Well, Spring has sprung (or at least that is what the meteorologists are telling us anyway!)
We have lots to get through this week, so...
Literacy
We will be continuing with the second week of Information Texts and the children will be starting to write some of their own texts in class. There will be some very diverse pieces of information to read, as we had a wide range of suggestions from the children!
Last week, we asked if you could make some time to look through an encyclopaedia at home. If you haven’t managed to do this yet, it will really help in consolidating the kind of information which your child would like to write this week. If, for example, they have chosen to write about dinosaurs, then they need to come prepared with some knowledge about them. Maybe focussing on one dinosaur, may be better than trying to remember information about lots of them!
The children were also introduced to a ‘marking ladder’ last week and they became teachers. They had to mark authors of information books and check that they had included certain elements in their books. As you can imagine, they thoroughly enjoyed this activity, giving them marks out of out 10!
This week, they will be applying this to their own writing. Why not use it at home this weekend, to help with this week’s writing homework?
I have used questions
My labels and diagrams are clear
I used captions to give more information about the illustrations
I have used full stops and capital letters
My sentences make sense when I read them out loud
The information chosen is about the title
The information can be found using the contents page and index
I used headings and sub-headings to organise important information
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html if you click on Information/Reports on the right hand side and then click on the numbers at the bottom of the screen, it gives you examples to share at home of what an information text could look like. Also, you can download the template to type into.
The other links from last week’s blog will help to support this work for this week.
Phonics
The children are progressing well with their phonics and this is evidenced in how well the children are doing with their reading. The spelling of words however, is causing a little confusion at the moment. Please try not to worry, as this is down to the fact that they are now learning alternative ways of making the same sounds with different letters. The question that they need to ask, is whether they can hear the sound at in the MIDDLE or the END of the word. This will determine the pattern that they use.
This week, we will be looking at the patterns:
oy – this usually comes at the end of a word (oi usually comes in the middle)
ir – this usually comes in the middle of a word (er usually comes at the end)
ue – usually comes at the end of a word (oo usually comes in the middle)
aw – usually comes at the end of a word (or – usually comes in the middle)
Challenge: how many different words can they come up with that contain these different patterns?
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/foamPhonemes_v10.html click on the arrows on the rainbow on the right hand side until you get to this week’s sounds. By click on the canon, you release foam letters and can make words containing the sounds.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/sound_buttons_v14.html similar activity, but this time with the sound buttons that the children use in class.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/helpAhedgehog_v4.html why not make your own game up, using words that you have made up with your child using this week’s sounds?
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/airport_xray.html keep up with those High Frequency words – remember that once they are ticked in the diaries, the children are expected to spell them correctly independently in their writing.
Numeracy
The children did really well last week, using the pan balances to measure different objects, using both cubes and the 10 gram weights. Maybe you could get them to do some baking this weekend and get them to help you measure the ingredients out? Linking maths to real life activities, really does get the children to see the purpose of numeracy, and if it involved food, even better!
The children will be moving on to recording the information from last week on a block graph. They will also be expected to answer questions based on the graph that they produce.
Wednesday is World Maths Day and the children will be doing lots of fun maths activities and competitions, to support their numeracy learning. Of course, it wouldn’t be our class, if there wasn’t some food making, baking and tasting involved!
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/grapher.html a great bar chart creator to be able to record the information from weighing objects
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/bargraphs/bargraphs.html a great game to play at home for bar charts
Science
The children were fantastic at identifying light sources last week and even managed to identify that the moon reflected light from the sun, so wasn’t a light source itself! Some Key Stage 2 children struggle with this concept...and even some adults so well done!
This week the children will be investigating torches and seeing why some light sources are brighter than others. They will also be investigating why objects can be seen better when they are in brighter light rather than dimmer light.
If you are willing to send a torch in with your child this week, then please label it clearly in a bag, so that it may be returned to you.
By the end of the week, the children will:
· recognise that a variety of light sources show up best in the dark;
· know that some torches give brighter lights than others;
· state that it is easier to see things in brighter light.
The links from last week’s blog will support learning in this area this week.
