What a week we had last week! The children looked fabulous in their clown costumes and had a great time in the Circusology workshops. Are they trying to find silk handkerchiefs? I didn’t think of that idea of teaching someone how to juggle! Have a look on the school website for some photos of ‘Alex’ who came in to do the demonstrations!
We were thrilled with just how many children brought in a root vegetable model. There were some fabulous designs and ideas! A huge thank you to all parents who gave up their evenings to work with their children on these projects this week – it has made a real difference!
So, what have we got planned for this week?
Literacy
We will be continuing with our Stories with familiar settings and will be reading a text called ‘The Tiger who came to tea.’
The children need to come up with ideas of what they would do if a tiger did come to tea! What would they need to have ready for him? Would they need to change anything? Could they think of anyone else they would like to invite to tea who they wouldn’t normally expect? The children could even devise their own tea-party for an unexpected visitor...?
We will also be looking at the grammar in sentences, particularly the use of question marks. Do they know when they should see them in their reading? Do we see a full stop AND a question mark? Maybe you could discuss some questions they would like to ask the tiger when he comes to tea! Have a go at scribing some questions with your child, emphasising the use of the question mark.
The children will also be practising ‘reading-on’ in a sentence to see if they can work out the meaning of any unfamiliar words in the text. They can still use other strategies, such as using the pictures and the initial sound in the words, but this is an additional strategy to use.
By the end of the week, the children:
Must be able to use a capital letter to start a sentence and a full stop to end it.
Should be able to use capital letters and full stops in my writing and begin to use question marks.
Could be able to use capital letters, full stops and question marks in my writing and recognise exclamation marks.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/wordTree.html type in the current HFW that your child is working by selecting the menu. The words then appear in the apples on the tree. See how many your child can read in 2 minutes. If you drag an apple onto the trunk, then it enlarges it to make it easier to read.
Other sites from last week will still help with High Frequency word spelling and recognition.
Science
We will be continuing with our topic of materials, looking at how there are many materials and that they can be named and described according to their characteristics. They will name and describe a range of common materials, identify and group materials and be able to describe different objects made of the same material. By the end of the week, they should also be able to name some naturally occurring materials.
By the end of the week, the children:
MUST be able to describe a variety of materials in terms of ‘shiny’, ‘hard’ etc.
SHOULD be able to identify objects made of the same materials
COULD be able to choose their own criteria to sort the materials and say whether they are natural or man-made
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml a great site for sorting materials into their properties
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml why not have a challenge and see if you can name the materials and say whether or not they are transparent?
http://www.glassforever.co.uk/ have a go at making your very own piece of glass! This is quite a complicated site and you will probably be best working through this with your child.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materials2d this helps your child to sort various materials according to their properties – a lovely, easy to use site!
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/scope.html I was fascinated by this site when I first looked at it! Click on the numbers on the left hand side to select the material, and then click on the magnifying glass to enlarge the image. When you had giggled at trying to guess what the material is, click on the eye...!
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materialsHtm click and drag the labels to the correct place on the picture
Topic
In preparation for our work on the Victorians, why not have a look through some of these sites for some interesting information on the Victorians.
http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/history/joshi/INDEX.HTM I was on this site for ages! You may need to help your child with some of the reading, but the animations are fantastic! This is great preparation for when we look at a real-life Victorian classroom!
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/victorians.html a great site for gathering information about the Victorians
Numeracy
This week, we will looking at how we can apply our number work to measuring objects.
We begin by estimating, measuring and comparing the length of different objects, using cubes first and then moving onto centimetres. Some of the children may be able to draw lines to the nearest centimetre. If you want to have a go at this at home first, remember to point out that the beginning of the ruler, isn’t where they need to start measuring – start to measure the line where the ‘0’ is.
These websites are great, but there is no substitute for using a ruler and measuring lots of objects around the house. Try encouraging your child to use the vocabulary ‘longer than’ or ‘shorter than’. Also, ask them if they can estimate whether objects are longer than a metre or shorter than a metre. Could they order them for shortest to longest?
By the end of the week, the children:
Must be able to use language of shorter than and longer than when comparing two objects
Should use and be able to read the vocabulary associated with length
Could read and begin to write the vocabulary related to length and know the relationship between kilometres and metres, metres and centimetres
These are some of the words that you child will encounter this week while investigating Length. When trying any of the next few activities, try to incorporate some of these words:
length, width, height, depth, long, short, tall, high, low, wide, narrow, deep, shallow, thick, thin, longer, shorter, taller, higher,longest, shortest, tallest, highest, further, furthest, near, close, metre (m), centimetre (cm), ruler, metre stick, tape measure
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/ just as a bit of a continuation of the circus theme...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.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/cobwebCreator_v3.html Just for fun! Have a go at creating your very own cobweb poem, and design you very own cobweb to write it into!
Here I Am
We conclude our topic of Homes and Families this week and finish with a class celebration of all the work done so far. The children will also make a pledge card – something special that they are going to do for their families to say thank you for being special.
Diary
On Monday, the winners and the runners up from the Root Vegetable competition should be presented with their prizes in assembly, as well as the whole school seeing our very own ‘Healthy Schools Award’ for the very first time! Also, Mrs Worrall will be attending a course, so her class will be covered by Mrs Robinson.
