Year 1 w/b 28th March
Date: 1st Apr 2022 @ 4:14pm
We have enjoyed a super final week of learning before the Easter holidays. In English we have been applying our learning about Information texts on tigers, elephants, and giraffes to the Easter rabbit. Having seen pictures of Easter rabbits from around the world we made a plan to explore what we thought the Easter rabbit looked like, ate, where it lived and an unusual fact about it. The children’s ideas were all so varied which made for interesting and unusual written reports. In phonics, we have focused on all the oo sounds – oo, poo at the zoo, ew, chew the stew and u-e , huge brute.
Maths Mastery lessons have helped embed our speed in recognising and comparing numbers using greater, less that and equal to. In Power maths our intentions have turned to measuring and comparing length and height This unit focuses on comparing and measuring the height and length of objects using non-standard and standard units of measure. Children will learn how to accurately compare and measure and will understand the importance of aligning starting points. Children will draw on their knowledge of number, particularly ordering and comparing numbers. Children will also learn the relationship between number lines and scales on a ruler and use this understanding to calculate differences in length. Children will use key language such as longer, longest, shorter, shortest, taller, and tallest when comparing length and height. Perhaps your child may like to practise these newfound skills by measuring objects at home over Easter. Who in the family has the tallest chocolate egg? The widest? The shortest? Can children find the difference between the tallest and shortest chocolate egg?
This was our final History lesson looking at homes from the past. We looked a little closer at three rooms that you might have found in a Victorian home that we don’t use today. They were the scullery, and this was a room that was usually at the back of the house and used for doing the laundry, washing up and other dirty work. The drawing rooms was like a lounge or living room and was used to receive guests who came to call. Finally, the nursery was a room upstairs where the children spent most of their time, so they did not disturb the adults downstairs. To end our learning for this half term we had a quiz to share the knowledge we have learnt this half term. We also looked over our knowledge organisers for the topic, we can always look back on these to remind ourselves what we have learnt in each unit of work.
This week also included our computing unit of work for the half term. We decided to dedicate a whole morning to really immerse ourselves in the learning. The focus for this half term was to build on our understanding of algorithms and we did this by learning to control a Beebot. A Beebot looks like a bee and is a robot (bot) which is how it gets the name ‘Beebot.’ It can be programmed with set instructions to move it forwards, backwards, left, and right. We started the day by tinkering with Beebots using an online resource. If you would like to have a go at home, please follow this link: beebot.terrapinlogo.com We then refined our skills and looked at debugging algorithms both with the Beebot online and as Beebots and controllers in the hall. We then created our own Beebot worlds to move our Beebots around. These came home with children this week so they can show you how to control and generate algorithms to move them around their maps. In the pictures you can see us writing down our algorithms and checking they work. All children showed great focus and could talk about their learning and carefully generate algorithms with care and precision.
In HeartSmart this week we drew together all of the things we have been talking about this half term in our unit of work ‘Don’t Hold on to What’s Wrong.’ Today we were able to reflect on ways we can let go of negative emotion. This was supported with an understanding that big feelings of anger or sadness are not bad feelings to have but having strategies and people to turn to when we are feeling angry or sad can help us manage our feelings. The video from Boris the robot also explained that anger is a bit like an iceberg, on the surface people will see the big emotions of anger but under the surface there may be other feelings such as tiredness, frustration, loneliness that might have been a cause for the big outbursts of emotions to come to the surface. We all shared our own strategies for dealing with anger and sadness. Examples the children shared included: deep breaths, talking with a friend, quiet time reading a book or drawing or a hug from a family member or friend.
In addition, we have also completed our ‘No Outsiders’ lesson based on the book My World, Your World by Melanie Walsh. This helped us recognise what we have in common and share with people across the world as well as recognising some differences.
Our final focus in Lent has been on forgiveness and Jesus’ final words on the cross before he died ‘Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing.’ We discussed how easy we found it to forgive others and how we felt when we forgave others and how we feel when we are forgiven.
In RE we summarised our learning on Salvation by recalling the names of crosses we have in the classroom and what they remind us about. For many of us the crucifix reminds us of Jesus’ death, but the palm cross helps us think about the resurrection because the cross is empty. One of our favourite crosses is the San Salvadorian one with their bright colours giving us hope and reminding us of new life.
Forest school with Mr Simmons involved us exploring the life and habitats of miner bees. These are solitary, ground nesting bees that like to establish their home in well-drained soils.
Monday morning gave us opportunity to explore the paintings and inspiration of Henri Rousseau. Although he never actually visited a jungle, he would take his easel and paints to large plant filled glasshouses and imagine wildlife exploring the undergrowth. One of his most famous paintings was ‘Surprise’ and this featured a predatory tiger roaming between the tress, plants, and bushes. Inspired by this painting we worked cooperatively to create paintings of large jungles mixing a range of green shades. Next, we looked at photos and drawings of tigers and then mixed shades of orange to add life to them before adding accents of white and black to add the tiger’s distinctive features. We added these final details with paint using fine brush work as well as oil pastels.
It was great to have Mr Millward, a commercial drone pilot, visiting Year 1 and 2. He demonstrated the various ways drones can be used. We imagined a scenario where the tide had taken someone far out to sea and the drone was used to deliver buoyancy aids to the exact position of the person struggling in the water. The demonstration ended with a drone sweet drop, which as you may imagine was much appreciated by the children!
Finally, we had a wonderful afternoon working with Year 2 to find a trail of eggs hidden in the undergrowth. The aim to find the letters on each egg and discover the message for Easter. Mini eggs were an apt reward for great team work and endeavour! We hope you enjoy a selection of photos below that show the fun.
May we now take this opportunity to wish you all an incredibly happy and blessed Easter. We hope you enjoy the Easter cards your children have created for you, and we shall look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday 19th April when we have another interesting and creative half term of learning planned. Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs Pulle, Mrs Lindersen and the Year One team