Geography
This week, the children will be preparing their map display for Barnaby, to show where he and his friends have visited in the world. If you could go through some of your holiday photographs and talk with your child about where you have been, this will be great preparation for this week’s work.
The children will make a flag of the country they have visited, find the place on a map and place the country’s flag there. They will also be expected to talk about the climate there are talk about which clothes would be appropriate. It always raises a smile, when the children think that a swimming costume is always needed – after all, it is a holiday!
Mother’s Day Craft Fayre
This Sunday, there will be a Craft Fayre held at St. Joseph’s, from 11am-2pm. Many thanks for your generous donations from the non-uniform day yesterday.
Request
The children are now half way through Year One now and are becoming gradually more independent. Could we ask that children come into school on their own in a morning, as we are getting quite a bit of congestion in the cloakrooms. This is resulting in a number of children being late for the register each morning and being unsettled for the start of the day.
Also, we have noticed a couple of polo shirts being worn. These are for the Summer term only, as are gingham dresses for the girls.
Could we also remind you, that bobbles, clips and hair bands should be black or blue. Visitors to our school always comment on the smartness of our children, so many thanks for your support with this.
I think that is all for this week!
Year 1 team x
Friday 27 February 2009
Wednesday 25 February 2009
IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!!
You should have received a letter tonight, letting you know about the NON-UNIFORM DAY THIS FRIDAY.
This is in aid of the Mother's Day Craft Fayre, which will be held at St. Joseph's this Sunday. We would be grateful of any donations for the tombola stall. Why not send something in that someone might like to receive as a Mother's Day gift?
This is in aid of the Mother's Day Craft Fayre, which will be held at St. Joseph's this Sunday. We would be grateful of any donations for the tombola stall. Why not send something in that someone might like to receive as a Mother's Day gift?
Thursday 19 February 2009
Swagbagging!
Hi there!
Welcome back after a lovely half term break – we hope you are relaxed and ready to return to some hard work on the run up to Easter.
Ash Wednesday
This week sees the start of Lent. We will be holding a short service in the hall to mark Ash Wednesday and the children will receive their ashes in the classrooms afterwards. Should you wish to receive ashes in school, please join us at 9am in the hall.
To read about the traditions and customs of Ash Wednesday, go to http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/easter/ashwednesday.htm
Of course this also means that we will be indulging in pancakes on Tuesday! Maybe the children could have a go at helping you make some on Tuesday evening and use their knowledge of how to write instructions to write the recipe down? http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html has a great recipe on there for pancakes and also written instructions – how many of mine will stick to the pan I wonder?
So, now that I am back with my lovelies full time, we have a packed week in store...
What on earth is the title of this week's blog?! You might well ask...Why not try this out 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.
Literacy
A great opportunity to use some swagbag skills this week, as we move onto looking at Information Texts.
Using the children's own interests as a starting point, they will pose their own questions about what they want to know about what interests them. In shared reading, we will be using information books (or ICT sources) to find answers, exploring how to use an index and alphabetical order. We will also be reviewing dictionaries and glossaries to find definitions of words from reading.
The children will also be expected to know some of the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts. The children will also learn how to use the Smartboard as a presentation tool for them to display their information text and photographs or drawings. Maybe some children could even write an information book using Photostory from a couple of weeks ago? If so, please do send them into school on a pen drive, or e-mail them to school.
http://www.kidsgowild.com/animalfacts information about animals which will help the children who chose this as their area to write about
http://www.settle.co.uk/local.htm an example of how an information text can be set out
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/wild/pets/ a great site from CBBC
http://www.abc.net.au/oceans/alive.htm information about animals of the sea – good for interaction
http://www.topicbox.org.uk/browse.php?item_ID=5426&subject=English&topic=Text%20-%20Non-chron%20report a non-chronological report on elephants. This link takes you to a powerpoint that can be downloaded to view at home.
Numeracy
A very practical week in store – the children will be investigating weight!
There will be scales in the classroom, but I shall be avoiding them!!
The children will be investigating objects which are heavier and lighter than each other and should be able to order them from lightest to the heaviest and vice versa.
