Reading

Children read for 15-20 mins. every day - library books (readers), information books, anything. They are expected to read for a similar length of time at home each night, occasionally to someone. They are responsible for choosing their own books. The books should be ‘right’ for their ability level i.e. not too hard or easy. We do a lot of work early in the year practising making these decisions. They will have formal reading sessions based mainly on comprehension skills using Fountas & Pennell, Reading Eggspress, and other graded reading resources.

Word Study/Spelling

We use a school wide word system called Soundwaves- a whole school phonemic (sound based) approach. The children’s lists will be in their Writer’s Notebooks. We also use lists of words provided by the children on a topic of interest. Spelling tests are conducted regularly and children are encouraged to spend time practising at home. Look, Cover, Write, Check is the recommended method.

Grammar, Usage

We have a formal one hour session each fortnight.

Writing

At least two sessions a week. Children use a process of :- plan, rough draft, edit (uplevel) and publish. Genres we cover include reports, recounts, narratives, discussions, procedures, persuasive writing, explanations and poetry.

We are using the ‘6 + 1 Writing Traits’ on a school-wide basis for writing activities (see below for information).

What are the Six plus One Traits of Writing?

The Six plus one Trait is a way of teaching, modelling, and assessing the instruction of writing. The Six Traits of writing are Voice, Ideas, Presentation, Conventions, Organization, Word Choice, and Sentence Fluency. It creates a common vocabulary and guidelines for teachers to use with students so that they become familiar with the terms used in writing. It develops consistency from grade level to grade level.

The Six Traits model allows teachers and students to focus on one or two elements of writing at a time creating a more manageable and effective way for students to learn how to write. It also is a means of providing specific feedback to students through the assessment of their writing. The Six Traits help both the student and teacher identify the areas of writing that the student needs work at improving. Good writing must incorporate the Six Traits. The “Plus One” trait is the presentation of the writing piece. This is the trait that is considered for all writing, but not specifically or directly taught as the other traits are.

News Time (oral language, speaking and listening)

Every Monday and Friday children can present personal news and we discuss media news. The children are encouraged to keep up to date with current affairs.

MATHEMATICS

Children work through units of 'Maths Plus for Victorian Schools- Australian Curriculum Edition' in grade levels. We also have whole grade sessions on problem solving, logic, and automatic response. Maths sessions usually begin with automatic response style games.

Any automatic response work you can do with your children at home will be useful. Automatic response is answering simple maths equations reasonably quickly. At Grade 6 level we are working with tables up to 12x12. Other things you could practice at home with your child include telling the time, reading schedules/ timetables, following recipes, recognising shapes, etc.

This year we will continue our ‘Building Numeracy’ program in which the Grade 3,4,5 & 6 group gets together for two one hour sessions with groupings taken directly from the results of assessments. The program focuses on Place Value, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division and Fractions.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Thirty minutes on a Wednesday. Term 1 – Athletic Sports practise, Term 2 – Fitness including skipping, Term 3 – Fundamental Motor Skills, Term 4 – Sport based skills.

Sport - One hour session on Friday afternoon in a mixed Grade 3-6 group.

SCIENCE

A sixty minute session with Laura Droppert on a Thursday.

MUSIC

A sixty minute session with Melanie Nicholls on a Friday.

L.O.T.E. - Japanese

A sixty minute session with Kasi Campbell on a Tuesday

LAURA DROPPERT

This year I will be taking all Grades in the school for Physical Education sessions on a Wednesday. While I am doing that Laura will be taking the Grade 6’s for a series of comprehensive lessons on various curriculum areas including- English, Integrated studies (with Andrew Kaiser)- Gold Rush, Geography and Business and Economics.

BUDDIES

Each Friday the Grade 6 children will participate in a one hour session with their Prep ‘buddy’.

TEACHER SUPPORT

We are very fortunate to have Linda Benson (Mon-Thurs) in our classroom. She will be assisting the children in many and varied ways including assessment, one on one and small group support.

COMPUTERS

The children have access to netbooks shared with Grade 6 and more fixed computers and laptops in the computer lab. They are used mainly for multimedia activities, word processing and research. A reminder that the school internet site can be found at www.darnumps.vic.edu.au. We also have a small number of i-pads that are used mainly for reading group activities.

HOMEWORK/DIARIES

Children should be reading at home as often as possible. They should practise their spelling list when there is a spelling test. They are urged to read the school newsletter that is published on SENTRAL on Thursdays. Each child has a diary that they are strongly encouraged to use in various ways designed to help them be organised and prepare for secondary school expectations. I would encourage parents to regularly have a look at their child’s diary.

HOUSES

Each child is in a house. The houses will be used in many different ways across the school but in the classroom there will be a weekly and term-based competition based on points. The children can win/lose points for various activities and behaviours and the winning team wins a small prize at the end of each term.

Reading

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

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