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Kidsgrove Primary School
Empowering Learners...Growing Minds
Year 1 Squirrels Class Blog
W/C 11th July 2022
Phonics
In Phonics this week the children have been learning their final alternative sounds for Year 1. They have impressed me so much with their phonics knowledge this week and I can really see this shining through in their reading lessons. Amazing work!
Maths
In maths this week, we have been looking at dates and time sequence. We started the week using the vocabulary before and after to order events. The children showed a great understanding of the importance of sequencing events to ensure they make sense. We then moved onto looking at days of the week and months of the year. The children had to figure out which day or months came before or after and spot the mistakes in sequencing. To end the week we looked at comparing time, using the key vocabulary faster/slower to compare time in seconds, the children found it tricky understanding that the shorter the time the faster and the greater the time the slower. Some challenged themselves to comparing times on a clock which was fantastic!
English
In English this week, the children produced their final piece of writing in Year 1! It was amazing to see their independence and the difference skills they can now use in writing. Over the last two weeks the children have been working on a setting description of the jungle. The children used some fantastic sentence openers to vary their sentences and had great pride in their presentation when completing their published write.
Afternoon learning
This week we completed our learning on 'Seaside past and present'. The children have been learning about the seaside in the past and comparing and contrasting to see what was the same and what has changed. We use pictures and video stimulus to help us with our research and used a venn diagrams to sort some images into past, present and same. The children have really enjoyed this topic and to end a fantastic unit of learning we ended the week by making ICE-CREAM (in a bag!), I'm not sure who had more fun me or the children! It was a thumbs up for super taste 
W/C 4th July 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics, we have completed a review week. The children got the opportunity to revisit all of the sounds we have covered so far. The children are becoming more and more confident with the more unfamiliar diagraphs in words.
Maths
In maths this week, we have be learning all about turns. We began the week completing this practically and giving instructions to our partners on how to move. We looked at quarter turns, half turns, three-quarter turns and full turns. We then moved onto using shapes to show the turns. The children challenged themselves to moving both clockwise and anti-clockwise. We then moved on to identifying how a shape will look when it has completed a certain turn. We have had lots of fun in maths this week!
English
In English this week, we have introduced an animation called 'bubbles' that we are going to base our writing around for the final 2 week. To begin the week the children answered a range of VIPERS questions around the animation to allow us to secure of understanding of what happens. Next, in preparation for our writing of a setting description the children used a WAGOLL to independently find key features that they will be using in their writing. To end the week, the children used video stimulus to collect ideas on what we could hear, see and feel in the jungle. I cannot wait to see the writing they will produce next week!
Afternoon
This week the children have enjoyed science, we worked hard to bring together all of our knowledge from our topic 'Animals'. Each children researched about a different animal and completed a fact file. I was super impressed with all of the knowledge they retrieved during this lesson. They were able to decide what animal group their animal group belonged and if they animal was a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore.
In Skill Builders this week we looked at team work and how we could work as a class to ensure we are fair and show diversity. The children were given the scenario where a children from Spain had joined the school. As a class they came up with some fantastic ideas of how we could help to ensure everyone was treated fairly.
W/C 27th June 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics we have been extending our knowledge of alternative spellings even further. We now know a multitude of ways to spell different phonemes.
Maths
In maths this week, we have been focusing on place value with numbers to 100. This children began the week counting forwards and backwards to 100, filling in missing numbers and representing numbers in different ways. Moving on we looked at partitioning numbers using base 10 to support us, this children really enjoyed using a new app on their Ipad's to complete some of this lesson digitally. Finally we ended the week looking at one more and one less. The children worked with a number of pictorial representations when finding their answers. Fantastic work!
English
This week in English, we have focusing on instructions. The children's challenge this week is to write a set of instructions on 'How to make a disgusting sandwich'. On Monday we looked at the key features of a set of instructions and the children really did WOW me with their independence during this task. Then, we moved onto planning our disgusting sandwiches out. The children worked together to come up with some ideas of ingredients. Warning! Do not accept sandwiches from Year 1
. To finish the week we began our draft and the children wrote some fantastic introductions using question marks and exclamation marks.
Afternoon learning
This week the children have really enjoyed computing. We have been using ScratchJr this half term to learn all about animation and algorithms. The children had a challenge this week to give multiple sprites different algorithms to create an under the sea animation. Ask them to show you at home! They blow me away with their abilities in computing.
We scream for ice cream!
To finish what has been a fantastic week, we had a visit from the ice cream van. The children showed great use of manners and they all enjoyed chopping away on their ice-cream or lolly. Take a look at how much we enjoyed them!
W/C 20th June 2022
This week has been assessment week, in squirrels class we have been very busy and completed all of our assessments. Everybody tried their best and they have all made fantastic progress.
Sports week
This week in school we have completed sports week. Squirrels class said it was AMAZING, INCREDIBLE and FANTASTIC! We have been busy doing disability sports, dance and sports day.
Here is what some of the children said:
" I loved the running race during sports day because I loved trying my best to get to the end"-Alfie
"I enjoyed dancing because the dance teacher was very helpful when I was trying to do the different moves"-Maddie
"I loved the dancing because it was lots of fun"-Poppy
"I liked the blind fold football because we had to listen for the bell that was in the ball and that was a challenge"- Amelia
Sports day
On Friday morning the squirrels class came to school feeling excited but nervous, ready to compete in their races. We all had lots of fun and it was great to see all of our parents/grandparents and other supporters. Squirrels enjoyed the running race the most. We especially enjoyed watching the parents/carers race
What an amazing week we have had!
W/C 6th June 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have been looking at all the different alternatives for one sound. This will go on to support them with their spelling. This week we completed our phonics screening, the children shone through with all their phonics knowledge which was a pleasure for me to see. Well done Year 1!
