Maths

In Maths this half term, we started our ‘Maths – No Problem!’ scheme.  Our first topic was ‘Numbers to 10.’ We were very excited to use our new textbooks and workbooks. 

Firstly, we were counting numbers to 10 accurately both forwards and backwards and counting similar objects up to 10 with accuracy and fluency.

We were then learning to read and write all numbers to 10 in numerals and in words and categorise and count only objects with the same name in a group.

After this, we were able to understand what zero represents and use it when counting. 

After this, we compared objects using matching and counting and then used the terms ‘equal to’, ‘as many as’, ‘more than’, ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ as key terms.

We ordered numbers and compared numbers by working out what was one more and what was one less.   

We did lots of practical activities to help us in our lessons and learned how to use resources such as ten frames and part – part whole models. 

 

English

In English this half term, we looked at the front and back cover of our new text ‘Blue Penguin’ by Petr Horacek.  We discussed what we could see in the picture and how it might feel for Blue Penguin to live there.  We then thought about our senses and thought about how these could also describe the image. We then looked at images of Antarctica and thought about what we might wear if we visited a place like Antarctica. We then drew the appropriate clothes on an image and label it.

Next, we looked at images of cold settings, felt ice cubes and thought of adjectives to describe cold places.  We then made a list of these adjectives and wrote them up to display above our class igloo.  After that, we chose one of our favourite adjectives and put it into a sentence.  We orally rehearsed the sentence in different ways.  First we practised it as a group, then with a partner and then with Kung Fu Punctuation actions. 

After that, we discussed how Blue Penguin might be feeling and used ideas from the story to draw Blue Penguin and write a sentence about her.  We then acted out part of the story and did a freeze frame.

Next, we discussed the emotions Blue Penguin was experiencing and made the expressions on our faces first, and then drew them onto blank faces.  We then tried to write a sentence.  We were very excited to receive a letter from Blue Penguin telling us about how she was lost.  As a class, we wrote a reply explaining to her how to get back to her home. 

After that, we conducted a ‘Conscience Alley’ One child was Blue Penguin walking down the middle and the other children were the other penguins.  The children said unkind things to Blue Penguin such as, ‘You’re not like us’ and ‘Are you a real penguin?’ etc.  We then discussed how Blue Penguin was both similar and different to the other penguins.  We wrote sentences to show this. 

Next, we used our senses to think about how Blue Penguin might have felt.  We then wrote a sentence in a speech bubble next to an image of Blue Penguin. 

To finish our topic, we wrote and performed a story map of the story.  We agreed actions together for each part of the story. 

We were also lucky to be visited by Burnley Youth Theatre. We looked at the book ‘The Enormous Crocodile’ by Roald Dahl.  We thought of actions to do for each animal in the story.  We then re-told the story together and took it in turns to go into the middle of the circle and perform actions for each part.  We really enjoyed our session!

Science

Our Science topic this half term is ‘Animals including Humans.’ 

In our first lesson, we named and identified a variety of common animals and found out that animals are split into groups such as fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Over the next couple of lessons, we looked at the features of birds and labelled the parts of a bird on a picture.  We then compared different types of birds saying how they were similar and identifying their differences. 

Next, we looked at the features of fish and were able to label the parts of a fish on a picture.   

After that, we learned about the features of reptiles.  Mrs Needham brought in her pet tortoise, Sheldon for us to meet.  She explained what he likes to eat and how to take care of him.  We also sorted pictures of animals into reptiles and not reptiles.

To finish the half term, we learned about amphibians.  We looked at their key features and the life cycle of a frog.  We will continue with our topic next half term. 

Geography

Our Geography topic this half term is ‘Penguins.’  During this topic, we will be answering the key question ‘Why don’t penguins need to fly?’

During this half term, we looked at the first ancillary question: ‘Where is Pip’s home and what do we find there?’  We read the story ‘Where is Home, Little Pip?’ by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman.  Afterwards, we discussed what kind of animal Pip was and in what sort of place she lived; why getting lost was so dangerous for Pip and what might have happened to her given the conditions she encountered. We were encouraged to think about the geography of this place – particularly the landscape and associated weather conditions.  We then thought about what we already knew about penguins and where they live. 

In our next lesson, we used a map to identify the continents and oceans of the world.  Mrs Lingard taught us a song in Music to help us remember them!  The continent we were focussing on was Antarctica.  We watched a video clip and discussed why it is known as the ‘white continent.’  We looked at images of Antarctica and thought about what it would be like to visit there and what we might see and hear.  We used an image of Antarctica to think of adjectives to describe what it would be like there and what we might see. 

We will continue with our topic in the Spring Term.     

 

PE

For the first few weeks of the half term, we practised developing our fundamental skills such as underarm throwing, hopping, balancing and jumping off equipment.

Computing

In computing this half term, we have spent the first few weeks learning how to log in safely into Purple Mash using our own logins. We are also continuing to practise finding the letters and numbers on the keyboard to log in independently and how to use a mouse.

We then progressed onto drawing and labelling a bird, which links to our Science topic of animals and drawing a hedgehog. 

RE

Our topic this half term was Christianity with a focus on the theme ‘The Creation Story.’  We were aiming to answer the question ‘Does God want Christians to look after the world?’

In our first lesson, we were reflecting on something we had created.  We asked ourselves the following questions – How did it feel to create it? How do I want my creation to be treated? Who would I trust to look after it? How would you feel if it was damaged?

After that, we learned about the creation story.  We looked at images of the world and then sequenced the creation story.  We also made a story wheel of the creation story.

In our next lesson, we talked about looking after God’s wonderful world.  We discussed all the beautiful things about our world and all of the things that are bad such as litter and pollution.  We then sorted images into good and bad ways to look after our world.

In our final lesson, we reflect on how precious the world is.  We went on a nature walk around the school grounds.  We collected leaves, sticks and acorns.  With a partner, we made nature pictures out of the things we had collected.

PSHE

Our topic this half term was ‘Being Me in My World’

As part of this topic, we thought about what it means to feel special and safe in our class.

We then spent time thinking about the rights and responsibilities for being a member of our class and school.  

Next, we recognised how it feels to be proud of an achievement.

During this topic, we have also listened to other people as well as contributing our own ideas about rewards and consequences.  

Music

Percussion Instruments

This half term The Little Marvels have been looking at, learning their names, learning how to hold to then play correctly classroom percussion instruments.

We have learnt how to hold and tap a tambourine. How we can create a different timbre when playing a drum, by using our hands, fingers and a drumstick. We have practiced holding a triangle by the string, to then tap it with a beater – which is tricky when it turns around ! We have shaken some maracas quickly to make a loud sound then slowly to make a quiet sound. We had great fun crashing the cymbals together and then stopping the sound by touching our shoulders.

https://youtu.be/0vrK1POQPiE – https://youtu.be/F2kTeUxIQsA

These two youtube videos helped us.

We also had a move around and kept the beat by moving our bodies and froze when the music stopped.