Summer 2
Week 7
Well this year has just been an amazing year. We have learnt and achieved so much. We have just had so much fun in Anansi class. We have been on some great trips and had a lot of fun learning through our themes, which have been Anansi the Spider, The Great Fire of London and Moon and Space.
Creative Curriculum
To round off our topic of The Moon and Space, we did something very special. WE TRAVELLED TO THE MOON! It was very exciting. After months of careful planning, and on the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing, we finally managed to get to the moon, to find Kipper. It was a perilous journey, with many dangers, but because we had done extensive planning, we managed to complete the mission safely. In the end, Kipper was saved and brought back to Earth, where he belongs. All the astronauts were so brave. They all had a super time and a life changing experience! Check out the video and the pictures of our mission to the moon below.
This is where our story ends for the Anansi class of 2019. Thank you so much for reading our blog each week. It really has been a great pleasure to teach all these wonderful children! Also, it is bye from myself as I will be leaving Walkley Primary School on Monday. Have a great last weekend of being a Y1 and see you Monday for our last ever day in Anansi class.
I have selected some pictures from this year, to showcase all the learning and great moments that have taken place.
Thank you once again. Over and out, wonderful Walkley.
Summer 2
Week 6
This week has been a lovely week in Anansi class, we have accomplished so much.
Maths
This week, we have been solving maths investigations. On Monday and Tuesday, we had a mystery to solve. Some children at another primary school had created some healthy snacks. They had used many delicious fruit and vegetables but someone had gone and squashed all the lovely snacks. We were shocked and had to work out which person had done this terrible thing. We had to use all our maths knowledge such as addition skills, making arrays and reading and solving word problems. After working out all the clues, we found out who the culprit was. On Wednesday and Thursday, we had another mystery to solve. On a school trip one of the children had locked one of the teachers in a dungeon. Again, we had to use our maths skills to solve the clues and work out who would have done such as thing. Don’t worry we caught the culprit yet again.
Star Group/RWI
After a year of learning all our sounds and producing some incredible writing in Star Group our RWI, it has now finished for the year. Over this past year, it has been just truly remarkable to see how much progress every single child has made with their reading. To round off Star Group we finished our last golden write where we wrote a poem about a knight and a dragon. Some children choose some difficult rhyming patterns but they pulled it off. I think we have some future poem writers at Walkley Primary School in year one. On the last day, we talked about what we enjoyed about Star Group and played some games.
PE
This week, we learnt how to work in pairs. We learnt that when we work with someone in sport we can achieve so much. To be a great sports man or women we have to work with others especially if the sport we are playing is a team game. Next week we will continue to play games to work with others and use tactics.
Creative Curriculum
We found out that next week, Eric will be leaving us to go back to his planet, to go back to his family. We have really enjoyed having him in our class. For Eric to remember us, he has asked us to make some art work for him, so on Monday we decided to draw a space picture on polystyrene, paint it and then print it on a piece of paper to make a repeating pattern. They looked great and I am sure Eric will love them when he sees them.
Next week, we are definitely going to go to the moon. This week, we have been making all the last minute checks including making our space helmets. We have nearly completed our space helmets we have just completed painting them. Next we will cut out the front so we can see where we are going.
Thank You again for taking the time to read our blog. Next week, will be the last blog update for this year from Anansi class.
Have an amazing weekend and see you next week for the final full week of year one.
Summer 2
Week 5
This week, has been a fun and exciting week in Anansi class.
Maths
This week, on Monday we investigated odd and even numbers. The children had to count in 2’s and in 5’s and work out what the difference was between those two times tables. Later on, the children added two even numbers and then looked to see whether the answer was odd or even. Then, we added two odd numbers and then looked to see if their answer was odd or even. On Wednesday, we played a game where we had to add a one-digit number to a 2 digit number. This is how the game is played if you would like to play at home.
All the children loved the game. At the end of the lesson me and Mrs Wallis played the game against the children it was extremely fun!
Creative curriculum
As you know Kipper is still stuck on the moon. After much careful planning we are nearly ready to go to the moon. The last thing we need to do which we have been doing this week is to make our space helmets. All the children got a balloon and a piece of card wrapped around it. The children had to use newspaper to papier-mâché the balloon and card. Next week, we will paint our helmets and cut out a hole at the front so we can see where we are going.
Sports Day
On Thursday, we had a fabulous day, we spent the whole day doing sporting activities. We started off with the races. All the children participated in the sprinting race, the bean bag on head race and the egg and spoon race. In the afternoon, we had a go at the carousel activities. All the children did the obstacle course, the tennis activity and the bean bag throwing activity. We had such a great day all the children did extremely well in the hot conditions. I was very proud of them for been such good sports and cheering on their class mates. It really was a lovely day!
Transition Day
On Tuesday, all the children found out who their new teacher would be in Y2. They were all so excited to find out and all were happy with their new teacher.
If you came to watch the sports day events, then thank you very much and I hope you enjoyed it. There is not long to go now until the end of the school year and the children become Y2’s.
Have a fantastic weekend and a well-deserved rest after our busy week, see you all next week.
Summer 2
Week 4
This week has another busy and fast paced week in Anansi class.
