YEAR 1 STUDENTS ONLINE STORYBOOK EXPERIENCE

As we launched Webex Meetings across the whole school on Monday, following a trial last week, it was the measure of our fabulous Featherbrook teachers that the creative use of this virtual space has already begun to evolve. Students and teachers alike have enjoyed the benefits of connecting and learning together. As I joined a number of the meeting spaces last week and over the course of the last 3 days, it has been evident that the virtual space complements the learning plans that support not only remote learning but also the need for a flexible range of tools to support the diverse family and home contexts.

Ms Samantha Clement greeted her year 1 students this morning in the WebEx meeting space with a hearty welcome and a real treat.

Reading rich literature to children should be a staple ingredient in the literary diet of our young readers. Careful selection of good children's literature is key to building a rich vocabulary for our students. Ms Clement selected a contemporary and Australian flavoured picture storybook to share with her students today in their WebEx meeting. The storybook was inspired by an old fable by Aesop, Three Billy Goats Gruff. Author/Illustrator Kel Richards and Janine Dawson's colourful and engaging version of the fable, The Three Kangaroos Gruff, captured the imagination of the year 1 students as they sat in their homes, engaging in remote and flexible learning.

Throughout the story, Ms Clement built the students' deeper knowledge of synonyms, pausing periodically to seek student input into alternative words that have similar meaning such as 'big, large, perhaps tall'. Well done year 1 students together with their teacher as they navigated their way through this new and virtual way of learning.