Last week was the first week of homework and the Year 1 children did really well with their new ‘regime’. We had lots of lovely comments saying how much the children enjoyed the activities, which is fantastic feedback for us! We are trying to develop the children’s independence and so it would be a big help if you could remind them to put their homework folder with their homework diaries on a Monday morning. Many of them have got it already – fabulous!
We finish this week, by saying thank you for the extra response we have had in the diaries this week, although we are still some way off the 100% response target. We do send letters out about events that are going on in school and post them on this blog, but the diary serves as a reminder on a day to day basis, as well as informing you of your child’s successes and targets.
Here’s to a great week!
Year 1/2 team.
Friday, 28 September 2007
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
24th September 2007
What a fabulous week we have planned for you this week! The children are really in for a treat because the CIRCUS has come to St.Vincent’s!
All of the work we will be covering, will be linked to our Circus theme and by Friday, the children will have produced some fabulous poems, pictures, collages , dances, music and number work! Phew...will we be able to fit it all in?!
Language and Literacy
As a rich task week, the children will be looking at lots of different types of texts, all based around the circus theme. We will be asking the children the kinds of things we might find in a pocket – how useful are they? Do we really need them? Do the things in the pocket change with different occupations? Why are mum’s pockets ALWAYS like Mary Poppins’ handbag?! What about a clown’s pocket? What might you find there? Mmm, this could be an interesting read on Friday!
There will be lots of Speaking and Listening activities this week and the children will each be taking on a different role in the circus. Just to get them in the mood for this topic, click on the link below for some great circus music. (If you are a professional musician, then the quality isn’t the best, but it’s great for giving you an idea!)
http://pages.prodigy.net/area512/circus1.html the pictures on this site may be a bit scary, so please make sure that you are with your child when they first visit it, but the music that you can listen to, will really get you in the mood (and remind you of your childhood visits to the circus!)
We will be continuing with the basics, including high-frequency words and the links below will really help to support your child. It is vitally important that these are practised on a DAILY basis at home; just 5 words a day, for two minutes, can make such a huge difference to your child’s reading and writing skills. Try to stick with the same words for a week, as this will ensure that the words are really embedded into your child’s vocabulary. The aim is that your child is able to read the word instantaneously when reading, without the need to sound out the letters.
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 were really surprised with the children’s knowledge of 2D and 3D shaped last week, and they were able to sort them into groups according to whether they have curved or straight sides. To keep the momentum going, encourage your child to look for shapes when they are out and about. Can they name the shape? How many sides, edges, faces has it got?
A good ‘cutting and sticking’ activity, is to draw some shapes onto coloured paper and get your child to cut them out. Then use them, to make a 2D shape picture. Which shapes would you need to make a rocket? A caterpillar? A train?
This week, we will be moving onto number work. The children will be looking at one more and more less a given number, moving onto being able to bridge through a 10. This means that, they should be able to COUNT ON from the largest number to find the total. You could help, by pointing out the multiples of ten as they add numbers together – 10, 20, 30...
5 + 9 =.... start with the number 9 and then COUNT ON 5.
By the end of the week, some of the children will be confident enough to add together 3 numbers, remembering to put the largest number first.
Another activity to try, is to roll a dice, and add 10 to that number. You could make it more difficult, by adding together two rolls of the dice and THEN adding 10.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/count_on_me/eng/Introduction/default.htm this will help to support the number bonds to 10
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/snakes.shtml play a game of snakes and ladders to practice counting on skills – this will really help the children to concentrate...just try moving forward too many places and see what happens!
http://www.primaryonline.co.uk/sitetour/pol/findra.html quite an easy game, but good for children who are working on recognising numbers and ordering them.
http://www.ictgames.com/newduckshoot10s.html counting in 10s - beware the missing numbers on the line!
http://www.ictgames.com/rabbit2.html very appropriate at Harvest time! Can you pull the carrots out of the ground?
http://www.ictgames.com/fairyfog2s_v2.html click on the missing number by counting in 2’s
http://www.ictgames.com/counting_cars_changecars.html this made me giggle! Find the missing number (on the car) and turn the steering wheel in that direction to ‘bump the car!’
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game11.htm click on the next number on the lily pad to get the frog across the pond.
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game6.htm colouring by numbers - a lovely activity!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/maths/parkthepods.shtml the children in Year 2 should be able to do this by the end of the week. Make sure you turn the sound up for this as you need to listen to the questions – count back 3 from 22.
http://www.sgdesign.com/af/aflinkjr/con2.swf this is lovely site for children when ordering numbers. If they get it right, they see a great animation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch3.shtml remember COUNT- COUNT-TOGETHER-COUNT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/test.shtml another game for practising addition
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/gameshoweasy.html a great game to play against your child! See who can finish first!
http://www.letsdiscover.org.uk/shopping.html use this site to show children the practical application of why they are doing addition this week!
By the end of the week, the Year 1 children:
MUST Add a single-digit number to a single- digit number within 10 (at least) e.g. 4+ 5
SHOULD Add a single-digit number to a two-digit number, without crossing the tens boundary.
COULD Add any single digit number to any two-digit number, including ‘teens’ numbers without crossing the 'tens' boundary e.g.62+4.
The Year 2 children:
MUST Add a single-digit number to a two-digit number, without crossing the tens boundary
SHOULD Add any single digit number to any two-digit number, including ‘teens’ numbers without crossing the 'tens' boundary e.g.62+4. Add any single digit number to any two-digit number up to 30, crossing the 'tens' boundary e.g. 16 + 6
COULD Add any pair of two-digit numbers, without crossing a tens boundary. e.g. 33 + 45.
