End of our 'Under the Sea' adventure!

Wednesday 21st May

As the Summer 1 term draws to a close we can reflect on such fantastic learning the children have done this term.   We have ventured under the sea to fantasy worlds. 

 
 
Nemo and his friends have inspired us to create our own stories and the children have used their imaginations through art, story and poetry.

 

In Numeracy they have explored reflective and rotational symmetry with some amazing results.

They have also worked on 2D and 3D shapes and even investigated maps with position and direction.

The children are now able to use a compass and know a new rhyme to remember North, East, South and West.

 

This week Class One worked on their own poems and were asked to perform them to Reception and Mrs Bailey.   

Everyone was impressed with their creativity and their performance skills. 

 

  

 

 

Many of the Key Stage 1 children were also involved in the choir performance last week, they children sang beautifully and it was a pleasure to see them enjoying the songs.  

 

Have a look at the Choir blog for more photographs.

http://cookridgeintergenerationalchoir.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/school-concert-may-13th-2014.html

 

 

 

Have a fantastic break and we look forward to going

'Into the Garden' with the children next term.

 

Enjoy!

The Key Stage 1 team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to 'The Deep!'

The Easter holidays seem a long time ago as such alot has happened in Key Stage One already and we are just two weeks into the Summer Term.  We have definitely submerged ourselves in our topic for this half term which is,
'The Deep Oceans!'
Firstly, the children produced ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Learning Log homework and this is proudly on display in the library area. Please pop into school and have a look - it really is superb!

WOW!!!   There's an octopus, a box jelly fish, a rainbow fish, underwater aquariums, fact files - lift the flap to find the fact, super facts posters!!

Then last Tuesday we went on our trip to 'THE DEEP!!!!!' It was a brilliant day and the children could hardly contain themselves as they dashed from one aquarium to another. It was big smiles all the way, some children were heard  to say,"this is the best day ever!" whilst other children excitedly shouted,"come and look at this it's ginormous!"
 Here are just a few pictures of the day below but no doubt there will be the opportunity to look at all the photographs the teachers took on the day in the classrooms.

Look at this one!

...Is that a clown fish like Nemo?

Ooh! Look at these big ones!

Ahh! Look at the penguins!

 A  BIG, BIG, THANK YOU to all the grown ups who came with us on the day - you were brilliant giving up your time to come with us and we really appreciate it.

In Class 1 we have brought 'The Deep' Cafe back with us - as you can see you are guaranteed excellent service with a smile!

So what else have we been up to in Key Stage One? 
In Literacy the children have thoroughly enjoyed the story  'Finding Nemo.' They have retold Marlon's adventures into the Barrier Reef as he searches for his son Nemo. At the same time they have described the setting and key characters in the story. Some children have used speech in their stories to show a characters personality or how a character is feeling at a certain part of the story.
Here's just one example of  the fabulous writing our Key Stage One children are producing -

The sun was golden and shimmering so Nemo knew it was morning. Nemo excitedly pushed his dad to get up. It was his first day at school, "Oooooh dad get up now!"

In Number, the children have further developed their knowledge of 2d shapes. They have identified the properties of the shapes, moving on to create 2d  repeating patterns and then identifying how many lines of symmetry the shapes have. (click on the Topmarks website to have some fun with symmetry.)
At the same time the children continue to practice their addition skills in our mental maths sessions at the start of a lesson and in homework tasks. (Many thanks for spending time with your child each week to complete homework tasks. The more they practice the better they get.)


So on to this week, another busy and exciting week!

Following the Bank Holiday on Monday it was down to business as usual -

Literacy 

In Literacy, we have begun to develop ideas for the setting of our own fantasy story. Our focus will be to write a fantastic description of a fantasy world under the sea whilst at the same time working to our targets  -  using Amazing Adjectives, Super Connectives and Time Connectives or Speech  "  " to help develop the excitement in the story.

 Numeracy

In Numeracy this week, we continue to work with 2d shapes whilst at the same time learning about  Reflective Symmetry. The children have worked hard to reproduce the mirror image of a shape on the other side of a mirror line.

Then we are going to move on to sorting 2d shapes into those shapes that have right angles and those that don't - so let's get cracking!

Have a fantastic week and thank you for your continued support   :)

The Key Stage 1 Team

Week 3

Wow! It is week three already and what an exciting half term it has been so far! This week proves to be just as exciting with lots of learning and fun to be had.

