In reading, we have been building comprehension by introducing new vocabulary words, discussing synonyms and developing students' prediction skills. Students used their critical thinking skills to make smart guesses about what might happen next in the story by using clues from the words, pictures and what they already know. We looked at the cover and predicted what might happen before reading the story 'Wendy' written by Gus Gordon. Students then made predictions at different points in the story. Once we finished the book, students used their imagination to think about what could happen beyond the story. We looked at how illustrations match the words and often add extra detail to help the reader understand the story better. Predicting is an important reading strategy as it helps students understand and keeps them actively involved in the story.

We are continuing our writing unit on small moments. In weeks five and six, students have been learning how to build and expand their sentences. They are encouraged to turn a simple idea into a detailed sentence so the reader can clearly understand and picture what is happening. 

To help improve their writing, students have been practicing their handwriting and are learning to use verbs, adjectives and feeling words to help explain what happened, how they felt and why. 

Students are also learning to follow the writing process to help organise and improve their ideas, by brainstorming then writing a draft. They have been using a writing checklist to revise and edit their work by adding more detail, checking for capital letters, full stops and spelling mistakes. Students then published their writing in a neat final copy. This process has been building students independence and confidence as writers.

In Reading, we have been focusing on oral language by retelling the main events in a story. Students have been focusing on retelling the main events in order from beginning, middle and end by using sequencing words like ‘first, next, then and finally.’ Retelling is an important comprehension skill as it helps children show that they understand what they have read and what actually happened in the story. We are encouraging students to think carefully about what really matters in the story and to explain it in their own words.

Students began our Writing unit on Small Moments. Instead of writing about a whole day or big event, children are learning to “zoom in” on one small, special moment and describe it in detail. They are practicing how to write complete sentences by using colourful semantics (Who, What, Where, When). We are encouraging students to expand simple ideas into detailed sentences to strengthen their writing skills.

In Reading, we began the year by setting up our classroom library and organising our book boxes. Each book box contains resources such as library books and phonics folders to support our learning. The students chose books for their own book boxes and practised their phonics during independent reading sessions. We also learned about the structure of our phonics and reading lessons, helping the students understand what to expect each time. Everyone enjoyed visiting the school library and borrowing books to take back to the classroom for their book boxes!

In Writing, we focused on presenting our work neatly in our books, such as starting at the top of the page and using finger spaces. The students wrote about what they did on the holidays. We also practised writing detailed sentences using colourful semantics to help us build sentences. We also used a range of tabletop resources to support our writing.