Oochie Coochie Coo!!

What on earth is the title of this week's blog??!! Mmm...all will be revealed shortly, but maybe your child will be able to shed some sparkly lights (camera and action) on it!!

Welcome back!

We hope you had a great half term break and are ready and refreshed for the run up to Christmas (ooh is it that time already?)

Speaking of Christmas, we will be practising all the songs and dances for our production ‘A Christmas Tail’ over the next few weeks, so you may just hear a few of them being hummed around the house – they are VERY catchy, so be warned!

Many thanks to you all for attending the parents evenings before the half term and it was lovely to put faces to names. May I also just thank everyone for the amount of support you are giving your children at home, as we can see how much the children are coming on – a real credit to you all.

Literacy

We begin this half term with a very short unit on Labels and Captions. We will begin by looking at the purpose of labels and captions and will label the parts of a car or a bicycle and write a sentence to explain their function.

We then move on to changing one of the displays in our classroom, but it really is over to the children! Before the holidays, we started to look at our new topic of Famous People and we chose Florence Nightingale to investigate. They have already produced some lovely portraits of her in charcoal and chalks, which will form part of the display. During our literacy and history sessions, the children will learn how to write labels and captions for the portraits and pictures of Scutari Hospital.

The children will also have the opportunity to write letters home from the hospital, as wounded soldiers who are being treated by Florence, in our Role Play area. For those interested in Dinosaurs, they will be able to write labels and captions for the dinosaurs and the setting in our Small World activity.

'Big Writing'.

Not a reference to the size of the script which your child writes, but more a development of the quality and quantity of their writing. Over the next few weeks, we will be trying out a different approach to independent writing. In preparation for this, we would like your support with an activity called ‘Swagbagging’ at home.

All you need is your child's home reader or any magazine or newspaper that you are reading. They will also need a 'SWAGBAG', which could just be a sandwich bag with the word SWAG written on it! Read it out loud to your child and get them to 'steal' any WOW words that they think are interesting - particularly adjectives or adverbs. Then, get them to write it down on a piece of paper and put it in their swagbag.

At the end of the week, empty out the swagbag and they will find that they have lots of words that they now can try to incorporate into their writing. This also works if you use 'POSH' words during conversations, which they can also try to swagbag!

You will laugh, furrow your brow and amaze at the number of times that your child pretends to grab the air during conversations...they are swagbagging your vocabulary!! We would love to hear of any successes you have at home with this.

http://www.roythezebra.com/ - a great site for lots of literacy games and ideas
http://www.roythezebra.com/reading-games-word-level.html lots of interactive reading games to play online – follows all phase 3 patterns
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics-dinosaurs.htm lots of activities to do with dinosaurs
http://www.bnsc.gov.uk/3306.aspx this shows the children captions to do with the solar system. Make sure you turn the sound up for this one!
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=10# choose the caption and sequence session and type in your own caption to them picture. Remember VCOP!
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/transport-english.html transport labels - why not add your own caption?
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/vegetable-english.html vegetable labels
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/ search for lots of little video clips for all areas of learning – well worth bookmarking!

Numeracy

After having completed our assessments in the week before the half term, we begin our week with investigating the properties of 2D shapes. The children were very good at identifying the name of the shape, but had more difficulty in describing the properties, such as whether they had straight or curved edges and the number of sides.

They will move on to identifying and describing shapes such as a pentagon, hexagon and octagon. Also, we will introduce a quadrilateral to the children – a very ‘posh’ name for a shape which has 4 sides. Think ‘Quad bikes’ and they usually remember!