As always, we are developing the children’s knowledge of mathematical vocabulary, so this week, they will need to learn:
Ascending order – from the lowest amount to the highest
Descending order – from the highest amount to the lowest
How can you help at home?
Look at different of packets, tins, jar, bottles etc. that you have in the kitchen or bathroom cupboards. Look out for how much the packet weighs and see if it is measured in grams or kilograms. Talk about how ‘g’ is short for grams and that ‘kg’ is short for kilograms.
Try to order the objects you have chosen by the weight on the packets and then check by estimating their weight by hand. You could then check by actually weighing them on kitchen scales. Point out what each of the lines mean on the scales and explain how each division might be 10 grams, 50 grams etc.
This is always difficult, so any help you can give at home with this will really help.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST: be able to compare weights by direct comparisons using non-standard measures, need to be able to use appropriate mathematical language.
SHOULD: be able to recognise the relationship between grams and kilograms.
COULD: be able to read simple scales to the nearest division.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/numberlinev2.swf the children will use this in school to help find out how much each of the divisions on a number line are worth. This will also help them when they come to read numbers on a scale.
http://www.ictgames.com/mostlyPostie.html drag the parcel onto the scales and then read the scale to see how heavy it is. Enter the amount on the till and click check. If you are correct, then the postvan will drive off.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/maths/aliencookbook.shtml this is quite challenging, as it ask you to measure not only weight, but capacity as well, but the children will get experience of reading a variety of scales, not least to make an upside down cake!
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=simplescales2 a simple way of introducing how to read scales, by weighing how much each toy weighs.
http://www.ictgames.com/weight.html
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=fruitbalance3 this is good for developing the vocabulary of which is heavier or lighter. See if you can find out which is the heaviest fruit?
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=scales3 a very similar site, but this time, the children have to try and guess which is the heaviest alien! Very funny!
Science
We begin our new topic of Light and Dark with the children this week. The children will learn that that the sense of sight can only be used when it is light. They will also be able to name a variety of light sources and make comparisons between them. Finally, they will find out that the Sun is the source of light for the Earth.
We will also be reading a lovely story called ‘The owl who was afraid of dark’. The children will have to come up with as many different ways of making sure that Plop feels safe at night!
In preparation for this, it would be great if you could try this activity out at home, before the children come back to school:
Stand in your living room, or your child’s bedroom and ask them to look around and describe what they can see.
Then turn the light off to make the room as dark as possible.
Try asking these questions and remind your child that we will be asking them these questions in school this week:
· In the darkness what are you able to see?
· In the darkness are you able to see clearly?
· In the darkness are you able to see the outlines of objects clearly?
· In the darkness are you able to see different colours clearly?
By the end of the topic the children:
MUST be able to name a number of light sources, including the Sun; recognise that they cannot see in the dark and know that it is dangerous to look at the Sun.
SHOULD be able to name a number of light sources, including the Sun; recognise that they cannot see in the dark; describe and compare some light sources and explain why it is dangerous to look at the Sun.
COULD be able to explain that they cannot see shiny objects in the dark because they are not light sources.
Challenge: Can the children investigate whether the moon is a light source or not?
http://www.mystery-productions.info/hyper/Hypermedia_2003/Roby/index.html this site is aimed at Key Stage 2, but I think if you sit with your child for this one, they should be able to work through it
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/Phase2delivery/Wales/Science/Keystage1/Physicalprocess/Light/Introduction/default.htm work through this activity to identify which objects are sources of light and which are not
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/light_dark.shtml good old scienceclips! Drag the objects into the centre of the room, to see if they are light sources or not.
http://www.poissonrouge.com/opticalillusions/index.htm just for fun this one! I am normally not very good with these optical illusions, but have a go with your children to see the kind of tricks light can play on your eyes!
Barnaby Bear
I love this topic! We have a very well travelled bear in Year 1, having been taken to Chicago and New York by Mr Worrall last year, but he hasn’t been anywhere lately and is getting restless. Oh dear...we can’t have that can we? This year, he wants to see what his local area is like and have some photographs he can take on his travels over the summer.
