Doesn't time fly...?

Well where did last week go? I am sure that someone shortened the week and didn’t tell the Year 1/2 teachers! We were very ambitious at trying to fit everything in last week, so a few things will be carried over to this week, including our very last week of rehearsals for the Christmas production...yes we really do only have one more week left!

On the subject of the Christmas production, it would be great if you could ensure that your child’s costume is in school on MONDAY 26th November. This is to ensure that any last minute alterations can be done and also to make sure that the children are comfortable with their poms-poms, glitter and tinsel! The songs are fantastic and certainly have all the teachers’ toes tapping...I think most of the customers in Tesco heard me humming it last weekend!

The Year 2 children have worked extremely hard in learning their lines and now they are working on putting the expression and actions together, to form an Oscar winning performance. One idea that we have suggested to the children to help them learn how to project their voices, is to stand at the top of the stairs, and shout their lines to you. If you can hear them clearly, then they will be loud enough on the stage.

You should have all received you tickets a couple of weeks ago. Please do keep them in a safe place, as we cannot re-issue tickets. Each family has been allocated one ticket for each performance. This has been the case for a number of years, in order to help us comply with Health and Safety regulations. It can also be really daunting for the children to see a sea of faces when they are on the stage, so restricting the numbers, is for the benefit of all our children.

Assessments

Over the next week or so, your child may come home telling you they have done some ‘tests’. We need to see how much the children have progressed since September and also form judgements about how we can move our planning forward in the new year. The way the assessments are delivered, means that any anxiety is kept to a minimum, as they will be done as part of normal classroom activities.

By the end of this term, you should expect:

· Any remaining high frequency words to be updated and new lists stuck into the front of the diaries
· Your child’s reading level to be checked and, where appropriate, given a new colour book band
· Updated maths targets based on the assessments completed in school.

Numeracy Workshop

As you are aware, we have had to change to date of the numeracy workshops, which will now take place THIS THURSDAY. The first one, will take place at 3.15-4.15pm, where crèche facilities will be provided. The second, identical workshop, takes place at 6.00-7.00pm. Both workshops will be very practical and hands-on, so please do come prepared to take part! Please do not panic...we will be doing lots of activities which we do with the children! The outcome of the workshop, is that you will be armed with a toolkit of ideas to help support your child with numeracy, particularly the rapid recall of number facts, and you will be able to place in context, some of the words and phrases that your child may have come home saying.

Many of you have asked for the addresses of the websites which we use in school on the interactive whiteboard. They have been placed on this blog before, but in order to have them all together, I have put them all together on this ‘Numeracy’ blog. So, have a play about on them, and then bookmark some as your favourites (see if your child can remember which ‘star’ to click to do this!)

Number Bonds

http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ a favourite of mine! Click on level B or C and then any of the number activities

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/units120.html how many questions can you answer in 2 minutes?

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/numberskills.html click on any of the timed activities to help with number bonds knowledge.

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf select the number bonds activity and then make 10 or 20. How many can you get right before the clock runs out?

http://nwlg.org/pages/resources/ma_num/swf/make10.html%20make%2010

http://www.ictgames.com/funkymum20.html make 20 - the dance will really make you giggle!

http://www.ictgames.com/brilliant_beadstring.html move the beadstring to make patterns to 10 and 20

http://www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html match the pipes to make the number bonds to 10

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/numberbond.html make up your own number bond games

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/colquiz.html for each question you get right, it colours in a part of the picture!

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

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/calcbalancev3.swf click on the number names in the middle of the scale to match the number name to the digit. This will be a really useful site to bookmark, as we will be using it regularly throughout the year.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/numbers_eng/numbers_e.html this site is useful for practicing the formation of each of the numbers. The first slide is VERY fast, so click on the green arrow on the bottom right-hand side to practice the numbers individually.
http://www.numbernut.com/basic/activities/number_mem20_1-10words.shtml play a memory game and match the number names to the digits at the same time!http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/n2a/playground.htm click on the ‘continue’ button to start the activity. This activity looks at the number names up to 100, so give it a go if you fancy a challenge!

http://www.primaryonline.co.uk/sitetour/pol/blastoff1.html a lovely game in which you have to launch 5 spaceships! Remember that the number name won’t always match a spaceship, so you have to click on ‘next’ until you get a match. This game is most suitable for Year 1, as it covers numbers up to 20.

