Vocabulary

Vocabulary is developed in young students through oral language, as well as reading and viewing texts, before being expressed in talk and writing. Introducing students to new vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary in cross-curriculum subjects, involves planning and a systematic approach, ensuring we reinforce unfamiliar language as we go. This ensures more chance of the student using the language with control.

  

Vocabulary: PETAA Resources Pathway

Posted on 14/09/2023
This series of vocabulary and oral language staff meeting professional learning sessions guides school leaders in the use of mentor texts to teach vocabulary.
  

Assessing oral language

Posted on 31/05/2023
Discover a framework for assessing oral language in the classroom, as well as models for student and teacher self-assessment!
  

Oral Vocabulary and Visual Literacy in Teaching the Alphabetic Principle

Posted on 27/09/2021
This example from a Kindergarten classroom shows an experienced teacher using oral vocabulary and visual literacy to teach the alphabetic principle.
  

Video: Two Visiting Scientists Explain Pollination!

Posted on 7/09/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher invites two students, posing as visiting scientists, to explain to the class how pollinators and plants help each other.
  

Video: Needs of Pollinators - Matching Sight Words to Pictures

Posted on 30/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is matching sight words to photos of previous activities.
  

Video: Talking About the Needs of Living Things: Worms

Posted on 30/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is working with a group of students to understand how the needs of worms, as living things, are met.
  

Video: Talking About the Needs of Living Things: Plants

Posted on 29/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is working with a group of students to understand how the needs of plants, as living things, are met.
  

Video: Jointly Negotiated Sentence - Pollinators

Posted on 29/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is moving from oral language into writing through a negotiated writing lesson.
  

Video: How Humans Can Help Pollinators

Posted on 28/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is showing students how they can help pollinators to survive and thrive.
  

Video: From Principles to Practice: Planting Flowers in Science

Posted on 27/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is working with a group of students to plant flowers.
  

Video: From Principles to Practice: Making Drinking Bowls for Pollinators

Posted on 26/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is working with a group of students to make drinking bowls for pollinators in the school kitchen garden.
  

Video: Preparation for Writing - Needs of Living Things

Posted on 25/08/2021
Enjoy this video of a Foundation-Year 1 teacher preparing her students for a joint writing task. The learning area is Science.
  

Video: Oral Language - Pollinators Need Plants and Plants Need Pollinators

Posted on 16/08/2021
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is explaining symbiosis to students: how a pollinator, in this case a parrot helps create new plants, and how the plant provides food for the parrot.