Homework
You should all have received you child’s homework folder last Tuesday, which needs to be handed in on Monday morning. This is to enable the teachers to mark the work and return it to you on Tuesday, with a new set of words and numeracy. We would be grateful if you could sign your child’s homework and write any difficulties or successes which your child has had. The children have been really positive about their homework and it would be great if this was to continue throughout the year.
Diary
On Monday and Tuesday, Mrs Pinto-Edwards will not be in school, and her class will be covered by Mrs Robinson.
On Wednesday, we will be having our Harvest Festival Mass in the hall, celebrated by Father Richard at 2pm. You are most welcome to join us.
On Thursday, the circus comes to St. Vincent’s! Each of the three classes will be having their Circusology workshops. We are so excited at the prospect of being able to juggle – hopefully the children won’t be too lively on Wednesday evening at home?!
Then on Friday, we finish the week with some more fun – the children will be able to come to school dressed as clowns for the day! We really do hope you all enter into the spirit of things, as it would be a real shame if some children had to come to school in uniform. It doesn’t have to be elaborate – all it needs is some colourful materials, a sprinkle of glitter and a cupful of imagination! Face paints are a must!!
To finish the week off, we will be judging our Root Vegetable competition. There will be a winner and a runner up for each class. We hope to put some of the photographs on the blog next week, so we can see just how creative you have all been!
We finish this week’s blog with a request. Lots of parents are making comments in their child’s reading diaries, both to let us know any information and to inform us when you have read with your child and this is fantastic. As your child’s co-educators, we appreciate all the support that you are able to give them and us, in order to make the learning experience as fun and fulfilling as it can possibly be. If you haven’t yet been able to make a comment in the diary, please do aim for at least one comment per week – we would love to read them!
Have a great week!
Year 1/2 team.
All of the work we will be covering, will be linked to our Circus theme and by Friday, the children will have produced some fabulous poems, pictures, collages , dances, music and number work! Phew...will we be able to fit it all in?!
Language and Literacy
As a rich task week, the children will be looking at lots of different types of texts, all based around the circus theme. We will be asking the children the kinds of things we might find in a pocket – how useful are they? Do we really need them? Do the things in the pocket change with different occupations? Why are mum’s pockets ALWAYS like Mary Poppins’ handbag?! What about a clown’s pocket? What might you find there? Mmm, this could be an interesting read on Friday!
There will be lots of Speaking and Listening activities this week and the children will each be taking on a different role in the circus. Just to get them in the mood for this topic, click on the link below for some great circus music. (If you are a professional musician, then the quality isn’t the best, but it’s great for giving you an idea!)
http://pages.prodigy.net/area512/circus1.html the pictures on this site may be a bit scary, so please make sure that you are with your child when they first visit it, but the music that you can listen to, will really get you in the mood (and remind you of your childhood visits to the circus!)
We will be continuing with the basics, including high-frequency words and the links below will really help to support your child. It is vitally important that these are practised on a DAILY basis at home; just 5 words a day, for two minutes, can make such a huge difference to your child’s reading and writing skills. Try to stick with the same words for a week, as this will ensure that the words are really embedded into your child’s vocabulary. The aim is that your child is able to read the word instantaneously when reading, without the need to sound out the letters.
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 were really surprised with the children’s knowledge of 2D and 3D shaped last week, and they were able to sort them into groups according to whether they have curved or straight sides. To keep the momentum going, encourage your child to look for shapes when they are out and about. Can they name the shape? How many sides, edges, faces has it got?
A good ‘cutting and sticking’ activity, is to draw some shapes onto coloured paper and get your child to cut them out. Then use them, to make a 2D shape picture. Which shapes would you need to make a rocket? A caterpillar? A train?
This week, we will be moving onto number work. The children will be looking at one more and more less a given number, moving onto being able to bridge through a 10. This means that, they should be able to COUNT ON from the largest number to find the total. You could help, by pointing out the multiples of ten as they add numbers together – 10, 20, 30...
5 + 9 =.... start with the number 9 and then COUNT ON 5.
By the end of the week, some of the children will be confident enough to add together 3 numbers, remembering to put the largest number first.
Another activity to try, is to roll a dice, and add 10 to that number. You could make it more difficult, by adding together two rolls of the dice and THEN adding 10.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/count_on_me/eng/Introduction/default.htm this will help to support the number bonds to 10
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/snakes.shtml play a game of snakes and ladders to practice counting on skills – this will really help the children to concentrate...just try moving forward too many places and see what happens!
http://www.primaryonline.co.uk/sitetour/pol/findra.html quite an easy game, but good for children who are working on recognising numbers and ordering them.
http://www.ictgames.com/newduckshoot10s.html counting in 10s - beware the missing numbers on the line!
http://www.ictgames.com/rabbit2.html very appropriate at Harvest time! Can you pull the carrots out of the ground?
http://www.ictgames.com/fairyfog2s_v2.html click on the missing number by counting in 2’s
http://www.ictgames.com/counting_cars_changecars.html this made me giggle! Find the missing number (on the car) and turn the steering wheel in that direction to ‘bump the car!’
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game11.htm click on the next number on the lily pad to get the frog across the pond.
