube kids big numbers song” In Year One we are only needing to look at numbers to 100, but it’s fun to see a big visual number picture