Maths
In maths this week, the children have been looking at finding quarters. They began by looking at a quarter of a shape, paying attention to the fact they have to make a half before they can make a quarter. They then moved on to showing quarters in different ways and finally looked at finding a quarter of a quantity. For this they used their prior knowledge of sharing, we focused on knowing that finding a quarter means we have to share by 4. This children used concrete, pictorial and eventually moved on to abstract learning through this teach and thoroughly enjoyed it.
English
In English this week, the children have been introduced to our new focus text ' The lighthouse keepers lunch'. To start the week we read the story and used talk4writing to create actions that would help us to remember the story. We then moved on to sequencing, the children used their talk4writing skills and our class story map to sequence the story in the correct order. Finally, we looked at the setting and main characters and used our knowledge of the story to answer some reading VIPERS questions. The children showed just how much they remembered the story through the way they were able to answer the questions, using sentence stems for support.
Afternoon
This week Year 1 have been busy learning lots of new knowledge.
In science this week we began our new topic 'Animals'. As a class we looked at the 5 main animal groups and identified the features in each one to make it easier for us to identify which different animals belonged to which group. The children remembered key information which allowed them to successfully sort a range of animals into their correct groups. We then took our knowledge deeper and began to ask the children to justify why the animal was in that group, this allowed me to see what features the children could recall, the justifications provided were amazing.
In PSHE this week, the children have started a new topic 'Changing me'. They looked at life cycles and how different things grow, with a particular focus on us as humans and the different stages of life we go through. Once we had watched some fantastic videos all about different life cycles, the children were set the challenge of ordering a life cycle and then created a pictorial representation. Lots of the children focused on a life cycle being a never ending circle and understood that once it gets to the last stage it starts all over again.
A great week of learning!
W/C 23rd May 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics we have completed our final review week. This block of phonics has allowed us to see what the children have retained and what we need to continue to work on. After half term the children will be completing their phonics screening, I cannot wait to see them shine!
English
This week in English, we have been completing some instruction writing. To start the week the children became amazing chefs and created a cucumber sandwiches, while making the sandwich we looked at the vocabulary we were using. Next we created a draft of the instructions, using some pictures to help us to structure our writing. The children work very independently during this writing task and this was great to see. After, we looked at using our Year 1 key writing skills to uplevel our draft work to make it even better. The children used adjectives, added more information to make the instructions clear and some even extended sentences using conjunctions.
Maths
In maths this week, the children have been looking at a halves. We began by looking at what a half actually was, the children can now confidently tell you that a half is one of two equal parts. we really focused on the key word 'equal' to ensure we know they needed to look the same. We started by practically finding half of a shape and the moved on to showing half in different ways. Finally, the children looked at finding half of a quantity. The children used their prior knowledge of sharing to support them with this learning and also learnt that when we find half we share between 2 equal groups.
Queens Jubilee
This week the children have been completing some learning about the queen and what a jubilee is. As a school we has a decade in each year groups to focus on. In Year 1 we looked at the 50's and learnt a dance to 'Rock around the clock', we definitely have some fantastic dancers in our class. Finally, on Friday we came together as a school and celebrated the Platinum Jubilee, we sang, danced and had some party food. The children had a great time with their peers and it was great to gather as a whole school.
W/C 16th May 2022
Phonics
In phonics this week we have continued reviews previously taught sounds. The children are beginning to recognise, and sight read lots of harder to read and spell words. Each day we are seeing children using and developing their reading skills using phonics as their foundation.
Maths
This week in maths, the children have been exploring equal groups. We began the week by recognising equal groups and counting in our multiples to find the total. From here, we moved on to adding equal groups using repeated addition. Next, we took the skills of equal groups and repeated addition with us when learning about arrays. The children began by understanding the difference between rows and columns, they applied this knowledge well and some even challenged themselves to writing repeated addition number sentences for both rows and column. To end the week the children used squared paper to practically build arrays using challenge cards and then translated this into draw pictorial representations in their books. The use of counting in multiples this week has been fantastic!
English
In English this week, we moved on to a new text ‘The Queens Hat’. To begin the week we read the story and created a story map to support the children’s writing throughout the week. This week the children were challenged to writing a lost/missing poster for the Queens hat, we began this by using a WAGOLL to spot the features of a poster. The children then moved on to writing their own introduction, looking at how to use a question mark. As a class we came up with lots of questions using some key question words e.g. who, where, when, how. Next, the children moved on to the description of the missing hat. They used a range of adjectives well to enable them to create a clear picture of the hat for readers. Finally, we looked at using imperative verbs within the title and catch the eye of the reader.
Afternoon
This week in science the children learnt all about the lifecycle of a tree. We looked at the different stages and put our technology skills to work. The children worked in partners to record themselves showing each stage of the life cycle using their bodies. We then came inside and added a voice over all about their video. The children especially enjoyed becoming the MIGHTY OAK! Scan the QR code below to take a look at some of our TECHTASTIC work!
W/C 9th May 2022
phonics
This week in phonics we have been focusing on alien words, these are nonsense words that cannot be used in a sentence. When the children complete their phonics screening after half term there will be nonsense words included. It is very important that the children read these exactly how they see them and do not attempt to make them into real words.
Maths
In maths this week, we have been looking at counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, we have done some rote counting and counting groups of. The children have been brilliant at counting in the different multiples and representing 'lots of' using drawing. Lots of children are now challenging themselves with problem solving and reasoning. They are clear that when a question is asking us to 'explain why' that a key word we must use is 'because'.
English
In English this week, we have completed an alternative version of Handa's Surprise. To start the week we boxed up the original story and added the changes. We decided to change the animals but keep the fruit the same. We watched videos to see how the different animals moved and collected a bank of verbs we could use in our writing. The children used the previously taught skills well and added the new skills to their writing to uplevel.
