Monday, 25 July 2016
Secondhand Book Sale Fundraiser
Room 23 is having a Secondhand Book Sale Fundraiser for The Smith Family. They are asking families to have a look at the books they have at home and consider donating some to the sale. If you have any books you want to donate please bring them in. The sale will take place during lunch next Wednesday. Students may bring in $3.50 to purchase any books.
Saturday, 23 July 2016
Financial Literacy
We have started a Financial Literacy program in Room 24. Students will be receiving $5.00 wages for every day they attend school (Miss Calvert money, not real money!) They can earn extra money through Rewards but can also lose money through Fines. We also have a Shop where students can spend their savings. We worked together as a class to decide on Rewards, Fines and Shop items and these can be added to. Each student has a bankbook to record their transactions which gives them practice in adding and subtracting amounts of money. Students have loved this program so far, putting in extra effort to earn more money!!
Visible Learning
Here are some quick examples of the Visible Learning taking place in Room 24 so far.
Thursday, 21 July 2016
Visualising - Reading Comprehension Strategy
This week we started our focus on a new reading comprehension strategy - visualising. When using this strategy students focus on what they see, hear, taste, smell and touch. Basically they are imagining they are in the story and picturing what is around them. This also allows them to connect to the text by using what they already know and have experienced to engage with the text. We have only done one lesson on this and all students have already grasped how to use this strategy.
A few notes coming home today ...
There will be three notes heading home today for you to look out for.
The first is just information about an incursion for Year 3 on 18 August. There is no cost and no need to return a permission slip.
The second is about the P&C Disco.
The third is about a competition to name the Learning Blocks around the school.
The first is just information about an incursion for Year 3 on 18 August. There is no cost and no need to return a permission slip.
The second is about the P&C Disco.
The third is about a competition to name the Learning Blocks around the school.
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Term 3 Week 1 - WE ARE BACK!!
After a very relaxing holiday, we are all back to school! I have heard all the wonderful adventures and activities that the students had on the holidays, and shared some of mine as well.
Waste Free Mondays
Please remember that Monday's at Aubin Grove are Waste Free!! We will be recording our efforts this term and graphing them this term. Please send in recess and lunches that do not require any waste such as wrapping (fruit peels and cores are fine).
Library Wednesday
Reminder that Wednesday is our Library day. Please ensure that books and Library bags are brought in.
Homework and Spelling
There will be no Homework or Spelling words for Week 1. However, students should still be doing home reading and using Mathletics, Studyladder and Quickulations.
Some Dates for your Calendars
Week 2: Wednesday, 27 July: Japanese Incursion
Week 3: Friday, 5 August: Science Alive Incursion
Week 5: Wednesday, 17 August: Faction Jumps and Throws
Thursday, 18 August: Aboriginal Incursion (details to follow soon)
Friday, 19 August: Faction Carnival
Week 6: Thursday, 25 August: Year 3 Excursion to Perth (details to follow soon)
Week 7: School Photos (date for our class to be confirmed)
Week 10: Wednesday, 21 September: Open Night
Reading Comprehension Strategies
We have been looking at different Reading Comprehension Strategies in English. Last term we covered the ones below. As part of Homework, students are required to do at least 10 minutes reading. It would be great if you could use some of these comprehension strategies during home reading to help consolidate these.
Predicting:
Look at the cover and the title (or chapter title in chapter books). What do you think the book will be about?
Inferring:
Reading between the lines, trying to understand what the author was thinking. Ask questions such as 'why do you think the character did that?', 'what do you think they were thinking about then?', 'how do you think they feel?'
Clarifying and Monitoring:
Do they really understand what they just read? Do they understand what the text is talking about? Students can use strategies such as re-reading slowly, looking for clue, using vocabulary, reading on to gain understanding. Ask them to explain what they just read.
Connecting:
Connections can be made between the text and self, text to text and text to world. Ask students how they relate to the text? Are their any similarities between them and the characters? Does it remind them of another book they read? (same subject, similar characters, similar setting), Can they link the book to anything they know about the world?
Looking forward to another fabulous term in Room 24.
Waste Free Mondays
Please remember that Monday's at Aubin Grove are Waste Free!! We will be recording our efforts this term and graphing them this term. Please send in recess and lunches that do not require any waste such as wrapping (fruit peels and cores are fine).