Numeracy
In numeracy this week, we are continuing to think about all things money! So far the children have counted coins, made amounts and even begun to work out a shopping bill. This week we will begin to think about change. They will be calculating how much money they have left and how much change they get when they buy different items.

Literacy
In literacy this week, we are continuing to write recounts based on 'Where the Wild Things Are'! This is a fantastic book, full of action, fun and emotion. The children really enjoyed the clip we watched last week and produced some beautiful writing.

Here is an example from Thea's (Class 3) recount:
One snowy day, Max was quickly chasing his black and fluffy dog because he was bored. Mas chased the dog all around the sitting room, in the kitchen and even down the stairs. The dog was not happy at all!

Immediately, Max ran across the street because there was a big pile of snow across the street so he could build a snow fort. First he piled the snow on top of the other snow. The he dug a big hole. He decided to tell Clare. BANG!BANG! went the door as Max banged on it to get Clare's attention. "Go away and play with your friends" shouted Clare.

Hope you have all had a fantastic weekend and we look forward to seeing you in school tomorrow morning :)

The Key Stage 1 Team!!

New half term - Spring 2....Pirates, Mermaids and Wildthings....

Hi Everyone ,
I hope you all have had  fabulous week off and have been upto lots of fabulous things.

A new half term and a new topic...

'Pirates, Mermaids and Wildthings...'

Literacy:

During Literacy we are looking at recounts and we will be using 'Where the Wild Things Are' as a stimulus.

We will be looking at differnt parts of the film and recounting the journey of Max.

The children will be working on including the following.

1. time connectives E.g Next, Then, After that
2. connectives E.g and, but, because, so, who, which,
3. adverbial phrases E.g quietly, confidently, Immediately, Excitedly, Wholeheartedly

Numeracy/Topic:

We are going all pirates themed with Pirate Pete's shop going to make an appearance.
Children will learn to recognise all the coins and find exact amounts for the objects they want to buy.
Children will also learn how to buy things if they have a certain coin for example a £1 coin or a £5 note.

We will also be using shapes to make pirate pictures and symmetrical flags for their ships!

Children will also learn to use coordinates and direct Pirate Pete's boat around the oceans!
The children will make treasure maps and need to use coordinates and positional language to find the treasure!
E.g move right three space and down 4 space etc...

We are also going to look at percentages and fractions and learn to find the equivalence.

Topic:

We are going to explore the Easter story and continue to find out allabout the Pirate way of life!

We are in for a 6 weeks of fabulous learning - I can not wait to see how the children write their recounts and buy things from the Pirate Pete's shop!

Please remember the doors are always open for you to pop in and see us - we do love to chat about your children and the progress they are making!
So if you have a spare 5 minutes come and see us at the end of the day!

On another note Mrs McHugh has stepped into the breach full time, however she has taken the decision to go back to part time. I am sure you will agree that Mrs McHugh has done an amazing job in Class 1.

Stepping into the fore on a Monday and Tuesday from week 2 is Mrs Koopman. We are looking forward to welcoming Mrs Koopman to the team - as we are a team that is currently on an exciting journey.  Mrs Koopman brings experience, a warm smile and a fabulous understanding KS1. So please pass on a smile if you are around Class 1 and 2 entrance!

Staffing in Key Stage one as follows:

Mrs McHugh and Mrs Koopman - Teaching assistant- Mrs Hallat           Class 1
Ms Golia (Key Stage 1 phase leader) - Teaching assistant - Mrs Adams Class 2
Miss Streams - Teaching Assistant - Miss Farell                                   Class 3

Have a great Sunday evening from the Key Stage 1 team.

Ms Golia
Key Stage 1 Phase Leader

Spring 1 Week 2

Before we look at what's happening next week, let's have a quick look at what we did last week.
It was fantastic to see all the children eager to come into school on the Monday morning bursting to tell us about their Christmas holidays. Also many of the children were excited to share their Learning Log Homework task  and wow! The children have really worked their socks off to produce super work which has included -
 puppet theatres to retell their traditional tales, a decorated story theatre, illustrated booklets retelling the whole story and even a baking session recreating the Gingerbread cottage from the story of Hansel and Gretel.  Many, many thanks to grown ups for all the help and support  you give your child helping them to succeed in their Learning Log tasks. 
Watch this space next week as we will be showing pictures of some of the children's Learning Log work in next week's blog...

