Here comes the sun

This week in Numeracy we have been adding describing position by using words such as ‘above, below, beside, left and right’. We have also been describing direction by using words such as ‘forwards, backwards, up, down, left and right’. We have been talking about things that turn and make whole turns, half turns and quarter turns. Please ask us to show you our turns and how we can move left and right.

We have been using the Bee Bots as part of Numeracy this week. We created a short program to move it from one point to another. We recorded steps on whiteboards and then tested our steps to see if the Bee Bot moved as we’d expected and if not, why not?

In Literacy we have continued to use actions to help us remember the story of ‘The Gingerbread Man’. We drew story maps and changed the story to create our own version for example ‘The Chocolate Bunny’ and ‘The Gingerbread Penguin’. We have started to write an interesting story opening based on our version of The Gingerbread Man.

Have a wonderful two week break - don't eat too much chocolate!

This week in Numeracy we have been adding by counting on. We used number lines and hundred squares. Please ask your child to tell you how Max helped us with our counting. We then used our ability to count in tens to help us to add multiples of ten. We found it helpful to use ten pence pieces to help us.

In Literacy we have had great fun being storytellers using different props. In 1MB we have a storytelling chair and a cloak. We used actions to help us remember the story (please ask your child to show you the ones they can remember). We have also drawn story maps for ‘The Gingerbread Man.’       

We have been investigating what force makes rockets fly, and learning why some things fall down. In small groups we were exploring gravity by dropping different objects from the same height then answering the question ‘What happens when we drop a heavy and a light object?’

N.B. We have Norland Nannies coming to work with us after the Easter holiday and will give you more details then. 

This week in Numeracy we have been learning to count on and back in 10s, from any number to 100. We used the large hundred square in the playground, then small hundred squares on our tables. We were all fantastic at counting from zero, e.g. 0, 10, 20, etc, but found it a bit tricky when using a different starting point, e.g. 7, 17, 27. So any extra help you can give us at home would be very useful please.

In Literacy we have really been using our imaginations to create story maps and then to write our stories. There was SO much for us to remember, including an interesting setting, some characters and a problem for the ‘goody’ to solve. Then we made a long list of all of our brilliant ideas for the story opening. (Please ask your child to tell you their wonderful idea). All of this as well as linking words, capital letters, full stops, finger spaces, PHEW!     

Thank you for looking at Jupiter and Venus in the night sky with us this week to further help with our understanding of ‘Space’. Our Art work has also been based around the topic.

N.B. We need some empty cereal boxes next week only please. 

Big Pedal

This week in Numeracy we have been learning to tell the time. We have been reading the time to the hour and half past the hour on analogue clocks. We have been remembering to look at the hands of the clock and use the numbers on it. We had great fun timing ourselves using a sand timer to see what we could do in 1 minute. For example we went into the play ground and timed how many star jumps, skips, hops etc we could do in a minute. Ask us how many seconds there are in a minute!

In Literacy we read a ‘The Kiss that Missed’ and used the story to create our own fantasy story. We realised that some stories have problems that the main character needs to solve. We worked with a partner to think of a problem for our story and how it could be solved. After discussing characters and settings we took on the role of the main character in our story and re-enacted the story. This gave us lots of good ideas for story language to use in our stories. As we were acting we also thought about are setting and how our character might be feeling.

In Science we have been thinking about pushes and pulls and finding objects that move by applying one or both of these forces. For example, toy cars, boats in water with string attached and scooters. Perhaps we could look at home to find other objects that move by using pushes and pulls.

We have continued to think about Islam this week and what it Muslims believe. We know that know that Allah is the Islamic name for God. Muslims believe that Allah created all things and that humans have a responsibility to care for Allah’s creation. We learned that Muslims pray five times a day to say thank you to Allah.  We enjoyed looking at a prayer mat and seeing the beautiful designs on it which includes things like flowers, temples and patterns from the world but not people. We then had the chance to design our own prayer mat.

This week school started The Big Pedal where we will be cycling and scooting to school as much as we can for 15 days.  More of us would like to be involved please! Perhaps if we live too far away, we could bring our scooters in the car, park a few streets further away from school and scoot the rest of the way? What do you think? That way we can take part. It would also ease some congestion around the school! See http://thebigpedal.org.uk/ for more details.

Good luck to all Year 1 parents taking part in the marathon on Sunday!

Fantasy Worlds

This week in Numeracy we have been working on doubles, trying to remember them by heart and instantly recalling them. We then used ‘Numicon’ to go onto working out near doubles, e.g. If we know that 5 + 5 = 10, then 5 + 4 must equal 9.

In Literacy we have read a number of interesting books including ‘Here come the Aliens!’ Please ask your child to tell you some of the other titles. We compared and contrasted these fantasy world settings, including the objects found in those settings. We created our own fantasy settings and are now beginning to think about characters.

Thank you for all the information and objects you have been sending in for us to share and help with our understanding of our topic ‘Space’. Our Art work has also been based around the topic.