Library Wednesday
Reminder that Wednesday is our Library day. Please ensure that books and Library bags are brought in.
Homework and Spelling
There will be no Homework or Spelling words for Week 1. However, students should still be doing home reading and using Mathletics, Studyladder and Quickulations.
Some Dates for your Calendars
Week 2: Wednesday, 27 July: Japanese Incursion
Week 3: Friday, 5 August: Science Alive Incursion
Week 5: Wednesday, 17 August: Faction Jumps and Throws
Thursday, 18 August: Aboriginal Incursion (details to follow soon)
Friday, 19 August: Faction Carnival
Week 6: Thursday, 25 August: Year 3 Excursion to Perth (details to follow soon)
Week 7: School Photos (date for our class to be confirmed)
Week 10: Wednesday, 21 September: Open Night
Reading Comprehension Strategies
We have been looking at different Reading Comprehension Strategies in English. Last term we covered the ones below. As part of Homework, students are required to do at least 10 minutes reading. It would be great if you could use some of these comprehension strategies during home reading to help consolidate these.
Predicting:
Look at the cover and the title (or chapter title in chapter books). What do you think the book will be about?
Inferring:
Reading between the lines, trying to understand what the author was thinking. Ask questions such as 'why do you think the character did that?', 'what do you think they were thinking about then?', 'how do you think they feel?'
Clarifying and Monitoring:
Do they really understand what they just read? Do they understand what the text is talking about? Students can use strategies such as re-reading slowly, looking for clue, using vocabulary, reading on to gain understanding. Ask them to explain what they just read.
Connecting:
Connections can be made between the text and self, text to text and text to world. Ask students how they relate to the text? Are their any similarities between them and the characters? Does it remind them of another book they read? (same subject, similar characters, similar setting), Can they link the book to anything they know about the world?
Looking forward to another fabulous term in Room 24.
Friday, 1 July 2016
Last Day of Term 2
Crazy Hair Crazy Day
Goodbye Lucas
Sadly, Lucas left us on the last day of term. We all wish him well at his new school.
Thank You
Thank you to the lovely students and parents for the beautiful flowers, present and birthday wishes. As much as I love teaching your children, I am so glad my birthday is in the holidays!! Sleep ins and lazing around is scheduled. Enjoy a safe and fun holiday. See you in 2 weeks.
Goodbye Lucas
Sadly, Lucas left us on the last day of term. We all wish him well at his new school.
Thank You
Thank you to the lovely students and parents for the beautiful flowers, present and birthday wishes. As much as I love teaching your children, I am so glad my birthday is in the holidays!! Sleep ins and lazing around is scheduled. Enjoy a safe and fun holiday. See you in 2 weeks.
Visible Learning is coming to Room 24
Recently
teachers attended a Professional Development in which we discussed
ongoing research by Professor John Hattie. John Hattie’s outstanding
research involved millions of students and represents the largest ever
evidence-based research into what actually works best in schools to
improve learning.
At Aubin Grove Primary School we have high expectations of our students, academically, socially and emotionally. We deem the success of our students extremely high and encourage students to set goals for themselves. In accordance to John Hattie’s research, the largest effect size on student learning is what the students expect of themselves.
With this research in mind, I returned to school and set out to gain the honest opinion of students in our room as to what they believe makes a successful learner. Upon reviewing student responses, many are under the impression that a successful learner is one that; displays ‘good’ behaviour, is exceptionally smart, has a positive attitude and is committed to their own learning.
To encompass the success of students, we are taking steps into promoting students to become more accountable for their own learning and teachers to evaluate their own teaching. John Hattie has so named this Visible Learning. Visible Teaching and Learning occurs when teachers see learning through the eyes of students and students see themselves as their own teachers.
Year 3 teachers have collaborated class data to identify areas of focus for our students. We agree that progress should be celebrated and that by assisting children in becoming more accountable for their learning, expectations of themselves should be heightened.
So how is this going to look in our classrooms?
We understand that is necessary for students to understand what they are learning and why, so we will be using a WALT (We Are Learning To) and WILF (What I’m Looking For) chart for each lesson. WALT & WILF will also be used to target specific outcomes, for example “We are learning to: Use capital letters for nouns and sentence
starts”.
