Prep | Year 1 News

Unit of Inquiry

We have now come to the end of our Unit of Inquiry – How We Organise Ourselves. Students have inquired into different cooking experiences to understand the concept of change and connection. Students researched different ingredients used to make muffins and then created flow charts to demonstrate the production process needed to create these products. To summarise students learning they made muffins and discussed the importance of not missing a step during the production process. Year 1 also had an excursion to the Royal Agricultural Society Farm in Olympic Park, where the boys participated in a variety of hands-on activities which taught the boys about where wool, eggs, honey and milk come from. Students had the chance to feed real animals and milk a cow. Year 1 showed great enthusiasm throughout this Unit of Inquiry and showed their newly gained knowledge when reflecting on the unit and their learning.

Next week the boys will be focusing on our yearlong Unit of Inquiry – Who We Are, where they will be inquiring into Safety. The specific focus will be on Water, Road, Online, Home and School Safety. Students will engage in various role play activities and will take action through designing safety posters used to remind people how to stay safe in certain situations. At home, it is encouraged that you discuss the importance of safety and some rules used to keep ourselves and others safe in different places and situations.

After the Unit on Safety, students will begin inquiring into their new Unit of Inquiry – How the World Works.

How the world works

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

(Making the PYP Happen)

As part of our new unit of inquiry, How the World Works, Year One will be inquiring into structural designs. Throughout this unit, the boys will explore the key concepts of Form, Reflection, Causation.  Our Central Idea is: Structural design is informed by scientific principles. More information will be provided as we begin the unit of work.

Writing

In writing, students have finished learning the skill of writing procedural texts. Throughout this writing focus the boys learnt how to write sequenced steps to give instructions needed to inform the audience of how they do or make something.

Going forward the boys will be introduced to the new writing focus of narrative writing where they will explore different imaginative texts. The boys will need to think about how they would describe the different characters and settings within fairy tales and stories read. We will compare and contrast various fairy tales and how they are told in different ways around the world. It is encouraged that you read different traditional fairy tales with your son at home in English as well as traditional fairy tales from your home culture.

Shared Reading

Throughout the term, the Year One boys will continue to engage in a variety of shared reading experiences. Shared reading provides an effective means of improving children’s vocabulary and global oral language skills, which in turn has a positive impact on their reading ability. Ask your son to tell you about his favourite stories and any new words he has learnt.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, students have been communicating their new knowledge of 3D Objects. They have been learning to name different 3D objects and identify their different properties. The boys needed to highlight the amount of edges, faces and vertices various 3D objects have. They also made connections to various 3D objects they could see in their school environment, as well as identifying different 2D shapes they could see within 3D objects.

This week the boys are being introduced to the new Maths focus of Money. They will inquire into the Australian dollar and build an understanding of the different values. They will also practise comparing equal values, for example: $1 is equal to two 50c coins. It would be great if you could involve your son when using different notes and coins in your daily lives. This may not happen often these days so we appreciate you taking every opportunity to support your child with his learning in this area, for example, you could create a pretend shop at home. After the unit on Money, we will be moving our focus onto Number with Multiplication and Division using mental strategies and lots of concrete materials.

Christian Studies

The boys are familiar with many of the stories about Jesus – his miracles, why he died for us and how amazing it is that he rose again to new life! And the story continues. This term, we are investigating what happened after Jesus left to go home. We are reading stories from the book of Acts – the events that shaped the lives of people such as Peter, John, Philip, Stephen as well as the amazing transformation of a man called Saul (who became Paul). To help us connect with the new concepts and people, the boys did a treasure hunt and uncovered what the words are and where to find them in their Read with Me Bibles. Over the next few weeks, they will explore the stories through drama and play, coming to understand the way these events have shaped our lives today.

In Chapel, we are thinking about “the fruit of the Spirit”. This encourages us all to think about how we share love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control with others. We have been learning a new crazy song reminding us that the fruit of the Spirit is not a coconut, or banana but the actions that come from us to serve others. It is also encouraging for them to see other staff members come to Chapel and share their wonderful joy about Jesus with the boys.