This document is designed to inform you of the learning planned for your child’s next unit of inquiry. In addition we offer you some optional ideas for
supporting
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textyour child at home.
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Y1 Unit Overview!
How the World Works!
Students will be exploring the Theme: How the World Works as they inquire into the Central Idea: ‘All
living things go through a process of change.’ We would like children to be able to sort, classify and
describe living things and the characteristics that define animal groups. Students will become more
knowledgeable as they gain facts and information about living things. We also hope to develop the
attribute of being a risk taker as children will be presenting their assessment task to a wider audience.
We will be focusing on the communication skills of presenting and writing. Students will be presenting
their new knowledge in the form of a report and will be using My Story (i-pad application) as the platform
for their writing. They will be presenting these stories at the end of the unit. We will be introducing
several graphic organisers throughout the unit in an attempt to give students more ownership and
autonomy for how they wish to organise their work and ideas. !
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You may wish to support your child at home in the following ways:!
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Developing
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Conceptual
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Key vocabulary used in this unit will be: !
change, connection, form, life cycle, living things, characteristics, classification,
growth, reproduction, birth, offspring, similarity, difference, scientist, reptiles,
amphibians, fish, birds, mammals!
Please consider using your Mother Tongue to develop your child’s understanding of
these words. !
This unit will be addressed through the lens of form, change and connection. Over
the next few weeks try to ask your child lots of questions to develop their ability to
observe and describe (‘What is it like?’), to develop their understanding of how things
change (‘How have you changed?’; ‘What changes do you know about?’) and to
explore the relationship between objects, people, places and events (‘How are these
things connected? ‘How are they the same? How are they different?’). These
questions, asked in any context, will support the work we do in school. !
Fun things to do:
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Look for actio
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Look at pictures of how you have grown and changed and compare that to how your
child has grown and changed. If you have a pet, observe it and talk about what
characteristics make it a living creature. Read both fiction and non-fiction books and
look at the features of each. You could plant a seed and observe the changes that
take place over time and do some observational drawings where students observe
carefully in order to make detailed drawings. Visit the library to find books on a
favourite animal and help child identify key facts and vocabulary about the animal;
watch videos/youtube clips about the lives of plants and animals.!
ACTION is a key element of the Primary Years Programme.We are always looking to
see how children take their learning and apply it independently. This can take many
forms - from a discussion about the unit of inquiry at home initiated by your child, roleplay or even a request to bring a book or artifact in to school because it relates to the
work we have been doing in school. Now that you know what the unit is all about
please keep your eyes open for evidence of action and let us know! Any action that
you tell us about will be kept as part of your child’s records.!
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“Success
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for Every Child”
Alongside the key concepts, attitudes, learner profile attributes and action elements of the Primary Years Programme there
is a body of knowledge that will be taught during the course of each unit. The main learning outcomes are outlined below
for your reference. The childrenʼs understanding of each objective is assessed before each planned learning experience in
order for us to pitch the work according to your childʼs ability and needs:
ENGLISH:!
As students learn about the life cycles of living thing and how living things are classified they will find out how to record that
information in the form of a report. We will go through all 4 stages of writing: planning, drafting, editing and revising as we work
towards writing a report for our summative assessment. Students will also be exploring how visual images are used to match texts
as they explore flow charts and life cycles. In reading, students will read a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts focusing mainly on
reports and the features of reports. They will work on the reading strategy of synthesising as they find information from a variety of
texts and use that to help them write their report. In speaking and listening students will work on their presentation skills and will be
given opportunities to speak in front of an audience. They will continue to refine and adjust their listening skills to suit particular
situations.
MATHS!
Students will be applying their skills of sorting and classify familiar objects and explaining the basis for these classifications
throughout the unit. They will continue to explore the concept of patterns as they copy, extend, create and describe patterns with
objects and drawings and recognise patterns in the number system. We will continue our work with number as we recall addition
facts for single-digit number and related subtraction facts and solve simple addition and subtraction problems using concrete
materials. Students will continue to develop and use part/whole strategies as they solve addition and subtraction problems.
SCIENCE!
Through the exploration of ‘Living Things’ students will:!
• describe the life cycles of a variety of living things (for example, a range of animals and plants)!
• compare the life cycles of different living things!
• identify the common components of life cycles (for example birth, growth, maturity, reproduction, death)!
Skills Focus: observation and acquiring and using scientific vocabulary !
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CHINESE!
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We will focus on the concepts of form and change. We will inquire into pictograph by looking at the link between pictures and
Chinese characters and the way characters evolved/changed over time. Some basic characters that relate to the topic of Body
Parts will be taught to build up a good foundation for reading and writing.!
P.S.P. E.: 2 strands in PSPE will directly link with what the children are learning in their unit!
Identity:!
• As people grow and change they develop new skills, understandings and abilities.!
• Describe how they have grown and changed.!
• Describe some physical and personal characteristics and personal preferences.!
• Talk about similarities and differences between themselves and others.!
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Active living:!
• Our bodies change as we grow.!
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Your child will learn best of all when school and home work as a team. If you have any questions at all
please do not hesitate to contact us.
“Success for Every Child”