Dear Parents,
I can’t believe how quickly the first term has flown by. It has been really fun getting to know your children and our larger school community in that time. I think as a grade, we have made an excellent beginning and have set the foundations for a very positive year.
NEW Unit of Inquiry – We have now started our third main inquiry of the year! It comes under the trans-disciplinary theme of Sharing the Planet. Our focus within this theme is looking at ‘pathways to just, peaceful and reimagined futures.’ Our central idea is ‘Empathy and effective communication can help to build harmonious and peaceful communities’.
We have been looking at conflict within our lives and communities and starting to wonder what we do when faced with issues or problems? To help with this we have been roleplaying many different situations and starting to improvise possible outcomes and the consequences of each action. (Photos from the role playing below)
Mathematics – We have made excellent progress in our mini unit about fractions. This week we have worked hard on how to simplify fractions, convert between mixed number fractions and improper fractions (and back from improper to mixed number fractions. We have also been looking at what happens when we multiply fractions, both by a whole number and by another fractions. There are lots of new techniques and strategies being taught. Ask your child to show you some of their new skills.
Literacy – We have now completed the drafts of our personal narratives and have begun the fun process of revising and editing our works. This takes lots of time, reflection, creativity and an open mind. It is all part of seeing work as a process and not a race to just be ‘finished’.
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Next week (after the break)..
Unit of Inquiry – we will be unpacking our first line of inquiry – ‘Types of conflict in our world’. This will involve starting with conflict they immediately face and then working outwards towards bigger and more global conflicts.
Mathematics: We will be…
- reviewing all the work on fractions so far
- applying our new knowledge in fraction worded problems (one step and multi steps)
- connecting out fraction knowledge to percentages and decimals
Literacy: we will be…
- editing our stories
- publishing our stories
- completing front covers
- showcasing our stories to an audience
- reflecting on the writing process
Have a great break,
Matt