Year 1 w/b 29th January 2024
Date: 3rd Feb 2024 @ 9:32am
Another busy week in English this week with a focus on grammar. We have looked at compound words. Compound words are formed when two or more separate words are joined together. This creates a brand-new word that often has a new meaning. For example: Super and Hero = Superhero. Tooth and Brush = Toothbrush. There were many to be found in the story of Hermelin. We also looked at conjunctions to join two different, but related, parts of a sentence. The conjunctions we aim to add to our sentences in Year One are and, but and because.
In Maths we have moved to our new unit on addition to 20. This is a very important unit as it build on children’s fluency to recall their number bonds to ten. For example, if the children know rapidly that 9+1 =10 then 19+1=20. Similarly, if 10= 8+2 then 20 = 18+2 or 12+8. The children have been encouraged to calculate the total of the ones before adding the tens. The use of ten frames, bead strings and Numicon have helped the children to ‘see’ the numbers they are manipulating and we have been very pleased with their positive attitude to learning and accuracy in calculating answers.
In phonics, we have been working on ew (chew the stew) and ire (Fire! Fire!). Please see the videos sent on dojo to reinforce this teaching.
Collective Worship has focused on trust following an understanding that the lepers trusted Jesus could heal them. We are fortunate to have so many people in our lives that we trust both in school and at home. In RE, we wrote about what we felt the most important part of the feeding of the 5,000 was and explored how this miracle could have happened.
In PSHE we heard how Gerald had lost something special to him, how he coped with the loss and how he felt when his special toy was returned.
During Design Technology we had the opportunity to use our senses to explore fruit and vegetables. We described the feel, look, smell and taste of a range of fresh produce and then voted for the combination of fruit and vegetables we would like in a smoothie which we shall make in the coming weeks. It was great to see all children trying at least a nibble of all the 12 different fruits and vegetables available which included spinach, mango, pineapple and cucumber. In PE, we practiced underarm throwing and catching and used a target (a hoop) to throw our ball through with control and accuracy. ‘Free them dodge ball’ was a great game to play at the end to practice our throwing accuracy.
In science we completed an investigation to find a suitable material to make a coat for Hermelin. The coat had to be waterproof, so we looked at this property. We added water to each material and observed what happened. We were able to conclude that plastic was particularly good at keeping the water (rain) out.
Finally on Friday, we had our computing day for this half term. Our unit was algorithms unplugged. Using an unplugged (without computers) approach so that algorithms, decomposition and debugging were made relatable to familiar contexts, such as dressing up and making a jam sandwich, while learning why instructions need to be very specific. We also looked at input and output devices. This was a busy but extremely fun end to the week with some excellent teamwork involved throughout the day.
Each Thursday a class will walk to St Oswald’s for a children’s service. This coming week will be the turn of Years One and Two. Parents are welcome to join. The service begins at 10:30 and lasts around 30 minutes.
Pictures to follow on Monday.
Wishing you a restful weekend.
The Year One team.