The second part of the week, we will be looking at subtraction, using a number line.

http://mathematics.hellam.net/maths2000/shapes.html match shape and its name
http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/information/shape_facts/shape_facts.htm names shapes, sides and symmetry
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/gp/pupils/maths/2dshapes.htm match words with the shapes
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/mathematics/12884/nns_useict0260002venn.swf sorting triangles
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=tangram tangrams
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=digitmenu good for addition and subtraction to 20
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=quad polygons and quadrilaterals
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=vpinboard4#Scene_1 virtual pinboard
http://www.ictgames.com/partition.html partitioning numbers into tens and units
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/PlaceValueChartv4.swf place value charts
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Subtract%20-%20%20Number%20Line%20v5.swf subtraction number lines
http://www.deltamicro.co.uk/primary_online/planetstaken.html subtraction aliens

The children will be introduced to their ‘I can’ statements for numeracy this week, so that they can keep track of how they are doing:

I can use 2-D and 3-D shapes to make patterns, pictures and models.
I can name most of the 2-D and 3-D shapes
I use in my work as well as those I see in my classroom and playground.
I am beginning to picture a shape in my head.
I can describe where something is using words like ‘next to’, ‘in front of’, ‘underneath’, ‘on top of’
I can use objects to take away a small number from any number up to 20.
I can record the practical situation on a number track.

Topic

As mentioned earlier, the children will be learning all about Florence Nightingale over the next couple of weeks. By the end of the topic, they will have produced a lovely book, which will be used to teach other children about her life and work.

We started our topic on Famous people last week, and the children were spellbound when we read the story of Florence Nightingale – particularly the boys! They were fantastic at comparing the differences between modern day medicine and hospitals in Florence’s time.This week, we will be looking at the journey which Florence made and be able to locate and label the places she visited on a world map. They will also be looking at reasons why journeys in the past took longer and were much more dangerous. They will also be writing an account of Florence’s life, using captions to support their writing.

http://www.snaithprimary.eril.net/flo2.htm
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/11134/Crimeanwar.pdf the photographs are really useful from this site

Here I Am

We continue with our theme of Invitations and move onto the Relate section. Maybe you could share some invitations at home with your children, which you have had as a family.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/invitations/eng/Introduction/default.htm design, write and print their own invitation.

Have a good week!
Year 1 team xxx

Holiday Homework

Just a quick update to remind you about the holiday homework!!

We have been thrilled with the children's writing, and feel that the holidays are great opportunity for the children to maintain the drive and enthusiasm that they have developed over their first few weeks in Year 1.

Your child will have come home tonight with a diary for them to complete over the holidays. Each day, we would like them to write at least 1 or 2 sentences about what they have done that day. They can either write in the booklet and draw pictures, or, they can present their work on the computer, complete with digital photographs. Be creative! Which ever one you decide to choose, remember they need to be brought in for the first day back.

By clicking here, you can download a VCOP pyramid, to support your child with their writing at home.

Have a good break and be safe!

Year 1 team x

Assess and Review

Well can you believe that we have been in school for a whole half term already? The children have worked extremely hard and are looking forward to their week off. This week is known as ‘Assess and Review’ week, where we see how much the children are able to recall and understand about the work we have covered so far.

Please do not think your child will have to complete lots of written tests and assessments! There will be lots of practical activities and observations to help us check for their understanding, particularly for numeracy.This week’s blog is part of that review. It would be fantastic, if you could spend some time this week, working with your child on some of the links and activities that we have included. Just count how many times you hear the phrase, ‘Oh yes...I remember that!’ You will be amazed at just how much they have managed to get through!

Parent’s Evenings

On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week, we hold the first of our parent’s evenings for the year. It is a chance for us to meet together to discuss how your child has settled into Year 1 and the progress they have made so far. You will receive a list of targets for reading, writing, numeracy and science. Although this may seem a lot, please remember that these are the targets they will be working on until after Christmas, so there is plenty of time to get through them.

The parents meetings are slightly different those in Foundation Stage. They are held in the hall, with appointments being made at 10 minute intervals. As you can appreciate, this is a very short amount of time. It can be a good idea for you to write down any questions you may have to ask, prior to the appointment, as 10 minutes can go very quickly. We are very good at sharing the information in the allocated time, but please be aware that we may need to make a further appointment with you, to avoid other parent’s running over their time slot.

