Category: Learning

National Tree Day was held last weekend. There were two main events as part of National Tree Day: Schools Tree Day on Friday 26th July 2019 and National Tree Day on Sunday 28th July 2019.  

National Tree Day is Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature protection event. It is a chance for Australians to come together and give back to their community. National Tree Day started in 1996 and since then over 25 million trees have been planted by over 4 million volunteers. 

Local councils, schools, businesses and communities all over Australia are getting involved in National Tree Day. Participants are encouraged to get outdoors and plant some trees. There are thousands of National Tree Day events happening around the country with many local councils providing seedlings to be planted or tree planting kits to take home. Do a quick search to see if there are any events happening in your area. 

There are plenty of other ways to get involved in National Tree Day with your family. Get outdoors and take a look at the trees in your garden or local area. Read books and poems about trees. Talk to your children about why trees are important. Older children could even do some research to find out more about trees and how they help to ensure the air we breathe is clean. 

National Tree Day is a great opportunity for your child to practise their writing skills. You can find many Learn Primary lessons to support children’s writing under Composing in the English section of the Learn Primary App. Your child could write a poem about trees, acrostic poems are a great place to start. Younger children could create a poster advertising National Tree Day. Older children could write a persuasive speech or letter to encourage their audience to take part in National Tree Day. If you attend a National Tree Day event your child could write an email to a friend or family member telling them what they did. They could even share some pictures of the trees they planted. 

National Tree Day is a great opportunity to spend time outdoors and get your hands dirty planting trees and having fun in the community. But you don’t have to stop after the event…keep on looking for opportunities to learn about nature and the environment and preserve our wonderful parks and reserves.

Happy Planting!

While expectations vary from school to school, homework is a part of school life. However, it doesn’t always lead to great excitement in children or parents. It can often be a struggle to keep children motivated to complete tasks or even begin homework tasks. Having the right tools and space in your home can be very helpful in overcoming this hurdle.

School supplies and stationery are often left at school, especially with primary aged children, so it is a good idea to have some items ready for your child to use at home. These items will not only be useful for homework but will be useful for project work, art work or for creative free time.

Get set up

Some obvious items include pens and pencils, markers, scissors, glue, rulers, sticky tape and paper. But there are other less obvious items that can support your child with their homework, including tape measures, counters and small objects for number work, dice, reference books like dictionaries and thesaurus (can also be accessed via a digital device), a calculator and other items that could support the variety of tasks your child is expected to complete at home. It can also be nice to have a ‘arts & craft’ box with leftover wrapping paper, paint, small cardboard boxes, paper plates, wool, bottle tops etc so your child is equipped for making a model when needed or to just make something creative as it comes to mind.

Another great way to get your children excited about homework is to create a homework space. This allows your children to take ownership of their homework and gives them a dedicated, inspiring space where everything is ready for them to get to work. Children will know that by entering that space homework tasks need to be completed. If you have an office in your home you could create a space for your child and if you live in an apartment with limited space, a movable trolley could be all you need to get your child ready to focus on their homework.

Create a homework space

• The location of the homework space is important – try and keep the bedroom and homework space separate.  Depending on the age of your child you may need to remove distractions such as ipads, games or TV.
• Make it a comfortable, inviting space – try not have children sitting on the couch working off their laps, a desk and chair create better habits and are more comfortable and practical to work on.
• Have a calendar visible – mark off project due dates, important events, special days and holidays.
• Have a clock/timer visible – keep to time limits as best you can. This also helps keep your child on track and stops them from asking you how much longer they have to work for.
• Form a routine – help your child decide on when to do their homework, eg: as soon as they get home, or after dinner for older children. When they are finished encourage them to get ready for the next day to help with the morning routine.
• Have an inbox – this is a space for important paperwork that you need to see such as permission slips, homework diaries, reports and important documents.
• Display their work and achievements around the space to motivate them.
• Organise the space – keep it neat and tidy and not too cluttered. This is especially important for young children who could become easily distracted.  
• Get their input – ask your child what they would like in the space, and get them to help you keep it ordered and tidy. They may be really proud of a piece of art they have done and want it displayed. By giving them  a say in the space you encourage ownership of the space and make it somewhere that they will want to be.
• Show interest in your child’s homework and let them know that it is important to you. Follow up with them after they complete tasks and share it with the rest of the family to encourage everyone to be part of the learning process.

