Te Tiriti o Waitangi

During weeks 1 and 2, we will discuss Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Big Ideas:

Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand
Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories for the past 200 years
People’s lived experiences have been shaped by the use and misuse of power
People hold different perspectives on the world depending on their values, traditions and experiences
Interactions change societies and environments

Health - Integrated

HEART Values - Relationships with other people; Healthy Communities and Environments.

Life Education - we will have lessons in the Life Education caravan in Weeks 4 and 5.

Inquiry Learning Area - Social Science

Big Idea: Māori history allows us to understand what makes Aotearoa New Zealand distinctive and unique.

Lines of Inquiry:

WĀHI - Different places in New Zealand are significant for individuals and groups.
WHAKAAHUA - Understand how the past is important to people.

Literacy -

Reading:

We will be looking at ‘Prediction’ this term.

Prediction

Students get meaning from a text by making predictions. When students make predictions, we want them to be able to justify their thinking. In their predictions, we want to hear students drawing from both the text and their prior knowledge.

Students can:

Predict what the book will be about (Using the title and cover illustrations)
Predict the author’s purpose (Is the author trying to convince us of something? Does the author want to teach us something?)
Predict future events in the book (Make predictions based on previous events or character words and actions)
Predict why an author included a specific text feature (What does it teach us? What information does it help clarify?)
Predict what they will learn from the text or section within a text (Reader uses titles, headings, and subheadings to inform predictions)
Predict what would happen next at the end of the book if it were to continue.

Here are a few examples of thinking prompts:

I think ________ will happen because _________
I bet _______
I’m guessing _______
Since ____ happened, I think that _______ will happen
I think the character will ___ because _______
I think I will learn ______

We also use the StepsWeb program in the classroom. StepsWeb is a fantastic online literacy and language programme. Please encourage your child to practise StepsWeb at home.

Writing:

This term, we will be learning to write instructions. An instruction text is a piece of text that gives instructions on how to complete a task.

Examples of where you might find instructions in real life:

A recipe.
A leaflet that gives you instructions to follow - for example, instructions for how to play a board game.
An instruction manual that will help you set up an appliance or build something.

We will be learning about imperative verbs. These are a type of verb that instruct another person to do something. Here are some examples:

“Put the cake mix in the oven.”

“Open the board and give each player a card.”

Students will be learning to

Provide a clear layout.
Give a list of objects that are needed
Bullet point lists
Number steps
Use imperative words, like ‘get’, ‘take’, ‘move’, and ‘stir.’
Use of time connectives, like ‘then’ and ‘next.’

Handwriting:

This term we will be focussing on the correct letter formation, and the correct size.

Oral Language:

Each student will have a day during the week when they can share their news with the class. Our focus this term is on active listening. Here are some ideas for sharing news:

Something exciting they did at home
A hobby
A pet
They can share trophies or art
They can talk about a favourite toy.
They can talk about a photo on Seesaw. (Parents can share the photo with the teacher at the start of the week)

Library Day: Thursday

Maths -

Number - Addition/Subtraction:

We will be looking at addition and subtraction strategies this term.

Strand - Measurement Volume, Capacity, Mass, Length:

Volume & Capacity

We will be learning to:

Use non-standard volume units (cups, spoons, bowls) to fill a container and count the number used.
Recognise the need for a standard unit of volume.
Measure to the nearest litre and half a litre by using litre containers to fill and count.

Mass

We will be learning to:

Compare a group of 3 or more objects by mass.
Estimate weight in kilograms and grams.
Measure accurately using kilograms and grams.

Length

We will be learning to:

Compare a group of objects by length.
Recognise a metre length.
Estimate and measure to the nearest metre.

At home, encourage your child to explore measurement. If you have scales (bathroom scale, kitchen scales) ask them to experiment with measuring different toys and/or objects. Talk about how heavy or light it is. Ask them to find 3 items lighter, and 3 items heavier. With volume & capacity, they can explore measuring water and/or rice. Give them a variety of materials to measure with. Spoons, bowls, measuring jugs, etc. If you have a ruler or measuring tape at home, get them to experiment using it. Measure toys, find 3 shorter, and 3 longer. Encourage them to start using words such as gram, kilogram, cm, metre, litre, and 2 litres.

Digital Technology -

Students will learn about:

‘Digital Citizenship’
The safe and correct use of classroom IT equipment (carrying, charging, using headphones)
Logging in and out of different websites.

Please support your child at home by practising with them. They need to log in and out of websites independently at school. Once they have received their login details (Glued inside the cover of their little red spelling book), practise logging in and out of StepsWeb, Epic and Mangahigh.

Te Reo Māori -

We are learning to use Te Reo Māori. We practise every morning, doing our daily timetable in English and Te Reo Māori.

Specialist Subjects (Thursday)

PE -

Focus: Adventure Based Learning

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts:

Demonstrate respect through sharing and cooperation in groups.
Express their ideas, needs, wants, and feelings appropriately and listen sensitively to other people and affirm them.
Participate in and create a variety of games and activities and discuss the enjoyment that these activities can bring to them and others.

Your child may wear his/her PE uniform on our PE day if they have one. Please ensure they wear appropriate footwear and students with long hair have it tied back on this day.

Teachers will also take the children for additional fitness daily to support the PE programme.

]Music -

Focus: Discovering and exploring musical groups. Learning and applying the skills required to participate in them.

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts

1: Practical Knowledge: Rhythms and how they look on paper

2: Developing ideas: Creating your repeating patterns

3: Communicating and Interpreting: Copying back rhythms

4: Understanding context for different purposes and cultures. Rhythms from different cultures.

Art -

Focus: Exploring the art elements, line and colour with a focus on realistic form. Developing their fine painting skills and obsrvational drawing skills and introducing value (tone) in art.

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts

Practical knowledge through exploring wet and dry techniques
Developing ideas through creating their own individual artworks
Communicating and Interpreting through looking at pattern and symbol making

In this issue

Team Dates To Note