Year 1 w/b 24th January
Date: 28th Jan 2022 @ 4:06pm
Our work in English this week has focused on spellings and a letter from Hermelin to Mrs Mattison. Our spelling focus has been ow/ou and recognising which spelling containing either of these special friends was the correct spelling (treasure) of incorrect(trash). We also introduced compound words, writing these in sentences with connectives ‘and’ and ‘because’. Finally, we read the letter from Hermelin, identifying its features, and rehearsing the contents in small groups before reading it altogether using the text map. The children came up with great actions to help them remember the sequence of sentences in the letter and even drew they own text maps with pictures to embed and support their understanding of the text. In Phonics, our focus sounds have been ew, chew the stew and our, shout it out.
Maths has focused on comparing and ordering numbers to 20 and as the children have become more fluent, they have used < and > symbols, finding different possibilities for 18> for example. Next, we moved onto our new books and topic, addition within 20 which builds on children’s knowledge about how to split numbers into parts and combine them using mental arithmetic strategies and a number line/track. The children are counting on and adding ones. They are beginning to be able to explain how knowing 2+3 instantly, helps them find 12 +3. Can they explain to you what the 1 means in 13 and 18? What is the 1 worth in 13 and 18? What are the ‘ones’ in 13 and 18?
In Collective worship this week Mrs Mclean and Revd Sandi have been helping us understand the Old Testament story of Samson and Delilah. We learned how Samson asked for God’s help when he felt alone and worried and God gave him the strength he needed. Next, we discussed our own worries, shared these and asked God to give us strength to overcome them. We also explored how worries love to be kept inside so they grow but in sharing them and talking about them worries seem smaller and some even disappear completely.
In RE we read the parable of the mustard seed and explored how something so small as a mustard seed can grow to be so big. Jesus was saying that kingdom of God can grow too with small actions of love, respect, compassion spreading and growing so we can make the Kingdom of God on earth more like the kingdom in heaven.
Our science learning continued to be focused on the big question ‘Which part of the body is good for feeling and which is not?’ Having been blindfolded last week, the children used their noses, elbows, chin, and fingertips to feel different textures and fabrics. This week we are looking at the results of our test. Were the children surprised they could feel the sponge with their chin or nose? They explained what they discovered.
This week in Geography we recapped the three types of farm we now know about: arable, dairy and livestock. We were then introduced to Phil, a dairy farmer who showed us around his farm. We looked at different buildings on his farm and found out the purpose for each building. Experts in our class who have parents that work on farms also shared their understanding of the buildings they knew about and what types of farm their grownups work on.
In Music we have been exploring a range of different instrument types. We sorted instruments based on how they are played: scraping, tapping and shaking. We then used our song from last week to recap what we mean by pulse and tempo adding instruments to the song showed our understanding as we increased and decreased the tempo.
In HeartSmart this week our focus was on the question: Who looks after me? We had to think of a person who looks after us, it could be someone in our family, someone at school or a friend/neighbour. We then considered who that person looks after us and that people who look after us often do it without asking for anything in return but it is very HeartSmart to find ways to show appreciation. We considered different ways we could show our appreciation. Lots of children said they could make a thank you card to show their thanks. Each child has come home with a blank card to create a thank you card for someone who helps them. Being HeartSmart means recognising that we can’t do everything by ourselves. We need other people to help and support us. We honour that person when we appreciate what they have done.
Following last week’s forest school focus on materials and grouping them, this week we found natural materials that would make a lovely pair of shoes or wellingtons for Hermelin. We thought about the properties of outdoor shoes – making them warm, strong and waterproof and how we could test these qualities.
In PE this week we have moved on from tag rugby to basketball. We are still working on ball control and tactics to find spaces and carefully and accurately pass the ball in small games. The children were very proud of their ball skills and travelling while bouncing a ball.
We were very lucky to have a special visitor in our class this week. Mrs Winwood, our patron of reading, came into our class to share her new children’s book with us. The book is called ‘Zee Zee the Zebra’ and is a wonderful story about kindness and celebrating the differences between us that make us all special. She read the story to us and answered our questions. Each of the children came home with a bookmark and colouring sheet that linked to the story.
Have a lovely weekend and good recoveries for all those off either isolating or with chicken pox. We miss you all but hopefully we shall have full class again before too long.
Mrs Pulle and Mrs Lindersen
