Term 1 Blog posts

Reading Week 8

In week 8, students practiced a range of reading strategies to enhance their comprehension. The reading strategies include the following:

Retelling
Making text-to-self connections

Students listened to texts such as "The Three Little Pigs" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". They retold the story in their own words, helping them grasp the key ideas and sequence of events.

Additionally, students listened to texts such as "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle and "The Very Cranky Bear" by Nick Bland. They were able to make text-to-self connections, by relating the content to their own experiences.

Reading Week 9

In week 9, the Year 1 classes launched "Buddy Reading" where students read their books with a partner. Buddy reading offers multiple benefits such as:

Helping students build their confidence because they are practicing with a partner
Fostering a sense of responsibility because both students contribute to reading the book
Enhancing fluency because students can model good reading habits to each other

The Year 1 team found that "Buddy Reading" was an excellent way to help the students practice reading strategies such as tracking with their fingers and blending sounds together.

It was lovely to see students supporting each other in their learning.

Writing Week 8

In Week 8, students revised, edited and published their small moment recount. First, they revised their work by using a checklist to make changes to improve their ideas. Then, the students edited their work using a checklist to fix their spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. Next, students published their work by neatly writing it. It was amazing to see students keen to share their stories with others.

Writing Week 9

In Week 9, students used a graphic organiser to plan and write about another small moment. The graphic organiser helped them break down their ideas into four sections, like "first", "then", "next" and "last". By using the graphic organiser, it helped students identify details such as who was there, what happened and how they felt. It was great to see students organise their thoughts, before writing a story about their small moment.

In Year 1 classrooms, students use a range of tools to help them with their writing. For example, they might use an alphabet chart to find the right letters or a word wall to check how to spell sight words. Students may also use sentence strips with helpful sentence starters to guide their sentences. It was wonderful to see students use these tools as they create their stories.

Passion Writing Weeks 8-9

Twice a week, students participate in passion writing. For example, they wrote about somewhere they love to visit. By writing somewhere they like to visit, students could practice forming sentences and gain confidence in sharing their feelings through writing.

Phonics Weeks 8 - 9

Phonics plays a role in helping students learn to read and write. Therefore, every week they engage in fun activities such as phonemic awareness drills to recognise and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

For example, phoneme isolation is where the teacher says a word, and students identify either:

1. The first sound that they hear (e.g. on - /o/).

2. The last sound that they hear (e.g. am - /m/).

3. The middle sound that they hear (e.g. pup - /u/).

Completing these phonemic awareness drills daily is beneficial. Students will become better readers and writers when completing these drills because it strengthens their ability to decode words.

Numeracy Weeks 8 - 9

Patterns in the Number System

Students have been learning to read, write and order numbers up to 120. They have been engaging in activities such as ordering number cards. For example, students worked in groups to read numbers and order the number cards.

Applied: Data

Students have been learning to collect data and use it to create and analyse a pictograph. They have participated in activities such creating a pictograph to represent the data, and analysing the pictograph to answer questions about the data. For example, the students completed a Skittles activity. They sorted skittles into colour groups, counted the skittles, drew the Skittles in the pictograph and wrote the total for each colour. It was fantastic to see students identify the patterns they saw in their data.

CBL Weeks 8 - 9

The students have been learning to work as a team to create a presentation for the Year 1 showcase. For example, they have gathered their materials and referred to their design plans when completing their projects. The students have been doing a great job taking turns and collaborating to complete their presentations.

Reading Week 6

In Week 6, students were learning to sequence events in a story. For example, students listed to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle and then arranged the cards in the correct order. Once they sequenced the cards, they practiced retelling the story to their peers using the language "first", "next", "then" and "last".

Additionally, in Week 6, students were learning to visualise scenes from a book. They practiced this skill by visualising events from a story and drawing these images. For example, the students listened to the story "Were Going on a Bear Hunt" by Michael Wayne Rosen and imagined specific scenes in the text. Then, they drew what they visualised in their minds.

Reading Week 7

In Week 7, students were learning to point to words while reading their books. Pointing to words while reading helps students connect the words on the page with the sounds they are saying. During independent reading, students did a great job tracking words with their finger.

Also, in Week 7, students were learning to blend sounds to read words. For example, students use the mini whiteboards to write the word "dog". First, they said each sound (e.g. /d/ /o/ /g/) and then they blended the sounds together (e.g. /d/ /o/ /g/ = dog) to say the word. Students practiced blending together as a whole class, before practicing blending independently with their books.

Writing Week 6

In Week 6, students were learning to use a graphic organiser as a tool to help them organise their thoughts. They used the graphic organiser to help them plan their small moment recount. First, students brainstormed the small moment. For example, students brainstormed small moments like going to the beach or a trip to Splash. Students were reminded by teachers to focus on a small moment, or one thing that happened (rather than an entire day). Then, students used the graphic organiser to break the moment down into four parts:

first: What was happening at the start?
then: What happened during the moment?
next: What details can you remember?
last: How did it end?

