Anti-bullying video...

Watch our 'anti-bullying week' video for top tips on playing nicely in the playground! We have displayed our friendship pictures in the classroom to remind us of our top tips when we go out to play.

Topic - Our Fantastic Baby Quilt!

Last week we thought about what babies need and what makes babies happy... Along with food and water we decided babies need warmth so we designed our own baby quilt. We used google to search for our own motif that we thought a baby would like, and looked at what shape would be best for the tessellation style of quilts. We cut around our motif templates onto material and then sewed around the outside onto our own piece of material. With all of the pieces sewn together we have created this amazing quilt! 

Topic - What toys did children used to play with?

At the beginning of our 'Babies and Toys' topic lots of people asked 'what toys did children used to play with?' This week as part of our topic work we will look at the differences between old fashioned and modern toys, looking again at materials, and why things have changed over time. 

I have found some great interactive activities which we will be using in class, and are also available for you at home...

Describing Toys

Comparing Toys

Numeracy - halving shapes and numbers...

Following last weeks doubling, this week we are going to be looking at halving shapes and numbers. We will be using our knowledge of number doubles to help us halve numbers quickly.

Literacy - more instructions!

This week we are continuing to look at instructions, focusing on the features of instructional texts. We have already looked at time words such as 'first, then, now, next, finally...' and bossy words such as  'put, tip, get, pour, mix, add...'

This week we will be looking at other features such as titles, subtitles, and 'what you will need' lists... We will have a go at writing our own instructions independently, and will be following instructions to make some biscuits!!!

Here are some games to play at home...

Instructions Game 1

Instructions Game 2

Numeracy - doubling numbers...

This week in Numeracy we will be looking at number doubles, and extending this to halving numbers later in the week. We will also be practising our number sentences with our knowledge of number doubles, e.g. '3 + 3 = 6'.

Here are some games for you to play at home....

Number doubles 1

Number doubles 2

Number doubles 3

Dominoes are a great way of learning about doubling numbers too, we will be using with them in class and I will put them out on the table in the mornings!

Numeracy - Counting on...

This week in numeracy we will be looking at counting up in 2s, 10s and continuing to learn about money.  

Here are some links for you to try at home... You will also find some in 'mycity' on education city! 

Counting up in 2s

Counting up in 10s

PSHE - Anti-bullying week...

As part of Anti bullying week we have been thinking about how we play nicely in the playground... We made our own friendship pictures and wrote our top tips for the playground on the back. We have also made it in to a video so watch this space....

RE - 'Gifts and Giving'

This week we have started learning the songs for our Christmas Nativity... we have 7 songs to keep us busy!

In Religious Education this week we are beginning to look at the Christmas story and we will be continuing this theme until the end of the term.

The link below is an interactive story with some games and quiz questions if you would like to have a look at home.

The Christmas Story

Assembly

Thank you to everyone who came to watch our first Year One assembly on Friday. I am sure you will agree the children did a wonderful job and I was very proud of them all.

I hope you enjoyed looking through their books and seeing all the hard work they have been doing... we do lots of practical work and drama in year one which provides the basis of their learning, which cant be shown in books.. I hope you agree this is reflected in the work they have produced!

Numeracy - When and Where?

In Numeracy we have been learning the days of the week and the months of the year. We made a 'week diary' thinking about certain things that happen on different days... We talked about the seasons and the weather and what the trees look like at different times of the year. With Mr Osborne they were thinking about what their morning routine is like, using time words to order events such as 'first, second, then, after, next, finally' etc...

We have looked at the position of objects and how we can describe exactly where something is using words like 'left, right, inside, under, middle, on top'.  Miss Burge showed us how our left hand can make an 'L' shape to help us remember.

Next week we are looking at estimating, comparing and measuring the weight of objects. At the end of the week we are also going to look at money to help us in our role play corner!

Literacy - Patterns and Rhymes

In Literacy we have been looking at patterns and rhymes in texts. We have spent time finding words that rhyme, and using describing words to make our very own poem up about shoes! Miss Burge brought (almost) her entire shoe collection in for us to have a look at and make into a poem! 

We looked at what makes a repeated phrase and created our own class story about a tiger, where everybody wrote two lines each. We thought carefully about adding description into our writing, and then very carefully created a picture based on the description. We used paint to colour them, and had to mix the colours so they would match our writing. We practised our handwriting, and wrote them up in our best handwriting so we could show them off in assembly..

This week in Literacy we are continuing to work on word patterns, and we are going to really focus on sounding out the words we write to make sure we are listening to every sound in the word. In Letters and Sounds we have been learning lots of new sounds, so we will practise using these in our writing. 

