Hi 5/6 LF families and welcome back to term 2!

I trust that you have had an enjoyable break over the holidays and are ready to get back into a term of learning.

I will provide a brief summary of what we will be focusing on in each area this term and suggestions for how you could support this at home.

MATHEMATICS

• Breaking down of worded math questions in preparation for NAPLAN in week 2.
• Percentages and links between percentages, fractions and decimals
• Decimals (adding, subtracting and the place value attached to them)
• Measurement of time (12-24 hour time) looking over time tables to make plans
• Measurement (volume and capacity for year 6) but all components of measurement
• area, length and perimeter

Reading

• Reading with fluency, taking time to notice aspects like commas and how they impact reading.
• Predictions being made from texts
• Inferencing through visual prompts
• inferencing from within text (what does it really mean? what is really happening? how are they really feeling?)

Word study

• commas, punctuation and editing
• functional grammar
• sentence structure and elements that advance writing

Writing

• Persuasive and Narrative prompts in readiness for NAPLAN
• Procedure writing (focus on creating a bushfire evacuation plan)
• informative writing (focus on creating a bushfire news report/ climate zone information report)
• Roald Dahl author study

Science

• focus on natural disasters
• focus on how animals and particularly plants have adapted to natural disasters (bushfires)

Some ideas for how you can support the students at home:

Maths – asking questions about the learning (have students explain what they are doing in class) to support their justifications.
Involve students in shopping trips to incorporate real world scenarios for measurement, percentages, decimals through money etc

Writing – discuss the text structure with students of relevant genres.
Explore family recipes or instructions for activities (to support procedure knowledge)

Reading – practice reading at home, and a loud for fluency.

Ask students questions linked to their books, what might happen next? why do you think that? etc

To support inferencing, ask any questions linked to emotions that aren’t stated, for example:

‘Stacy barged into the kitchen.’

Why did she barge in? How was she feeling? Why do you think she was feeling that way? What clues have you used? etc

If you have any questions linked to any of this, please feel free to get in contact with me.

I will also email out some inferencing questionnaire sheets across the week to support further learning at home.

Kind regards,

Luke Flanigan