HOW THE WORLD WORKS

Students will investigate how material properties determine their uses. They will observe, compare, and test different materials to understand their characteristics. They will use the Design Cycle to create and innovate. They will ask questions, make predictions, and reflect on their discoveries. They will build problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. This inquiry will develop a deeper understanding of how materials shape the world.

FINDING OUT & SHARING INFORMATION

Students will explore different materials and gather information. They will ask questions, collect facts, and share their findings through oral presentations. They will create "How-To" books, learning to sequence steps in order. They will also continue to build foundational literacy skills by recognizing letters, sounds, and simple words.

PHONOLOGY

In this year-long phonology unit, students will build core skills for reading and spelling. They’ll learn to hear, identify, and spell with phonemes using unigraphs, digraphs, blends, and short vowels. They’ll practice breaking words into sounds, changing phonemes to make new words, and recognizing patterns in word families. These skills will help students understand how spoken language connects to written words.

MEASUREMENT

This is an integrated maths unit where students will explore measurement by comparing size, length, and weight. They will use non-standard units to measure and discover that smaller objects can be heavier than larger ones. They will practice ordering objects by different attributes. They will use patterns and events to organize their daily lives.

SHAPE & SPACE

Students will explore shapes and how they relate to the world around them. They will sort and describe shapes by their features and identify 2D shapes by their sides. They will discover which shapes stack or fit together and learn that moving an object doesn’t change its shape.

NUMBER OPERATIONS

This is a standalone maths unit where students will continue to practice and build number sense by counting, comparing, and representing numbers. They will count to 100, read and write numbers to 20, and match numbers to sets of objects. Students will subitize small groups and break numbers into parts. They will use math language to compare quantities and understand the order and value of numbers. This unit helps students connect number skills to real-life experiences and lays the foundation for future math learning.

CREATING AND COMMUNICATING WITH MATERIALS

In this unit, students will explore fables through oral language, shared reading, retelling and drama, developing their understanding of the characters, actions, sequences and messages within stories. In collaboration with the How the World Works Unit of Inquiry, they will investigate how different materials have properties that influence how they can be used to represent characters, create props and support the communication of a story. Through exploring, selecting and transforming materials, students will justify simple choices and experiment with how words, images, sounds, movements and objects can work together to construct meaning. The process of creating, testing and improving representations of fables will provide opportunities to develop oral expression, vocabulary, creativity and reflection.

BALL SKILLS AND AQUATICS

Students will develop their ball skills and aquatic skills while exploring how the properties of different equipment affect the way we move and perform. Integrated with the Year 1 How the World Works Unit of Inquiry, students will investigate Form, Function, and Connection by noticing the size, shape, weight, texture, and other properties of balls and aquatic equipment, and discovering how these influence movement, floating, throwing, catching, and other skills. They will use observations and predictions to choose equipment, solve movement challenges, and improve their performance. As part of their stand-alone PE learning, students will practise throwing and catching balls of different sizes, rolling and bouncing large balls, and combining these with basic locomotor movements. In Aquatics, they will explore how different equipment supports floating, movement, confidence, and skill development in the water.