Year 1General InformationWelcome to Year 1 at Discovery College. Year 1 is the beginning of a long journey for your child. It is the most important year in a small child's life because it is the start of his/her formal education. We feel privileged to be a part of this process. We know that you are also eager to share in this learning journey with them and we look forward to supporting you to do this. There are many important milestones that lie ahead as the children learn to read and write, grow in their independence and responsibility and develop strong friendships with their peers. An exciting time lies ahead for us all. The 20010-2011 Year 1 team consists of Ms Shu-King Pang (1 SPG), Miss Sarah Bennett (1 SBT) and Mrs Loretta Romano (1LRO). We are well supported in our classroom activities by a wonderful group of Educational Assistants namely Ms Lee Stufflebeam, Mrs Maren Gasser and Mrs Nicole cresswell who work tirelessly to assist with the day-to-day activities in each class. We are also fortunate to have the expertise of Mrs Lizzie Hudson and Mrs Jo Hine who work regularly in our classrooms as part of the Learning Development team providing ongoing support for the needs of our students. To contact us please use our email addresses as listed.
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We look forward to a year full of many new experiences, rewarding moments and ongoing achievements. Warm regards Year 1 Timetables (Term 1 2010-11):1.1 (1LRO) Timetable | 1.2 (1SBT) Timetable | 1.3 (1SPG) Timetable News & UpdatesAugust 30, 2010We have uploaded some photos from the first week of Year 1 2010/11 school year! You can view Y1 students enjoying their new school playground and their first assembly by clicking on the link below: Year 1 first week photosAugust 20, 2010Welcome to our first week at school for the 2010-2011 academic year Information evening and parent workshops The Discovery College Primary Parent Information evening is scheduled for next Monday 23 August commencing at 6.30pm. You will have an opportunity to be introduced to specialist teachers and gain important information regarding the curriculum, as well as ways to assist your child's smooth transition into school. We also have a number of parent workshops planned in the near future providing practical ways to support your child's early language and motor development. More information on these will be distributed soon. Curriculum information Our focus for the first few weeks is on helping the children to settle into the routine of school life and develop positive relationships with each other and teachers. We are beginning to investigate the need for rules to keep us safe and discussing what these rules might be. As a result of these discussions, we will develop our Essential Agreements that will guide our actions while at school. It is important that we all understand that everyone has the right to be safe. The responsibility remains with all of us. Snack time We have a scheduled snack time as part of the morning period before playtime. Our aim is to maintain the children's energy levels and maximise learning potential by providing a nutritious food break. We ask that the children have a healthy snack of fruit or vegetables supplied daily in manageable quantities. Students will be encouraged to eat their healthy food before consuming biscuits and cakes. As we have numerous children throughout the College with anaphylactic reactions to peanuts, we insist that these not be included in any part of your child's daily food intake while at school. Please refer to the Parent Handbook for further information. Thank you for your support in this matter. Drink bottles Please ensure that your child has a suitable named drink bottle (plastic not glass) at school everyday. We encourage students to drink water throughout the day to maintain hydration levels especially during these hot days. The College has several filling stations for filtered and chilled water so bottles can be filled regularly and easily accessed during playtimes. Book folders Each day your child will bring home their zip-up pouch or book folder with class books to read. We will start to send books home with them in a couple of weeks. The Discovery College (blue) diary needs to be checked daily for any important notices. Please ensure the zip-up pouch, classroom books and College diary are returned to school daily. For convenience we would suggest the Discovery College library bag double as a carry pouch (together with their school bag) to ensure the children manage their belongings effectively. Timetables A timetable for all Year 1 classes covering specialist lessons together with teachers' names will be distributed soon and also available to view on the College website shortly. The only change to the timetable will be during the Primary swimming programme, which will commence the week beginning Monday 30 August. Further information will be sent home soon outlining our allocated day and lesson details. In the meantime, please ensure your child wears their PE uniform on the scheduled days as per the timetable. Library Class borrowing times will be listed on our timetables. Year One students are able to borrow up to three items from the library for a loan period of two weeks. The library bag will be necessary for the children to borrow books, etc. The library will be open daily before and after school for you to join your child in making selections as well as during lunchtime each Monday and Thursday for all Year 1 students. Library books are to be returned to the classroom once they have been read. Points of Interest
Important Dates Monday 23 August Primary Parents Information Evening (6.30pm) Thank you for ensuring your child has a smooth start to their school life. Regards Shu-King Pang Programme of InquiryUNIT 1Transdiscipinary Theme - Who we are An inquiry into the nature of self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it is to be human. Central Idea Increased awareness of personal characteristics and abilities, allows our self-identity to develop. Lines of Inquiry
Teacher Questions What are my personal characteristics? Concepts Connection Learner Profile Caring UNIT 2Transdiscipinary Theme – How we organize ourselves An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organisations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment. Central Idea In a community people share responsibilities towards a common purpose. Lines of Inquiry
