Hello to all of our wonderful 1/2 families and friends.
 
MATHS
We have been busy with place value the last 2 weeks in Maths. Students have been working hard to read, write and interpret 2, 3 or 4 digit numbers. We looked at the place value of ones, tens, hundreds, thousands and beyond. We played many learning games such as ‘Place Value Matermind’ and ‘Guess My Number’. Students in all classes did an excellent job of making their numbers using bundling and MAB blocks.
What is the number that has 3 hundreds, 2 tens and 7 ones?


READING
In Reading we have looked at the text structures and features of a variety of genres. Our 1/2 students are able to confidently discuss the difference between procedural texts, nonfiction texts and fictional stories. We got to look at these texts and investigate the features that make them different.
 
We read some great nonfictional texts about the environment to support us with our inquiry learning, as well as learning about the features. We learnt that nonfiction texts can be posters, stickers, books, magazines and articles.

 
WRITING and INQUIRY
In Inquiry, each student was asked to create something that would improve the environment. We all showed innovation and thought of some excellent ideas. As we were creating our projects, we were following the Writing Cycle to publish procedural texts of how to make our project. Each student has made their project, either a model or a poster and has recorded the Procedure they used to make it. This has been fantastic integrated learning and the students were very engaged with both the inquiry and writing side.
Stay tuned to hear about our finished projects!
 
Please let us know if there is any other information you would love to see in our blog from the 1/2 Team.
 
Well done 1/2 students on a very successful fortnight's worth of learning!

 
Arriveaderci,
Miss McKinley and the 1/2 Team.

I hope you enjoy hearing about all the amazing things we have been doing in 1/2.
 
MATHS
In Maths we have been learning more about shapes. We moved from looking at 2D shapes into identifying 3D shapes and their features- Edges, Corners and Faces. We explored the schoolyard hunting for 3D shapes, made 3D shapes from their nets and also used toothpicks and marshmallows to create 3D shapes.  After working with 3D and 2D shapes separately we then looked at identifying their differences and sorted a number of different shapes into 2D and 3D. Can you think of a shape that has 4 faces, 4 corners and 6 edges?

Here is a link to a great little poem about 2D and 3D shapes that the kids loved
​shape poem.
 
Student comment
‘My favourite activity in maths this week was making a cube with marshmallow. I needed 8 marshmallows for the corners and 12 toothpicks for the edges’ Sarah from 1/2K.
 
READING
When reading we have been looking at summarising what we read. A great way of thinking about summarising is to SUM it up!

Shorter than the text
Using your own words
Main ideas

We have also focused on looking at what happened in the beginning, middle and the end of the story, as well as the setting and characters in the text. Another great strategy to use when summarising is asking, Who?, What? When? Where?

Can you S.U.M. up your take home book?

Student comment
‘There are settings and characters in our stories. The setting is where the story is and the characters are who is in the story’ Emily from 1/2K.
 
WRITING
We have been very busy in writing, publishing outstanding poems, completing this term’s Big Write and starting to learn to write procedural texts. The 1/2 students did a fantastic job of following the Writing Cycle to publish their poems they also worked hard at choosing where to put their line breaks to add music and flow to their pieces. The Big Write is a fun way for the kids to show us what they can do in writing and highlights areas we need to focus on improving. We have explored a range of procedural texts and discussed what they are for. The kids will start to draft and then publish a procedural text of their own.
 
INQUIRY
In Inquiry, the students have been working hard on researching ways to help improve our environment. This information is going to be used to design something that will inform people of how we can improve our environment. We have been using a great iPad app called QR Reader, this gives codes (like barcodes) that the students can scan using the iPads which then takes the students directly to the site of that code. This is a safe and easy way for the students to use the Internet for research.
 
Thank you for your comments and feedback on the blog we look forward to hearing more from you all.
 
Until next time,
Mrs Marinelli and the 1/2 Team.

Hello parents/guardians of our 1/2 students,

Welcome to our new blog site for the 1/2 team! On this page you will find fortnightly updates, completed by a different class each time, designed to keep you informed about the wonderful learning taking place in the 1/2 area at school. Each update post will include a snapshot of information about the key learning areas and any other relevant information.

MATHS
In Maths we've been learning about Chance & Data and also 2D Shapes this past fortnight. Over a few days, the students collected data about the fruit we bring to school each day using tally marks. They then graphed this data using pictographs and bar graphs! When learning about 2D shapes, we identified many of them in the environment and learnt about their features - corners and edges. Remember corners are where the edges meet and it's helpful to remember that edges are like the sides of the shape! You might have seen 1/2P do a bit of teaching about shapes during Assembly last Friday. What 2D shapes can you find around your home?

We used a special app to help reinforce the learning about 2D shapes called Geoboard. You can play around with it here.

READING
We've been learning and practising a new comprehension strategy called inferring. Inferring is needed when parts of a text are unclear. We infer the missing information using our schema (things we already know) and clues in the text. We've inferred a range of different things from the meaning of pictures, character's feelings and the meaning of unfamiliar words. One activity the students really enjoyed was creating 'Inference Bags' which they hid a mystery object in and wrote down some clues about it. Then they swapped with a partner and had to infer what was in their bag! Perhaps you can try to infer the missing information next time you're reading at home!

​WRITING
Over the past fortnight we have been writing some fantastic poems. We've been writing using our poet's eyes - meaning to view things in new and imaginative ways. We've learnt lots about how Word Choice and Sentence Fluency are especially important in poetry to spice up our writing and give it a rhythm. You could go on a hunt for some juicy words the next time you are reading. Think about the words that help make the text interesting and paint a clear picture in your mind.

INQUIRY
Students have been learning all about how humans use and value the natural environment in different ways. So far this has involved determining what a natural environment is, how humans have changed the environment and why it is important to look after it. You might like to go on a walk and talk about things that are natural and unnatural that you see in the environment.

If you have any questions or feedback please feel free to post a comment in reply! Remember that the comment will not be posted to the site if it contains the names of any students or any other sensitive personal information.

Regards,
​Mr Pidd and the 1/2 Team