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.ictgames.com/postletter.html fancy a challenge? Listen to the number and post the letter in the correct letterbox.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/bgfn/number.cfm Choose how many tens and how many units make up the target number. If you click on 'check' it will even mark it for you!

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Toolkit index2a The children are used to using a 100 square in school, so this will be a big help at home, particularly when doing numeracy homework.

http://www.ictgames.com/football2.html kick the ball that shows 10 less than a given numberKnowledge of 2D and 3D shapes

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/maerdy_2d/e_index.html guess the name of the 2D shape by listening to the 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.

Measurement

http://www.edukate.net/special_files/ruler.swf use this site to practice measuring the ‘red bar’. If you can though, measuring objects around the house is a much more practical way of measuring in centimetres.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/measures/index.htm click on Reading Length.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=ntrack ordering numbers on a number track. Can your child recognise the numbers? Are they able to order them? Can they locate the missing number?http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/ruler/ruler_cm_easy.swf measure the length of the lines using the on screen ruler

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/ruler/ruler_cm.swf move the ruler to the line to measure it in centimetres

http://www.counton.org/games/circus/ 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.

There are lots of practical activities that you can do at home to support all of these areas and we will try out some of those at the workshops on Thursday . It will be very useful I’m sure!

Literacy

We will continue our theme of Instructions. This week’s question will be HOW CAN WE TELL SOMEONE ELSE TO MAKE THIS?

The children will have to work in their co-operative learning teams, in order to explain how to make something. The other people in the team, will then have to write down the instructions and then pass them to another team to make. The children will find out just how successful they have been, when they see what the other teams have made.

This normally produces much giggling and laughter, but the children do appreciate just how vital it is for instructions to be accurate and clear.

Next week, we will be moving onto writing our set of instructions independently. In order for the children to check whether they have included all the necessary ‘ingredients’, they will be using something called a ‘Marking Ladder.’ They have used these in the past and found them fantastic, as they got to ‘tick’ their own work before a teacher!

I used a ‘How to’ heading
I used an introduction to hook the reader
I used a ‘You will need’ subheading
I gave two lists: equipment and materials
I used numbered instructions in the right order
I used a ‘bossy’ verb in the present tense to begin each instruction
I used an impersonal tone
(no ‘you’ or ‘I’)
I linked diagrams to instructions
I used labels, arrows, lines and keys
I included a short conclusion to suggest the next action

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/lists_and_instructions/eng/Introduction/default.htm this is a great site! Drag and drop each of the sentences to put them in the right order.
http://ro.zrsss.si/~viljenka/maketea.htm another way of showing how to put the instructions to make a cup of tea, in the correct order.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=teaseq

Here I Am

We continue our topic of Visitors this week, looking at the RELATE section. The children will:
Learn that the children’s own exploration of VISITORS is enriched by learning about preparations made during the four weeks of Advent to welcome Jesus at Christmas.

We will be asking the children to sequence the events of the Christmas Story in order and retell the story in their own words.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/re/b-dag/ngfl-container/re-unit1-en.html
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/christianity/nativity/index.htm
http://www.refuel.org.uk/curric/infant_topics/christmas/christmas.html
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/christmas/nativity/nativity.html
http://www.snaithprimary.eril.net/nativity.htm
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/word/cross2.gif
http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/millionxmas.html I loved this one! A Who wants to be a millionaire Christmas quiz!

Homework

This week’s homework will be the last for two weeks, as we don’t usually send homework home during the week of the productions. It would be helpful if you could ensure that homework is set back into school on MONDAYS, so that it can be marked and returned on TUESDAYS. Also, thank you to those parents who have remembered to complete the traffic lights at the end of the numeracy homework. Please do feel free to add any comments that you feel may support your child’s learning and understanding.

I think that’s all for this week!

Year 1/2 team.