Teacher Questions How are you part of the community? Concepts Function Learner Profile Principled UNIT 3Transdiscipinary Theme – Where we are in place and time An inquiry into the orientation of place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives. Central Idea Change affects our personal histories and helps us understand our lives. Lines of Inquiry
Teacher Questions How have I changed? Concepts Causation Learner Profile Inquirers UNIT 4Transdiscipinary Theme – Sharing the planet An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution. Central Idea Living things have certain requirements that are needed for growth and survival. Lines of Inquiry
Teacher Questions What are the characteristics of living things? Concepts Function Learner Profile Knowledgeable UNIT 5Transdiscipinary Theme – How the world works An inquiry into the natural world and it's laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and the environment. Central Idea The environment is affected by climatic conditions that impact on living things. Lines of Inquiry
Teacher Questions What are the different environments? Concepts Form Learner Profile Inquirers UNIT 6Transdiscipinary Theme – How we express ourselves An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic. Central Idea Stories inform, provoke and give us pleasure. Lines of Inquiry
Teacher Questions What is a story? Concepts Connection Learner Profile Communicators English Language OverviewReadingThe secret to children's early reading successes are regular practise and time to discuss the storyline. Just asking a few questions about the story helps children reflect on what has been read. We encourage you to return to the text if they have not quite understood. Comprehension is necessary because decoding words is only one part of reading; it is important that the reader makes meaning from the text. Don't forget the value of the pictures. Children love to gain visual clues from the pictures on each page. Use the pictures by asking your child to make predictions of the storyline based on what they can see and then check by reading the text. Much in-depth discussion can occur using this method to complement the reading process. Encourage your child to re-read a passage or sentence where there has been some difficulty decoding. This is a very good strategy because when children need to decode a word it slows down the fluency and meaning is often lost. Re-reading is a good strategy to adopt. Here are some other helpful hints:
Sounds RevisionPlease make a regular time to go through the letter sounds. A few sounds each day, with the actions, should keep them in the children's minds. This can occur incidentally, as you read a bedtime story (by looking for the sounds you are focusing on) or even by playing a game of "I Spy" as you travel around Hong Kong. It is easy to incorporate the sounds work into the day; it just takes a bit of thought and sometimes creativity. A method to help reinforce two-letter sounds (blends) is to find matching rhyming words. Many of these sounds are located in the middle or at the end of words. Writing lists of rhyming words will also assist with handwriting practice and prove useful for revision work at a later date. WritingAs mentioned it is very important to revisit the sounds as these equip the children with the knowledge they need to begin the writing process and further develop their writing skills. It has been fabulous to see the children really listening for the sounds in each word they write. At first they may hear only one or two of the most obvious sounds. As they continue developing and practising they will be able to identify more sounds in the words they are writing. Please praise all attempts when they are involved in writing tasks at home. A great way to keep a record of special events or family outings is to use a diary/journal. After discussion and reflection of an event the children can write a sentence about their activities and complete it with an illustration or attach a photograph. It doesn't have to take much time. A writing book could become a valuable record for the future as well as having the children write for a real purpose. Just imagine how much fun they will have sharing the book with other family members. A very powerful tool for identifying and writing the sounds heard in words. At home, any writing practise is an excellent way to check phonic awareness and enables focus on correct letter formation. SpellingIt doesn't take long before the Year 1 children become more adept at identifying words they need to spell/write. Our classroom spelling activities encourage the students to examine words to make them easier to remember. By discussing vowels and how they work with other letters, word shapes, words within words, blends etc. the children gain further insight into how language works. The aim is that they will be able to transfer this understanding and apply it to the spelling of words in their daily writing tasks. Later, the LOOK, SAY, COVER, WRITE, CHECK method will be introduced as a way for the children to examine and practise spelling commonly used words. Maths OverviewMaths Learning TargetsThroughout our Year 1 Mathematics units, the students are working towards achieving targets that show their understanding of the content and their ability to implement them in various contexts. Student success for each 'I can' statement is measured through their formative and summative assessments, a range of 'hands-on' classroom activities and observation of the student's understandings as well as independent working skills. Ongoing targetsWe cover a number of ongoing targets which we focus on throughout the year. They are very important and will be regularly revised in class. We also encourage that the students revise these concepts regularly at home to keep them fresh in their minds. Unit 1 Numbers to 10, 2D shapes, patterns, data handling and length. Please refer to the Maths target card below. Unit 2 Ordinal Numbers, Odd & Even Numbers, Addition & Subtraction, Time – Sequencing Unit 3 Data Collection, Time - Sequencing - Time - Clocks Unit 4 Number- Place Value, Addition and Subtraction Parent information bookletsThese targets show some of the things your child should be able to do by the end of a particular year level. These expectations are from the English National Curriculum, which is the basis of the ESF Scope and Sequence document, which along with the IB Scope and Sequence informs the curriculum for primary at Discovery College.
Online ResourcesMultimediaChineseDear Year 1 Parents and students,
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CURRICULUM 
PYP Year 1
The joy of learning to read (2009)
Maths yearly overview