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game6.htm colouring by numbers - a lovely activity!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/maths/parkthepods.shtml the children in Year 2 should be able to do this by the end of the week. Make sure you turn the sound up for this as you need to listen to the questions – count back 3 from 22.
http://www.sgdesign.com/af/aflinkjr/con2.swf this is lovely site for children when ordering numbers. If they get it right, they see a great animation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch3.shtml remember COUNT- COUNT-TOGETHER-COUNT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/test.shtml another game for practising addition
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/gameshoweasy.html a great game to play against your child! See who can finish first!
http://www.letsdiscover.org.uk/shopping.html use this site to show children the practical application of why they are doing addition this week!
By the end of the week, the Year 1 children:
MUST Add a single-digit number to a single- digit number within 10 (at least) e.g. 4+ 5
SHOULD Add a single-digit number to a two-digit number, without crossing the tens boundary.
COULD Add any single digit number to any two-digit number, including ‘teens’ numbers without crossing the 'tens' boundary e.g.62+4.
The Year 2 children:
MUST Add a single-digit number to a two-digit number, without crossing the tens boundary
SHOULD Add any single digit number to any two-digit number, including ‘teens’ numbers without crossing the 'tens' boundary e.g.62+4. Add any single digit number to any two-digit number up to 30, crossing the 'tens' boundary e.g. 16 + 6
COULD Add any pair of two-digit numbers, without crossing a tens boundary. e.g. 33 + 45.
Homework
You should all have received you child’s homework folder last Tuesday, which needs to be handed in on Monday morning. This is to enable the teachers to mark the work and return it to you on Tuesday, with a new set of words and numeracy. We would be grateful if you could sign your child’s homework and write any difficulties or successes which your child has had. The children have been really positive about their homework and it would be great if this was to continue throughout the year.
Diary
On Monday and Tuesday, Mrs Pinto-Edwards will not be in school, and her class will be covered by Mrs Robinson.
On Wednesday, we will be having our Harvest Festival Mass in the hall, celebrated by Father Richard at 2pm. You are most welcome to join us.
On Thursday, the circus comes to St. Vincent’s! Each of the three classes will be having their Circusology workshops. We are so excited at the prospect of being able to juggle – hopefully the children won’t be too lively on Wednesday evening at home?!
Then on Friday, we finish the week with some more fun – the children will be able to come to school dressed as clowns for the day! We really do hope you all enter into the spirit of things, as it would be a real shame if some children had to come to school in uniform. It doesn’t have to be elaborate – all it needs is some colourful materials, a sprinkle of glitter and a cupful of imagination! Face paints are a must!!
To finish the week off, we will be judging our Root Vegetable competition. There will be a winner and a runner up for each class. We hope to put some of the photographs on the blog next week, so we can see just how creative you have all been!
We finish this week’s blog with a request. Lots of parents are making comments in their child’s reading diaries, both to let us know any information and to inform us when you have read with your child and this is fantastic. As your child’s co-educators, we appreciate all the support that you are able to give them and us, in order to make the learning experience as fun and fulfilling as it can possibly be. If you haven’t yet been able to make a comment in the diary, please do aim for at least one comment per week – we would love to read them!
Have a great week!
Year 1/2 team.
Sunday, 16 September 2007
17th September 2007
First of all, thank you to all the parents who attended the Induction meeting on Wednesday evening. We hope that you found it informative and was able to answer most of the questions that you may have at the beginning of the academic year. If you were unable to attend or have any further questions, please feel free to speak to any member of the Year 1/2 team, who will be more than happy to help.
This week, we will be starting formal curriculum, after a successful induction period. The children are now fully in the swing of their new routines and are ready and raring to go on their learning journey this year.
Diary
On Friday, we will be having a non-uniform day and we would ask that the children bring in something for the Harvest Festival, which will take place next week. We do ask that children bring in non-perishable items, as they are taken to the St. Joseph’s Family Centre and re-distributed from there. We will also be asking the children to make a ‘Harvest Model’ from root vegetables next week, so keep your eyes ‘peeled’ for any interesting ideas that you might ‘dig-up’ for this activity!
A little bit of advance notice...
In a couple of weeks time, the children will be able to come to school dressed as clowns, so now is the time to start gathering those wigs and baggy trousers. Toys-r-us have some great ones in at the moment! All will be revealed in next week’s blog!
Literacy
We begin the year, with a great topic for the children – Stories with Familiar Settings. This creates lots of speaking and listening activities, as the stories we will be looking at, are all situations that the children will have found themselves in.
We will be reading a lovely story called ‘Peace at last’ with the children and they will be expected to be able to talk about who the main characters are and identify the setting of the story (where it all takes place.) They should be able to use all the strategies they have been taught from previous years, including using the pictures and the actual text to help them.
The children will also become budding actors and actresses, as they will have to act out the story – but with a twist! They will be presented with a problem that Mr Bear will have to solve before he can get a good night’s sleep! By talking through a familiar story and changing one element at a time, the children will get lots of ideas to use in their own stories, when we come to write them next week.
We will be using this week’s literacy to introduce ‘Thinker’s Keys’ to the children. They will be encouraged to look at things from a different point of view. You could try some of these at home...
Read the story of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as a bedtime (or bathtime) story. Try asking your child the following questions during the story:
The Prince is crying! Can you think of 5 reasons for that?
You’ve made it to the castle to rescue the princess, but the drawbridge is up! Could you think of 3 ways to get into the castle without being discovered?