Afternoon
This week in science, the children took their knowledge of evergreen and deciduous trees outside. We went on a tree hunt! The children used key vocabulary to explain to adults and each other what the different trees were.
In PSHE the children looked at greetings, they looked at how people like to be greeted differently and created greetings (secret hand shakes) of their own. Take a look below.
W/C 2nd May 2022
Phonics
This week the children have continued to review all taught sounds. They are becoming more familiar with alternative sounds and also recognising silent letters within words.
Maths
We focused on small group target to consolidate maths skills that are key in being able to progress well in year 1. The children looked at plotting numbers on a number line and comparing numbers using greater than, less than and equal to.
English-
In English this week we wrote a fantastic retell of Handa's Surprise. To start the week we tasted some of the fruits in the story, this allowed us to create a bank of adjectives to use to uplevel our writing. The children impressed me with their willingness to try everything, although some were definitely not their favourite! Moving on, we completed a simple write building the sequence of the story and using the adjectives for the beginning of the week. Finally we looked at time conjunctions, the children used first, then, next and finally well in their writing. We ended the week by publishing our writing which was AMAZING!
Afternoon
This week in computing we got to use the beebots! The children enjoyed exploring them and looking at how we can give a command and how the beebot responds to it. The children explored using the different buttons to give different commands.
W/C 25th April 2022
Welcome back! I cannot believe we are entering the final term of the school year, the children will now continue to develop and consolidate skills in all areas of the curriculum as well as continuing with some new learning. The children have progressed so well and should be so proud of what they have achieved so far and will continue to do so. This term all children in Year 1 will be completing their phonics screening. We complete phonics and phonics catch up everyday and the children have completed phonics screening practice multiple times this year and are letting their phonics knowledge shine.
Phonics
This half term in phonics we will be doing lots of review and consolidation work. This means there will no be no new sounds for the children to learn but we will be reviewing sounds we have previously learnt. The children will continue to progress as we build on our reading fluency.
English
This half term in English the children will have lots of opportunity to showcase how they can use all taught writing skills independently. We have started the half term with 'Handa's Surprise', the children will be completing a recount and an alternative retell for this focus text. This week we did lots of talk4writing work, the children created some actions to help us actively retell the story and make it more memorable. Next, the children created their own storyboards to give us a simple story basis to build our skills into.
Afternoon
This week we continued our learning all about Reginald Mitchell. During this weeks lesson we looked at the similarities and differences of present day life and life in the past. The children made some great links to our learning of the past when looking at Josiah Wedgewood and learnt some new things about how past life has changed between the two significant individuals. The children have had lots of fun using the roleplay areas and bringing out their inner mechanic.
W/C 4th April 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have come to the end of learning all of their new alternative sounds. They are doing an amazing job reading these in books now and are beginning to use some in their writing!
Maths
In maths this week, the children have continued their learning of measure. This week the focus has been on mass and capacity. The children began the week by using scales to measure a range of objects using non-standard units (cubes). They made predictions and then worked together to find out the accurate weight of each object. The children were great at spotting when the scales were balanced. Then we moved onto comparing mass and used vocabulary such as heavier and lighter. The children used these key words well and even enjoyed being human scales! We then moved onto capacity and looking when a container is empty, nearly empty, half full, nearly full and full. The children had great fun identifying these key words using different containers. Next, we looked at how much capacity a range of containers, we spoke about non-standard units of measure again and used spoons this time. The children worked in teams to investigate the capacity of each container and wrote a statement for each one.
English
In English, we completed our alternative retell of 'The magic pebble'. The children thoroughly enjoyed changing the magic pebble for a magic door! We consolidated our skills of using the -ed suffix to ensure our writing was in the past tense. When drafting we added adjectives, this is skill that we are really confident with now and use in most of our writing. Finally, we got the chance to publish our brand new story. We love completing a published write as it is our time to shine in our writing and presentation.
Afternoon learning
This week the children have had lots of fun in science! They got the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge of plants and dissected a flower. With each part they had to label is correctly and then discuss the function.
Golden time
To celebrate all of the children's hard work this half term we had a great time during our golden time. We made some Easter nests, went on an Easter egg hunt and did some great Easter colouring. We also celebrated the community we live in and all came dressed as something beginning with 'K' for Kidsgrove.
W/C 28th March 2022
This week we have been celebrating the children's success during assessment week. The children have shone like the stars we know they are and have made more fantastic progress. The support at home has a big impact on progress and we are thankful for support from all parents :)
Maths
In maths we have been looking at measure. The children have been looking at longer and shorter. They have been looking at measuring in non-standard units, using blocks and counters. The children looking at the rules of measuring and followed these in the lesson to ensure they were measuring accurately. Next, we moved onto measuring in standard unit when using a ruler. The children began to use the key word 'centimeters' when stating the length of what they were measuring. They also has a go at recording this in their books. Some children moved to the challenge of comparing measure, they were working our which was shorter or longer by using their measuring skills within the lessons.
Science
This week in science we went on a plant hunt! The children learnt all about wild and garden plants. They learnt their names and began to sort them. We then went into our forest school area to see which different plants we could find. The children were fantastic plant detectives and really enjoyed searching for the different plants we had learnt about.
W/C 21st March 2022
Phonics
This week we have continued with our learning of alternative spellings. The children are working really hard to use their sound mats now to identify the correct spellings for different words.
Maths
This week in maths, we have continued to focus on numbers to 50. We begun the week by looking at one more and one less. Then we moved onto comparing groups of objects using key vocabulary such as; more than, less than and equal to. After working with concrete objects and using pictorial support we then moved onto comparing and ordering numbers to 50. We used numberline to support our thinking and challenged ourselves by justifying our answers and showing securing understanding through our explanations.