So...can we help him? Of course we can! Barnaby will be coming home with each every one of the children over the next few weeks and we would like you to fill in a page each night with his adventures. Don’t worry – it only means writing one or two sentences about what Barnaby has done that night whilst he was at your house. You may even want to take a photo of him wherever he has been and stick that into the book too.
This type of activity already happens in Year 2, so we are preparing for the transition early, with the children getting used to taking Barnaby home. All that we ask, is that you send him back to school the NEXT MORNING, even if you haven’t had the chance to write anything in his book. Thanks for your support with this.
I think that’s all for this week. Have a good one!
Year 1 team x
Thursday 5 February 2009
Assessment and Review
Welcome to the final week of this half term – can you believe we are into February already?
Before we begin this week’s blog, may I pass on my thanks for your generosity during last week’s book fair. From the ‘Wish list’ of books chosen by the children, you donated 9 books to our class library! These have provided some lovely stories at the end of the school day and now have pride of place in our class library, complete with dedication labels for posterity!
In total, we raised over £1000, which will be translated into commission to add to our school library stocks. A big thank you to Miss Knight and all staff who manned the book fair each night last week.
The children all looked fantastic on Friday, dressed as their book character – I was tempted to find a costume myself, as it looked great fun!
I have taken a photograph of all of the children in their costumes, which you will receive at the end of year – ooh 21st birthday posters??! Once again, as a mum myself, I know how traumatic it can be when you are asked to provide a ‘costume’, but you all very talented costume designers and a huge thank you for your time and efforts.
Well, as always in the last week of any half term, it is Assess and Review week, where we see how well the children have progressed towards the objectives and begin to plan our teaching for after the half term.
Mass
There will be a mass held in the school hall at 9.15am on Friday, on the theme of Communion. This is to tie in with our current Here I Am theme and will be led by staff and children from Key Stage 2. All primary schools in the Parish are following the program and each term, a mass will be held on school, on the theme of the Here I Am topic.
You are warmly invited to attend, but please remember that space is at a premium in the school hall. If you have prams or buggies, then please feel free to leave them in the infant area if needed.
Parent/Teacher meetings
You will be informed of your child’s targets during our meetings this week, but please feel free to ask any questions which you have and we will do our best to answer them.
Many thanks for those of you who have been able to be flexible in the times allocated for our meetings. I’m sure you can appreciate the logistics involved in syncing-up times with teachers of older siblings, so it is greatly appreciated!
Meetings are arranged at ten minute intervals, but if we find that more time is needed, we will ask you to arrange another appointment, to avoid running over the allocated times. Thank you for your understanding with this.
Reading
There has been an increase in the number of parents making comments in the diaries, but we are still some way from our 100% target. In order to help with, you will receive a pack of prompt questions during our meetings, to support you when reading with your child.
The children are showing real skill now in being able to applying their learning from their phonics sessions, to the decoding of the words. This may mean that the home reader which your child is bringing home, may appear to be easy for them. When we assess the children’s readiness for the next level, it is a combination of the ability to decode the words and their understanding of the text that determines the appropriate level for them.
I shall be assessing the children’s readiness to move on to the next book band this week and will inform you of their progress through the diaries.
Homework
Apologies for the confusion with the homework last week. A couple of children have already handed their wanted posters in, but they need to be in for MONDAY. I will be sending a writing piece of homework out on FRIDAY of next week, for the children to complete over the holidays. It would be great if we could get 100% of children returning this homework as this is an area which the children are doing well in.
Numeracy
We will be assessing the children on the following this week:
Can they partition numbers into hundreds, ten and units?
Double numbers up to 10? Up to 20?
Find halves of those numbers?
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf one of my favourite sites. Click on the doubles/halves button and select the doubles on the left hand side to begin
http://www.ictgames.com/bridgedoubles.html select the doubles from the circles to complete building the bridge
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game1.htm move the sheep into the correct paddocl to double the quantity
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/doubling/doubling%202%20digit.swf if you fancy a real challenge, see of you can work out how to double any two digit number
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/double.html type in the number you want to double and see if you can calculate the answer before the machine!