Some of the ideas that the children come up with are truly amazing! Go on, give it a go! We’d love to hear some of the things they came up with, so let us know through the diaries.
By the end of week, the children:
MUST be able to identify a character and a familiar setting.
SHOULD be able to do the above plus sequence the main events from the story.
COULD do the above plus use evidence from the text and illustrations to explain their answers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/storyplant.shtml grow your very own story from the story plant
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/learn_y4/main.asp?lesson_path=year_4/writing_stories/&lesson_file=lesson.swf&language=eng this will be useful for yourselves as well as some great sequenceing activities for beginnings, middles and ends of stories.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/cap_letters_stops/eng/Introduction/default.htm how to use capital letters and full stops. This has some lovely activities to help click and drag them to the correct place.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/penguinsonice.shtml Can you make the penguins take a bow? Remember to ask your child to choose the right piece of punctuation for the end of the sentence. Can they sing you the penguin song??
The links from last week's blog will be useful for developing high frequency words recognition and spelling.
Numeracy
We begin this week with a recap of the number work from last week. The children were great at one, two and ten more than a given number, but some still need a little practice at counting backwards when doing one, two and ten less. Encourage them to look for the patterns, particularly when adding and subtracting 10.
11, 21, 31, 41, 51 etc . Are they able to spot the number that changes? Can they explain why?
This will lead into the number work we will be covering this week. We will be look at what the actual numbers mean in a two or three digit number.
A good activity to try at home, is to get two dice and roll them separately. The first number represents the number of tens, and the second represents the numbers on 1’s. So, if you roll a 3 and a 4, encourage your child to tell you:
“ That’s 3 tens and 4 ones (units), so the number is 34. Try getting them to write the number down on paper too.
You could extend this, by asking them if they can tell you what 10 more/less is.
The second half of the week, we will be looking at 2D and 3D shapes. The children will be describing the number of faces and edges in the shapes and should be able to sort them according to their properties.
Try to encourage your child to look for examples of the shapes in the house and when you are out and about. When the identify shapes such as cubes, cuboids, spheres and pyramids, extend the questioning and ask them how many sides the shape has; how many edges it has.
Another great activity to try, is to cut up lots of different shapes from coloured paper, and ask your child to make pictures, just by using these shapes. Maybe you could draw the shapes onto paper yourself and ask them to cut out the shapes, developing their scissor skills.
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 for Year 1 children 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.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
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 properties
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/build_it/eng/Introduction/default.htm what can you build using these shapes and blocks? Encourge 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.
Topic
We begin our topic of SCHOOL this week. We will be looking at ideas of what makes a good school, what materials is it made from and looking at the jobs that people do in our school. This will lead on to when we begin to compare our school, with that of a Victorian classroom. We hope to take the children on a visit to Wigan Pier at the end of the term, so they are able to experience the Victorian classroom experience for themselves!
Also, we are going to pose a problem for the children to solve – they will think it is real, but of course we know different! Please do play along at home, as it will really help the children to be able to talk about the problem with you at home! They will receive a letter from one of the parents who is very angry about the quality of our school uniform! They are fed-up of their child coming home every week with a torn pairs of trousers or jumper AND it is always soaking wet with mud and water from the field.
The children will have to come up with a new uniform design, but will have to test a number of materials to see which is the most appropriate one to make a new uniform from. Will it be waterproof? Tear-proof? Will paper be the best material? I can’t wait to see some of the ideas they come up with!
Homework
On Tuesday, your child will bring home the very first set of homework for the year. They will receive a pack of spellings (either with a red or yellow cover) and a piece of maths homework. We would ask that these are returned next MONDAY morning, in the folder that they came home in. I know some of you may be keen to complete all the homework in one go and return it as soon as possible, but it would be helpful for all staff it was brought in all together on Monday, to help with storage. As discussed at the induction meeting, we will test whether or not your child has understood the spelling pattern by choosing three or four of the words and asking them to write them in a sentence, which will be dictated to them. If you have any questions regarding homework, please do see any of the 1/2 team.
Parent helpers
At the induction meeting, we asked if anyone was able to offer any help in school. There will a letter going home this week for you to complete, with the kinds of activities you are able to offer and the times which you would be willing to come in. Even half an hour would be really welcome!
Diaries
Your child’s high frequency words will be stuck into the diaries this week, so you are able to support their learning at home. It is important that these diaries do come into school every day, as we have messages, information and targets that we need to pass onto you. The children all know where they need to put their diaries each morning when they come into school, but just a little reminder from yourselves, would really encourage that independence even more. Also, we do love to read your comments, so please do write in the diary when you have read with your child every week. We are aiming for a 100% response rate this year, so your efforts to help us achieve this targets are appreciated. From many years experience, children who are heard to read regularly at home, make rapid progress.
School council
We held our school council elections last week and each class now has two representatives who were elected by their classmates. This is very responsible role and one which the children really seem to have taken to already. They have some fantastic ideas, which they are eager to present at their first council meeting. Well done to all children concerned – you will be fantastic!
I think that is all for this week’s SHORT blog!
Have a good week!
Year 1/2 team.
This week, we will be starting formal curriculum, after a successful induction period. The children are now fully in the swing of their new routines and are ready and raring to go on their learning journey this year.
Diary
On Friday, we will be having a non-uniform day and we would ask that the children bring in something for the Harvest Festival, which will take place next week. We do ask that children bring in non-perishable items, as they are taken to the St. Joseph’s Family Centre and re-distributed from there. We will also be asking the children to make a ‘Harvest Model’ from root vegetables next week, so keep your eyes ‘peeled’ for any interesting ideas that you might ‘dig-up’ for this activity!