In Literacy the children thoroughly enjoyed the story of  'The Three Billy Goats Gruff.' It was fantastic to see the children retelling the story to their partner, ensuring that they included all the sounds that the Billy goats made as they crossed the bridge...


"Tip, Tap,Tip,Tap"            "Trip, Trap,Trip Trap"
         "Bang, Bang, Boom, Bang!"

Also the children have been getting busy in the role play /reading areas  of the classroom retelling their favourite traditional tale. Can you tell which story these children are retelling?
                                           


In Numeracy the children were introduced or reintroduced (Year 2) to the concept of repeated addition, using arrays to help them find the answers to repeated addition questions. For example -

3 + 3 + 3 + 3 =        (repeated addition)

*  *  *  *
*  *  *  *         (array)
*  *  *  *

or using an array to solve word problems such as

4 children have a packet of 3 pencils each. How many pencils do the children have altogether?

*  *  *  *
*  *  *  *         (array)
*  *  *  *

This will lead into the children looking at lot's of or multiples of objects.  Therefore, this weeks homework task - learning 2,5 and 10x table, doubles and halves will be a  big help in developing their understanding of other concepts in maths.
By the way, just a quick reminder that  Miss Golia is holding a Number workshop on Tuesday 14th January in which she will demonstrate how we teach Multiplication and Division - please come along as we know that you will find it beneficial seeing how number is taught in school.

In PE this week the children have definitely been working off the Christmas chocolates and mince pies. Have a look at what they've been up to ...

 

 

 

So on to next week, another busy and exciting week!

ON TUESDAY WE ARE GOING TO SKIPTON CASTLE - YIPPEE!

Literacy 

In literacy next week, we will be looking at the traditional tale, 'The Enormous Turnip!' and comparing it with an alternative version titled the 'The Large Carrot!' Then it's over to the children to think up their own version of the story, deciding how they will change the main characters/ main object in the story. At the same time they will continue to work on their writing targets of using Amazing Adjectives, Super Time Connectives or Smart Speech marks   "  "!

 Numeracy

In numeracy next week, we will be continuing to practice repeated addition! We will use arrays to help us find the answers.  Also we will continue to apply this knowledge of addition to solving word problems.
Can you create arrays for the following repeated addition number sentences?

6 + 6 + 6 =

5 +5 + 5 + 5 =
 

Have a fantastic week :)

The Key Stage 1 Team

New year ...... New Beginnings.....

HI and welcome back to a brand new Year!!!!!
I trust you all had a great Christmas and New Year and santa brought you lots of interesting things.... I am however still waiting for my Chrstmas Present .. i think he got lost somewhere over the Artic!

So to a new year.. this half term our topic is 'Castles, Knights and Princesses'.....with a trip to an actual medieval castle!

Literacy:
This half term we are going traditional tale mad.... reading, ordering, plotting it on a story mountain and making our own comics ... and writing our own versions of the stories.

Here are the stories we are reading if you would like to read with your child.
Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Enormous Turnip
The Magic Porridge Pot
Cinderella
Rapunzel


Children will be working to their target every week and writing their own version of a story. Please ask your child or come and speak to your class teacher about the targets your child has and how you can help them.

Numeracy:
This half term is all multiplication and division...

We will be ensure children can count in 2, 5, 10's - double and halve and know their multiplication facts.
I will be running a club on Friday lunchtime where children can go against the clock in a quick fire round to test their mental maths skills. Pass and they get a prize and a head teachers award!!

Look out for the home work to learn the facts...

I will be running a numeracy afternoon where we I will run through how we teach multiplication and division on the 14th January in Class 2 after school..


Guided reading and phonics:
The sounds we are concentrating on is /ee/ and /igh/ i will end out a sheet with the alternative speelings and words for the children to learn in week 1.

Please look out for this and help your child learn the spellings.

Guided reading is all about traditional tales and we will be learning to retell and sequence and read with emphasis lots of different traitional tales.


Topic:
We will be learning about Castles and the features of castles, life in castle and the battle of 1066.

It is going to be a quick half term ... with lots of exciting things happening...
Please remember to come in and have conversations with staff... we do enjoy it and look forward to your feedback!

Miss Golia
Key Stage 1 Phase Leader