Term 1, Week 9 P-2 News

Play-based learning in Prep

Play-based learning is one of many powerful and engaging approaches that our teachers use to teach learning concepts. By participating in imaginative activities, collaborating with peers, and exploring hands-on experiences, children can form meaningful connections to learning in a fun and creative way. Over the past week, during my visits to the Prep classrooms, I had the privilege of witnessing first hand how this approach fosters deep engagement and excitement in the students’ learning journey.

One example of play-based learning was during Science, when Prep B students were learning about the weather. In the classroom, Ms Boyd had set up a teddy bear’s picnic when the sun was shining above them. The sun was attached to a piece of string and hung above the picnic on the overhead wires in the classroom. Suddenly, the weather changed. The sun slid away, and the clouds came over. It started to ‘rain’. Prompted by Ms Boyd, the children discussed how the changes in weather affected the teddy’s picnic. They shared experiences of how changes in weather have impacted their own activities during the week or on the weekend.

As part of HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences), Prep students are learning to share observations about the past. During the week, Mr Goulter, Mrs Tyler and I were invited to Prep C’s museum. We arrived to the classroom when the museum opened at 2:20pm. The children were lining up and getting their ticket stamped by the ticket officer - Ms Bowman. This granted them entry into the museum. Once inside, we were greeted by many excited children who were ‘in role’, taking us through a museum walk to look at different artefacts from their past. We listened to stories, looked at photos and drawings and studied objects with magnifying glasses to find out more information. Students were so engaged in learning about others’ past and telling us about theirs.

These are two of many examples of how our Prep teachers foster a love for learning in our students.  

Learning Walks in Year 1 and 2

It’s the end of week 9 and students are commencing their English assessment after 8-9 full weeks of teaching and learning. Classroom learning walls are rich in artefacts that students use to help with their learning and individual goals. During our recent learning walks, we ask the students key questions about their learning. 1. What are you learning about and why? 2. What can you do to improve? 3. Where do you go for help?

We are always amazed at the sophistication in which P-2 students can talk about their learning and progress. Here are some examples of student responses:

Year 1:

I am learning to give an opinion about a story. I need to use the word ‘because’. I need to introduce myself, and say what happens at the beginning, middle and end of the story so we know what the story is about. I also need to say thank you at the end of my talk. I am working on “I can talk about what the character looks like”. It's here on my goals chart. I use the word wall and the learning wall. It has the words and it helps us see what we are doing.

Year 2:

We are learning to share ideas and express our opinion about characters using our voice. It means you are expressing what you think about the character. At the moment, we are doing Kookoo. I think 2 things; first half of the story is kind, the second half is unkind.

I need to work on being a bit more clear, like being a bit louder so people can hear me. I know because we recorded our voices and we listened to it. I got to hear how I talked and I was a bit too quiet.

I go to the learning wall to help. I use these traits. They give me the idea about what to say for the character, but it has to be the right word for the character.