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/halver.html exactly the same as the previous site, but this is the halving version.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/Postsortingv3.swf click on the tens and units postbox to post the letters. Be careful, as you cannot post all the letters!
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Toolkit%20index2a this will open up lots of things that we use in class, but for this week, you will need to click on the place value calculator. Although it says it is aimed at Key Stage 2, many of the children will be able to use the knowledge they have to calculate the answers.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/PlaceValueChartv4.swf having used this before, we know how much the children enjoyed it!
Can they add two numbers totalling less than 20?
Can they say which number is ten more and ten less than a two digit number?
Can they investigate this with 3 digit numbers?
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/number-english.html match the number names to the figures http://www.ictgames.com/100huntplus10.html click on the number in the 100 square to find 10 more
http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/math/wilce/cosmic.html I love this! The children have to solve the problems along the way, to complete the mission. Some are harder than others, so it may be best if you sit with them for this one. Good for problem solving.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html group these objects into small groups in order to make counting easier
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html this site is a bit more challenging, but it great at allowing the children to practice grouping in 10s to make counting quicker.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/number-english.html match the number names to the figures http://www.ictgames.com/100huntplus10.html click on the number in the 100 square to find 10 more
http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/math/wilce/cosmic.html I love this! The children have to solve the problems along the way, to complete the mission. Some are harder than others, so it may be best if you sit with them for this one. Good for problem solving.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html group these objects into small groups in order to make counting easier
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html this site is a bit more challenging, but it great at allowing the children to practice grouping in 10s to make counting quicker.
Can they subtract a single digit number from another by counting up?
Can they subtract a single digit number from a two digit number by counting up?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/test.shtml a simple game to play to work on mental calculation of subtraction
http://www.ictgames.com/football2.html a game for calculating ten less – a really good one for the boys!
http://www.ictgames.com/soccer_subtraction.html click on the footballers to work out the answer, then click on the ball to score a goal. Possibly the only time that England will ever beat Brazil!
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game8.htm although this is a great site, why not use your own bottles and play this large scale game in the garden?
Can they tell you what a right angle is?
Can they tell you what a quarter turn is?
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jeux.lulu/html/anglais/flcoccin/coccinel.htm get the ladybird to eat all the flowers but be careful she doesn’t fall down the holes!
http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/haringey/web/teachers%20section/KS2/ICT/Links%20%26%20Resources/documents/clowns.swf quite a complicated one at first, but ok when you have had a couple of goes! The children need to rotate the car 90 degrees ( a right angle) and make it moves forwards to pop the balloons. Type 90 into the turn box and the distance in metres into the ‘how far’ box.
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jeux.lulu/html/anglais/flvoyage/fleches4.htm click the arrow to get Lulu back to his spaceship.
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/navigation/navigation.html use the arrow buttons on the keyboard to try and find the virus before it destroys the island!
Science
We will also be assessing the children’s learning in science this week, by giving them a challenge. They will work in their teams, to plan an investigation to find out the best material for specific purposes.
They will be given a box of materials and a series of questions to answer. From this investigation, they will have to label the equipment with labels such as: transparent, translucent, opaque, waterproof, rough, smooth, bendy, hard, and soft.
You could help at home, by asking the children if they can name any materials in your home and see if they can name the purpose they are made for.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml a favourite website, but why not try doing this yourself with materials from around the house?http://www.glassforever.co.uk/ find out how glass is made
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materials2d a great sorting activity for explaining how materials are grouped
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/scope.html you will keep playing with this one! Click on the numbers on the left hand side to get and image. Then, click on the magnify button to see what the image looks like up to 200x bigger!http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materials drag and drop the materials names to the correct places
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/material_matters/index.htm you will need to support your child with the reading of this text, but it is really interesting information.
Medication Notice
Mrs Walker has kindly asked that any children who have volumatic spacers for asthma need to take them home for half term to be washed . Unfortunately school are unable to do this. The children will then need them back on the first day after the holidays.
Also, as a reminder, we are unable to administer any medication which has not be prescribed by a GP. We also need you to complete a medication permission form, which may be obtained from Mrs Walker. Many thanks.
And finally...