Homework time does not have to be a struggle of wills. With a little planning and some key preparation, homework time can be as enjoyable as it is beneficial.

A new year also means that school holidays are coming to an end soon and it’s almost time to go back to school.

This can be both a stressful and exciting time for parents and children. Children may be anxious about a new school environment, or a new teacher, and simultaneously excited about the prospect of new opportunities and seeing their friends again after the holidays. Parents on the other hand may be concerned about getting back into the school routine after weeks filled with late nights and sleep ins, and whether or not their child’s learning has slipped back over the break.

Various studies have shown that the “Summer Slide” is a legitimate concern for parents and teachers and is most commonly relates to reading levels dropping after an extended break from engaged learning. There is even some evidence that this slide can affect multiple learning areas.

So, what is to be done to avoid the the “Summer Slide” and the inevitable craziness of the first few weeks back at school?

Here are some suggestions to getting the new year off to a smooth start.

It is not too late to reduce the effects of the “Summer Slide”.

Take your child to the local library and let them choose a few books to read during the last week or two of holidays. You can read the books aloud to younger children or ask your child to read aloud to you. Suggest that your child begin keeping a book log, or record of all the books they will read in the new year. This is a fun way for children to keep track of their own reading.

Make sure you have everything you will need for the new term.

The new year usually entails the purchase of new uniforms, stationery, books, bags, lunch boxes etc. To avoid additional stress, try and make sure that this is done well in advance of the new term beginning. Take your child with you and allow them to choose some of the new things they will need for school, this can help your child feel more comfortable about the new school year.    

Help your child get back into the school routine before school starts.

The hardest part of going back to school for children is getting back into the routine. After weeks of late nights and lazy days, it is often a shock to the system when that alarm goes off for the first day back. You can help by gradually getting your child to go to bed earlier and getting up a little earlier each day until they reach the time they would need to wake up for a school day. This gradual change will make the transition back into the school routine a little easier for everyone.

Plan a school schedule.

Sit down with your child and plan for the school term. Try using a year planner to mark off important school events or school holidays. Talk to your child about what time they have to be ready by in the morning, you could try setting a leaving the house alarm using their favourite song. If your child uses public transport, check the bus/train schedules and plan around them. Include any after-school activities in the schedule. Set up a dedicated homework space for your child at home, a place that your child will want to use and place their schedule in a visible place.  

Review previous learning.

Have a discussion with your child about what they learned the previous year. What are some areas they will need to work on (this could be based on what their end of year report says). It can be helpful to talk about your child’s expectations of the school year and what they are looking forward to.

Now is also a good time to review any holiday homework children may have had and to go over any workbooks or exercises to see if your child remembers the lessons.

Starting to do a small amount of ‘work’, can help your child get back into routine, give them confidence in reviewing prior lessons, and give you an idea of any areas they might need to review.

You can also get your child to write about the holidays in a fun way, such as a postcard to a family member or friend. Writing a story can also be a good way to get back into some sustained writing and review some spelling, grammar and punctuation. Try including activities around the house that require some maths or language such as weighing ingredients to be used in cooking or writing a shopping list.  

Above all keep a positive attitude.

Remember that the beginning of the new school year can be daunting for many children and not all of them will be looking forward to the end of the holidays. If you appear stressed and frustrated this can make your child feel the same. When you talk about returning to school show them you are excited for them, remind them of all the fun and new things that will happen, rather than something to be worried about.

With a little planning and a gradual transition back into the routine you can successfully beat the back to school blues and get the year off to a great start.

It’s that time of year that teachers and students love but parents often dread…school holidays! Children are released from the confines and routines of the school environment and parents start hearing the dreaded words… I’m bored!

So what is a parent to do? Here are some of our best tips for surviving the school holidays and actually turning them into something you and your child can enjoy together, that won’t cost a small fortune.

Allow your child to become bored (within reason)

That’s right, sometimes children need to be allowed to be bored. As a parent, you often feel like you need to keep your child entertained every minute of the day. But allowing them to feel some boredom can encourage them to find ways to keep themselves entertained, learn to use their imagination and develop creativity. You may be surprised by the imaginative games and activities children will come up with if given the chance. Just remember to keep an eye out so that they are engaged in safe activities.

