High Frequency Words
In term 2, our Reception students have been introduced to High Frequency Words. High Frequency Words otherwise known as sight words, Dolch words, refer to a set of words that most commonly are found on any page of text. Readers need to instantly recognize these words in a text and often the words cannot be sounded out. Readers therefore need to memorise these words in order to read more confidently and fluently. Learning High Frequency Words is an important skill that is incorporated into reading homework. It is therefore essential to learn High Frequency Words in fun ways. Listed below are some ideas for flash card games:
Flash Cards Games
- Can you find? Lay cards on a table. Ask the student to find a given word. If they find it, they keep it. Keep going until all the cards are picked up.
- Who has more? Show the cards to the student. If they read the word within 5 seconds, they keep the cards – if not the parent keeps the cards, the goal is that the student has more cards at the end.
- Concentration – Using double copies of words take turns turning over 2 cards at a time, trying to make a match. The player must read the words correctly to get the match.
- Go fish – Use double copies of cards, pass out all by 5-6 of the words. Put these in a stack face down on the table. Look for matches in your set of cards. (each player must be able to read the word or the set goes in the stack on the table. Take turns asking each other for cards to make matches. The person with the most matches at the end is the winner.
- Slap Jack – Draw a star on a blank flashcard. Place this star card and the other flashcards face down on the table. Take turns turning over a card and reading a word. When the star card is turned over, the first player to slap it wins.
Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year Teacher
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Pre-Reception Learning All About Reptiles
For the past week, Pre-Reception have been learning about Reptiles. They loved painting and making different Reptiles. The students also played games like snakes and ladders, learnt various Reptile rhymes and songs.
The highlight of the week was definitely when the Reptile Man came to visit, bringing his great collection of snakes, lizards, geckos and tortoises.
Some Reptile facts the students have learnt:
- All reptiles lay shelled eggs.
- A reptile breathes air.
- They have bony shells or are covered in scales.
- Majority of reptiles are cold-blooded.
- The most diverse reptiles are snakes and lizards.
- Most eat insects and small animals.
Our students were very brave and eager to touch and learn about the various reptiles. They couldn’t stop talking about all the wonderful things they saw during the special presentation by the Reptile Man.
Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher
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The Brothers Grimm
What do ‘Snow White’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Rapunzel’ have in common?
They share the fact that they were first written down and published in a book over 200 years ago by The Brothers Grimm. Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm born in Hanau near Frankfurt in Germany studied to be lawyers and later became university professors, but their most loved hobby was collecting stories, especially fairy tales. This led them on a trip across Germany and Europe in search of all the many folk songs and folklore that was rich to those areas. In 1812, they first published ‘The Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ in two volumes called Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales) with over 200 stories that have endured to this day for the young and old.
One of these perhaps lesser-known stories ‘Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten’ (The Bremen Town Musicians) came to life in the German classroom in Book Week this term.
The Year 1-6 students were all introduced to The Brothers Grimm and enjoyed watching and listening to the fairy tale all about the four animals. Der Esel (the donkey), der Hund (the dog), die Katze (the cat) and der Hahn (the rooster) were on the way to Bremen (a city in the north of Germany), to become the town musicians after no longer being of any use to their owners. On the way, they had some adventures and learnt that through teamwork anything could be accomplished.
The students especially loved singing along to the song with much enthusiasm:
Wir sind die Bremer Stadtmusikanten-holla-di-ladio! (We are the Bremen town musicians- Holla-di-ladio.)
Der Esel macht I-Ah, I-Ah.
Der Hund der macht Wau-Wau, Wau-Wau.
Die Katze macht Miau, Miau.
Der Hahn macht Kikeriki, Kikeriki.
Sie singen so wunderbar! (They sing so wonderfully!)
It was wunderbar to be part of Book Week and celebrate ‘How do you Book?’ by bringing to life a fairy tale with a song.
Click here for the link to the music and the song to sing along. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUU5gNPpJ70
Frau K. Pani
Primary School German Teacher
WATCH:
Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brothers-Grimm
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Multi-Sensory Learning
The importance of teaching and learning with more than just sight and sound lessons.
