Health -

Sun Safety
Digital Awareness

Inquiry Learning Area - Science

The Big Idea:

Animals have different structural, physiological, and behavioural features that help them to survive.

Lines of Inquiry:

Birds have specific structures that define them as birds.
The size and shape of a structure is suited to the functions it carries out.
All the structures of one type of bird work together to help it survive.

Students will explore the science concepts that underpin understanding about birds and their structure, function and adaptations.

Literacy -

Reading:

The ‘Terrific 10 Comprehension Strategy’ we will be focussing on is Summarisation.

Summarisation is a strategy in which we deliberately think about what we know and the most important ideas the author is telling us.

Practise at home:

After reading a paragraph, ask the following questions:

What are the main ideas?
What are the important details necessary for supporting the main ideas?
What information is irrelevant or unnecessary?

Writing:

This term, we will be focussing on Narrative writing. Students will work on writing stories, and learning about the characters, setting, problem and solution. In Term 2, we focussed on the character and setting descriptions. We will work on the problem/complication and resolution this term. We are writing to entertain, so we focus on using lots of detail, and descriptive language.

One way to help your child at home is to brainstorm together. This could be an oral exercise. Think of a character and a setting. Then brainstorm problems together. Think of solutions to the problem. The following is a fun website with some ideas.

Story Starters

Phonics & Spelling: Spelling tests happen on Fridays. If possible, spelling words should be practised throughout the week. Encourage students to spell the words, and to use them in sentences. Students can also use StepsWeb at home to practise their spelling words.

Handwriting:

We are focussing on the correct letter formation and size.

Oral Language:

For Oral Language development, we will continue to use talking strips and ‘I wonder’ cards. The talking strips include a series of pictures or icons that will help students to organise and articulate their ideas. We are also working on active listening.

Mathematics -

Number:

Revision of addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, fractions/proportions & ratios.

This term, we will focus on problem-solving strategies.

Strand: Statistics - Statistical literacy and investigations.

Statistical Investigations

Students will be learning to:

Pose investigative questions.
Plan for and collect category data.
Display data in tally charts, pictographs and bar graphs.
Make statements about data displays.
Answer the investigative question.

Statistical Literacy

Students will be learning to:

Make a statement about a data display
Decide if they agree or disagree with a statement about the data display
Give reasons to support their evaluation of the statement

Te Reo Māori -

We are learning to use Te Reo Māori. This term, we will be learning to introduce ourselves through a simple pepeha.

PE (Thursday) -

Focus: Run, Jump, Throw and Team Games

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts

Using regular, enjoyable physical activity for self-care & personal well-being.
Developing movements of running, jumping and throwing in an athletics context.
Identifying safe practices when using equipment.
Develop and apply rules and practices in games and activities to promote fair, safe, and culturally appropriate participation for all.

Please ensure your child has suitable footwear for sport on this day. They are also welcome to wear the school PE uniform if they have it, but this is optional.

Music (Thursday) -

Focus: Exploring, creating and performing music of the season in Aotearoa from cultures within our kura.

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts

Practical Knowledge: Beats for different streets
Developing ideas: How they develop in different cultures
Communicating and Interpreting: Our own interpretations.
Understanding context for different purposes and cultures: Summer and Christmas around the world.

Library (Thursday) -

Please remind students to return their library books on their library day, so they can get a new book to read.

In this issue

Pōhutukawa Team Dates To Note