Literacy

The children will complete a piece of writing this week, based on their own experience. It would be really helpful if you were able to have a discussion with your child this weekend about what they would like to write about. It may be about a favourite holiday, a journey or a party that they went to. Talk for writing is perhaps the most beneficial part of the preparation process that you can support your child with, and ensures that they don’t have ‘empty-page’ syndrome.

The children will be asked to ‘check’ their own work, seeing if they have included the following:

I used a capital letter for the word ‘I’
I used a capital letter at the beginning of each sentence
I used a full stop at the end of each sentence
My work makes senseI wrote as if ‘telling the story’ of what happened

The children will also be tested to see if they are ready to move onto the next book-band level. This includes seeing how well they can decode the words (match the letters to the sounds they make) and how well they have understood the story (comprehension). Although it may appear that texts are easy for your child, it may be that they need more practice in their comprehension of what is happening in the text. It is a combination of BOTH of these factors which determines their readiness to move on.

Why not try asking your child to retell the events of the story either to you, or to a younger sibling. Also, get them to make up alternative endings for the story, by using sock puppets...a great use for those single socks that we all have in our cupboards!

High Frequency Word checklists will be updated again this week in the front of the diaries. As agreed at the induction meeting at the beginning of the year, the children have been working on the words in school and at home. We have been assessing the children’s ability to transfer these words into their independent writing and have been really pleased with what we have seen so far. It is vitally important that children are given daily practice in the reading and spelling of these words, as they are the ‘glue’ that holds all text together. Children who practice these words regularly at school AND home, make significant progress!

These sites will help to support the reading and spelling of these words:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/hfwords/index.shtml a great site, where you have to match the shape of the HFW
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/cvc/index.shtml choose any of these activities to help with CVC words (cat, hat, mat etc)
http://www.ictgames.com/dinosaurwordsrepeat.html you need to turn the volume up for this one! Click on the dinosaur egg to hear the word and then click on the written word that matches it.
http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html I love this one! You can either choose from the lists of prepared words, or you can type in the words that your child is working on. You need to click on start to begin ‘look, say, cover, write, check’.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=stickyl drag and drop the letters on the green letter rack at the top of the page and then click on the ‘Send’ button to send it to the word bank
http://www.ictgames.com/wordreader.html listen to the word and then click on the matching flower
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/airport_xray.html this may bring back memories of your holidays (doesn’t it seem a long time ago?!) Scan the suitcase to find the high frequency words

Numeracy

We have been really pleased with how well the children are working numeracy and know that many of the children are going to fly through the assessments this week!

Number knowledge – can they match the correct digit to the correct number of objects?

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/calcbalancev3.swf click on the number names in the middle of the scale to match the number name to the digit. This will be a really useful site to bookmark, as we will be using it regularly throughout the year.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/numbers_eng/numbers_e.html this site is useful for practicing the formation of each of the numbers. The first slide is VERY fast, so click on the green arrow on the bottom right-hand side to practice the numbers individually.
http://www.numbernut.com/basic/activities/number_mem20_1-10words.shtml play a memory game and match the number names to the digits at the same time!http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/n2a/playground.htm click on the ‘continue’ button to start the activity. This activity looks at the number names up to 100, so give it a go if you fancy a challenge!
http://www.primaryonline.co.uk/sitetour/pol/blastoff1.html a lovely game in which you have to launch 5 spaceships! Remember that the number name won’t always match a spaceship, so you have to click on ‘next’ until you get a match.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=washindex For those children working or ordering numbers to 20
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/place_value/place_value.html a great way of explaining place value. Select Level 1 and for a challenge, why not have a go at level 2? Even more of a challenge is Level 3, when it asks you to order 1000's!http://www.ictgames.com/dinoplacevalue.html can you 'partition' the numbers into tens and units?
http://www.ictgames.com/postletter.html fancy a challenge? Listen to the number and post the letter in the correct letterbox.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/bgfn/number.cfm Choose how many tens and how many units make up the target number. If you click on 'check' it will even mark it for you!
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Toolkit index2a The children are used to using a 100 square in school, so this will be a big help at home, particularly when doing numeracy homework.
http://www.ictgames.com/football2.html kick the ball that shows 10 less than a given number

Knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/maerdy_2d/e_index.html guess the name of the 2D shape by listening to the propertieshttp://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/build_it/eng/Introduction/default.htm what can you build using these shapes and blocks? Encourage the children to describe the properties of the 3D shapes too!http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/mathsE3.htm you will need to be selective from these ideas, but there are lots of sheets, activities and powerpoints for you to use at home to support your child with both 2D and 3D shapes. Be aware, that some of them are for Key Stage 2, but give them a go if you fancy a challenge!http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=MatchingPairs3Dshape why not try a memory game with 3D shapes. Some of these shapes are quite difficult to name, but you could ask your child to describe the properties them - how many faces/edges do they each have? Remember to click on start a new game to begin the activity.We are also keen to develop the children’s scissor skills this week, so any help at home, cutting out shapes etc. would be a big help!

Measurement

http://www.edukate.net/special_files/ruler.swf use this site to practice measuring the ‘red bar’. If you can though, measuring objects around the house is a much more practical way of measuring in centimetres.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/measures/index.htm click on Reading Length.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=ntrack ordering numbers on a number track. Can your child recognise the numbers? Are they able to order them? Can they locate the missing number?http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/ruler/ruler_cm_easy.swf measure the length of the lines using the on screen ruler
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/ruler/ruler_cm.swf move the ruler to the line to measure it in centimetres
http://www.counton.org/games/circus/ choose the Pole Climber, Maths Pairs or Shapes and Numbers activities. With the Pole climber activity, start on level one and then see how high you can go – subtraction begins at Level 3!
http://www.numeracyworld.com/addition%20worksheets.html I have been really pleased with the number of children who have been printing off some of the activities from the websites on the blog, so this is should be a big help! It has lots of printable sheets for you to print off and practice at home for all areas of numeracy. Some are more difficult than others, but have a look through for the topic we are covering this week for some extra practice.

There are lots of practical activities that you can do at home to support all of these areas. Have a look through previous blogs to revisit some of the ideas that were suggested.

Here I Am

Last week, we began our new topic of Invitations.

The children:
Recognised a special invitation
Reflected on invitations their family has received
Respected the type of invitations their family has received

We move on this week to the Relate part of the topic, where we will talk with the children about the Sacrament of Baptism. Maybe you could share some photographs of your child’s Baptism with them. Do they know who their Godparents are? If any of you would be willing to share a video of your child’s Baptism, then please see any member of the team.

http://www.request.org.uk/infants/tellme/infant/baptism01.htm some lovely questions about infant baptism
http://www.request.org.uk/infants/milestones/baby/baby00.htm click on some of the links on this page to view a video click of an Infant baptism

Spanish

Ooh we had a great week last week during our whole school Spanish week. Did the children tell you all about the Paella? A big thank you to Mrs Fox too for making Spanish Omelette and our visiting work experience students, for being excellent waiters and waitresses!

For those of us who are learning alongside the children (and I DO include myself in this!) I have included a couple of links below which will help with pronunciation etc. so we can keep our language skills going...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ this is a site for adults who are new to the language. You can download lots of mp3’s for your iPod and then amaze your child by asking them some questions in Spanish (before they ask you!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/ a great site for the children to use. There are also lots of downloadable activities, again for practising those scissor skills!
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/spanish_songs_ks2 I loved these! There are some great Karaoke songs to download, along with some matching activities for the children.
http://gamequarium.com/spanish.htm a great site for help with pronunciation!http://www.studystack.com/menu-21283 again this is another site for adults, but the matching game is a great one for testing yourself! It does take quite a while to load, so you need to be patient before hitting the back button!