We say a sad goodbye to Miss McKay this week after her 5 weeks teaching practice with us. She has thoroughly enjoyed her time with us and has loved teaching the children. We wish her every success for her future teaching career and hope she keeps in touch with us all at St Vincent’s.
All that is left, is to wish you all a happy and safe half term break and look forward to seeing you all this week.
Year 1 team xxx
Before we begin this week’s blog, may I pass on my thanks for your generosity during last week’s book fair. From the ‘Wish list’ of books chosen by the children, you donated 9 books to our class library! These have provided some lovely stories at the end of the school day and now have pride of place in our class library, complete with dedication labels for posterity!
In total, we raised over £1000, which will be translated into commission to add to our school library stocks. A big thank you to Miss Knight and all staff who manned the book fair each night last week.
The children all looked fantastic on Friday, dressed as their book character – I was tempted to find a costume myself, as it looked great fun!
I have taken a photograph of all of the children in their costumes, which you will receive at the end of year – ooh 21st birthday posters??! Once again, as a mum myself, I know how traumatic it can be when you are asked to provide a ‘costume’, but you all very talented costume designers and a huge thank you for your time and efforts.
Well, as always in the last week of any half term, it is Assess and Review week, where we see how well the children have progressed towards the objectives and begin to plan our teaching for after the half term.
Mass
There will be a mass held in the school hall at 9.15am on Friday, on the theme of Communion. This is to tie in with our current Here I Am theme and will be led by staff and children from Key Stage 2. All primary schools in the Parish are following the program and each term, a mass will be held on school, on the theme of the Here I Am topic.
You are warmly invited to attend, but please remember that space is at a premium in the school hall. If you have prams or buggies, then please feel free to leave them in the infant area if needed.
Parent/Teacher meetings
You will be informed of your child’s targets during our meetings this week, but please feel free to ask any questions which you have and we will do our best to answer them.
Many thanks for those of you who have been able to be flexible in the times allocated for our meetings. I’m sure you can appreciate the logistics involved in syncing-up times with teachers of older siblings, so it is greatly appreciated!
Meetings are arranged at ten minute intervals, but if we find that more time is needed, we will ask you to arrange another appointment, to avoid running over the allocated times. Thank you for your understanding with this.
Reading
There has been an increase in the number of parents making comments in the diaries, but we are still some way from our 100% target. In order to help with, you will receive a pack of prompt questions during our meetings, to support you when reading with your child.
The children are showing real skill now in being able to applying their learning from their phonics sessions, to the decoding of the words. This may mean that the home reader which your child is bringing home, may appear to be easy for them. When we assess the children’s readiness for the next level, it is a combination of the ability to decode the words and their understanding of the text that determines the appropriate level for them.
I shall be assessing the children’s readiness to move on to the next book band this week and will inform you of their progress through the diaries.
Homework
Apologies for the confusion with the homework last week. A couple of children have already handed their wanted posters in, but they need to be in for MONDAY. I will be sending a writing piece of homework out on FRIDAY of next week, for the children to complete over the holidays. It would be great if we could get 100% of children returning this homework as this is an area which the children are doing well in.
Numeracy
We will be assessing the children on the following this week:
Can they partition numbers into hundreds, ten and units?
Double numbers up to 10? Up to 20?
Find halves of those numbers?
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf one of my favourite sites. Click on the doubles/halves button and select the doubles on the left hand side to begin
http://www.ictgames.com/bridgedoubles.html select the doubles from the circles to complete building the bridge
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game1.htm move the sheep into the correct paddocl to double the quantity
http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/doubling/doubling%202%20digit.swf if you fancy a real challenge, see of you can work out how to double any two digit number
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/double.html type in the number you want to double and see if you can calculate the answer before the machine!
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/halver.html exactly the same as the previous site, but this is the halving version.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/Postsortingv3.swf click on the tens and units postbox to post the letters. Be careful, as you cannot post all the letters!
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Toolkit%20index2a this will open up lots of things that we use in class, but for this week, you will need to click on the place value calculator. Although it says it is aimed at Key Stage 2, many of the children will be able to use the knowledge they have to calculate the answers.
