Hello there!

These are very busy times, not just in the 1/2 team, but across the whole school as we prepare for Student Led Conferences this coming Tuesday August 23rd! We hope to see as many of you there and can't wait to share our learning with you. Below are some other things we've been up to for the past fortnight.

MATHS
In Maths we've been learning how to read, record and display data. This has involved selecting some good questions we could survey the rest of the class about, gathering their responses using tally marks and then finally, graphing the data in a column graph.
This week we've also been revisiting the operations of addition and subtraction. There have been many worded problems to solve using a range of strategies like counting on, 10s facts, doubling, adding 10 and so on. It's been a great opportunity to jump (feet first) into the Learning Pit, problem solve our way out and learn! See if you can solve this problem together: ? + ? + ? = 27. Reply in the comments if you have a solution!

READING
This past fortnight we've been learning how to make predictions in our Reader's Workshop time. We have talked about how predicting helps us to be better readers because we "stay tuned" and want to know what happens next. You can predict before, during and after reading. The best way to predict is by using your schema (what we already know and have experienced) and the clues in the text to make a smart guess. Students have again used a "menu" of activities for reading tasks so that there is more choice in the different types of activities we do. The next time you're reading a new book, maybe you could make some predictions about what the book will be about and what will happen next.

WRITING
Writer's Workshop sessions have involved revising, editing and publishing our fantastic picture story books. These are coming along very nicely and we are doing the best writing we can so that our readers can enjoy the stories when we're finished! It's great to see some of the fantastic ideas of important and interesting moments from our Writer's Notebooks be developed into imaginative stories. Perhaps you might like to write another picture story book at home.

INQUIRY
This time has been spent refining our posters/brochures on Maps and Geography and also in preparation for Student Led Conferences next week.

Don't forget to check out 1/2P's performance of the Student Led Conference song at the top of the page. Until next time,
Mr Pidd and the 1/2 team

 
Welcome back to Term 3 and hopefully we are all settled back into the swing of things.
 
1/2M and 1/2K had a thrilling fortnight participating in swimming lessons. They rode the bus all the way to the Ocean Grove pool and tried their hardest in their swimming lessons. They did a fantastic job and even got to do some diving and play on the playground. So lucky!

While 1/2M and 1/2K were swimming 1/2B, 1/2P and 1/2R had the privilege of being the VERY FIRST children to play on the new playground on Jetty Rd. It was fantastic and we had an absolute ball. We had photos taken for the paper and even tried out the super cool flying fox. We made C.S.P.S. proud by showing our School Values perfectly.  

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MATHS
In Maths we have looked at multiplication and division, measuring mass and time. We use the strategies of skip counting and arrays to solve multiplication and division problems. Skip counting is a quick and great activity to be done at anytime of the day. We were so excited to get the balance scales out to weigh, order and compare a variety of objects. All 1/2 classes became experts at hefting and were even measured a variety of weights, such as 500grams and 1kilogram. While learning about time we have really focused on using the long hand to identify how many minutes past a time is. We use our 5 skip counting pattern to assist us to tell the time.
http://www.visnos.com/demos/clock This is a great website to help us learn how to tell the time. It shows analogue and digital and is easy to manipulate.

READING
In Reading we have looked at Visualising. As a cohort the 1/2s are excellent at visualising what they have read or a text shared with the whole class. We spent the first week revising some strategies we have used earlier on in the year and extended our great Purposeful Reading Tasks (PRT). This last week we have been using a Visualising Menu to select our own PRT. We still have a mini lesson where we focus on a strategy and share a book and discussion as a whole class, but now the students are responsible for the activity they would like to do and will challenge them to learn something new. This is very exciting and all students are doing a terrific job at this.
 
WRITING 
In Writing we have started a new writing cycle. The 1/2s are now writing picture story books. We have looked at a plethora of picture story books, like Miss McKinley’s favourite Olga the Brolga by Rod Clement. We have been planning and developing our ideas. All students have drafted and have written a beginning, middle and end that must include a problem and solution. Stay tuned to see our published pieces soon.
http://www.storylineonline.net/ This is a fantastic website where people from the Screen Actors Guild read some of our favourite storybooks. Worth a look!

INQUIRY
During Inquiry, we have continued to investigate our exciting topic of ‘Maps and Geography’. We have been lucky to link our exploration of maps and the world to the Olympics. Students have made brochures based on a country they have researched. They have included facts, pictures and maps.
 

Congratulations 1/2s on a fantastic start to term 3!