Homework

An apology...As I was out on courses last week, homework did not arrive on home on the usual day. You should have received it on Friday, but if there are any difficulties in completing it for Monday, then please feel free to send it back in on Tuesday.

As it is the last week before the half term, there will be no homework, due to parent’s evenings etc. We would therefore appreciate it, if this time could be spent reviewing any high frequency words and sharing reading books with your child. Also, you could check back through these blogs for links to support your child over the holidays.

Finally, a thank you from all the staff for encouraging your children to come into school independently this week. It really has reduced the congestion in the area and the children are getting into their classrooms a lot quicker, ready to start work. We would also encourage children NOT to play on the patio area before school in the mornings. The children cannot be easily supervised there and so the children should remain on the playground until staff collect them at 8.45am.

Competition

This might be a good activity for over the holidays - not for the children, but for parents! I bet you are all fantastic story tellers, but why not share your stories with other mums and dads over the internet?

Munch Bunch are running a competition, which aims to encourage the art of storytelling among parents, particularly in what can become a very busy 'bed-time'.

The competition prizes are fantastic and include:

- An all expenses paid day-trip to Lapland for you and your family to visit Father Christmas and take a magical husky-led sleigh ride by a frozen lake
- An overnight stay in a central London hotel for two
- The chance to meet celebrity mum Gail Porter
- A day in a London recording studio seeing your story come to life as a podcast
- Your winning story published online as a podcast

The link for the competiton is http://www.munchbunch.co.uk/parents/win/ but why not send them into school too, so that we can compile our very own bedtime story book.

That's just about it for this week, except to say that we are looking forward to meeting with you all this week and have a great half term!

Year 1 team xxx

HOLA!

Hola and welcome to Spanish Week! This is our chance to show off all our Spanish skills and really become immersed in the Spanish language and culture. We may even adopt the afternoon siesta for this week – who knows!

Open Day

On Monday, we have our second Open Day. Classes are open from 9.30 until 2.30 for you to come and see us in operation – you will be very welcome!


Picasso


The children will be focussing on the work of Pablo Picasso this week. As our link school is in Malaga, what a great artist to choose! The children are currently investigating the differences between ourselves in Science, so they will be drawing and painting self-portraits with a difference.

Cuisine!


It wouldn’t be a Spanish themed week without some tasty food on offer! So we will be having our very own Tapas Restaurant. There will be a label in your child’s diary so that you can inform us of any allergies which your child may have.


Language


We thought we might include a little bit of the Spanish language for you to brush up on your skills this week – and also be able to understand just what your child may come home saying to you! If you scroll down through the blog, there are a number of phrases which the children will be familiar with and also some links for websites that you may like to visit.


Introductions



¿Como te llamas? What is your name?

Me llamo…. My name is…..

¿Dónde vives? Where do you live?

Vivo en Warrington I live in Warrington

¿Cuántos anos tienes? How old are you?

Tengo ocho anos. I am eight years old.



Los Animales Animals



El perro dog

El gato cat

El ratón mouse

El caballo horse

La serpiente snake

El conejo rabbit

El hámster hamster

El pez fish

El pájaro bird

La rata rat

La vaca cow

El oso bear

Una rana a frog

Un mono monkey



Los Números Numbers



Uno Dos Tres Cuatro Cinco Seis Siete Ocho Nueve Diez

¿Cuanto es?

Dos mas dos son cuatro

Cuatro menos dos Dos por dos

Quince dividido por cinco es tres



Commands



¡Levantaos! Stand up!

¡Sentaos! Sit down!

¡Miradme! Look at me!

¡Levantad la mano! Put your hands up!

¡Cruzad los brazos! Cross your arms!

¡Abrid los ojos! Open your eyes!

¡Cerrad los ojos! Close your eyes!

¡Bajad la mano! Put your hands down!

¡Señalad! Point to!

¡Repetid! Repeat!

¡Escuchad! Listen!

