Friday 23rd October 2020

Wow this term has gone fast.  We are really pleased with the progress the children have made and look forward to another productive half term.  We hope you have a relaxing half term holiday.

Word of the Week: Familiar

adjective.

Well known

• their faces will be familiar to many of you
• she had not realized they were on such familiar terms

The children have really enjoyed writing their own versions of the Bee's Treasure.  Many opted for a Halloween theme, with skeletons and vampires making appearances.  We were particularly pleased with the way the children included the words of the week in their writing; the vast desert, the scorching hot sun.  

In maths we have been finding one more/one fewer, 10 more/10 fewer and adding multiples of ten.  The children would like to play Ping Pong with you and test your quick recall.  We noticed that when we add or subtract ten the tens digit changes, but the ones digit stays the same.  

In art the children finished their clay mini-beasts by painting them.  They looked fantastic.  

As the weather was so bad we did some indoor PE this week with Miss Kelly.  We found Yoga very fun and relaxing.  

Now we have finished week 6, the children are firmly established in their routines and making good progress with their learning.  A particular well done to Eagles who have shown great resilience in adapting to a new teacher.

Word of the Week: Bitter adjective. Intensely cold. It was a bitter November evening.

English  This week we read the story The Bee’s Treasure.  Together we drew a story map and then we acted out some parts of the story.  We were most impressed with the standard of acting!

Maths In maths we have started thinking about addition and subtraction.  We thought about what we can use to help us – known facts, resources such as 100 squares and estimating and checking our answers first.    The children would benefit from some extra practise on rapid recall of their number bonds.  There are lots of fun online games that they could play such as Hit the Button.  https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Geography  This week we studied aerial photographs.  We identified physical and human features.  Through discussion, the children used their observational skills to find key features in aerial photographs.  They also compared an aerial view and a ground level view.   Chidlren could explore some of their favourite places using google earth and describe what they see.  Does anything surprise them? Ask the children what key features they can see. What adjectives can they use to add detail.  Try an expanded noun phrase!

Art  Finally, it was time to get our hands dirty again and make our clay mini-beasts.  The children referred carefully to their designs which had detail about which clay tecniwues to use and how they were going to achieve the patterns they had planned.  Children took care to: Shape clay – not too thick or too thin Pinch clay to make legs etc. Mark clay – to show texture and pattern Join clay using cross-hatching and slip