Discover your local neighbourhood

Local councils will often offer programs for children to attend during the holidays, you can also check out the local park, library or find out if other interesting events are happening near you. If the weather is fine, many areas have fantastic walks that can allow you to explore nature and get some exercise. Use paper or digital maps to look for places you haven’t been before. A simple internet search will let you know of a variety of suitable events happening where you live.

Family friendly activities

If you have children of different ages it is often difficult to keep them all happy with one single activity. Try sitting down with the whole family and decide on a few activities that the whole family will do together. Including your children in the decision making and planning is always a good start to any holiday. A trip to the zoo and lunch, a picnic at the beach or botanical gardens, or games at the park can all be enjoyed by different ages. Make sure everyone agrees on at least one thing so everyone has something to look forward to. These activities are also great chance to inspire some drawing, writing or photo and video work that can be shared and kept as a memento of the holiday.

Educational activities

Teachers do not generally assign homework over the holidays but this doesn’t mean children can’t learn during their time off, just make it fun!

One of the best ways to supplement children’s normal learning routines is with activities that won’t feel like chores. Take advantage of your local museum or art gallery, they usually offer free workshops that children of all ages can take part in and will often have some educational value included. Design and test various paper aeroplanes to see which ones fly the furthest or stay in the air the longest. Have an art day at home, paint some canvases, make play dough together or draw on your driveway with some chalk. Bake a cake or cookies together and ask your child to help measure out the ingredients, they could even plan a meal, do the shopping and help prepare it – but make sure they agree to clean up too! Activities like these will apply children’s school based learning to practical real-world situations.

Improve the quality of screen time

We’re guessing most parents will hear about the latest mobile games that everyone is playing and children do need time to play some of these games if that is part of their regular weekly activity (perhaps use them as reward for completing other activities or when you just need some time to get your own things done). But there is also an educational alternative to the usual repetitive brain-draining games. Learn Primary has both English and Maths activities for children to engage with. Learn Primary also includes lots of activities and tasks that need to be done outside of the application, such as writing tasks and language or maths games.

Have FUN!

With some thought, a little planning and family discussion, the school holidays can be an opportunity to bond as a family, enjoy some relaxed time together, let your imagination run wild and even learn something! And don’t worry…the holidays will be over before you know it 🙂

NAPLAN results were released this week and, as usual, there will be much public discussion and debate over the purpose and usefulness of the results. While one of the primary purposes of NAPLAN is to inform school and systemwide planning, parents would like to know what the reports mean to their child and how the results can be used to identify individual needs.

Every student who sat the NAPLAN test receives an individual report, whether they did the paper or online version. These reports provide information on how your child performed in the areas of reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy. They also indicate how your child has performed in relation to their peers at school and against the national average and minimum standards.

What’s in the report?

The front page of the report contains general information, while the second and third pages show diagrams displaying the relevant part of the assessment scale in bands for the year group.

Year 3 student reports show bands 1 to 6 with the national minimum standard set at band 2.

Year 5 student reports show bands 3 to 8 with the national minimum standard set at band 4.

Your child’s result in each area is shown on the common assessment scales.

The final page provides a table with brief descriptions of what students have typically exhibited in the areas at each band level.

You can see examples and more detailed descriptions of the report here.

How do I use this information?

Results can be used as a starting point for discussions with your child’s teacher over areas of concern (if your child’s result indicates they are performing well below the national average in any area then further assessment from the teacher should be used to determine particular areas needing improvement). Teachers may also use the results to identify students who are in need of more challenging work (students performing well above national averages may benefit from ‘extension’ programs).

Schools can also use the results to identify strengths and weaknesses in teaching programs and to set literacy and numeracy goals across groups of students. Governing bodies can use the results to review programs that are currently in place and support schools with areas for development.

Remember, the NAPLAN test is a ‘snapshot’ of your child’s performance on the testing days and needs to be interpreted with care. It should form just one method of assessing your child’s academic progress and be put into context against the broader range of skills and understandings being taught at school.

Some ways you can help your child to continue to improve their academic results include:

• Give your child time to practise the Maths and English they are learning at school. Some children just need more time to pick up skills and understandings from their lessons in class.
• Help your child to manage their time when completing work. In an exam or test situation time is an important factor.
• If your school completes NAPLAN and other assessments online or in digital format, ensure your child is familiar with general computer use and has time to complete work both digitally and on paper.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Teachers are there to support your child and you.

