Year I w/b 18th October
Date: 22nd Oct 2021 @ 4:11pm
This has been Mr Whitworth’s second week with us in Year 1. Mr Whitworth is completing a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and has chosen to work with us in Year 1 for the next 10-11 weeks. We are delighted to welcome him to our class and school and please introduce yourself to him over the coming weeks.
To complete our work in English this term we have been inventing our own instructions about how to plant a seed. On Monday we enjoyed thinking about the sequence of events needed to plant a pea and we did just that as the photos show! Next, we planned how to write these instructions before we wrote them independently remembering use of time words, bossy verbs (imperative verbs) and excellent punctuation.
Phonics this week has been oa (goat in a boat) and or (shut the door). We added the suffix ed and ing to many of our oa words, for example toast, toasted and toasting.
Guided reading has resumed post our assessments and we have been delighted with the children’s enthusiasm and focus in their new groups.
In maths this week the children have been introduced to formal addition for the first time through the idea of ‘count all’ and ‘count on’ strategies. A ‘count all’ strategy is when all parts are added together to make a whole. A ‘count on’ strategy asks children to start with a number and count on. As well as introducing children to some of the key language associated with addition, children will also begin to develop an understanding of the commutativity of addition – the idea that addition calculations can be performed in any order. In this unit the children will:
- Identify the parts and whole
- Find a missing part
- Practise using the family of facts
- Be solving word problems
In Collective worship this week we focused on the life of Joseph (Jacob’s son). We explored why Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son and how this helped explain Joseph’s brothers’ jealousy. We were shocked to discover how Joseph’s own brothers sold him as a slave in Egypt but delighted to know God was looking after Joseph whilst in Egypt. Joseph was promoted having helped the Pharaoh discover what his dreams meant. When Joseph’s brothers travelled from Canaan to Egypt in search of food Joseph could see they had changed, and he showed them great forgiveness. This helped is think about times when we have been forgiven and when we have forgiven others.
In RE this week, we completed our assessment task having explored the parable of the lost sheep and we discussed the good news for Christian in this story Jesus told. After half term we shall focus on our new topic, Christian Community.
Last week in forest school we created our own class wormery. We used the wormery to think about our thought for the week in our HeartSmart learning: What goes in, must come out. We looked at how worms eat soil and produce even more healthy soil. As the soil goes through them and out the other end, they add extra nutrients to it. The worm castings make even more amazing soil. For this reason, lots of gardeners will use worms to improve their compost. The worms also aerate the soil by digging tunnels. This brings plants the oxygen they need to grow. Using this information, we thought about the fact that what we take in, will come out. If we take in good things, good things will come out of us. If we fill ourselves with nasty thoughts, unkind words, or wrong habits, those will come out in our lives too. What goes in, must come out!
Our final session in History involved asking questions to find out more information. We were shown a wooden Victorian toy and had to ask questions to find out more about the toy. After recording our questions, we were given information that answered our questions. The toy was a diablo and we then found out that we have a diablo expert in our class. Check out the pictures below to see his skills!
This week we finished our William Morris inspired prints. We selected leaves from our outside area (with a link to our science learning) and created careful observation drawings. We then transferred our leaf drawings to a second polystyrene printing block to create a second print on top of our background prints from last week. We considered the arrangement of our leaves to create a style similar to the William Morris prints we have been looking at. We can’t wait to show you the finished designs.
Our final dance session of half term saw us choreograph dances for a partner to follow using high, low, fast and slow movements. We performed our dance to “I’m the King of the Swingers” Jungle book music. After half term our PE session will move to a Wednesday and we will work with MultiFlex on our gymnastics skills. PE kits should therefore be worn on a Wednesday instead of a Thursday next half term.
Today has been our Pumpkin Heroes day and what a wonderful end to the half term it has been. Thank you for all your inspired carved pumpkins that reflect the light of Jesus. We have been amazed by the variety of designs and creative ideas. In Year 1 we have loved the pumpkin trail and were great detectives finding the hidden numbers and letters and working out the message. We have also enjoyed making orange paper chains of hope and light and singing the pumpkin songs attached to the tune of London Burning and Frere Jacque with percussion accompaniment. Finally, we made orange friendship bracelets for a friend and we considered how these friends bring light in our lives.
It has been lovely to talk to you all this week during parent consultations and share with you the progress your children are making. We hope you all enjoy a little break from school now and we shall look forward to seeing everyone again on Tuesday 2nd November after our INSET day.
Mrs Pulle, Mrs Lindersen and Mr Whitworth.