Multi-sensory learning has the benefit of reinforcing strengths, improving students’ weaknesses and assisting the brain in making connections between current knowledge and the new knowledge that is being taught. It also helps students who differ in learning styles to make concrete connections during the lesson.
In the BIS Library – learning is dynamic, engaging and often involves more than three of the body’s senses. The ‘/j/’ sound lesson is the perfect example of a lesson where students are facilitated in remembering the sound by tasting jelly. After singing the jolly phonics song for ‘/j/’, they move their bodies like wobbling jelly and read a book about jelly. The students then have the opportunity to enjoy smelling and tasting some jelly. Multi-sensory lessons seem more like playing than learning to children and as research has shown, this is one of the best means for children’s brains to make connections and store information.
Facilitating learning through the senses is important, in particular learning to read because reading always leans towards sight and sound. Reading is an abstract concept that requires concrete learning methods in its teaching, and not only for those who need it with regard to their learning styles.
Kirsten Stoffberg
School Librarian and Teacher
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Book Week 2022: Foundation Phase And How To Ensure Success When Reading With Your Child
From the 3rd to 6th of May, we celebrated Book Week throughout the school. We do this to help foster a love and excitement for books and reading. There was a wide variety of fun and interesting events that took place.
On Tuesday, Hooked on Books came to school to entertain the students. They performed short excerpts from age appropriate books and the students even got to act out a poem with the actors’ guidance.
On Wednesday evening, the students joined their teachers in their pyjamas for hot chocolate and bedtime stories. It was an evening full of laughter, cuddles and creating fond memories with friends.
Throughout the week, The Book People gave students the opportunity to peruse a large variety of books and some purchased a book to add to their home library.
On Friday we had a character dress up day. It was wonderful seeing the creativity and pride that the children took in dressing up. During the week, Reception and Pre-Reception classes also swapped teachers at story time so that they could listen to the stories represented in the other classrooms.
Below are some tips you can use at home to make reading fun and to ensure success when reading with your child:
When you are creating fun reading activities for your children, you need to be excited about the activity too. You want to create something that is worth your child’s time to sit, listen, and learn. Here are some tips to help you succeed:
- Have a happy voice: Children are smart. If your voice is monotone and you are trying to cram in a book before bedtime, they will know it. Make your voice sound excited when you read the words. Remember to smile and have fun!
- Take your time: Plan ahead to make sure you have enough time to read before nap and bedtime. You don’t want to do fun reading activities when you or your kids are tired. They will be less likely to be engaged.
- Read over or skim the book before you get it: I found many books were not appropriate for children. They had things in there I was not ready to discuss at their young age. Protect their innocence and choose books that represent the same values you stand for at home.
- Don’t quit: Your children may not be excited at first. Keep working at it. Try different things to see what works. Don’t give up. Reading needs to be a lifelong skill that gets encouraged from when your children are young.
- Empower your children: Get your children to pick out books, give them a choice between two fun reading activities, let them pick out which book to read at bedtime, or let them choose a book to give another child as a birthday present. All these things give them ownership. If they come up with the idea or make the decision themselves, they are more likely to be engaged.
Kim Hahn
Reception Year Teacher
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To Write Or Not To Write…
With today’s technology, where even the youngest of young are accustomed to typing on laptops, tablets or iPads, the question is often raised: Just why do children need to learn handwriting skills at school. They probably won’t need these skills in whatever field they find themselves in. However, proven studies have shown that it is extremely beneficial for young children to learn how to grip a pencil or colouring crayon, or learn the correct formation of a letter.
“There is this assumption that we live in the computer age, and we don’t need handwriting anymore. That’s wrong,” says Virginia Berninger, PhD, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington.
A few facts to consider:
- Children who learn to write correctly, read more fluently.
- Handwriting requires concentration.
- It trains the brain circuits responsible for motor coordination, vision, and memory to work together.