Look out for repeated phrases and rhyming words in your reading books at home! 

Topic - Clothes, clothes, clothes...

In our topic afternoons this term we have been looking at clothes, and trying to find the answers to our questions we asked before half term. We have looked at the properties of a range of materials and have been very good at describing them, which has also developed our labelling skills.

We completed a fun experiment deciding which materials were waterproof and which were not... which resulted in a fairly wet classroom and a recording sheet full of answers. We discussed fair tests, and realised we needed to test the materials in the same way with the same amount of water, as some materials let through a little bit of water, some let it all through, and some were completely waterproof. 

We have made clothes collages on paper dolls, we have hung numbered clothes up outside on a washing line, and have been very busy using information books from the library to tell us lots of things about clothes we didn't know before. 

We looked at how clothes are sewn together and we had a go ourselves, and we made our very own giant rainbow fish...we weaved ribbons onto paper plates to make the scales...we learnt the warp goes up and down, and the weft goes from left to right. 

We have our very own clothes shop in the classroom at the moment... We have been writing shopping lists, playing with the till, and practising our customer service! 

Check back here next week to see what we have been up to for the last week of our clothes topic!! 

Story Making

Check out the new Story Making page on the blog...

Science - Forces...

We have been looking at push and pull forces to help us with our Literacy work... We have played this game in class and the children asked for it to go on the blog, so here we are..!

Push and Pull game

Numeracy - Measuring...

In Numeracy this week we have been comparing heights and lengths of objects around the classroom. We have been careful to use the words longer and shorter when talking about length, and taller and shorter when talking about height.

Over the week we will be measuring objects using 'non standard' units such as unifix cubes, paper clips and pencils, and using our results to compare the lengths of things. 

Literacy - Non fiction books...

In Literacy this week we are looking at the features of non-fiction books, and we are even making our own class non-fiction book! We have been exploring push and pull forces, and where these happen in the classroom - opening drawers, shutting doors etc. Today we looked at adding labels to scooters as we saw lots of information books have labels to tell us more about the pictures or objects.

During the rest of the week we will be exploring what forces we use when we are on the bikes and scooters, and how we can show this using 'captions' in our non-fiction book. 

Numeracy....making pictograms

http://www.iboard.co.uk/iwb/Pictogram-Favourite-Snack-462

Reading...

Please find some helpful pointers under the reading tab on the blog which will support you in hearing your child to read at home. You will have noticed that some of the reading books in school have lots of tips of the inside and back cover which are also very useful!

Science - floating and sinking...

As part of our topic work we looked at boats today. We had investigation sheets and we had to predict whether or not different boats would float or sink! We did very well with our predictions, and remembered that it is not as easy as light things float and heavy things sink! We even had a go at making our own boats out of plasticine, which went rather slimy when we put it in the water...things got rather messy in year one today! Lots of people made some brilliant models of boats out of playdough, and even put masts and sails on them! I turned round to see a train coming in to the station in the role play... everyone had assigned seats and even tickets were being collected.. (although I think there was a little bit of confusion over the directions!) 

Numeracy - Some games for you to play at home..

If you want to practise your shapes or patterns at home, there are some games on education city, or click on the links below...

Shape game 1

Shape game 2

Shape game 3

Shape game 4

Numeracy - Patterns everywhere!

We have been going pattern crazy in year one this week! We reminded ourselves of shape names, and looked carefully at each one counting how many sides and corners each one has. Then we looked at patterns, and we've used; paint, shapes, sponges, coloured tiles, unifix cubes, peg boards and lots lots more! We have even been looking at number patterns! Check out the 'Super work' page for some excellent patterns and hard work!

Topic - Train station!

We had a vote about what we wanted in our role play corner, and decided on a train station. We then had a think about all of the things we would need inside it...

Numeracy - having fun with shapes!!

We have had lots of fun today with shapes - we had to find them in the bubbles and we draw them in the paint. We took our clipboards and went for a walk around school looking for as many shapes we could find! There are lots of shape games to play on mycity too!  

Numeracy - number bonds!

In Numeracy this week we have been looking at number bonds and addition. We learnt how to write 'number sentences' and different ways to 'count on'! We are going to keep practising our adding up in class but next week are moving on to explore shape and pattern. There are lots of games on 'my city' that you can play at home. See how many different shapes and patterns you can see when you are out and about - I bet there are lots on the way to school!

Literacy - lots of brilliant writing!!

We have been very busy writing stories in literacy! We used our story making skills to learn the story of 'The Tiger who came to Tea' and then we decided to change the characters and the setting and write our own stories!



