One of the most valuable components to student learning is the understanding and use of new vocabulary. The prep team have incorporated into their lessons the use of a Maths Vocabulary Wall, where students are able to refer to key words we learn each week and use them in their maths investigations. As a class, we use the Maths Vocabulary Wall during our explicit teaching and particularly during our active reflections. Each Foundation classroom has one of these and the words change each week depending on the topic being taught. Last week we were learning about capacity and the students enjoyed using our wall to help them write these new words and to celebrate their successful learning.



"If students do not have the vocabulary to talk about maths concepts and skills, they can not make progress in understanding these areas of mathematical knowledge." - Michele S Weiner

For further information about Mathematics Word Walls, please follow the link to: Maths Word Walls.

This week at CSPS the whole school has completed a form of assessment, known as 'The Big Write'.

The Big Write sees the whole school completing a narrative piece, unassisted, from a prompt (see left). The prompt was sent home in the school diary, posted in the school newsletter and then discussed the 'day before' and 'day of' the Big Write.

​These assessments are completed once a term and allow for teachers to monitor their class progress, whole cohort (year level) and the whole school. Whilst these tasks highlight student outcomes, they also provide rich information about the teaching and learning required for students to be successful and proficient in each area.

Students complete their narrative after a planning session, where students have the opportunity to discuss and unpack their ideas and how this might look, when writing. From there, students write their narrative independently, including drawing an accompanying picture to enhance understanding and ideas. Students then share their idea to the teacher where it is written on a post-it note to ensure meaning is made when assessing.

As a school, CSPS prides itself on the consistent approach that teams have to both teaching and learning. Part of this process is moderating an assessment task, where we are able to find exemplar pieces that demonstrated each level of learning and understanding and to clarify how and why students might be placed there. This allows for consistency across teams and whole school, and aids the transition process from year to year. If you would like to know more about assessment, see this link to the Department's website.

​We are so proud of all of our students completing this task. Each student has been able to celebrate growth with their writing and we look forward to working with our students to progress further and become great authors!

Here are some examples of students from Prep H, Prep J and Prep N's completed Big Writes!