English
In English this week, we have been getting to know our new focus text 'The Magic Pebble'. We began the week by reading the story and using Talk4Writing to sequence and act out the story in small groups. Giving actions to different parts helps us to remember and recall the story well. Then we set off on our writing task for the week. This week we took on the challenge of writing a setting description, in the story the main character Freddie goes on a magical adventure to space! We used a fantastic picture to support our understanding of what we might see in space and made notes about what we might see and what we might hear. When we had these ideas we began to write some simple I can see and I can hear sentences using some fantastic verbs and adjectives to improve our sentences. When we all had some super sentences we challenged ourselves to using sentence openers. These helps us to avoid repeating ourselves in writing and to make out writing more interesting.
Afternoon learning
We have had another week full of busy afternoons. This week in skill builders we looked at teamwork and how we can work together to achieve the same goal. We focused on breaking a task down so each person had a role. The children did a fantastic job at working together and supporting one another to complete a colouring in a set amount of time.
W/C 14th March 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have been very focused and much quicker picking up on the new alternative spellings. See below the alternatives covered this week. There are lots of these and children are beginning to navigate these well. A new challenge book has been set for this week!
Maths
This week in maths, the children have been exploring number to 50. We began the week by counting forwards and backwards with a focus on accurate pronunciation. We then moved onto using concrete resources to represent many different numbers. During this lesson the children showed a great understanding of how to use each manipulative. Once we were confident with the new numbers we moved on to looking at tens and ones. The children shone in this lesson and they were all able to recall their knowledge of tens and one well. To bring all of our learning together we used a new friend of our 'Representing robot', he helped us to represent one number, four different ways! To end the week we looked at more varied fluency and problem solving and reasoning to deepen our knowledge and understanding.
English
This week in English, we continued with our focus of Jack and the beanstalk. We began the week by using the prefix -un to write a simple recount of the story. Next, we looked at extending our sentences using a range of conjunctions; and, but and because. This made our writing even better! To end the week we looked at upleveling our writing to WOW the reader, to do this we had to read back what we had write and pick out where we could add adjectives to support the reader in imagining the story in their mind. After all of our hard work, to end the week we completed our published write. WOW what busy squirrels we have been!
Afternoon learning
This week in science the children have enjoyed learning about the functions of different plant parts. We are really starting to think about how to display our work in a different way. We used different shapes to write about the functions and put these together to make a flower. The children did an amazing job at recalling what a plants needs to grow, we also took a look at the beans we plants and the children noticed some shoots! We cannot wait to see them grow even more.
In RE, the children learnt about the Hindu celebration of Holi. This linked well with our current RE topic as we are learning about family and love. Holi is a celebration of colour and love and accepting everyone around you. After watching some videos the children shared some fantastic responses.
'They were having so much fun!'-Kai
'They were hugging each other'- Sara
'They aren't family but they are celebrating together'- Georgia
To celebrate in the classroom the children had great fun decorating love hearts with flicks of colourful paint
On Friday, we celebrated red nose day. Everybody came dressed in red or their favourite super hero. As a class we listened to Teddy's story and discussed how the money we donate can help children like Teddy. After that the children took part in some superhero yoga ( we have some very stretchy children!) We had a great day and the children showed compassion and understanding around different needs.
W/C 7th March
Phonics
In phonics this week the children have continued with their amazing work on alternative spellings. They have begun to recognise theses in reading books and using some of them in spelling during writing lessons.
Maths
In maths, we have been looking at subtraction. The children began by looking at the other ways subtraction may be worded; minus, takeaway, subtract, less and backwards. We began by looking at pictorially representing a subtraction number sentence, the children did a fantastic job at drawing dots and then crossing out the correct amount to find the total. From here we looked at how to work out a subtraction number sentence using a number line. The children focused on accurate counting when completing their jumps and also checking their answers. To increase challenge we moved the children onto missing number sentence, they did a fantastic job of following the correct method to work out what the missing number was. Some even moved on to using the inverse (AMAZING!). Next, the children did a fantastic job of completing fact families using part whole models. To end the week we looked at both addition and subtraction in the form of a maths story, this was the challenge the children to work out if it was asking us to add or subtract. They did a wonderful job at spotting vocabulary such as more, eaten, flew away, joined.
English
In English this week, we have been carrying on working on our focus text 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. The children began the week by completing a story mountain. We looked at the setting and characters and then the structure of the story. We added more challenge by getting them to think about the resolution in the story. They did a great job breaking the story down and thinking about is as a sequence. Next, we looked at using the prefix -un to being writing a recount. The children showed their understanding of what the prefix actually does to the root word and began verbally using these in sentences. We will continue with this next week.
Afternoon learning
In science this week we looked at 'What does a plant need to grow?' The children had great prior knowledge about this and also made some fantastic predictions about what might happen if a plant was missing one of the 5 keys things. To support us in our knowledge of plants growing as a class we planted some beans! The children will have the responsibility to care for these and we can watch them grow. I wonder if ours will be magical beanstalks?
In History this week we launched our new topic 'Who is famous in Staffordshire?'.
On Thursday afternoon we made a strange discovery in class. A suitcase had appeared but we didn't know where it and come from or who is belonged to. When we opened it up there seemed to be lots of evidence in it. The children passed the items around and began to make links, using prior learning and knowledge to predict who it could be. Josiah Wedgewood, the potter and entrepreneur. During the lesson, the children used to evidence to create a chronological timeline of significant events in his life. Take a look below at some picture and videos!
All about Wedgewood
W/C 28th February 2022
Phonics
In phonics this week we have completed a review week. This includes no new sounds/spellings but allows the children to review all they have learnt so far. It really allows me as class teacher to see the progress they are making but also highlight what we need to work on in phonics catch up sessions.
Maths
In arithmetic this week we have introduced the children to number sense. This week we have increased our fluency in one more, one less. The children have looked at this in a story context, linked operation symbols to more and less and finally rapid recall using number sentences.