Writing Week 7

In Week 7, students used their graphic organisers to begin writing their small moment recount. They referred to the graphic organiser to help organise their writing. Students did a wonderful job writing and illustrating their small moments. It was lovely to see students keen to share their stories with their peers.

Additionally, twice a week, students participate in writing about their passions. They learned to brainstorm about their passions, and share the things they love. For example, students wrote about their pets or a pet they would like to have. Students did a fantastic job using a few sentence to describe their pet.

Speaking & Listening Weeks 6-7

This term, students are participating in Show and Tell. Daily, a student in each class gets to practice speaking in front of their peers by sharing an object (e.g. toy, picture), using clear sentences to describe it. Additionally, daily, students get to practice listening quietly and raising their hands if they have questions.

Students are beginning to develop their confidence in talking about their objects to their peers. It was great to see the class listening and respecting others while they speak.

A special shoutout to parents and carers for supporting their children with bringing in something to present to the class.

Phonics Weeks 6-7

Students participate in daily phonics practice. The teachers are making daily phonics fun through the use of games and activities. Students are finding phonics practice enjoyable by completing the following games and activities:

Letter formation practice on mini whiteboards
Buddy reading practice sheets
Sight Words Swat game
Capital & Lowercase handwriting sheets
Sight Words Practice Sheets
Reading the Decodable Readers Australia books

Numeracy Weeks 6-7

Number: Partioning

In Week 6, students continued to practice skip counting by 10. They had lots of hands-on practice using ice pole sticks to visually demonstrate skip counting by 10. For example, they created a bundle of 10, then created another bundle of 10 to make 20 and so on. Students were encouraged to practice skip counting by ten with the bundles.

In Week 7, students were introduced to the Part-Part-Whole concept. They learned to break numbers into parts and see how each parts fit together to form a whole. The students engaged in an activity where they rolled dice, wrote each number in the rolled part, and recorded the total in the whole section. For example,

Whole: 7

Part 1: 6

Part 2: 1

Additionally, students used Unifix cubes to represent the parts and the whole

Applied: Data

In week 7, students were introduced to the concept of data. They learned that data is information that we collect to learn more about something. Students engaged in an activity where they collected data via a Pictograph. They learned that data helps us understand more about the world, like how many people in the class celebrate their birthdays in March.

Also, students engaged in an activity where they collected data on the letters in students names. They counted how many times a certain letter appeared, and used this information to learn more about their names. For example, first they received a list of students' names in their class. Then, they went over each name and identified whether there was a certain letter in the name. For example, the letter "O". Next, they created a pictograph. Once the pictograph was complete, they answered questions about the data. For example, "How many students have the letter 'O' in their name?"

CBL Weeks 6-7

In Week 6, students were learning to explore and talk about various cultures different to their own. They were able to select a friend's culture that they would like to investigate.

In Week 7, students began to research information. They were able to read information about a culture and record simple facts about that culture.

Literacy Weeks 4-5

This term, the Year 1 students have been introduced to the Small Moment Recount unit. The students are learning to write about a small moment rather than a broad event. The students will achieve this by focusing on a sequence (first, then, last) and their feelings.

In Weeks 4 and 5, students have been introduced to big and small moments through various picture books. Here is a list of some picture books they have listened to:

Fireflies!
Last Stop on Market Street
Jeremy
The Very Impatient Caterpillar

They have learned that a big moment (watermelon) is a general event. For example, a day at the farm. They have learned that a small moment (seed) is a meaningful event. For example, feeding the sheep at the farm.

Reading

In reading, they have thought about the big and small moments in the books. They drew pictures and discussed the events in the book.

Writing

In writing, students have been sharing examples of small moments. For example, writing about a special gift they received. The students described the small moment using words to tell what they saw, heard or felt. Teachers encouraged students to revise their work by going back and fixing their punctuation. For example, ensuring that there are capital letters at the start of their sentences. Students enjoyed sharing their small moments with the class.

Writing Fluency (5 minutes)

Look at the picture and write as many words as you can think of.

Phonics Weeks 4-5

The students have been receiving daily phonics instruction because it builds their reading and spelling skills. Each week students are introduced to a new letter sound and are taught how to blend individual letter sounds together to read words. For example, c + a + p = "cap". Additionally, students are introduced to sight words (like "a", "the", "and") and review previously taught ones to help build reading fluency.

