Mrs Alison Dorotich and Mrs Sue Mortin

Homework Expectations: 1. Children will be given homework every Tuesday morning. 2. All homework and assignments will be introduced in class prior to being sent home. 3. Students will also be given activities to complete on Study Ladder. These activities will be used to consolidate concepts that have been introduced in class. 4. Students will also be required to complete independent home reading at least 3 times per week. It is up to students to get parents to sign their home reading log each week. 5. Throughout the year students will also be given research projects to complete and may be required to complete any unfinished class work. 6. Homework will be kept in an exercise book and marked accordingly. We expect homework to be completed neatly and to a high standard.

 School wide approach – Dianna Rigg Spelling Program –  Four Spelling Groups – students placed into groups according to individual results in Naplan and Dianna Rigg Assessments.  Differentiated spelling words to cater for students’ spelling abilities – for both ends of the academic spectrum.  Two week rotation – Advanced spellers must not only spell the word but understand what it means.

 WHOLE SCHOOL LITERACY BLOCK – 4 TIMES A WEEK  EXPLICITLY TEACH READING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST 6 WEEKS OF THIS TERM – SETTING MY OWN EXPECTATIONS – encouraging students to participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions (ACELY1709)  USE NAPLAN RESULTS AND WEEKLY ASSESSMENTS TO PUT STUDENTS INTO RECIPROCAL READING GROUPS.

WHAT IS RECIPROCAL READING? Reciprocal teaching refers to an instructional activity in which students become the teacher in small group reading sessions. Teachers model, then help students learn to guide group discussions using four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting.

 FOCUS ON RECOUNT WRITING  PURPOSE: The purpose of a recount is to list and describe past experiences by retelling events in the order in which they happened (chronological order). Recounts are written to retell events with the purpose of either informing or entertaining their audience (or both). WRITING TASKS: GENRE: RECOUNTS DRAFT COMPLETED PUBLISHED COPY COMPLETED AUTOBIOGRAPHY BIOGRAPHY DIARY EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

 YEAR 6 STUDENTS WILL BE EXPLICITLY TAUGHT MENTAL STRATEGIES FOR COMPUTING SUMS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY ACCORDING TO SCOPE AND SEQUENCE SET UP BY SUE MORTIN (MATH SPECIALIST).  THIS TERM WE WILL ALSO BE FOCUSING ON TIMES TABLES.  STUDENTS USE INDIVIDUAL LAMINATED CARDS AND MOVE THROUGH TIMES TABLES AT THEIR OWN PACE.  THERE IS A FOCUS ON IMPROVING THEIR PERSONAL BEST. HAVE 3 ATTEMPTS TO ACHIEVE A PERFECT SCORE.

 NUMERACY BLOCK – BETWEEN RECESS AND LUNCH  OFTEN I GIVE A PRETEST TO SEE WHAT STUDENTS KNOW AND DON’T KNOW. IT IS FROM THESE RESULTS THAT I BASE MY TEACHING. EACH COHORT OF STUDENTS ARE DIFFERENT AND AS SUCH LEARNING TASKS NEED TO BE CONTINUALLY MODIFIED AND REFINED.  SPEND ONE/TWO WEEKS ON A CONTENT DESCRIPTOR TO ALLOW STUDENTS ENOUGH TIME TO APPLY THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.  CATER FOR ALL LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING – ALWAYS INCLUDE A CHALLENGE PROBLEM FOR MORE CAPABLE STUDENTS.  CONSISTENT PRACTICE OF THE SCHOOL IS THE ISTAR DESIGN.

Year 6 camp meeting in Week 5 of this Term. A note will go out with students later in the term.

 I encourage all parents to go on the school website and click on Room 2’s webpage.  Each Term, I will put on an overview of what students will be covering in Literacy and Numeracy.  Photos of art activities  Important dates and messages  Highlights  Homework assignments

THANKS FOR YOUR COMING