10th March 2014

Well, last week was a fantastic reading inspired week! On Thursday we were so impressed with the fantastic costumes that the children wore and enjoyed watching them all parade in the morning. Thank you all so much for the time and effort that went into making the children look fantastic!

Literacy

We are continuing our topic about “Information Texts.”

The children will be using the internet, info books & encyclopaedias to find 3 fascinating facts about an animal. They will also study features of information texts & produce a class encyclopaedia. They will then be using the information that they have found to publish their own book about an animal of their choice!

The Year 1 children will listen to & follow instructions accurately, asking for help & clarification if necessary. Ask & answer questions, make relevant contributions, offer suggestions and take turns. Take turns to speak, listen to others’ suggestions and talk about what they are going to do.

The Year 2 children will listen to talk by an adult, remembering specific points and identify what they have learnt. Work effectively in groups by ensuring that each group member takes a turn challenging, supporting and moving on.

Websites to look at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Lion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wildlifefinder/

Numeracy

This week in Numeracy we will be continuing to look at multiplication as ‘lots of’ and introducing the × sign to the children. We will also be beginning to look at division by grouping objects, for example we will be asking if we have 60p, how many 10p coins will we need to make this.

We will be concentrating on the 2, 5 and 10 times tables so if you can help your children practise these that would be great! Some of the Year 2 children may be ready to start working on the 3’s and 4’s if they are confident with these. The children will continue to sing along with Percy Parker to help them learn their tables!

Year 1 children will count on and back in 1s or 10s and say the number that is 1 or 10 more or less up to 100.

They will also add two multiples of 10 by counting on in 10s.

Year 2 children will count on in 2s, 5s or 10s; recognise odd and even numbers;  and understand multiplication as ‘lots of’ and use the × sign.

They will also begin to understand division as grouping.

Websites to help

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/carrollv4.swf

http://www.taw.org.uk/lic/itp/itps/Grouping_1_3.swf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/maths/crosstheswamp.shtml

http://resources.oswego.org/games/Ghostblasters1/gbcd.swf

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/penguin-jump/penguin-jump.html

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/carrollv4.swf

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/testtest.html

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/dividermachine.html

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/846/3bears.swf

Please keep learning the number bonds

Number bonds to 10

0 and 10 are big strong men   

  1 and 9 are feeling fine

  2 and 8 are never late  

3 and 7 come from Devon

4 and 6 like to play tricks

5 and 5 come alive

6 and 4 hold open the door

7 and 3 visit for tea

 8 and 2 are feeling blue

  9 and 1 have just gone 

10 and 0 are superheroes.  

Please use these number bond websites to help with your child’s learning:

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 make 10

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!

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/bugs/bugrace3.html a great game for two players. Choose 0 as the lowest number and 9 as the highest, it will create a game to practice and reinforce those number bonds.

Science

We will be continuing to look at plants and this week we will be planting broad bean seeds and looking at what are the best conditions for seeds to grow.

We will also be looking at the life cycles of different types of plants and drawing these.

Also shortly we will be planting other seeds and getting ready for planting out in the allotment, very exciting! Here’s hoping for a good summer and a bumper harvest!

Although the following websites are a great way to learn about this topic during the wet weather, there is really nothing better than getting out the wellies and a trowel and having a great time in the garden. It might even be a good way to get the children helping out with the weeding after the winter – just as long as they know the difference between the dandelions and the prize azaleas!!

Also have a look around on the way to school, can you see any buds forming or spring bulbs coming up?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/growing_plants.shtml can you find the right conditions for the plant to grow?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/plants_grow.shtml a little more challenging

http://www.topicbox.org.uk/browse.php?item_ID=5584&subject=Science&topic=Life%20-%20Plants this is a really useful powerpoint to download and keep for the whole of the topic. It is aimed at Year 3, but we really do need to push the children on, as their knowledge on this subject is very good already.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/science/plants/index.htm click on the seed growth leaf for a great animation of what a seed needs to grow.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=plantlabelmx a very simple resource to drag and drop the labels onto the right part of the plant. As you move through this site though, you will be expected to explain the functions of each part. This is also really useful in supporting the literacy for this week.

http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/earlygrowth/germination/germ.html how fascinating! You will need to sit with your child for this, but the use of stop motion photography is fantastic. Just click on the sunflower germination – it’s really interesting! The movies for flowers are also beautiful!

Topic

The children will be continuing their new topic called “How do our senses help us?”

We talked about the importance of our different senses.  We will be discussing the question:

“What do we use our senses for?”

To support this learning at home you could talk to your child about the importance of our differences senses in our everyday life.

This week we will be looking particularly at the sense of hearing. What sounds can you hear on your journey to school?

Come and See

The children will be starting their new topic “Giving”.

Can the children make a list of choices that would be made in a day? For example, what to wear, who to play with, who to sit next to at lunchtime etc? Can you sort these into good and bad choices?

The key words the children will be focusing on are sharing, giving, opportunities, Ash Wednesday, Lent, prayer.

Some questions we will be thinking about.

·       What happens the day before Ash Wednesday and why?

·       Why is Lent a good time for Christians?

·       When does Lent begin?

·       Where do the ashes for Ash Wednesday come from?

Reminders

Sainsbury’s vouchers We are continuing to collect Sainsbury’s vouchers. Please send them into school with your child if you have them. Many thanks.

Please make sure that your child continues to bring a coat to school with them every day. Although there are reports that the sun has been seen it is still quite cold at playtimes.

Thank you for your continued support.

Year 1/2 Team.