¡Mirad! Look!

¡Enseñadme! Show me!



Classroom equipment



Un boli a pen

Un lapiz a pencil

Un libro a book

Un sacapuntas a pencil sharpener

Una goma a rubber

Una calculadora a calculador

Una regla a ruler

Tijeras scissors



Los colores



Rojo(a) red

Amarillo(a) yellow

Naranja orange

Rosa pink

Azul blue

Verde green

Negro(a) black

Gris grey

Blanco(a) white

Purple purpura



The Weather – El tiempo



¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? What is the weather like today?

Hace buen tiempo….. It’s nice weather

Hace mal tiempo……..It’s bad weather

Hace mucho frio……….It’s very cold

Hace mucha calor…… It’s very hot

Hace mucho viento…..It’s very windy

Esta lloviendo…….. It’s raining

Esta muy nublado….. It’s very cloudy

Esta muy helado…… It’s very frosty

Esta muy soleado
…..It’s very sunny



Telling the time ¿Que hora es?

Es la una Son las dos Son las cinco



Parts of the body



Los partes del cuerpo
La cabeza - head El cabello - hair
La frente - forehead
L a oreja - ear
El ojo - eye
La nariz - nose
La mejilla - cheek
La boca - mouth
El diente - tooth
El cuello - neck
El hombro - shoulder
El pecho - chest
El brazo - arm
El antebrazo - forearm
El codo - elbow
La muñeca - wrist
La mano - hand
El dedo - finger
El estómago - stomach
La cadera - hip
La pierna - leg
El muslo - thigh
La rodilla - knee
La espinilla - shin
El pantorilla - calf
La pie - foot
El tobillo - ankle
El dedo del pie - toe (lit. finger of the foot)
La espalda – back
Simon Says... ¡Señalad! Simón dice…. ¡Tocad! …… ¡Levantad!…… ¡Sentaos! …¡Señalad!


Clothes


La ropa Llevo - I wear una corbata - a tie un gorro - a woolly hat una bufanda - a scarf unos guantes - gloves una chaqueta - a jacket unos pantalones - trousers un jersey - a jumper una falda - a skirt un vestido - a dress una camisa - a shirt un abrigo - a coat unas medias - tights unos calcetinas - socks unas botas - boots unos zapatos - shoes Llevo unos zapatos - I wear shoes.



http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children this is a great website, which has lots of ‘clickable’ objects which help with pronunciation http://www.learn4good.com/kids/learning_spanish_online/free_lessons_for_children.htm some lovely interactive activities for the children, including colours and numbers. http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Goats/Spanish/cabritillos.html 3 Billy Goats Gruff in Spanish http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Little%20Red/Spanish/Northumberland%20NGfL%20Caperucita%20Roja.html Little Red Riding Hood http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Goldilocks/Spanish/Rubiales2.html Goldilocks

Literacy


We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to develop the children’s poetry skills this week, with Halloween and the approach of Bonfire Night, but they will be looking at it through their senses.


Why not try some of these questions in preparation for the week ahead:


What are your senses? What would happen if you couldn’t smell anything? (Try doing a taste test for this with lots of the children’s favourite foods, but get them to hold their nose whilst they swallow it...talk about what happens!)


What are the colours, smells and sounds associated with Halloween/Bonfire Night?


Ultimately, by the end of the week, the children should have written a poem, which goes something like this:


Green is .... the colour of spring.

Green is .... renewal.

Green is .... the colour of envy.

Green is .... a new crayon.

Green tastes like .... a crisp apple.

Green smells like .... fresh cut grass.

Green sounds like .... a croaking frog.

Green feels like .... soft, velvety moss.

Green looks like .... shiny emeralds.

Green is .... my favourite colour.


Have a go with other colours. If you do have a go at home, please do bring them in for us to see. You could even practice the children’s keyboard skills, by getting them to produce it on the computer!