A little bit of advance notice...
In a couple of weeks time, the children will be able to come to school dressed as clowns, so now is the time to start gathering those wigs and baggy trousers. Toys-r-us have some great ones in at the moment! All will be revealed in next week’s blog!
Literacy
We begin the year, with a great topic for the children – Stories with Familiar Settings. This creates lots of speaking and listening activities, as the stories we will be looking at, are all situations that the children will have found themselves in.
We will be reading a lovely story called ‘Peace at last’ with the children and they will be expected to be able to talk about who the main characters are and identify the setting of the story (where it all takes place.) They should be able to use all the strategies they have been taught from previous years, including using the pictures and the actual text to help them.
The children will also become budding actors and actresses, as they will have to act out the story – but with a twist! They will be presented with a problem that Mr Bear will have to solve before he can get a good night’s sleep! By talking through a familiar story and changing one element at a time, the children will get lots of ideas to use in their own stories, when we come to write them next week.
We will be using this week’s literacy to introduce ‘Thinker’s Keys’ to the children. They will be encouraged to look at things from a different point of view. You could try some of these at home...
Read the story of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as a bedtime (or bathtime) story. Try asking your child the following questions during the story:
The Prince is crying! Can you think of 5 reasons for that?
You’ve made it to the castle to rescue the princess, but the drawbridge is up! Could you think of 3 ways to get into the castle without being discovered?
Some of the ideas that the children come up with are truly amazing! Go on, give it a go! We’d love to hear some of the things they came up with, so let us know through the diaries.
By the end of week, the children:
MUST be able to identify a character and a familiar setting.
SHOULD be able to do the above plus sequence the main events from the story.
COULD do the above plus use evidence from the text and illustrations to explain their answers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/storyplant.shtml grow your very own story from the story plant
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/learn_y4/main.asp?lesson_path=year_4/writing_stories/&lesson_file=lesson.swf&language=eng this will be useful for yourselves as well as some great sequenceing activities for beginnings, middles and ends of stories.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/cap_letters_stops/eng/Introduction/default.htm how to use capital letters and full stops. This has some lovely activities to help click and drag them to the correct place.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/penguinsonice.shtml Can you make the penguins take a bow? Remember to ask your child to choose the right piece of punctuation for the end of the sentence. Can they sing you the penguin song??
The links from last week's blog will be useful for developing high frequency words recognition and spelling.
Numeracy
We begin this week with a recap of the number work from last week. The children were great at one, two and ten more than a given number, but some still need a little practice at counting backwards when doing one, two and ten less. Encourage them to look for the patterns, particularly when adding and subtracting 10.
11, 21, 31, 41, 51 etc . Are they able to spot the number that changes? Can they explain why?
This will lead into the number work we will be covering this week. We will be look at what the actual numbers mean in a two or three digit number.
A good activity to try at home, is to get two dice and roll them separately. The first number represents the number of tens, and the second represents the numbers on 1’s. So, if you roll a 3 and a 4, encourage your child to tell you:
“ That’s 3 tens and 4 ones (units), so the number is 34. Try getting them to write the number down on paper too.
You could extend this, by asking them if they can tell you what 10 more/less is.
The second half of the week, we will be looking at 2D and 3D shapes. The children will be describing the number of faces and edges in the shapes and should be able to sort them according to their properties.
Try to encourage your child to look for examples of the shapes in the house and when you are out and about. When the identify shapes such as cubes, cuboids, spheres and pyramids, extend the questioning and ask them how many sides the shape has; how many edges it has.
Another great activity to try, is to cut up lots of different shapes from coloured paper, and ask your child to make pictures, just by using these shapes. Maybe you could draw the shapes onto paper yourself and ask them to cut out the shapes, developing their scissor skills.
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 for Year 1 children 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.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
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 properties
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/build_it/eng/Introduction/default.htm what can you build using these shapes and blocks? Encourge 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.
Topic
We begin our topic of SCHOOL this week. We will be looking at ideas of what makes a good school, what materials is it made from and looking at the jobs that people do in our school. This will lead on to when we begin to compare our school, with that of a Victorian classroom. We hope to take the children on a visit to Wigan Pier at the end of the term, so they are able to experience the Victorian classroom experience for themselves!
Also, we are going to pose a problem for the children to solve – they will think it is real, but of course we know different! Please do play along at home, as it will really help the children to be able to talk about the problem with you at home! They will receive a letter from one of the parents who is very angry about the quality of our school uniform! They are fed-up of their child coming home every week with a torn pairs of trousers or jumper AND it is always soaking wet with mud and water from the field.
The children will have to come up with a new uniform design, but will have to test a number of materials to see which is the most appropriate one to make a new uniform from. Will it be waterproof? Tear-proof? Will paper be the best material? I can’t wait to see some of the ideas they come up with!
Homework
On Tuesday, your child will bring home the very first set of homework for the year. They will receive a pack of spellings (either with a red or yellow cover) and a piece of maths homework. We would ask that these are returned next MONDAY morning, in the folder that they came home in. I know some of you may be keen to complete all the homework in one go and return it as soon as possible, but it would be helpful for all staff it was brought in all together on Monday, to help with storage. As discussed at the induction meeting, we will test whether or not your child has understood the spelling pattern by choosing three or four of the words and asking them to write them in a sentence, which will be dictated to them. If you have any questions regarding homework, please do see any of the 1/2 team.
