1/2 Area
Throughout Year one and two, we continue to build on the foundational skills of learning in Early Years Literacy and Numeracy. Although there are three separate classes in the 1 /2 area, we have the flexibility of opening up two of the classrooms into one large area, enabling us the opportunity to come together and team teach. This allows the students to experience the different styles of teaching from each of the 3 teachers. We use this predominantly for literacy and numeracy groups which helps us to cater for individual requirements to a much greater extent.
Each classroom has an Integration Aide who further support the children and their needs, be it extension or intervention. To further connect the classes we started a weekly Junior School Assembly on Fridays to celebrate the children’s achievements in skip counting, M100 words and to give each student the opportunity to “shout out” another’s kind acts.
Regular conferencing covering all of the curriculum areas allows for each student and their teacher to set appropriate and achievable goals for each individual to work towards.
Our days comprise of Tool Time, Sounds Write Spelling, Literacy and Maths sessions and specialists.
For our reading program, children are involved in a variety of differentiated reading activities which teach them to decode text and understand the deeper meanings behind the words on the page. Children are taught how to use prior knowledge, predict, infer, make connections, summarize, synthesize and evaluate, according to their level of understanding. Fountas and Pinnell is an engaging reading program that we use in our guided reading sessions. It uses original books to advance each student’s ability to process increasingly challenging books with fluency and comprehension. We encourage independent and buddy reading and to support this, each classroom has it’s own extensive library where the children can borrow and read freely. Reading Eggs is an online reading platform that supports the learning of phonics, spelling, reading strategies and comprehension and is accessed by the children every week. This program can be also accessed at home as an additional reading alternative for their home reading.
In our writing program students are taught the structure of each text type and the main features which enable them to build on a writing piece. The main text types covered are Recount, Narrative, Procedure and an introduction to Persuasive. We follow the “Six Plus One Traits” of writing program where we pinpoint students strengths and weaknesses in ideas, organisation, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and presentation.
In our numeracy program, students are grouped according to their ability so they are able to explore the mathematics curriculum at their level. Our lessons are supported by the Top Ten program, a developmentally sequenced hands on program. Prior to introducing a new topic, students are given a pre-test to determine prior knowledge, then grouped accordingly. The groups are fluid which allows for movement as a new concept is grasped. Each week students are involved in using maths computer programs, the Year 1’s use Mathseeds and the Year 2’s use Mathletics, to support their learning in Maths. These websites can also be accessed at home for additional practise in each area.
Inquiry is a means of gaining knowledge and new understandings. In Year 1 and 2, we encourage students to take on a role in the learning process by asking them to engage with an idea or topic in an active way, rather than by sitting and listening. This will prepare them to become researchers and lifelong learners. This allows them to build knowledge through exploration, experience and discussion.
Reflection time at the end of learning sessions is the core component of Speaking and Listening in year 1 and 2. This is often done in a pair share situation or a report back to the whole group. It allows the students to have a voice when evaluating the activity and what they achieved. Students also have the opportunity to share their own news in Show and Tell once per week.
Afternoons are an opportunity to explore other curriculum areas, including Integrated Studies.