If you would like additional information use can visit the NAPLAN website here:

https://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/student-reports

https://www.nap.edu.au/information/faqs/naplan–results-reports-performance

Reading is the process of decoding the words that are presented in front of us.

Comprehension is the next step and is all about making meaning of what we are reading.

Good comprehension is an important life skill. At school, children will need to apply this skill across all subject areas. As children progress through school, even “good” readers can have difficulty with comprehension. This is because comprehension is more than just reading words correctly, it is a deeper understanding of both the meaning of individual words, and their meaning in the context they are used. Children are expected to understand what they have read and to use that information in a certain way.  

What makes children ‘good readers’?

One of the most important characteristics of good readers is that they continually ask ‘Does what I am reading make sense?’ When it doesn’t make sense, they reread it again, looking for clues to help them understand the meaning. Children who struggle with comprehension will often read the words well but they miss the meaning of what they read. Children should be encouraged to reread text if they don’t understand it. Reading is not all about speed and getting all the words right.

At the earliest stage, children may use visual clues like pictures to help them garner meaning from text. As they progress and their vocabulary increases they begin to assign meaning to words and put words in a more meaningful context.

Children will make use of comprehension strategies before, during and after reading to build understanding. They may use these strategies at anytime and in any order.

These strategies include:

• Making Connections – comparing text to something in their own lives, another text they have read or something occuring in the world around them.
• Predicting – predict what will happen next using their own experience or references in the text.
• Questioning – asking questions to clarify meaning.
• Monitoring – if something doesn’t make sense, stop and reread.
• Visualising – picturing what is being read in their minds.
• Summarising – noticing the important information in texts and describing it in their own words.

Here are some ways in which you can help your child with their comprehension skills at home:

• Asking your child to explain the text to you using their own words.
• Ask your child questions about the text, “What do you think will happen next?”, “How do you think the character feels?”, “Why do you think such and such happened?”
• Give them time! Wait for your child to process the information, make connections and think of an answer, it might take them longer than you would to answer.  
• Encourage your child to pay attention while reading and ask for clarification if there are words they don’t understand.
• Allow time for your child to ask questions. They will do this to help them develop more understanding and shows they are thinking about what they are reading.

Learn Primary has a range of comprehension lessons for children to practise their comprehension skills. You can also look at the Parent Zones in these lessons for more tips about helping your child at home.

Nowadays many of us carry a calculator in our pockets (mobile phones) or on our wrists (smart watches), so why is it necessary for children to learn mental maths strategies?

What is Mental Maths?

The term ‘mental maths’ refers to any mathematical calculation that is performed mentally, without the aid of a calculator, abacus or pen and paper. We use mental maths everyday, often without even realising it. Working out a tip at a restaurant, calculating how much some items are going to cost, converting amounts to different currencies when travelling, and so on.

A strong mental maths ability is a key foundation in establishing a deeper understanding of mathematical operations and calculations. As adults we all know how to trade, borrow or carry numbers in addition and subtraction sums according to algorithms we learnt at school but do we really have a deeper understanding of what we are actually doing?

Developing a solid foundation – why start with Mental Maths?

Young children begin with mathematical concepts as soon as they start school and in most cases even before they begin their formal education. The curriculum expects children in Year 1 to start learning mental maths strategies. Children are introduced to mental maths in a fun, engaging manner to help build confidence. If a child believes they can succeed at maths they will continue to practise and, in turn, strengthen their mathematical ability.  Learning mental maths strategies also helps children develop their concentration, memory and problem solving skills.

The most important aspect of developing a strong mental maths foundation is that it improves children’s conceptual understanding of number and mathematical relationships not just memorisation of some steps they need to follow. They not only learn what to do but more importantly why they are doing it. It is no longer a case of understanding the steps of an algorithm to solve a problem but an understanding of why we perform those steps. Children can struggle with written algorithms because they forget how to perform the steps correctly. If they are taught a deeper understanding, which mental maths does, then the steps become clearer and calculations, even with larger numbers, become quicker and easier to perform.

Sounds great – but what are the strategies they learn?

Children begin learning mental maths strategies related to addition and subtraction before moving onto multiplication and division strategies.

Some addition and subtraction mental strategies that children begin with include:

• Counting on from a larger number to find the total of two numbers
• Counting back from a number to find the remaining number
• Using doubles and near doubles
• Bridging to ten
• Using place value to partition numbers

As children progress they will be introduced to strategies such as the Jump, Split and Inverse strategies.

