Hi and welcome to this week’s blog.
Before we begin with our curriculum for this week, can I just take this opportunity to thank you all for the fantastic efforts you made with the writing homework last week. I loved reading all the information sheets that the children brought in and we have decided to use them to make a display book in class of them all.
Whilst we are on the subject of writing, I have been thrilled with the responses we have had to our Barnaby Bear diary. The children who have taken him home so far, have written some fabulous diary entries and have even managed to take photos and print them off, all in one night! I am sure you will enjoy reading the entries for yourselves when Barnaby comes to visit your house!
Literacy
We conclude our Information topic this week and our focus will be on writing an information page. The children will be using the same marking ladder as mentioned in previous weeks and checking to make sure they have included them in their own work.
The children have devised their own system of writing improvement and this involves a point scoring system. Intrigued? Well...
Tigers are big.
Mmm – a 3 point sentence
Tigers are very big animals.
A four point sentence – but we need to improve the VOCABULARY
Tigers are extremely large animals.(5 points)
Better – but we need to make our sentence longer by adding a CONNECTIVE and get more points.
Tigers are extremely large animals AND they hunt other wild animals. (11 points)
Getting there – but can we improve the OPENING to the sentence?
What about the PUNCTUATION? Maybe we could put an exclamation mark at the end, or even start my information with a question.
The children will be challenged to make their sentences as long as they can – ask them if they remember the ‘frog’s tongues’ from last year?
Phonics
We are moving through our phonics at a great pace at the moment and we are pleased that the children are beginning to apply this when writing independently.
This week, we are going to review UE and AW and introduce the new sounds wh ph and ew.
wh – we will talk about the difference between this and ‘w’. ‘wh’ always comes at the start of the word. ‘w’ can come at start, middle or end.
ph – we will look at the difference between this and the letter ‘f’
ew – compare this to the ‘oo’ sounds and explain that ‘ew’ usually comes at the end of a word
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.
By the end of the week, you should receive an update of the sounds that your child needs to work on.
Numeracy
This week, we will be looking at a variety of topics and using number skills to link them together.
The children will be revisiting our work on money and seeing if they can recognise the value of coins. This is particularly challenging now, as children very often only see us paying for things with ‘plastic’ and so do not have as much experience of using coins.
They will also be using their subtraction skills when calculating the change in the role play area. This often helps the children to consolidate their skills, as they really aren’t happy if they think they have lost money!
We move on in the second half of the week, to looking at time. The children will review the telling of time to o’clock and half past, and then move on to quarter past and quarter to. This always tends to be a real challenge, so any support you are able to give at home with this will help.
This week’s homework will be a making homework. The children will be asked to make their very own clock, complete with moveable hands. They will also have to write the instructions for making it, remembering to use the openers...First, Next, Then, After that and Last. More information will be in the homework books this week.
http://www.ictgames.com/moneysplat.html count the number of coins in the hands and click on the hand with 10p
http://www.ictgames.com/change_eXchanger_v2.html Scan the products on the conveyor belt, then work out the change after the customer pays. Our first sum was 10p given for a 3p tin of beans. What's the change?
http://www.topicbox.co.uk/browse.php?item_ID=5854&subject=Maths&topic=Money download a powerpoint from here to help count in 2ps
http://www.ictgames.com/moneypayer.html use the coins to pay the price shown in the tag
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/clickon/virtualshop/shop1.htm there is no substitute for using the real thing, but this is a great substitute for using coins.
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/ClassClock/clockres.html this is great for using to teach the time in class and at home.
http://www.saintambrosebarlow.wigan.sch.uk/Infant_activities/daysofweek1.htm great for asking questions about days of the week
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/willy/willy.html o’clock and half past time game
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/StopTheClock/sthec1.html half past and o’clock times, where the children have to match the digital and analogue times.
ICT
The children will be using the laptops to present their final pieces of writing this week and so developing their typing skills.
The children are managing really well with using the mouse pads and have even learned about servers and networks this week! They are certainly keeping me on my toes!
Artwork
The children have started some fantastic pieces of artwork, based on their knowledge of materials and the natural environment. We are aiming to get this finished and displayed for you by the end of the week, so we will keep you posted of where our gallery will be, courtesy of our resident artist, aka Mrs Fox!
They have also started some great preparations for our next Literacy unit on Traditional Tales. They have been describing, designing and making their own scenery for some of the stories we will be looking at. I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Reading
As part of our constant drive to raise standards, we have monitored the number and frequency of comments in the children’s diaries this week. As a year group, this week we had 75% of parents making a comment in the diary. Let’s see if we can be the first year group to reach 100%!
Yellow Woods challenge. Thank you for your response so far, but keep sending them in. Please remember that we just need the front page and the rest of it can be recycled in your blue bin at home.
Science week is coming up and the children will be taking part in a number of competitions and activities. We would to have any parents in school to give a talk to the children, so if your job involves any aspect of science, please do let any member of the team know.
The Travelling Science Show will be coming to school on Friday 20th March and we will be investigating the topic of Light and Sound.
The Methodist Church car park will have limited parking next week, as they will be beginning demolition work.
The Friends of St Vincent’s Craft Fayre raised £300 last Sunday. Many thanks for your support.
I think that is all for this week!
Year 1 team xxx
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