The children LOVE the colours song in Spanish, so see if they can remember the colour names – maybe they could even write the COLOURS in Spanish!


The children will be encouraged to check for the following in their writing:



I used adjectives to add detail

I used alliteration (gooey green gloop!)

I used onomatopoeia (BANG! VROOM! FIZZ! CRACK!)

I used capitalisation for effect

My writing makes sense

I used capital letters at the beginning of each line



To gather inspiration (and some are just for fun!) have a look through some of these sites:



http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/my_monster/index.htm try writing your very own monster poem

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/20050415/English/Keystage1/Rhymingwords/Canyourhymeit/Introduction/default.htm if the children want to make their poem rhyme, this activity has got some good ideas

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/spacespins.shtml the children have used the spaceship before, but this helps with alliteration

http://www.whiteheadm.co.uk/html/poem_index.htm#menu lots of poems to read and enjoy. There are even some examples for colours!http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/literacy/rhyme/index.shtml activities for rhyming practice

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryfun/poetryfun.html I love this site!http://www.theoworlds.com/halloween/ carve your very own pumpkin!


Numeracy

This week is one of my favourites, where we introduce money to the children. They will become financial experts and will definitely be able to calculate the value of their pocket money by the end of this topic! The children will also have to use their new found monetary skills, in our Spanish Tapas restaurant – our customers will NOT be short-changed!


Particularly in these days of ‘plastic money’, it is more important than ever, that children are given the opportunity to explore money through experience. Why not set up a shop in your kitchen for them to use? Give them a sheet of sticky labels and allocate prices for all the items in your cupboard, up to the value of £1. Then ‘buy’ 1, 2 or 3 items and ask them to calculate the total.


For a real challenge, ask them to find the total AND give you the change from the money you give them. Why not start saving all your own change in a money jar for your child?


The children:


MUST be able to recognise all coins and be able to put them in order

SHOULD be able to exchange coins for their equivalent in 10p and 1p coins.

COULD Find the total of 2 of coins and be able to pay an exact amount for totals up to £1



http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=14 although this is an evaluation copy, you can still get the idea. Click on the coins icon and press start.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/numeracy/money/index.shtml choose the right coins to play for items in the shop.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/maths/counting_with_money/index.htm counting to 10p. This is easy for the children, but good for confidence building in recognising coins

http://www.ictgames.com/moneypayer.html pay for the items on the trolley with the coins available

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=MMATCH match coins to the values and calculate the correct change

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/clickon/virtualshop/shop1.htm use this as a virtual shop. The instructions on the site will enable you to try a different method of introducing money.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/working_with_coins/eng/Introduction/default.htmhttp://www.ictgames.com/moneypayer50p.html adding coins to 50p

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/den/snap/index.htm play snap with money

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/lets_party/eng/Introduction/default.htm this is a real challenge and aimed more towards Year 3/4 but I think some children could rise to the challenge! Become party planners...I shall say no more!http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/den/shopping/index.htm drag the correct coins to the till to pay for the items on the conveyor belt. Will they pay for it in time?
Just for fun!

http://www.origami-club.com/en/halloween/index.htm fancy using some of those newly developed scissor skills? Why not try making some of these origami pictures?

Domestics

A huge thank you for ensuring that children were in on time last week. It has made a real difference to the way the children have settled into their learning each morning and we managed to get through so much more.

The Autumn weather is now most certainly upon us, so please ensure that your child has a coat each day. Hats and gloves are also a good idea, but please please PLEASE ensure that every item is labelled with your child’s name. Many thanks for your support with this.

I will out on courses on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but messages may still be passed on through Mrs Walker or Miss Knight.

Parents evening

You will receive time slots for Parent Teacher meetings this week. As you will see, they are slightly different to the times and slots available last year. Could we ask that you are as flexible as possible with the times which are allocated. If there are any difficulties, then we will do our best to accommodate everyone.

Many thanks for your co-operation with this.

Think that’s all for this week. Adios!!
Year 1 team xxx