Some of the multiplication and division strategies that children will be taught include:

• Repeated addition
• Repeated subtraction
• Using place value concepts
• Factorising
• Using the Commutative Property of Multiplication

Learn Primary has a range of lessons that can help children with mental maths…and even help parents!

You can find them all here: https://app.learnprimary.com.au/

Thank you so much to all the parents and children who gave us feedback and in turn entered our Chromebook giveaway. The feedback was so valuable to us and gave us some great ideas for making Learn Primary even better.

Congratulations to Shreeram and Mackenzie (and their families)…their feedback was judged to be the most helpful so they received a Chromebook laptop each (we liked all the feedback though and it was tough to make a decision).

It was also great to hear from so many children who are really enjoying LEARNING about Maths and English and tracking their progress…some of you even asked when we will be including other subject areas like Science and History (we need to finish Maths & English first but would love to add more subjects as soon as we can). And Gruff felt really good about all the positive comments he received!

We also loved hearing how parents are using Learn Primary to provide a structured approach to supporting their children at home. The Parent Zone information, LEARN Animations and ability to set tasks and monitor performance and progress, were all seen as highlights. Suggestions for further improvements will also be taken into our team meetings and included in our road-map for development.

There will be more competitions in the coming months so keep an eye on your emails and for news in the App. We always welcome your feedback so feel free to email us anytime at info@learnprimary.com.au 

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies…The man who who never reads lives only one.”

George R.R Martin

Friday 24th August 2018 marks the end of another successful Book Week. Gruff hopes that you enjoyed celebrating all things ‘literature’ this week. He has loved seeing so many people excited about reading and school children (and some adults) all over Australia dressed up as their favourite book characters. At the bottom of this post we have included some photos that were shared 

The winners of this year’s CBCA book awards have now been announced. This year there were 444 entries, with 36 being shortlisted. Certainly not an easy job for any judge to choose only one winner per category.

You can see the full list of winners here: https://www.cbca.org.au/winners-2018

Congratulations to all!

I think you can guess what Gruff will be doing this weekend…Happy reading everyone!

(images from various Twitter posts)

Children begin writing long before they start school. The scribbles and drawings they make are the foundations of writing. Writing is a part of our daily lives and and a fundamental aspect of Literacy in any language. Children learn to write by writing, the more they practise the better they become. They also learn through modelling, following structures and guides and through experimentation. While there are many ‘rules’ for how we write, we also need to learn to develop our own style and even to bend the rules in order to meet changing use of language and to cater to different audiences.

So how can you help your child develop their writing skills at home?

Here are some useful tips that you can put into action at home:

• Children need to understand that all writing has a purpose. In general teachers suggest there are three main purposes for writing: to ENTERTAIN; to INFORM; to PERSUADE. Once a purpose is identified, we can decide on a structure, form and style to use.
• Reading and writing go hand in hand – books provide a model of what writing looks like and sounds like. Read what your child has written or get them to read their own writing out loud. Find examples of ways to write in the books they are reading and use these as a starting point for their own writing.
• Talk to your child about the writing tasks they bring home from school. What is the purpose? Have we seen writing like this before? What features of this writing do we need to consider?
• Make it FUN! Play games that encourage developing spelling and writing skills.
• Encourage your child to keep a journal or diary. This not only helps develop writing but allows for reflection and development of ideas. Encourage all other types of writing too: shopping lists, emails, letters and postcards to friends and family members, posters to advertise a product, a story or comic book…the options are endless.
• Make a space for writing at home – a quiet corner, with a flat surface, comfortable chair and good light is all you need. Allow your child to personalise the space, if they love it, it will be a place they want to spend time. Include some writing guides, a dictionary and thesaurus, various items of stationery and anything else that can inspire them to get into writing.
• For younger children, try writing with different materials, such as, chalk, glitter pens, finger painting, or coloured pencils. Actually everyone will like this!
• Encourage writing but never demand it.

Lastly, but certainly not least, praise, praise, praise! Praise any and all writing. Don’t be overly critical or too concerned about spelling, or language mistakes especially with younger writers. We like to give ‘Two Stars & A Wish’, that is two things you did well and one thing to improve on. You can see example of this in all of our writing lessons in the Learn Primary App.

Gruff would love to read your child’s writing so why not get them to send it to him and he will send something right back! (info@learnprimary.com.au)