Maths

In Maths this half term, we continued with our ‘Maths – No Problem!’ scheme. 

Firstly, we began our ‘Numbers to 20’ topic.  At first, we counted to 20 by making ten and counting on.  We then progressed onto writing numbers to 20 in both digits and words.  Next, we ordered and compared numbers to 20.   

After this, we moved onto our ‘Addition and Subtraction Within 20’ topic. We began with adding by counting on.  We then moved onto adding by making 10 and then adding by adding ones. We then completed our topic by subtracting by counting backwards using a numberline. 

English

This half term in English, we studied the book ‘Surprising Sharks’ by Nicola Davies.

Firstly, we began our topic by sharing our prior knowledge about sharks.  We then watch two informative videos about sharks and extracted facts from them.  We were shocked to discover facts such as sharks never sleep!  We then looked at the features of the text such as captions and illustrations.  Then we chose a type of shark we had learned about and wrote a fact about it.

Next, we labelled the features of a non-fiction text and compared how they were different to the features of a fiction text.  We then researched the parts of a shark and labelled them.    

After that, we looked at images of sharks and their captions.  We then chose images of sharks and wrote captions to go with them.  We then learned about how humans use sharks for many things including jewellery and shoes.    

Finally, to complete our topic, we used all of our knowledge learned and created our own fact files about sharks. 

Also, during this half term, we celebrated ‘World Book Day.’  We brought our favourite texts into school to share with each other.  We were also visited by The Creeping Toad who did lots of fun activities with us.

Science

In Science this half term, our topic was ‘Seasonal Changes.’ Firstly, we gained an understanding of the season of autumn and investigated what the weather is like in autumn.  We then looked at the features of trees in autumn

In our next lesson, we were able to identify signs of autumn.  We did this by interpreting signs of autumn from sources and showed signs of autumn through drawings and labels.

Next, we were able to understand the differences between winter and spring.  We did this by looking at the differences in weather and clothes between winter and spring.

After that, we identified signs of spring by going on a class spring walk to Towneley Park. We took a list of signs of spring and ticked off anything we saw on our walk.  We really enjoyed seeing the ducks at the pond.

To finish our topic, we applied our knowledge of seasons by showing our understanding of the weather in each season and what the trees in each season look like. 

RE

In RE, we began our new topic of Christianity: Easter – Palm Sunday.  We were aiming to answer the question ‘Why was Jesus welcomed liked a king or celebrity by the crowds on Palm Sunday?’

Firstly, we wanted to understand how to prepare for a special visitor, which we did through drawing and writing.  In order to achieve this, we had to first understand what makes a visitor special.

Next, we wanted to be able to explain why Palm Sunday is important to Christians.  We were able to explain what the palm leaves mean and show how we would greet Jesus if he visited school.  We also acted out the events of Palm Sunday. 

After that, we were able to know the main events of the Easter Story.  We did this by understanding what happened on each day of Holy Week and understood how Jesus’ death showed He was special.

To finish our topic, we went to St Stephen’s Church for a beautiful Easter service.  We listened to the Easter story and sang songs to our parents. 

Computing

In computing this half term, we have been using Purple Mash to create an animated eBook. 

During the unit of work, we learned about what eBooks are and their pros and cons.  We then added animation and sound to our stories.  Finally, we added backgrounds to our animations. 

We have also practised our keyboard skills.

PE  

In PE this half term, we have been completing our ‘Gymnastics’ unit.  We learned a variety of rolls such as caterpillar roll and pencil roll.  We then progressed onto making mini routines whereby we began with a movement such as a bunny hop, moved into a roll and then finished with a balance.  We spent time encouraging each other and giving our friends feedback about their performances. 

History

In History this half term, our topic was ‘Why was Charles sent to prison?’  In order to answer this question, we had to investigate Charles’ life.  We learned that during the First World War, Charles was accused of shooting a homing pigeon and was sent to prison for six months.  Charles admitted shooting the pigeon but explained that he was trying to shoot a pheasant.  We investigated the importance of homing pigeons during the war and discovered that this was a valuable way to communicate.  We then looked at the importance of other animals in World War One.    

PSHE

Our PSHE topic this half term was ‘Keeping Healthy.’

We began the topic by thinking about healthy diets and how it is important to have different types of food in our diets.

Next, we were learning about how medicines can make us feel better when we are poorly.  We looked at a range of children’s medicines and discussed how important it is to be administered by and adult and how the instructions need to be read and followed.  We then completed a sorting activity where we had to decide whether images of things we put into our bodies were always healthy/safe, sometimes healthy/safe or never healthy/safe. 

Art

Our Art topic this half term was ‘Printing.’ 

Firstly, we experimented with printing by dipping various objects in paint and creating a picture using a printing technique.

Next, we dipped cotton wool buds into paint and printed to create a blossom tree, which linked to our Science topic of ‘Seasonal Changes.’

During World Book Day, we sketched the front cover of our favourite book.

DT

This half term, we linked our DT topic of food to Healthy Eating Week.  We linked Healthy Eating Week to our D&T topic of ‘Food’ and made fruit kebabs.  We thought about the different fruit we might like to include in our kebabs and what we would need to do to make them a success.  We then researched ideas and created our designs on paper before making our kebabs.  They were delicious!

We did lots of different other activities as part of Healthy Eating Week.  We looked at the different types of food and created our own healthy food plates. We also had lots of different foods which we sorted into the following categories: ‘Every Day’; ‘Not Sure?’ and ‘Once a Week.’  We had a great discussion about how it is okay to eat certain foods such as fruit daily but foods such as chocolate are more of a treat.  To finish off Healthy Eating Week, we had great fun with the Smoothie Bike!  Some of us were too small to reach the pedals so we enjoyed watching our teachers pedal fast to create a delicious smoothie for us!