- Visual-motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination, are associated with academic achievement. Scientists have found that developing fine motor skills in early childhood can predict not only writing success, but also better performance in reading and mathematics in elementary school.
Left-handed children more likely to write untidily? Myth or fact? Unfortunately for the 10% of the world’s population who are left-handed, their handwriting does tend to be untidier than those writing with their right hand. However, if a child is taught to tilt their paper or book a different way, neat handwriting is very achievable!
Kim Coetzer
Year 2 Teacher
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The Importance Of Reading
As an English teacher, I am no stranger to reading. I am also no stranger to students trying anything and everything they can to get out of reading. It has become apparent that children nowadays either refuse to read, or they are unaware of just how important reading is.
When I deal with students who are not performing up to standard, I always ask whether that student likes to read. The reason for this is that there is a proven correlation between achievement in English and the enjoyment of reading. This is because reading allows people to see how the language is supposed to be used. It enables one to see how to properly use grammar, how words are supposed to be spelled, how sentences are supposed to be structured, and it allows one to learn brand new words to expand one’s vocabulary.
In addition to reading having academic advantages, it also allows one to be transported into different worlds without even having to leave their couch. It enables the young aspiring adventurer to step into the world of swashbuckling pirates, crime fighting superheroes, or brave soldiers. Reading is an excellent way to broaden the imagination of young dreamers and creatives, as it inspires them to push the boundaries and think outside of the box.
I will forever encourage students to read as much as possible. For the non-reader, I always suggest reading articles or blogs – anything that contains subject matter that is of interest to them. Hate reading, but love soccer? Pick up an autobiography about your favourite soccer player. Can’t stand a novel, but love Science? Grab yourself a National Geographic magazine and read the articles. Reading can be so diverse that even the most stubborn nay-sayers will be tempted to pick something up and read.
In celebration of Book Week, I would like to encourage all our students, staff and parents to pick up a book this week, and immerse yourself in the joys of reading.
Mia Tossel
IGCSE, AS and A Level English Teacher
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Art Day!
We are very excited in Year 1 to be having a special ‘Art day’ today, for our upcoming school Art auction at the end of this month!
We are working on a collaborative artwork, which means each child in the class is contributing to the picture. We are creating a natural, floral scene against a beautiful sunrise, using mixed media culminating into a layered piece of artwork.
The students are having a lot of fun, painting macaroni, decorating bottle tops, beading pipe cleaners and exploring mixing colours.
I can’t wait to see the finished product displayed at the art auction!
Charlotte Cronje
Year 1 Teacher
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Inspiring Your Child To Read
This week, I want to share a few basic and wonderful tips on how to get your little one to become a life long lover of reading…
We all know it can sometimes feel daunting to explain to our children how important it is to build good reading habits. Reading is a vital component of education. All students need good reading skills to succeed not only at school but in life in general.
I hope that sharing these insights with you can inspire you as much as it did me. See the image below titled: Building a Reader At Home
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher and Key Stage 1 Coordinator
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Activity Centre Outing – Year 1
This week, the Year 1 students had the pleasure of visiting an activity centre, where they were able to interact in everyday experiences on a smaller scale.
The students spent some time at the mini Checkers where they were able to shop and check-out items they felt they wanted. They were then introduced to the TAH Vet section to role play being a vet, a patient, a shopper and a teller.
After this, they headed to the mini kitchen to learn about healthy and unhealthy foods and decorate biscuits. As teachers, we find this form of role-play and interaction extremely important for young students to participate in as it is beneficial for them on a greater scale when growing up.
The students also had an exciting experience at the mini Capitec where they learnt about money, how to save money and how an ATM works. They then moved over to the “green-screen” section where they learnt what a green-screen is and they could watch themselves on the TV during their interview.
All of the stations the Year 1 students attended taught them new life skills. These life skills ranged from learning how to buy items from a shop with money, healthy and unhealthy eating, how to look after your pet, signs to look out for when your pet needs a doctor, savings and drawing money from an ATM as well as, how to conduct an interview.
This was definitely an experience the students will not forget!
Erin Hierse
Year 1 Teacher
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