Students engage in various activities during phonics such as:

Letter formation
Word segmenting
Word blending
Choral reading (sentences)
Buddy reading
Sound Swat game
Handwriting sheets

Numeracy Weeks 4-5

Number- Patterns in number system

This term, the Year 1 students have been introduced to the Patterns in the Number System unit which is designed to help them understand how numbers relate to each other. The students are learning to skip count by 10s to 120.

In weeks 4 and 5, students have been using bundling sticks to understand ones and tens. Bundling sticks are sticks that students group into bundles of ten. Each stick represents “one” and when ten sticks are bundled together they represent “ten”. A bundle of ten sticks are tied together with a rubber band to show that 10 ones make a “ten”.

Students understand that each stick represents a value of one and when 10 sticks are bundled together they represent 10 ones. It was great to see students showing teamwork to group sticks in bundles of ten and practice skip counting by 10s.

Applied- Length

This term, the Year 1 students have been introduced to the Length unit which is designed to help them understand and measure objects. The students are learning to compare lengths, use informal units (such as their own foot) to measure length, and understand the concept of “longer” and “shorter” in real life examples.

In weeks 4 and 5, students have been introduced to length through various activities such as:

Measuring the length of classroom objects using informal units (e.g. unifix cubes, teddies, paper clips)
Measuring the distance their paper airplane flew using informal units (foot span)
Measuring their own foot using informal units

Students were keen to measure objects using informal units (like Unifix blocks). Additionally, it was great to see students comparing the length of objects to determine which is longer and shorter. For example, “the eraser is shorter than the pencil”.

CBL

This term, the Year 1 students have been introduced to the Identity unit which is designed to help them understand what makes them unique. The students are learning about who they are and how to respect people's differences.

In weeks 4 and 5, students have been introduced to the concept of identity through various activities such as

Discussing their physical appearance and drawing a self-portrait
Recognising their individuality through sharing their name, favourite colour and hobbies.
Creating a mini book to introduce themselves to their peers.

It was lovely to see students engage in drawing and group discussions around identity.

Buddies

The Year 1 students participate in the Better Buddies program every fortnight. This year, the Year 4 students are paired with the Year 1 students. By pairing the older students with younger ones, it helps them develop both socially and academically. For example, the Year 1 students are learning to interact with older students and form positive peer relationships.

An example of a buddy session is when the Year 4 buddies read a picture book to their buddy in Year 1. It was wonderful to watch the Year 1 students practicing to listen to the story. Also, it was great to see the Year 4 students reading the book and exposing the younger buddies to new words, phrases and expressions. Seeing their Year 4 buddy enjoy reading the picture books can inspire the Year 1 students to do the same.

Weeks 1, 2 and 3

Term 1

What a wonderful start we have had in Year 1! Our students have been busy making new friends and participating in a range of activities. Here is a quick peak of what we have been up to the past couple of weeks.

Getting to Know Each Other

We have spent time getting to know each other through Community Meetings. For example, during our first community meeting, students shared how they spent the summer holidays. Daily community meetings helps students practice speaking, listening and sharing their thoughts with each other.

Exploring ACPS

Our Year 1 students have been exploring all the fun areas of the Aitken Creek Primary School-whether it is the library, classroom sanctuary space or playgrounds. Every day is filed with curiosity and discovery!

Storytime adventures

We kicked off the year with a few fun independent reading sessions. The students loved selecting picture books from the classroom library. They are already showing enthusiasm for reading and we cannot wait to see how much they learn through diving into more books!

Writer's Notebook

The students have been enjoying expressing themselves through their Writer's Notebook. For example, one task was to draw a picture of yourself taking responsibility for a job you can do in the classroom. Students selected their classroom job based on their interests. After drawing, the students shared what their job involves and how they can contribute to the classroom community.

Librarian

iPad Monitor

Table Clean-up

Teacher Helper

Zones of Regulation

We have started exploring the Zones of Regulation framework, that helps students understand and regulate their emotions. There are four colour-coded zones which include the following: red, yellow, green and blue. Each zone represents different emotions.

For example:

Red - Angry, yelling, out of control

Yellow - Frustrated, anxious, excited

Green - Calm, happy, ready to learn

Blue - Sad, tired, bored

At this stage, students are beginning to recognise what zone they are in and the strategies they can use to get back to the "Green Zone". For example, one student identified that they can drink water to get back to the "Green Zone" and regain control.

Numeracy Fun

The Year 1 students have started with some hands-on numeracy activities like number tracing, the 10s frame puzzle, the Kaboom! game and the Race to 100 game.

During the 10s frame puzzle, students are learning to count in order from 0 to 30. They work together in small groups to match the number card with the correct tens frame that matches that number. For example, one card might have the number '11' and the corresponding tens frame card would have 11 squares are filled in.

It is amazing to see how quickly our students are getting the hang of it. We are looking ahead to having more fun next week!

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