Assessment is the measure of student progress and understanding. Visible Learners will be provided with the tools, such as checklists and rubrics, to plan for their assessment. This will ensure that students are aware of what is expected of them, as well as allowing the opportunity to reach their own personal goals.
Punctuation Wall: We have established that student punctuation and grammar is a specific area for improvement across Year 3. The Punctuation Wall is not levelled by ability, however, it will provide students with a visible prompt to include correct punctuation within their writing.
Our Maths Targets: This student self-assessment tool will be incorporated across the school. The Maths WALT will be displayed above the Target Chart and students will be invited to move their name to the colour that matches their level of understanding and confidence. This self-assessment tool is not at all influenced by the teacher. Students that feel extremely confident within a specific task are expected to be able to coach their peers, while students that remain unsure of the task at hand will work closely with the teacher/peer until they feel confident in moving to the next colour.
We are aware that these progression charts can be daunting to some, especially those that face difficulties in grasping concepts. It is for this reason that we continue to build a safe environment for our students. The concept of Visible Learning is not just to acknowledge success, but to celebrate progress, as without progress -there will be no achievement.
If you have any questions, concerns, or queries about Visible Learning, please do not hesitate to contact me. I hope that you too, see the benefits in assisting our children into becoming independent, accountable learners.
At Aubin Grove Primary School we have high expectations of our students, academically, socially and emotionally. We deem the success of our students extremely high and encourage students to set goals for themselves. In accordance to John Hattie’s research, the largest effect size on student learning is what the students expect of themselves.
With this research in mind, I returned to school and set out to gain the honest opinion of students in our room as to what they believe makes a successful learner. Upon reviewing student responses, many are under the impression that a successful learner is one that; displays ‘good’ behaviour, is exceptionally smart, has a positive attitude and is committed to their own learning.
To encompass the success of students, we are taking steps into promoting students to become more accountable for their own learning and teachers to evaluate their own teaching. John Hattie has so named this Visible Learning. Visible Teaching and Learning occurs when teachers see learning through the eyes of students and students see themselves as their own teachers.
Year 3 teachers have collaborated class data to identify areas of focus for our students. We agree that progress should be celebrated and that by assisting children in becoming more accountable for their learning, expectations of themselves should be heightened.
So how is this going to look in our classrooms?
We understand that is necessary for students to understand what they are learning and why, so we will be using a WALT (We Are Learning To) and WILF (What I’m Looking For) chart for each lesson. WALT & WILF will also be used to target specific outcomes, for example “We are learning to: Use capital letters for nouns and sentence
starts”.
Assessment is the measure of student progress and understanding. Visible Learners will be provided with the tools, such as checklists and rubrics, to plan for their assessment. This will ensure that students are aware of what is expected of them, as well as allowing the opportunity to reach their own personal goals.
Punctuation Wall: We have established that student punctuation and grammar is a specific area for improvement across Year 3. The Punctuation Wall is not levelled by ability, however, it will provide students with a visible prompt to include correct punctuation within their writing.
Our Maths Targets: This student self-assessment tool will be incorporated across the school. The Maths WALT will be displayed above the Target Chart and students will be invited to move their name to the colour that matches their level of understanding and confidence. This self-assessment tool is not at all influenced by the teacher. Students that feel extremely confident within a specific task are expected to be able to coach their peers, while students that remain unsure of the task at hand will work closely with the teacher/peer until they feel confident in moving to the next colour.
We are aware that these progression charts can be daunting to some, especially those that face difficulties in grasping concepts. It is for this reason that we continue to build a safe environment for our students. The concept of Visible Learning is not just to acknowledge success, but to celebrate progress, as without progress -there will be no achievement.
If you have any questions, concerns, or queries about Visible Learning, please do not hesitate to contact me. I hope that you too, see the benefits in assisting our children into becoming independent, accountable learners.
Visible Learners can:
• Articulate what they are learning and why
• Explain how they are learning and the
strategies they are using
• Identify the next step in their learning
• Understand assessment tools and their
meaning
• Ask questions and clarifies
• See errors as learning opportunities
• Seek feedback
• Articulate what they are learning and why
• Explain how they are learning and the
strategies they are using
• Identify the next step in their learning
• Understand assessment tools and their
meaning
• Ask questions and clarifies
• See errors as learning opportunities
• Seek feedback
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