reading Tag

This week Pre-Reception are learning about Frogs! The students are very excited to learn interesting facts about frogs and their life cycle.

Some interesting facts they are learning:

• They are amphibians.
• They typically lay their eggs in the water and a group of eggs is a frogspawn.
• The eggs hatch into tadpoles.
• A group of frogs is called an army.
• Tadpoles have no lungs, they have gills. They grow lungs before they mature into a frog.

The students really enjoyed painting and making their own frogs in their creative activities. They learnt a new rhyme, Five Green Speckled Frogs and had such fun singing together.

In Literacy, the sound of the week is ‘d’. The students eagerly practiced writing the letter in rice with their finger. They excitedly found objects in the class that start with ‘d’. I was very impressed with what they found. A duck, dinosaur, door, a drawing, doll etc. They loved learning the action and song for the letter ‘d’.

In Numeracy this week, they are practicing to recognize numbers 1 – 5 and put them in the correct order.

It has been a very busy learning week; we have also been doing messy sensory activities to strengthen their fine motor muscles. All in all the students have had lots of fun learning through play!

Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher

In Reception we have been learning all about different insects.

As part of our topic we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The students loved the story and decided to make their very own Hungry Caterpillar book.

Our little authors did such a good job, especially loving reading their little book once they were done.

WATCH: https://youtu.be/MIwbXYpF1RA

Monique Meyer
Reception Year Teacher

During the last few days of school, we spent a lot of time consolidating some of the work covered over the first two terms. The students used letter and number cards, playdough, whiteboards and markers and educational games to demonstrate their knowledge and developing skills. Some of the educational games we played were pattern match, colour recognition, shapes recognition and we have even learned how to write our own names!In Literacy, we learnt about all the Jolly Phonics and the sounds they make. Linking sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. A student cannot learn to read without proper knowledge of phonics. It is the foundation for success in reading. The students make a connection between the words we put together and what they look like in print. Phonics skills are necessary to jump-start the process of learning to read, but reading by sight is more efficient.

In Numeracy, we learnt about colours and shapes (2D) within our environment. We learnt about patterns, recognizing and recreating various patterns using a repeated sequence. We learnt about numbers, counting and using developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems. We even learnt about addition and subtraction and the correct vocabulary associated with them through number rhymes. Students have attempted to write for a variety of purposes, using features of different forms.

Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception teacher

 

 

Our Reception students have been enjoying revising the letter sounds they have learnt by paging through magazines to look for the letter sounds. Once found they need to cut them out and paste the sound to match the sound on a colourful page.

This task is part of emergent literacy and combines quite a number of important skills such as fine motor skills, hand eye co-ordination, visual memory and letter recognition skills. As they page through the magazines students are exposed to letters in other fonts and also need to make the link between upper and lowercase letters.

Here are some fun ways to develop letter recognition at home:

• Writing letters on bathroom tiles using bath crayons.
• Writing with a whiteboard marker on a sliding door or mirror.
• Looking for known letters (and perhaps words) on number plates and signs in the community.
• Playing I spy to identify objects at home that begin with a specific letter (remember to use the phonetic sound (example: mmm, not ‘em’).
• Finding letters on a shopping catalogue.
• Writing letters in something fun on a tray, such as custard, chocolate pudding or dry substances such as icing sugar, jelly powder, rice or salt.
• Writing letters using a pointer finger on a steamed up mirror.
• Making letters out of playdough.
• Making letters out of salt dough and cooking it.
• Making letters with sweets on iced cupcakes.
• Finding letters in letter pasta.
• Writing simple words using Jelly Tot letters.

For more great ideas have a look at our Foundation Stage Pinterest Page:  https://pin.it/1Of5Yuy

Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year Teacher

Greetings from the English Department!

It’s only the second week of term and already my desk is hidden under a snowfall of loose paper. And we all know what ‘Term 2’ means… the whispers of which flit their way along the corridors in tones of quickened dread…  it’s an exam term.

“Honestly, it’s really not that bad!” My biannual refrain seems to bounce off the students like those tiny silver balls used to decorate cakes (not the most creative analogy, I admit, but what else would bounce dramatically pleasingly off a teenager?). Point is, they never do seem to believe me. Rather than inspire dread, I believe an exam term is an exciting challenge! An opportunity to beat your personal best and push the pliable boundaries of our own abilities. However, we’ve still got a few weeks ahead of us and plenty of essays to pen before exams start. So, pop your head down the rabbit hole and take a look at what our students are busy with in English class:

The Year 7’s can only watch as the blisters spread across the palms of poor Stanley Yelnats as he digs those blasted holes at Camp Green Lake. A class project making homemade Sploosh anyone? Although perhaps the season for peaches is over?

Ralph, Jack and Piggy are the constant companions of the Year 8’s this term… and ‘the beast’ of course! We can’t forget about him…or it?

The Year 9’s are wading through their IGCSE Literature short stories and this week covered a particularly satisfying story called ‘The Widow’s Might’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A widow gets the upper hand on her children who, after their father’s death, are quibbling over ‘who gets mom’ and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the lawyer with dad’s will. The students experimented with Blackout Poetry as way to engage with the deeper concerns or themes of the short story. We received some beautiful and insightful submissions; the talent of our students never ceases to warm my heart. Please see the photos accompanying this article.