Parent helpers
At the induction meeting, we asked if anyone was able to offer any help in school. There will a letter going home this week for you to complete, with the kinds of activities you are able to offer and the times which you would be willing to come in. Even half an hour would be really welcome!
Diaries
Your child’s high frequency words will be stuck into the diaries this week, so you are able to support their learning at home. It is important that these diaries do come into school every day, as we have messages, information and targets that we need to pass onto you. The children all know where they need to put their diaries each morning when they come into school, but just a little reminder from yourselves, would really encourage that independence even more. Also, we do love to read your comments, so please do write in the diary when you have read with your child every week. We are aiming for a 100% response rate this year, so your efforts to help us achieve this targets are appreciated. From many years experience, children who are heard to read regularly at home, make rapid progress.
School council
We held our school council elections last week and each class now has two representatives who were elected by their classmates. This is very responsible role and one which the children really seem to have taken to already. They have some fantastic ideas, which they are eager to present at their first council meeting. Well done to all children concerned – you will be fantastic!
I think that is all for this week’s SHORT blog!
Have a good week!
Year 1/2 team.
Saturday, 8 September 2007
10th September 2007
We begin this week’s blog with a big ‘thank you!’ The children came back to school last week, smartly dressed, well-prepared and eager to start the new year and they were a real credit to you. Well done!
This week, we will be completing our assessments of the children and giving them a taster of some of the exciting curriculum which we have planned for this year.
Diary
Just a quick reminder that our Induction meeting will be held this Wednesday at 3.15pm in Mrs Worrall’s room. You should have received a letter in your child’s reading diary on Friday, with a reply slip on the bottom. It would be helpful if you could return that on Monday if possible, so that we able to make the necessary domestic arrangements. If you are unable to attend, please do let us know, so that we are able to send any important information home to you.
Volunteers
It is at this time of year where we make a plea for any volunteers to help in Key Stage 1. It could be that you are able to offer to help with reading, artwork, helping with High Frequency words, music groups, making resources, helping to maintain the library...the sky’s the limit! There will be a sheet available at the Induction meeting for you to ‘sign up’, or alternatively, just let us know through the diary. We are VERY grateful for any help that you are able to offer on ANY day at ANY time!
School Council
This week, we will be holding our very own ‘Elections’, in order to choose our class representatives for the School Council. There will be one representative per year group, per class. The children will then meet with all the other class representatives across the whole school on a regular basis, to discuss events and issues which are important to them. One of the key features of our school, is developing the importance of the ‘Pupil Voice’ and this is just one of the many ways in which we can ensure that their views and opinions are heard on a formal basis.
Literacy
We will be completing our assessments this week of the children, so that we can ensure that they are equally supported and challenged by the formal activities which will begin next week.
Included in those assessments will be the testing of the High Frequency words. As last year, once these are completed, they will be stuck into the front of your child’s diary, so that you are able to support them at home.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/hfwords/index.shtml a great site, where you have to match the shape of the HFW to its spelling
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
As with literacy, we shall be assessing just how much the children have been able to recall from last year, so that we can ‘hit the ground running’ with more formal numeracy sessions.
This week, we will be assessing the children’s knowledge of number – can they match the correct number of objects to the digit? Do they know the number names? Are they able to form the number correctly? Can they count in 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s? Can they order numbers correctly, both forwards and backwards?
A good way of practising ordering numbers (and a good way for children to check for themselves if they have got it right!) is to completed traditional ‘dot-to-dot’ puzzles. Tesco or Asda have lots of books of these ready-made for you!
Perhaps when you are putting the shopping away this weekend, you could ask your child to group things together – If I have 6 tins, how many more will I need to make 8? 10? Also, why not get your child to pair up all the socks for the family? This is a really good way of encouraging them to count in twos.
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. This game is most suitable for Year 1, as it covers numbers up to 20.
http://www.ictgames.com/postletter.html fancy a challenge? Listen to the number and post the letter in the correct letterbox.
Topic
We will be looking at the differences between schools of the past, particularly Victorian schools and modern day schools. We will talking to the children about our school days (yes, complete with embarrassing photos!) and it would be great if you could chat with them about some of the things that you used to do during your time at school, in preparation for next week. I was asked if I used a chalkboard to write on when I was at school on Friday...mmm, better not ask how old they think I am!!
We look forward to meeting you all on Wednesday at the Induction Meeting, where we will be able to answer any questions you may have.
Have a great week!
Year 1/2 team.
This week, we will be completing our assessments of the children and giving them a taster of some of the exciting curriculum which we have planned for this year.
Diary
Just a quick reminder that our Induction meeting will be held this Wednesday at 3.15pm in Mrs Worrall’s room. You should have received a letter in your child’s reading diary on Friday, with a reply slip on the bottom. It would be helpful if you could return that on Monday if possible, so that we able to make the necessary domestic arrangements. If you are unable to attend, please do let us know, so that we are able to send any important information home to you.
Volunteers
It is at this time of year where we make a plea for any volunteers to help in Key Stage 1. It could be that you are able to offer to help with reading, artwork, helping with High Frequency words, music groups, making resources, helping to maintain the library...the sky’s the limit! There will be a sheet available at the Induction meeting for you to ‘sign up’, or alternatively, just let us know through the diary. We are VERY grateful for any help that you are able to offer on ANY day at ANY time!
