Dear Robloxian parents,
I am still trying to figure out a way of putting the photos and videos on the drive, but right now it’s been an extra challenge because of the length and size of the files. I apologise for that.
Students have officially begun our new Unit of Inquiry: Sharing the Planet. We started by activating our prior knowledge and discussing what we already know about ecosystems and habitats. Students shared their ideas by creating brainstorming maps and together we developed a shared definition of habitats.
Students also completed a pre-assessment activity where they selected one of five ecosystems: forest, desert, polar, arctic, or aquatic. They illustrated and labelled plants and animals that might live in those environments and were challenged to organise them into a simple food chain. Students worked in pairs to complete Frayer Models to deepen their understanding of ecosystems.
We have also begun exploring our topic books, which students are very excited about, and many made connections to their previous Where We Are in Place and Time unit when they researched biomes around the world. These connections will help support their understanding as we continue learning about habitats and the relationships between living things.
In Literacy, students continued developing their writing through a whole-class recount about the student performances. We have also introduced non-chronological reports. Students listened to a simple report about tigers and used scaffolded organisers to identify and retell key facts. Over the coming weeks they will work toward creating their own factual reports.
During phonics and word study, students practised vowel teams –oe, –ow, and –oa, exploring how these letter combinations create the long “o” sound in words. They also reviewed suffixes –ed and –ingAlongside this, we continue to practise handwriting, guided reading, independent reading, and building confidence in speaking clearly and projecting our voices when sharing ideas.
As part of our Unit of Inquiry learning, we also read the book Who Eats Who, which helped students explore how living things in ecosystems are connected through food chains. This led to a discussion about the big word interdependence, and how plants, animals, and environments rely on each other to survive. The students were very engaged and clearly loved learning about ecosystems.
In Math, students continued strengthening their mental maths strategies, practising addition and subtraction while building their understanding of place value relationships. We also reviewed o’clock and half past from Grade 1 and have begun extending this knowledge to include quarter past, quarter to, and telling time to five-minute intervals on both analogue and digital clocks. Students are learning that each number on the clock represents 5 minutes, so skip counting in 5s up to 55 is an important skill.
You can support this learning at home by looking at analogue clocks together during the day and asking your child what time it is. Talking about duration can also help build understanding,for example, noting how long it takes to cook something or complete an activity by recording the start and finish times.
Please see the photos shared in the link above to view some of the students’ work and learning moments from this week.
Looking Ahead to Next Week
Ramadan day’s Library: Sunday (please if you could remind your child)
Literacy
- working on non-chronological reports
- handwriting
- phonics study
- guided reading
- independent reading
- listening and speaking activities
Maths
- mental maths: count within 1000
- skip-count by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s
- connect counting by 5s on a number line to an analog clock
- connect their understanding of minutes and hours to the movement of a clock’s hands
Unit of Inquiry
- research a chosen animal and its habitat
- introduce a variety of habitats, who lives there, and how these habitats meet the needs of the animals that live there
Important Dates
Mar 22–26 = Term 3 Break (No School)
Mar 29 = School Resumes
Apr 2 = Swimming Gala
Apr 5 = ASA Term 4 Begins
Apr 7 = Parent Coffee Morning
Apr 9 = Term 3 Reports
Apr 15 = Primary Student Led Conferences
Apr 16 = Primary Assembly Gr 2–3