We started by changing our class story map with post it notes, and then we created our own with a partner.



When we had finished our story maps we were ready to write up our stories. We looked at our 'top tips' for writing which include finger spaces, capital letters, full stops and listening carefully to the sounds in the words we are using.

Our stories were so brilliant that Miss Burge asked Mr Lavis to come and read them! We then finished them off by designing a front cover!

Mr Lavis fainted...

The independent writing in year 1 was so good - Mr Lavis fainted!! He
was overcome!!

What a clever bunch!

Literacy - The Tiger who came to tea

In Literacy this week we have been looking at the story 'The Tiger who came to tea'. We have explored the characters, the settings and began looking at alliterative phrases to make our own story titles - we came up with some great ideas! I came out to see one group had done some super work outside with Mrs Gibson - they had to search the peaceful patch for the animals! 

Science - Investigators!

In our topic work we have been looking at trains, how they have changed over time, and even which trains our grandparents and great-grandparents might have used when they were younger! We then investigated how to make a toy train move faster, and thought about what we would have to do to test our ideas. We tried lots of things, and found out that the more bricks we put under our slope the faster the trains went. 

Literacy - Phonics workshop

On Friday afternoon we had our first phonics workshop where the children can choose from a range of activities to develop their reading and spelling.

Picnic preparations..!

On Thursday afternoon we are having a teddy bears picnic! We have been busy thinking about the things we might need, and today in our literacy time we wrote invitations to the children in reception. 

We have also been learning the teddy bears picnic song. We have used sign language and a 'song-map' to help us remember the verses. Here is a picture of the map and the words if anybody would like to practise at home...! 

Meeting our year six reading partners...

Today we met our year six reading partners for the first time. Every Monday afternoon we are going to meet up with our partner and share our library book with them.

Journeys......

This term we are thinking about 'Journeys' in our topic time. On Friday afternoon we talked about what journeys we have been o,n and the different types of journeys we could go on. Then we thought about what we already know about journeys and what sorts of things we would like to learn. 

We spent some time exploring different elements of journeys and came up with some brilliant questions! We wrote our questions on footprints and have put them all on our topic wall!

Our class charter....

We thought about the rights we have at school and decided the three most important were to be safe, to be happy and to learn. We then discussed what responsibilities we needed to have to respect these rights. We all printed our handprint onto a jigsaw piece to show we all have to work together and agree to follow our class charter. 

Reading, reading, reading!

Hello all,

We are currently in the process of hearing all the children read, and will be reassessing their reading levels as soon as possible. When we have heard your child read we will advise you which band of reading book you should choose, with your child, from the boxes in the corridor.  We will also be sending out the high frequency words your child needs to practise as soon as possible.  

In the meantime, please continue to read with your child daily. I cannot emphasise enough the benefits this will have on your child's learning across the curriculum! 

Please remember, reading needs to be FUN, and the children need to be reading a wide range of reading material - not just story books! Sharing non-fiction books is really important too as it will reinforce that books can be a source of information, which will be very useful in finding out about their interests! 

What reading opportunities do we have in year one? 

A reading workshop every morning where the children have a guided group reading session with me, with a 'post reading' activity based on the book the following week focusing on comprehension. 

Letters and Sounds every day for 30 minutes which focuses on the mechanics of reading, including a phonics workshop on Friday where the children choose from a range of fun phonic activities. 

We have a fantastic library at Blandford St Mary which the children visit weekly. They each choose a book on a Wednesday and this is then shared with their year 6 reading partner on a Monday afternoon. 

This is all in addition to their literacy lessons, and the reading incorporated in their topic work and across the curriculum. 

Having a lovely time outside with Mrs Gibson painting our portraits! We worked really carefully looking in the mirror and mixing the paints to make the right colours.

Having fun outside during Golden time.

Making our bears and getting to know Mr Osborne. 

Welcome back

Welcome back Yr 1

The summer holidays are nearly over and it is nearly time to come back to school. I hope all of you are as excited as I am about moving into year one!  

I hope you have all been busy collecting your holiday treasures in your special bag - I have and I can't wait to tell you all about them. I am looking forward to seeing what your favourite book is too! 

Here are some helpful tips to help you, and your mums and dads, on your first day back at school:

• When you come in find your peg and hang your things up - your wellies can go above your peg
• Put your lunch box on the trolley outside the classroom
• Put your book bag in our book bag box
• Change your shoes ready for active time - there is a special place for you to keep your school shoes or trainers by the door
• Sign in with your name card
• Find a job to do at a table 
• Remember to give mum or dad a hug and then come and sit on the carpet

 See you all on Thursday!

Miss Burge