This week in maths, we have focused on addition. We have done this to refresh and consolidate the children's knowledge. The focus for this have term is going to be around vocabulary and the children understanding that 'add' can be much more. To begin the week we looked at adding two groups and progressed to adding on using a number line. We then increased challenge and looked at how to find a missing number. The children showed great determination when we learnt all about using inverse. To end the week we looked at addition fact families and using two parts and a whole to create 4 different number sentences.
English
In English this week, we have been learning all about our new text 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. On Monday the children came in from break and found something very strange in the classroom MAGIC BEANS! They think Jack might of left them for us to plant. We began the week by reading the story, creating a story map and identifying the good, evil and magic within the story. From there, we moved onto looking at some new vocabulary and their definitions so we could use them appropriately in our writing. For the rest of the week we looking creating a character description. We identified adjectives, verbs and nouns to develop our sentence structure. We identified lots of adjective for Jack and used these to write some fantastic descriptions. At the end of the week we looked at using the conjunctions but and because. The children are now building fantastic sentences for a range of genres.
Afternoon learning
This week in Science, we began our new topic 'plants'. Before we completed any learning we did a pre-assessment.
Here is what the children said:
A plant is flower- Sara
It needs sun and water-Kye
They have leaves-Georgia
We looked at the definition of a plant and quickly learnt that is was much more than just a flower. It is a living thing that grows in soil and turns sunlight into food. Once we had acquired this knowledge we went on a hunt to see what we could observe in school grounds. We found tress, shoots, grass, moss and flowers! The children enjoyed this and used their knowledge to tell me why it was a plant or not a plant. When we returned to the classroom some children challenged themselves to 'find the odd one out' and identify the plants.
World book day
On Thursday, we celebrated world book day! We all came into school wearing our pyjamas, ready to get cosy and share stories. The children shared some of their favourite stories and wrote so fantastic book reviews. We used story pots to retell key texts and the children WOW'd be with how well they verbally retold the stories. We ended the day with hot chocolate and biscuits while I read some of their favourite stories.
W/C 14th February 2022
Well what a fantastic end to the most wonderful half term we have had! This week we have been working with the children through assessments and WOW! what progress they have made and continue to make. They know how proud they make me everyday in their learning but they have worked so hard this half term and it has truly shone through.
We have had lots of fun this week and the children and really enjoyed some well earnt 'brain breaks'.
Skill builders
This week during our weekly skill builders session we looked at the skill 'LISTENING'. The children could identify why it is so important to listen and then we looked at barriers to listening. The children took on the challenge of listening to a friend while loud music was playing and they were drawing a picture.
"I couldn't really focus on them talking because the music was so loud'- Logan
"I can only remember some things that they said"- Alfie
"That was so much easier now it is quiet again"-Maddie
We discussed the best way to prepare to listen when in school and focused on 3 main steps:
1. STOP and distractions
2.FOCUS on the speaker (this could be anyone in the room not just an adult)
3.REPEAT (repeat any instruction in your head to support you in remembering)
Helping to improve our classroom
This week in squirrels classroom we have been developing different areas of the classroom to support the children and really bring the classroom to life! The children have been part of the process and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
They used their knowledge and experience of printing to make some fantastic brick walls for our NEW role play area. After lots of printing fun we moved on to 'bookerflies'. Using pages from old books and templates the children created some wonderful butterflies that are now hanging in our reading area! This activity really tested the children's fine motor cutting skills to get the sizes of the butterflies just right.
Golden time!
It was finally time for the children to celebrate all their hard work with some golden time. They decided on a movie and snacks, followed by some drawing and dancing. The best way to express yourself! We decided on ENCANTO! The children loved it especially the songs (the snacks went down a treat too!). Seeing them working together and getting on so well is a pleasure to see and fills me with joy as their class teacher.
Squirrels, you have worked incredibly hard this half term and have definitely earnt a well earned break! Have a lovely half term and stay safe!
P.S. Don't forget to read!
Miss Thorley
W/C 7th February 2022
As we approach the end of this wonderful half term the children have continued to impress us all with their daily learning. We have been super busy yet again as you can see!
Phonics
In phonics this week we have learnt 2 new alternative spellings. The children an beginning to use these in writing now and are being supported to identify which spelling to use in different words.
Maths
In maths this week we continued to look at subtraction. The children were looking at the taking away by making 10, the children had to recall their partitioning knowledge and number bonds to 10 knowledge. We have done lots of work on number bonds to 10 this week and it is really starting to become sticky learning for the children. The children are really starting to take on the challenge of problem solving and reasoning. They have been looking at true or false statements and explaining their answers using mathematical terminology. We have also seen a huge improvement with fluency and the children are working well with abstract number sentences.
English
In English this week the children the children have been exploring acrostic poems. We are going to be writing our own acrostic poem all about 'Winter'. The children began the week by exploring what an acrostic poem is and had a go at piecing some poems back together to work out what they were talking about. We then moved on to research, the children used videos and pictures to talk all about winter. While watching the video we had a go at magpieing ideas and writing them down. We shared these together and then the children chose some key facts to make key notes about winter.
Afternoon
This week we introduced 'Skill builders' to the children. We discussed all about how these skills are needed throughout life and will help us with our learning in school. The first skill we looked at was 'Teamwork', the children gave some great examples of what team work means and then prepared for the challenge of working in a team. In groups they were set the challenge of building the tallest tower. The children did lots of speaking and listening, I challenged them to think deeper by posing questions such as 'how are you going to make sure it doesn't fall over' and 'what might you need to ask someone to do'. The children truly thrived in this and enjoyed working together to achieve the same goal.
W/C 31st January
What another busy week we have had in Squirrels class! The children have continued to amaze me with their learning and watching them develop and progress is a true pleasure.
Phonics
This week in phonics we have completed a 'review week'. During this week we don't have any new sounds but recap and recall a range of sounds/alternative spellings we have already learnt. The children have been working extra hard this week on the comprehension skills, we are beginning to provide written answers all about the book we are reading. Well done Year 1!
Maths
In maths this week the children have begun to look at subtraction using the 'crossing out' method. They have shown this using pictorial representations and written number sentences. The children have been able to not only show their working out in a picture but also begin to interpret what a picture is telling them. We then moved on to consolidating our knowledge of number bonds that make 10. The children are building in confidence with their fluency in this and we will continue with lots of practice in school to get that super rapid recall. On Friday, we celebrated NSPCC Numbers Day. The children completed the smarties challenge, they used their smarties to answer a range of different maths problems, they loved completing this and eating the smarties!
English
This week in English, the children have been working towards writing a non-chronological report. We used the animation 'a cloudy less' to spark some questions within the children. We spent some time outside to watch the clouds and discussed what we had observed. Next, the children spotted some key features of a non-chronological report and found some examples using a WAGOLL. The children then came up with three sub-headings for us to research. The children thoroughly enjoyed using videos, pictures and website to research around the questions. The children then presented their findings to the class ready to write it up into sentences next week.
Afternoon
This week we went on a local trip! The children have been exploring a special key enquiry this half term 'How did Kidsgrove help Stoke-On-Trent'. We have looked at Stoke-On-Trent, mining and canals. This week we discovered why Harecastle Tunnel water is ORANGE! The children loved seeing the canal and lock, they asked lots of super questions and made some great observational drawings. From this trip we began to explore the significance of the canal and it's use in the past.
Stay safe, speak out
As part of NSPCC numbers day the children explored 'worry' and how to deal with. We started with an empty bag that was light as a feather and easy to carry. The children discussed and shared some of their worries and we wrote these down on blocks! After we put all our worries in the bag it was SO HEAVY! We spoke about how carrying all those worries around was not good. To make the bag lighter we had to think about who to talk to, the children did a fantastic job at recalling all the trusted adults in their lives they could speak to and then we chatted about Childline and what they do to help. Well done squirrels for some super discussion about how to stay safe and have a heathy mind.
W/C 24th January 2022
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have continued to learn alternative spellings. This is a really tricky part of phonics but the children are working really hard to remember these alternative spellings. We are noticing a real improvement in the children's reading this half term, they are much more fluent and the consistency of reading in school and at home is supporting this.
Maths
This week in maths, the children have been focusing on addition. They started the week by looking at adding by counting on. They did a a fantastic job of identifying the greater number and counting on from this. The children used some practical resources to begin with and then moved on to pictorial support before challenging themselves with problem solving and reasoning questions. We then moved onto number bonds to 20, the children recalled number bonds to 10 to ensure they could see the link between the two sets of number bonds. For example, if we know that 9 + 1 = 10 then we know that 19 + 1 = 20. The children used base 10 to support them practically with this as we looked at how we can 'add 10' to one part to make a number bond to 20. To end the week the children embarked upon a super challenging maths concept. We looked at adding by making 10, the children used counters and tens frames to begin with to show 'I have ten and _____ more' and then moved on to a more abstract way of calculating. We will continue our learning on this next week!
English
In English this week we saw the end of our focus text ' The three billy goats gruff'. This week the children have been working hard to write a set of instruction, they were looking at 'How to catch a goat'. We watched some great videos to get some ideas and the children also has a go at acting out how they would catch a goat. We looked at how to write a super introduction, thinking about what the reader would want to know. We then moved onto writing the main set of instructions, the children wrote some fantastic but clear instructions using time conjunctions and imperative verbs. Our main focus in writing at the moment is getting the children to use their phonics when spelling words out.
Afternoon learning
In PE this week the children have been looking at balancing. We discussed what 'balance' means and looked at 1, 2, 3 and 4 point balances. The children showed fantastic team work when supporting each other during practice time and then put together a sequence of 3 balances to perform to the rest of the class. It was great to see the children challenge themselves and show such respect during each performance.
In History this week, the children took their learning about mining even deeper! We moved on to looking at the changes to mining over time and plotted some significant changed on a timeline. The children developed their knowledge of chronology and some made some fantastic statements about 'why the changes occurred'. When looking at what had actually changed the children pointed out that we don't have coal mines anymore and also that children now go to school!
W/C 17th January 2022
What another fantastic week we have has in squirrels this week! The children have continued to amaze us with their learning and how much more they are remembering.
Phonics
This week in phonics we have been looking at lots more alternative spellings! Take a look below:
This week's challenge book is 'Wild Art' Some of these alternative spellings are included so keep an eye out and see how many you can spot!
Maths
In maths this week this children have continued using their knowledge of numbers 11-20. They have looked at partitioning numbers into tens and ones and used this information to order/compare groups of objects and numbers. They did a great job at using some of the key mathematical vocabulary such as; greatest, least, greater than, less than and equal to. This week they have also continued to challenge themselves with problem solving and reasoning, this can be done in lots of different way in year 1; some children give fantastic verbal responses using sentences stems and other challenge themselves further and being to try and put their answer into a sentence. We continue to use the modelled, guided, independent to support children with their success in maths.
In arithmetic this week the children have been exploring counting in 2's both forwards and backward. They have enjoyed using a song to help them memorise this and are getting much more confident with their 2's now.
English
In English this week the children had the opportunity to showcase how well they knew our focus text 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. Last week we wrote some Wanted! posters for the troll. This week we received a letter from the Troll, telling us that he has been caught and was in the woodland prison. The troll went on to tell us that since he had left the bridge a family of sneaky foxes had moved in! The children were challenged with the task of rewriting the middle of the story to include the new characters. During the week we boxed the story up and introduced the new character. Next, we researched foxes with the focus of how they look (adjectives) and how they move (verbs) to really enhance our writing. Towards the end of the week, the children looked at using conjunctions to extend their sentences and did a great job using 'and' and 'but'. At the beginning of next week we will be publishing our new stories and I cannot wait to share them with you. Well done Year 1!
Afternoon learning
This week the children have immersed themselves in some fantastic learning. In PSHE they explored achievement and success, we had a class discussion about what we are good at and used this time to celebrate our achievements. This week in science the children had the opportunity to complete a scientific experiment. They were investigating waterproof materials and had the challenge of fixing Ted's umbrella, the children made a prediction and then carried out a 'fair test'. After the experiment some children made a simple conclusion to discuss what the best material would be to use.
This week we have had some children accessing home learning, can I just say a massive thankyou to all parents for supporting their children during this time and enabling them to continuing their learning journey even when they are at home. This has shown how the resilience in our children is building and it is great to see. Well done to all of our squirrels home learning this week!
W/C 10th January 2022
Phonics
This week the children have been looking at alternative spellings. This is a tricky concept but they are do really well with it. The children are now completing 20 minute reading lessons each day where each week we look at different style comprehension questions. Please make sure you are reading each night at home to support the children with the fantastic progress they are making.
Maths
We started the week by looking at repeating patterns using the knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes. The children showed an amazing understanding through the challenge of problem solving and reasoning. Towards the end of the week we explored representing numbers to 20 using concrete resources such as; numicon, counters and dienes. To end the week we then took our concrete knowledge and explored pictorial representations and the children tackled some tricky problem solving questions. All children are doing a fantastic job at using sentence stems provided to answer the reasoning questions.
English
In English this week we have been looking at creating a 'Wanted poster' for the troll in The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We began the week by looking at using exclamation marks (!) and how to use them in our writing. We then moved on to writing the reason why the troll was wanted, for this part of the writing we explored the prefix -un. The children came up with some great buzz words to use in their writing and made a great attempt at using them within sentences. To end the week we looked at adjectives and describing the troll. Some children took on the challenge of using two adjectives with a comma to separate. On Monday we will be publishing this fantastic work the children have worked hard on all week.
Afternoon Curriculum
Have a look below at some of the fun we have had in; Geography, Science and music
Take a look below at our Award winners this week!
W/C 15th November
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have learnt the following sounds
wh, ph, ew and oe
This week we have begun to look at some reading comprehension with the children and building verbal responses to questions about a book they are familiar with. This week we focused on retrieval, the children looked at pulling some key information from the text to answer questions and learnt about what a 'fiction' book is.
Maths
This week in maths we continued with our learning on addition. The children looked at how two parts make a whole using numicon and counters to support with their understanding of the addition concept. We then moved onto adding more and counting on to find the whole. We used some great maths stories to help us with this concept and the children developed a good understanding of 'first, then and now'. They also used number lines to show how jumps can represent a part to find the whole. One thing I am particularly proud of is how the children are challenging themselves with problem solving and reasoning. They are beginning to use simple sentence stems to create their own response to a question.
English
In English this week, the children have been exploring some creative writing. Using the topic of 'homes' the children created their own fictional setting that they would then be writing a setting description about. To begin the week we looked at some key features of a setting description. The children identified the great use of adjectives, as well as, I can see and I can hear sentences. In the middle of the week we explored sentence openers and how we can use them to provide more information to the reader and support them in creating a better picture in their minds when reading. The children have begun to use these well in their independent writing. The children's enthusiasm in their writing this week has shone through and it is a true pleasure to see.
Afternoon learning
This week in Science the children carried out a scientific experiment to explore material properties. We focused on transparent and opaque. The children learnt about what it meant to carry out a 'fair test' and made a prediction using their prior knowledge. We recorded the results in our books and some children challenged themselves to write a simple conclusion. The children enjoyed discovering which objects and materials where opaque and transparent. By the end of the experiment the children had a clear understanding of what each key word meant.
W/C 8th November
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have learnt the following sounds.
ea, oy, ir, ue and aw
The children are doing incredibly well with their phonics learning and applying it to their reading. The children are working really hard on their fluency skills. We are looking at which words in sentences we can read quickly 'Harder to read and spell words' and also looking at the diagraphs within words to segment and blend correctly. We have now introduced reading on oxford owl and this has been a success so far. The children will be having a challenge book and two fluency books each week.
Maths
In maths this week, we have been learning about number bonds. The children very quickly picked up that in a number bond 'two parts make the same whole'. We have used a variety of manipulatives to support our learning from part whole models to tens frames and counters. Once the children had worked well through the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach we began to compare number bonds. They used their addition skills to find the wholes and then began to chose the correct comparison symbol to use. As we move through our learning in maths the children and showing not only are they learning new things but also recalling and remembering previous learning.
English
This week in English we began to build the different sections of our Non-chronological report. The children looked at using research to note-take and then used notes to write so fantastic sentences. Towards the end of the week we explored exclamation marks and how we use them in our writing but also how we use them in our reading. The children enjoyed reading sentences with expression.
Afternoon learning
This week the children thoroughly enjoyed learning about remembrance day and global warming.
We read a lovely story about remembrance day where a little girl called Orla leant all about the soldiers who fought for us and why we now wear poppies and what they represent. The children worked hard on creating some lanterns to signify the importance and light of the soldiers that are no longer here and fought for the life we have today. These are now displayed in the main entrance for all to see.
For global warming day we looked at how different things we do as humans on the planet is effecting the place where we live. We looked at how the world is warming up and the effects this is having on the polar regions. The children recalled different things that we can do to start helping the planet. We understand that even though we are a small class we can make a BIG difference. The children made a small pledge to ensure lights in the classroom and around school are turned off when not in use. They created some lovely posters in partnership and cannot wait to take responsibility for our planet.
W/C 1st November 2021
Phonics
This week the children have been learning the sound ay, ou and ie. The children have enjoyed reading some different 'Hard to read and spell words'. This week the children have tried really hard with reading words and sentences. We are working particularly hard with their reading fluency, the more familiar the children get with words and sounds the better their fluency. Lots of repetition really helps with this. In the phonics provision the children have been looking at spelling words with phase 3 sounds. Some of them then took on the challenge to then put the different words into sentences
Maths
In maths this week the children have been look at addition. We began the learning through the exploration of part, whole models. the children are now very confident in their understanding that part + part = whole. We began this practically using a range of concrete resources and then moved on to using the addition symbols and writing number sentences. To end the week we began exploring addition fact families. The children enjoyed the challenge of presenting number sentences in different ways.
English
This week in English the children have been learning all about Non-chronological reports. The theme of our report will be house types. We began the week by immersing ourselves in different house types. This allowed the children to explore what they wanted to know and what we could write in our own reports. For our own report we are going to be writing about igloos, the children were really excited about this as it was all new learning. Before beginning our own writing the children looked at the features of a non-chronological report. We continued the week by developing our understanding 'research' and what this could look like. The children really WOWED me with their ability to pick out key words/captions from a piece of reading.
Science
This week in science the children have started a new topic 'Materials'. We began the topic by going on hunt around the school to see what different materials the children could find. We took our Ipads to take some pictures. The children's challenge started when they had to distinguish between the object and the material it is made from. After we had been on our hunt and identified some different materials they then had to sort them. The children did very well with this task and used key vocabulary well. To end the lesson the children began to look at purpose and what different objects were made from, to deepen our understanding of this we discussed some silly questions 'What would happen if the tables were made of jelly?'
Thankyou for your continued support,
I cannot wait to see what this half term holds for us!
W/C 18th October 2021
This week this children have had a great week of learning and fun. They have all worked so hard and have had the chance this week to show case their learning from the whole half term. We ended the week with golden time and some Halloween activities, after all their hard work they all thoroughly enjoyed having a bit of fun.
Phonics
In phonics this week we have been quizzing the children on their current phonic knowledge, I am so proud of the progress they have made and cannot wait to begin our new phonics learning next half term. Any questions about phonics please do not hesitate to ask.
English
This week in English the children had lots of fun writing instructions. This was their last published write on the half term and I cannot express how proud I was when I compared it to their writing from the beginning on the year. The children have worked very hard on capital letters, full stops, finger spaces and sentence structure this half term. The children had great fun following verbal instructions to build using shapes before going on to writing out their own instructions.
Maths
In maths this week we have consolidated our learning from this half term. The children did well answering a range of questions to showcase all of their new knowledge
Science
This week in science we saw the end of our topic. The children ended the half term exploring their sense of sight. They took part in a carousel of activities that supported the children in exploring how light, dark and distance effect our eye sight. The children concluded that when it was dark it was more difficult to see and also when standing further away it was more difficult to read.
Golden time
This half term the children definitely earnt their golden time. As a class we voted for what the children wanted to do. The children completed this voting well and understood that this was a fair way to make a choice as a class. The children decided on cake decorating and watching a film. They all had a huge smile on their face for the whole afternoon and this was such a delight to see.
Thankyou for your continued support this half term, wishing you all a restful and fun filled half term break
Miss Thorley
Week 7- W/C 11th October 2021
Phonics
This week in phonics the children have been learning the following phonemes oo, ar and or
During each lesson the children explored their use of voice when practicing the phoneme, we then explored a range of words which gave us lots of opportunity to practice our segmenting and blending. The children love using their ROBOT ARMS to help with this. We then moved on to reading captions, sentences and small passages of text. During this part of the lesson the children are challenged to spot the focus phoneme and ensure they read it correctly within words. Throughout the lessons children have opportunities to practice writing the grapheme to match the phoneme. We take care with our letter formation during this part and even have a go at spelling some words.
English
In English this week, we have been learning about instructions. To immerse ourselves into our learning we began by making TURNIP SOUP! We had lots of fun doing this and explored lots of different vocabulary during the lesson.
We then moved on to looking at the features of instructions using a WAGOLL. This helps us to know what we need to include in our instructions when we begin to write. As our school IPad's have now been introduced, we worked with our teacher to 'mark up' our WAGOLL, spotting all the different features. We looked at the; title, equipment, numbers, imperative verbs and sequence.
Finally, we ended the week by working in pairs to follow verbal instructions to make a picture using shapes. We had to make sure we used imperative verbs and gave the instructions in the correct order. This was lots of fun! Some of us had the challenge of writing our verbal instructions down.
Maths
In maths this week we have been exploring ordinal numbers. We began the week by taking our learning outside and getting practical. The children took it in turns to have races and giving each other the correct ordinal number e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd. We then moved onto looking at pictorial representations of ordinal numbers and answering a range of different questions about the position/place of different people/objects. Some children were also given the challenge of stretching their knowledge further and answered some problem solving and reasoning questions.
Kidsgrove curriculum
In Geography this week we looked a Mow Cop castle. We began by sharing what we already knew and expanded this through whole class research. The children looked at pictures and also learnt some new vocabulary, such as; folley and crag. After we had learnt some more about Mow Cop castle, the children worked in teams to create a fact file using what they had learnt.
Science
In Science this week, we continued to explore our senses. This week, we focused on smell and taste. The children identified the body part the we use for each senses and engaged in some fun practical experiments! Using our senses we tasted some food and got our noses working with some mystery smells. The children made predictions about what they thought it was and began to understand how to make a 'sensible' guess. We the moved on to taste, the children were able to explain how we taste and understood the role that the brain plays in the process.
