These past two weeks have seemed busier than usual as we begin to wrap things up for the end of the year. As our expertise with maths, writing, perseverance and collaboration have all grown, the children have been showing what capable learners they really are. We’ve had opportunities for creative maths investigations, writing narratives and information texts, and exploring more about science through the lens of space and our Solar System.
More recently, the children have all been very eager to discuss the upcoming transition and excited to talk about their experiences last week with their Grade 5 buddies. There are mixed emotions about the coming change and as a group we were able to discuss some of our feelings around this very topical issue. While Connie and Robert were spending time with next year’s students, this year’s Preps spent a morning guiding their older buddies through our provocations.
- Gabe – When my buddy came in and helped me with provocations it made me feel happy. There was a different type of snakes and ladders game we played.
- Henrietta – When our buddies came in I showed them our shops. My buddy made me a business card and then when it accidentally got ripped she made me another one and it made me feel happy.
- Theodore – When our buddies came in I was building in the construction area. My building broke and I needed to rebuild it. Some people helped explain what provocations and explained the provocations.
- Harriet – I’m feeling a little worried for year one because I won’t know what’s going to happen.
- Jade – I’m feeling good but also a little scared because there might be new people. The good thing is that you’ll learn more and you will make new friends.
- Tigerlily – For me it’s cusi-cusi. A little excited and a little worried.
- Ted – I’m feeling a bit worried about it because I don’t know who will teach me. The good thing is I will know all the other students.
- Conrad – I feel good. I’m excited to go to grade one. This year they’re getting to use the computers!
- Ruby N – I feel really excited. The most exciting thing for me is that I get to do the swimming carnival.
- Hugo – So I’m a little excited but a little scared.
- Sachi – I feel kinda nervous and excited about finding out what new things we will get to do.
Drafting and Publishing – The Writing Cycle
We’ve been having a go at a range of different writing experiences through targets, workshops, and provocations. We’ve followed the ‘writing cycle’ which begins with generating ideas, making plans, and then drafting our work, before moving into the revision and editing stages. The students have been encouraged to reflect on their writing, revising for clarity and adding detail to enhance their narratives. As they work on their stories, they use their letter-sound knowledge to blend sounds and create words, and have been working on different words they could use to make their stories more interesting, or to add suspense. We also introduced the students to information reports, emphasising the difference in structure between narrative writing and factual writing. In these workshops, the focus shifts to organising and presenting facts, allowing students to write about something they knew a lot about, and they presented these reports to the neighbourhood, which combined their speaking and listening skills into the workshop. We are very impressed with the perseverance the students have shown, and their willingness to give challenges a go.
- Henrietta – You have to use your mind and fine motor skills as well as your writing skills.
- Tigerlily – On the first bit you get your characters and your setting. Also a problem and solution.
- Wren – Finger spacing is tricky to remember.
- Freddy – Putting the letters the right way (lots of agreement from the group)
- Angus – The d and the b are basically the same but I don’t get my words wrong.
- Bao – Adding colour to the picture so I don’t go out of the lines is tricky. Reading is tricky too.
- Freddy – Making the ‘ck’ sound is tricky because it could be the c or the k or the ck.
- Teo – With letters it is hard to know that an e and r makes the ‘er’ sound.
- Otis – Writing is tricky because of the sounding out. I’m working on writing on the lines.
- Edmund – I think it’s hard to decide where to begin from. So like, to decide what you’re going to be writing about.
- Patrick – I think sounding out is tricky. I just try to remember what sound it is.
- Ava – Writing is hard. Sounding out the words.
- Harriet – I like writing because of the sounding out. You can write anything even if it’s tricky.
- Mary – I like writing because I’m good at it. I’m writing more now.
Shapes drawings
Connecting creativity and visual arts to the maths we do, the children have been exploring the ways shapes can be used to create new and imaginative illustrations. To do this, we’ve explored the properties of each shape and how they are different and similar. After creating our drawings, we worked systematically to count all the shapes before looking for new ways to find totals. We’re using the skills we’ve developed throughout the year to find compliments to ten (1/9, 2/8, 3/7 4/6, 5/5) as well as our place value knowledge to add tens and ones. Throughout, this has helped consolidate number formation and emphasised the importance of keeping our work neat so it can be easily interpreted and read by ourselves and others.
- Harriet – Triangles have three sides and rectangles have 2 equal sides. They’re not all equal. The top and bottom ones are equal and the two side ones are equal. Squares are kind of like a rectangle but they have 4 equal sides.
- Jade – Well, two triangles make a square so you pop the bottom and the bottom together and you turn it a little sideways. Also, two squares make a rectangle.
- Evie – Drawing with shapes was fun but also a little tricky. I liked drawing the shapes. The tricky part is when I count them and try to make something out of the shapes.
- Quinn – It’s super hard to count the shapes when you have (made) a really hard one, for example 81. You write it with an 8 and then a 1.
- Henrietta – A square has four equal sides.