The Year 11’s are similarly enmired in the wonderfully marshy ground of prescribed short stories (the ‘short’ in short stories being a decidedly subjective term). They have just read a story called ‘Gabriel Ernest’ (Hector Hugh Munro) about a werewolf who, well, does what werewolves do best really.

Our 10’s and 12’s are on a desperate quest for something so rarely experienced in the final year of IGCSE and AS-level – free time. The word ‘revise’ a mantle around their shoulders. Setworks are looking decidedly grubby and overly thumbed, but the sight of their dog-eared books I find oddly reassuring… experience has taught that it’s the pristine-looking copies one needs to be concerned about.

And for now, that’s all from us. If you are looking for the English Department, we are reassuringly close to the library, always within reach of a good book.

Alice Pryor
High School English Department

When we embrace the truth that we are the authors of our own stories, we become empowered to add to the joy and beauty around us.

This term, Year 4’s are going to look at the genre of fiction based on real life problems.

We have a whole audio library of books to enjoy for the next month that deal with everyday problems. After reading how the characters in these books made choices that overcame obstacles, we will be choosing a problem to write about – and then developing our story to ensure that the solution makes for, not only a happy ending, but an enjoyable and intriguing read.

Starting a new term, with a new Head and so many new opportunities, the Year 4’s prepared themselves last term by designing colourful and vibrant inspirational art.

What a great beginning to this new chapter of 2021 – I can’t wait to see how our story unfolds.

Carey Schoots
Year 4 Teacher

The Foundation Stage students have returned to school this term with great exuberance.

In Reception, the students could not wait to tell their teachers about all the fun things they had been doing over the holidays. Each student shared their favourite activity with the class.

Ms Nuthall was so proud to see the students very capably writing their very first heading in their book ‘My Holiday’.

Each member of the class took great delight in drawing their favourite activity during the holidays. This is how they described their pictures afterwards:

Ayo Bernardo Honwana (5 years old) “I went to the beach.”

Emmanuel Chukwuemeka (4 years old) “I was at home and my sister went to the doctor.”

Himansh Dammalapati (5 years old) “I went on a drive. It was rainy and sunny and I saw a rainbow.”

Somtochukwu Ezeonye (5 years old) “I went to the beach.”

Xavier Foulds (5 years old) “I went on the monkey bars at the park.”

Lukho Hashe (5 years old) “I went to the shops with my daddy. Mommy stayed at home.”

Jadey Howes (5 years old) “We were at the zoo.”

Melody Kroukamp (5 years old) “I went to Ouma and Oupa and played a lot.”

Ingelam Mabona (5 years old) “I went to the shops.”

Londeka Magagula (5 years old) “I played at the playground.”

Pecresse Muteb Kawan (5 years old) “I played with my friends.”

Charlcy Nyausaru (4 years old) “I was playing in the garden.”

Jan Pani (5 years old) “I went to the rock pools and caught some fish there.”

Daniel Perdigão (5 years old) “I played in my backyard and took a picture with my mom’s phone.”

Arye Shaik Mohamed (5 years old) “I went to see my grandparents in Johannesburg.”

Shivansh Trivedi (4 years old) “I went to the playground.”

Durva Vanjare 5 (years old) “I went to the beach with my family and then we went to the mall.”

Bronwen Nuthall
Reception Year Teacher

The love of reading is something we aim to cultivate in the Foundation Stage classes, and we are so proud to see the little ones embrace this as they practise their letters every day.  Another favourite part of the day is story time and each week a few students are given the chance to go the library and choose stories for the class to read.

Some of the most popular stories in our class are the Mr. Men stories.  The students love hearing what Mr. Tickles is up to, or what misadventures Mr. Bump had. We asked the students to draw their favourite Mr. Men or Little Miss character.

I think we may have a few future illustrators in our class.

Monique Meyer
Reception Year Teacher

In Reception year, we focus a lot on the importance of reading, and it is always such a pleasure to see the smile on a little one’s face when he or she mastered a new skill in reading or writing.

Every Monday, students come to school excited to share their weekend news with their friends, and now as their reading and writing skills have progressed, they also write down their weekend news in their writing books.

This year has been particularly challenging for our students, but despite this they have made tremendous progress in learning to read. It is wonderful to see the progress from week to week, as students gain more confidence in their own abilities.

We would like to share some of our weekend news with everybody:

Monique Crawley
Reception Teacher

In Year 2, we have been encouraging our students to read as much as possible. We love to meet on Zoom with them and listen to how much they’re enjoying their favourite stories.

Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. Then the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.

Studies find that most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, children enjoy these “old friends” and may even help in the reading.

 

Here are 10 reasons why reading is important for children:

1. Improves concentration.
2. Improves memory.
3. Discover other parts of the world.
4. Brain exercise.
5. Boosts critical thinking skills.
6. Develops empathy.
7. Develops & expands language skills.
8. Enhances imagination.
9. Better performance in school.
10. Source of entertainment.

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-your-childhttps://www.edarabia.com/why-reading-important-children/

 

Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher