Curriculum Plan – Yearly

Is provided by the Curriculum Team and provides an overview of the content for learning and essential assessment devices.

Weekly Planning

Allows you to set out lessons on a daily basis. It is an opportunity to see all the week’s lessons sequentially. It includes playground duty, meetings and jobs to do. It acts as an informative guide and a reflection tool

Daily Planning

Allows for a description of what needs to be taught through explicit instruction, resources and differentiation for students.

Weekly Timetable

Is provided and gives the breakdown of the key learning areas into specific time allocations and priority areas.

Prior to Planning

• Familiarise yourself with your year level timetable.
• Familiarise yourself with the DHPS curriculum plans.
• Establish students’ levels of knowledge and understandings (use whole school data & your own
  classroom diagnostic assessments).

During Planning

• Be clear as to what content / essential learning is being assessed and what benchmarks and standards you are moving all students towards.
• Organise your groupings / lessons to cater for all learners – document how you are catering for differentiation.
• Implement and monitor individual education plans, where required. Meet with the LSC and support staff as needed.
• Take responsibility for identification and referral of students to the LSC for intervention processes.
• Organise resources in advance for the lesson.

During Teaching

• Implement warm-ups and explicit instruction into all lessons daily.
• Teach the minimum allocation of time for each learning area.
• Have a clear and detailed weekly/daily plan.
• Reduce the practice of photocopied worksheets and replace with a range of interactive, pedagogical practices.
• Ensure activities are marked and corrected at point of error, recorded for assessment and regular feedback is provided to students and parents.

6 Givens (Non-Negotiables) for Every Learning Environment

Strong Relationships

Respect, Collegiality, Professionalism, Partnerships

• Students are safe, have trust, respect and feel valued.
• Students have work at their level.
• Students have friends at school.
• Parents feel welcome and fully informed.
• Speak positively and focus on the great things happening.
• Active participation and involvement in our school community.
• Embrace cultural diversity.
• Share ideas and work as a team.
• Be aware of personal issues and be empathetic.
• Make time for your colleagues and yourself.

High Expectations and Excellent Classroom Practice

Pride, Professionalism, Consistency and Presentation

• Every day matters – attendance 90%.
• Students and staff on time and well prepared.
• Enforce school/classroom routines and practices.
• Demand the best from every student.
• Expect and demand excellent behaviour.
• Ensure a supportive environment and differentiate for individual needs.
• Use data to inform your practice.
• Ensure adequate resources.
• Explicitly teach every lesson.
• Follow the timetable and ‘Early Learning’ programs.
• High Quality, organised classroom display.
• Excellent handwriting and presentation.

Excellent Display

Pride, Professionalism and Presentation

• Desks are positioned so students can clearly see the board.
• Learning spaces are clearly defined e.g. reading corner, group areas…
• Classroom is clean, free of rubbish and unnecessary storage of files and equipment.
• Behaviour – Classroom rules are displayed, reflective behaviour processes displayed.
• Whole school – Explicit Teaching, Bookwork and Daily Correction, Display, Timetables.
• English, Maths, Science – word walls (sight words, unit words, tricky words), concept charts, genre charts, exemplars are relevant and easily assessed by students for their learning.
• Student work is displayed, is current and presentation is valued.
• Daily timetable is on the board.
• T4W display for every piece.

Excellent Bookwork and Daily Correction

Pride, Professionalism, Consistency and Presentation
PP to Year 2

• A sharp lead pencil is used for writing.
• Writing is neat, well sized, close together and spaced correctly – NSW Foundation Font.
• Posture for handwriting – feet flat on the floor, back straight (leaning forward slightly), bottom well back in the chair and had stabilising the book or paper.
• Tripod pencil grip ensures handwriting is neat and consistent.
• If a mistake is made use a single line to cross it out.
• There are no blank pages.
• Sheets are glued into books properly – the corners not flapping, sheets are straight.
• Work is to be corrected regularly.
• Drawings and colouring reflect best effort.
• All work is dated in the top left hand corner.
• Headings are underlined with a ruled line.
• From year 1 a straight margin using a ruler is expected. Maths books should be in two columns.
• Targeted, explicitly taught work is to be corrected daily.
• Sign/initial work and provide verbal or written feedback.
• Reinforce bookwork expectations.

Years 3 to 7

• A sharp lead pencil/biro (blue or black) is used for writing.
• Writing is neat, well-sized, close together and spaced correctly – Speed loops/ joins.
• Posture for handwriting – feet flat on the floor, back straight (leaning forward slightly), bottom well back in the chair and had stabilising the book or paper.
• Tripod pencil grip ensures handwriting is neat and consistent.
• If a mistake is made, use a single line to cross it out.
• There are no blank pages.
• Sheets are glued into books properly – the corners not flapping, sheets are straight.
• Exercise books and pads should contain a 2.5cm margin which is to be ruled in red biro from the top line to the bottom line. The top line and second line should be ruled in red and a heading and date placed in this row using lead, blue or black biro. When an activity is finished for that day a line is to be ruled under the work in red biro from the margin to the edge of the page.
• Maths exercise books/pads should have each page dived into 2 columns. The line should then be ruled with a red biro from the top line to the bottom line of the page. The back of the book can be utilised for number facts or quizzes and should be separated into 4 equal columns ruled with red biro from the top line of the page to the bottom line of the page. The date should be written at the commencement of each activity at the top and to the right side of the column.
• Targeted, explicitly taught work is to be corrected daily.
• Sign/initial work and provide verbal or written feedback.
• Reinforce bookwork expectations.

Excellent Classroom Tone

Positive, Powerful learning environment

• Set consistent, clear classroom expectations and routines.
• Embed the essential skills in classroom management.
• Greet students and parents.
• Model respect, courtesy, manners and honesty.
• Model enthusiasm and resilience.
• Explicitly teach appropriate language and classroom behaviour\low noise levels, no calling out.
• Automatic response by all students to teacher directions and requests.

Quality Feedback for Students

Professionalism, Improvement, Success

• Effective feedback requires daily relationships.
• Feedback is constructive, honest and always starts with a positive.
• Clear expectations are provided prior to lesson. WALT (What we are learning today) and WILF (What I am looking for)
• Meaningful, written and verbal statements are provided to students about what they have to do next towards improvement.
• Students must set personal literacy and numeracy goals in collaboration with the teacher.