School Council
This week, we will be holding our very own ‘Elections’, in order to choose our class representatives for the School Council. There will be one representative per year group, per class. The children will then meet with all the other class representatives across the whole school on a regular basis, to discuss events and issues which are important to them. One of the key features of our school, is developing the importance of the ‘Pupil Voice’ and this is just one of the many ways in which we can ensure that their views and opinions are heard on a formal basis.
Literacy
We will be completing our assessments this week of the children, so that we can ensure that they are equally supported and challenged by the formal activities which will begin next week.
Included in those assessments will be the testing of the High Frequency words. As last year, once these are completed, they will be stuck into the front of your child’s diary, so that you are able to support them at home.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/hfwords/index.shtml a great site, where you have to match the shape of the HFW to its spelling
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
As with literacy, we shall be assessing just how much the children have been able to recall from last year, so that we can ‘hit the ground running’ with more formal numeracy sessions.
This week, we will be assessing the children’s knowledge of number – can they match the correct number of objects to the digit? Do they know the number names? Are they able to form the number correctly? Can they count in 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s? Can they order numbers correctly, both forwards and backwards?
A good way of practising ordering numbers (and a good way for children to check for themselves if they have got it right!) is to completed traditional ‘dot-to-dot’ puzzles. Tesco or Asda have lots of books of these ready-made for you!
Perhaps when you are putting the shopping away this weekend, you could ask your child to group things together – If I have 6 tins, how many more will I need to make 8? 10? Also, why not get your child to pair up all the socks for the family? This is a really good way of encouraging them to count in twos.
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. This game is most suitable for Year 1, as it covers numbers up to 20.
http://www.ictgames.com/postletter.html fancy a challenge? Listen to the number and post the letter in the correct letterbox.
Topic
We will be looking at the differences between schools of the past, particularly Victorian schools and modern day schools. We will talking to the children about our school days (yes, complete with embarrassing photos!) and it would be great if you could chat with them about some of the things that you used to do during your time at school, in preparation for next week. I was asked if I used a chalkboard to write on when I was at school on Friday...mmm, better not ask how old they think I am!!
We look forward to meeting you all on Wednesday at the Induction Meeting, where we will be able to answer any questions you may have.
Have a great week!
Year 1/2 team.
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
5th September 2007
Welcome Back!
Well, I am sure you are all ready and raring to go after the 6 weeks break (can we really call it a summer!?) All the teachers have been working really hard over the holidays to make sure that the children's new classrooms and the area are prepared for the start of a new and exciting year.
For the first two weeks of school, there are lots of new routines to get used to, so we shall be following what is known as the 'Induction Process'. This may mean that your child comes home and says that they 'haven't done anything' today! Please be assured, that this is most definitely NOT the case! Lots of the information that we will be gathering over the next fortnight, will be through observations, discussions and assessments of your child. This time is invaluable for both us and your child, as we can ensure that the curriculum that we will be covering, will be tailored to match your child's needs exactly.
You should have received your child's Reading Diary at home today. As with last year, both in Foundation Stage and in Year 1, you will receive the targets that your child is currently working on, along with the high frequency words that they need to practice. These will be tested during the induction process and put in the diaries as soon as the testing has been completed. Remember many children will have 'relaxed' over the holidays, and may need to go back over a few that they may have forgotten - practice makes perfect!
We do love to read your comments in the diaries, so please do aim to comment in them at least 3 times per week. Reading books for home, will be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays, so it would be helpful if you could ensure they are sent into school, particularly on those days.
We have planned an Induction meeting for Year 1/2 parents on Wednesday 12th September at 3.15pm in Mrs Worrall's room, to discuss in more detail, what will be happening this year. It will also give you the opportunity to meet the staff and ask any questions that you may have.
Here's to a successful year!!
Year 1/2 team. x
Well, I am sure you are all ready and raring to go after the 6 weeks break (can we really call it a summer!?) All the teachers have been working really hard over the holidays to make sure that the children's new classrooms and the area are prepared for the start of a new and exciting year.
For the first two weeks of school, there are lots of new routines to get used to, so we shall be following what is known as the 'Induction Process'. This may mean that your child comes home and says that they 'haven't done anything' today! Please be assured, that this is most definitely NOT the case! Lots of the information that we will be gathering over the next fortnight, will be through observations, discussions and assessments of your child. This time is invaluable for both us and your child, as we can ensure that the curriculum that we will be covering, will be tailored to match your child's needs exactly.
You should have received your child's Reading Diary at home today. As with last year, both in Foundation Stage and in Year 1, you will receive the targets that your child is currently working on, along with the high frequency words that they need to practice. These will be tested during the induction process and put in the diaries as soon as the testing has been completed. Remember many children will have 'relaxed' over the holidays, and may need to go back over a few that they may have forgotten - practice makes perfect!
We do love to read your comments in the diaries, so please do aim to comment in them at least 3 times per week. Reading books for home, will be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays, so it would be helpful if you could ensure they are sent into school, particularly on those days.
We have planned an Induction meeting for Year 1/2 parents on Wednesday 12th September at 3.15pm in Mrs Worrall's room, to discuss in more detail, what will be happening this year. It will also give you the opportunity to meet the staff and ask any questions that you may have.
Here's to a successful year!!
Year 1/2 team. x
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