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/853/PlaceValueChartv4.swf having used this before, we know how much the children enjoyed it!
Can they add two numbers totalling less than 20?
Can they say which number is ten more and ten less than a two digit number?
Can they investigate this with 3 digit numbers?
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/number-english.html match the number names to the figures http://www.ictgames.com/100huntplus10.html click on the number in the 100 square to find 10 more
http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/math/wilce/cosmic.html I love this! The children have to solve the problems along the way, to complete the mission. Some are harder than others, so it may be best if you sit with them for this one. Good for problem solving.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html group these objects into small groups in order to make counting easier
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html this site is a bit more challenging, but it great at allowing the children to practice grouping in 10s to make counting quicker.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/number-english.html match the number names to the figures http://www.ictgames.com/100huntplus10.html click on the number in the 100 square to find 10 more
http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/math/wilce/cosmic.html I love this! The children have to solve the problems along the way, to complete the mission. Some are harder than others, so it may be best if you sit with them for this one. Good for problem solving.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html group these objects into small groups in order to make counting easier
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/estimate/estimate.html this site is a bit more challenging, but it great at allowing the children to practice grouping in 10s to make counting quicker.
Can they subtract a single digit number from another by counting up?
Can they subtract a single digit number from a two digit number by counting up?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/test.shtml a simple game to play to work on mental calculation of subtraction
http://www.ictgames.com/football2.html a game for calculating ten less – a really good one for the boys!
http://www.ictgames.com/soccer_subtraction.html click on the footballers to work out the answer, then click on the ball to score a goal. Possibly the only time that England will ever beat Brazil!
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game8.htm although this is a great site, why not use your own bottles and play this large scale game in the garden?
Can they tell you what a right angle is?
Can they tell you what a quarter turn is?
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jeux.lulu/html/anglais/flcoccin/coccinel.htm get the ladybird to eat all the flowers but be careful she doesn’t fall down the holes!
http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/haringey/web/teachers%20section/KS2/ICT/Links%20%26%20Resources/documents/clowns.swf quite a complicated one at first, but ok when you have had a couple of goes! The children need to rotate the car 90 degrees ( a right angle) and make it moves forwards to pop the balloons. Type 90 into the turn box and the distance in metres into the ‘how far’ box.
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jeux.lulu/html/anglais/flvoyage/fleches4.htm click the arrow to get Lulu back to his spaceship.
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/navigation/navigation.html use the arrow buttons on the keyboard to try and find the virus before it destroys the island!
Science
We will also be assessing the children’s learning in science this week, by giving them a challenge. They will work in their teams, to plan an investigation to find out the best material for specific purposes.
They will be given a box of materials and a series of questions to answer. From this investigation, they will have to label the equipment with labels such as: transparent, translucent, opaque, waterproof, rough, smooth, bendy, hard, and soft.
You could help at home, by asking the children if they can name any materials in your home and see if they can name the purpose they are made for.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml a favourite website, but why not try doing this yourself with materials from around the house?http://www.glassforever.co.uk/ find out how glass is made
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materials2d a great sorting activity for explaining how materials are grouped
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/scope.html you will keep playing with this one! Click on the numbers on the left hand side to get and image. Then, click on the magnify button to see what the image looks like up to 200x bigger!http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materials drag and drop the materials names to the correct places
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/material_matters/index.htm you will need to support your child with the reading of this text, but it is really interesting information.
Medication Notice
Mrs Walker has kindly asked that any children who have volumatic spacers for asthma need to take them home for half term to be washed . Unfortunately school are unable to do this. The children will then need them back on the first day after the holidays.
Also, as a reminder, we are unable to administer any medication which has not be prescribed by a GP. We also need you to complete a medication permission form, which may be obtained from Mrs Walker. Many thanks.
And finally...
We say a sad goodbye to Miss McKay this week after her 5 weeks teaching practice with us. She has thoroughly enjoyed her time with us and has loved teaching the children. We wish her every success for her future teaching career and hope she keeps in touch with us all at St Vincent’s.
All that is left, is to wish you all a happy and safe half term break and look forward to seeing you all this week.
Year 1 team xxx
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