Junior Infant Curriculum Information Meeting

5 November 2015

FÁILTE!

Mrs Bane’s buachaillí…

Ms Crosse’s Junior Infant boys…

Introduction & Welcome Our Mission Boys’ thoughts on school so far… Your role as primary educator The Curriculum Areas Oral Language Reading CAPER (Children And Parent Enjoy Reading) Writing & Handwriting Numeracy Gaeilge/Irish Homework Recommended websites

Agenda

To provide a safe, friendly, effective and stimulating educational environment 

To promote the principles of respect, truth and equality

Seek to promote confidence, self-esteem and communication skills

To show consideration and respect for each individual and for others 

Affirm in faith and celebrate difference

Strive to help children to attain goals and to help each child develop his own potential and talents for future life

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

What are our boys saying about school…

“The support of parents who are engaged in their child’s learning has a significant positive impact on a child’s educational achievement, especially in literacy and numeracy.” (Literacy & Numeracy for Life National Strategy 2011-2020)

The importance of parental involvement

Food For Thought?

Gender, dis-ability, ethni-city

School Family Social CapitalSocial ClassPoverty

ResilienceReadinessMotivationAbility

Things that influence a child’s life chances, well-being and

educational success

Family and environme

nt arguably six times

more important

than school?

“When Parents and Schools Work Together, Everyone Wins”

“Schools and parents must work together to improve children’s attainment”

“Working Together To Make a Difference For Children”

Headlines…

In a nutshell…

The Primary School Curriculum was developed by the NCCA and launched in 1999. It is presented in six areas which comprise of 11 subjects.

The Curriculum…

Language – 1. Gaeilge and 2. English

Mathematics – 3. Maths

Physical Education – 4. PE

The Arts – 5. Visual Arts, 6. Music, 7. Drama

Social, Environmental & Scientific Education (SESE) – 8. History, 9. Geography, 10. Science

Social, Personal, Health Education (SPHE) – 11. SPHE

Religious Education (RE)

Six Areas 11 subjects + RE

Junior and Senior Infant Classes in Primary School

Useful website for curriculum overview and support…

Aistear - what it's all about and how you can support it at home

Aistear is the early childhood curriculum framework for all children from birth to six years in Ireland. We use it extensively in the infant classes.

Literacy For The 21st Century

Literacy in the 21st Century

The development of oral language is given an importance as great as that of reading and writing, at every level, in the curriculum.(English Language Teacher Guidelines, p3)

A child can have between a thousand and five thousand words by the time they are three depending on family circumstances.

Oral Language

Solid oral language = better reading = improved writing

Talk to him every day about every day things in his environment at every possible opportunity.

Encourage full sentences. The use of the past tense. Express feelings. Play games. Make sure he interacts with his peers. Read to him and let him re-tell you the story. Introduce new vocabulary – picture dictionary useful

for all children but especially international children. Poetry, rhymes and riddles Improvised drama Children should be seen and not heard!!

So what can I do to help my boy’s oral language? It’s never too late.

Junior Infants – much of the English programme in his first year will be devoted to oral language and informal reading activities

What is happening in class now in preparation for formal reading?

Reading

Read to him every night. Join the library. Have a rich variety of books

available at home. Create a print rich environment in your home. Make sure you do his CAPER with him. Practise his letter sounds. (Look for sound in

newspapers, books, signposts etc) Check he is not reading from memory. Recall/prediction in story. Encourage him to use pictorial cues. Question him on the pictures. Don’t jump in. Encourage blending of sounds.

What can I do to help my boy’s reading?

What is phonics?Phonics is simply the system of relationships between letters and sounds in a language. When your boy learns that the letter B has the sound of /b/ and he learns that "tion" sounds like /shun/, they are learning phonics.

Jolly Phonics

Jolly Phonics

Jolly Phonics Presentation available on our website

Examples of tricky and common words

The HereThereCome SaidGo

Was

 

Develop sight vocabulary/high frequency/tricky words

Construct-A-Word

We’ll be doing blending after Christmas.

Do onset and rime activities

This is just one example of the hundreds of resources out there.

Children And Parents Enjoy Reading Shared Process between child and adult Main focus is on enjoyment Talk to them about the book – front cover,

author, illustrator, pages, left to right orientation etc

Shared Reading Video

CAPER (In January)

Froggy Legs ->

Left to right, top to bottom Finger space between words Pencil position, page position,

table position Free writing If my child is finding writing difficult...? Handwriting & Presentation Policy on

website

Writing and Handwriting Tips

What It Means To Be Numerate?

Why do we need to do Maths Mammy/Daddy?

Forming the numbers correctly (how we do it on handwriting/presentation policy)

Finding maths in the child’s environment e.g. Calendars, brochures, shapes etc

JI – write 1-5, count from 1 to 10 The language of Maths – more, less, the

same, different, rough, smooth, heavy, light Maths Resources For Parents Helping Their B

oys in Infant Classrooms

Numeracy tips

Children have no hang ups about speaking Irish

Encourage to use simple words at home e.g pass me the bainne.

Question the boys on words they learned in school, games they played.

Dún/oscail an doras – common phrases Watch cartoons/play games on TG4 www.folensonline.ie – coming soon

Gaeilge/Irish

Junior Infants – Homework goes out on Tuesday and is returned on Friday.

1 Activity Page Per Night 2 pages of sound booklet per week (Tues &

Weds) Maths Sheet (Thurs) Revise sounds in sound book each night Thursday night – complete RE page

Colouring in is part of the homework

Homework

www.literactive.com www.starfall.com http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/ www.iamanartist.ie/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ www.scoilnet.ie www.readwritethink.org www.brainpopjr.com (subscription) www.iboard.co.uk www.primarygames.com www.crackingmaths.ie www.folensonline.ie

Some Recommended websites

Behaviour management systems in Junior Infants and school-wide

Lunches Absences and Attendance

Communication Journal Tracksuits days

Other Issues

Presentation on our website in the Parent Zone Section

Questions/Ceisteanna?