Maths
This week in maths, we have being learning about time. On Monday, we learnt about when things happen in the day. We worked out what things happen in the morning, afternoon and evening. After, we worked out our daily routines using time connectives such as first, next and finally. On Tuesday, we learnt about the days of the week and the months of the year. We put all the days of the week in order and then answered questions such as if it is Tuesday today what day will it be tomorrow? Next, we worked out what months our birthdays were in and when other common things happen throughout the year. On Wednesday, we looked at time on a clock. We learnt when the big hand is at the 12 it is o’clock and when the small hand is at a big number we say the hour. So we practised making times and saying them correctly such as eight o’clock. On Thursday, we went through word problems about time to deepen our understanding.
RWI/Star Group
This week in Star Group, we have started a new book called The Dragon and the Nibblsome Knight. On Tuesday, Star Group had a visitor called Sir Melton a Knight of the king’s guard. The knight talked about what it was like to be a knight and what he does for a job. Then, we read a book and made some freeze frames about sections of the story. Star Group will be writing some poems about knights and dragons next week.
PE
This week, we have moved on from tennis and now we are playing games which involve tactics and teamwork. On Tuesday we played a great game were the children had to use tactics to win. Each team had a nest, and in the middle was a big hoop with eggs (beanbags) in it. Children had to go to the middle and get an egg but there was a twist. If they wanted they could go to another team and steal one of their eggs. The children loved playing this game. Also, we learnt that it is OK to win but if we win we need to celebrate in a nice way. Additionally, it is OK to lose too, and if we do lose we have to accept it, and move on.
Class reward party
After getting one hundred class wide rewards, we had a party. The children decided they would like a teddy bear picnic. We went out to the grass bank near the forest school and had a small picnic. All the children got a small pot filled with fruit while they listened to a story and then after they played with their teddy’s. It was a fun and lovely afternoon. The sun did make an appearance which was great.
Creative Curriculum
Last week, we helped Eric find the best place to land on planet Earth. This week, we helped Eric again. We thought of lots of places in the UK where he could land. We thought of a road, a city, a forest a cliff and the sea. We worked out that none of these were very good places. For example, we said that if he landed on a road he might crash into some cars and cause chaos. We decided in the end that a good place to land would be a field or a beach because it would be a soft landing and there is lots of space for his spaceship.
Reminders
Next week, we have sports day to look forward to. All children must have a PE kit otherwise they will not be allowed to take part. Also, all children need a water bottle and a sun hat. Parents are welcome to come and watch their children for the races.
The class photos were send out a few days ago there is still time to order them if you would like one. Also, the summer fair is this Saturday
Have a super weekend and see you all next week
Summer 2
Week 3
What a busy and exciting week it has been this week in Anansi class. We have got lots of things to share with you this week.
Maths
This week, in maths we have been learning about money. On Monday, we worked on recognising the value of different coins. We learnt how many pennies made up each coin. All the children were so knowledgeable knowing that there are 100 pennies in a 1-pound coin. We used this skill to work out how many pennies were in 2 pound and 3 pound. On Tuesday, we read and answered word problems to show our understanding of coins in our books. On Wednesday, we had such a fun experience. We moved onto recognising paper money. We have been working with the ESA for a long time and because we now know what we need to take, on Wednesday we went shopping for those items. In groups we had a shopping list, with items to find like a rocket, space gloves, and a spacesuit among other things. Then, we used the price list and some paper money to buy the items. One person was the shop keeper and the other two people were working out how much the items were and counting out the correct amount of money. It was super fun! Now we are even more ready for our trip to the moon to save Kipper! On Thursday, we consolidated our knowledge by reading and answering word problems.
Creative Curriculum
This week, in creative curriculum was so fun! After lunchtime, on Wednesday we came into the classroom to some strange sounds playing in the classroom. We looked on the board and it said they sound was a message from space. The ESA had translated the message it said it was Eric and he wanted to come back to see us but he needs our help to land on Earth. Last time, Eric crashed so we wanted to find the best place to land. We looked at the Earth and decided that he could not land on the North or South Pole because it would be too cold. He could not land near the equator because it is too hot and there might be deserts there so there would be no water. We worked out that the UK is the best place to land as it is not too cold or too hot. We then named the four countries of the UK and coloured a map in and labelled the countries and cities. Now we know which counties he can land in next week we will work out what type of place will be best to land.
RWI and Star Group
This week, after our phonics test there has been a new RWI group created. We now have a Blue Group instead of our comet group Also, some children have moved from the comets group (the new blue group) to Grey Group which is fantastic. In Star Group we are still working on the Greek myth Daedalus and Icarus.
Science
As part of our Space Topic, we have been exploring how robots are used to help astronauts in Space. We have been using Sheffield Uni's MakEY Robots box to explore algorithms and trying to find out why Robots can be useful and how we can control them. We had 6 jobs to do.
Thank You for taking the time to read our blog.
It was great to see you all of you at parents evening this week.
Summer 2
Week 2
What a fantastic week we have had this week in Anansi class.
Maths
This week, in maths we have been learning about place value again. On Monday, we looked at comparing numbers again. We practised comparing numbers with the less than and greater than signs. On Tuesday, we looked at ordering numbers from smallest to biggest. On Wednesday, we learnt about one more and one less. We used number tracks and 100 squares to help with adding one and taking away one. We also used many different types of maths manipulatives to understand the concept of one more and one less. Next week, in maths we will be learning about money to further our understanding on the value of coins while also looking and completing some word problems.
Creative Curriculum
As our trip to space gets ever closer this week we decided to do something which will really help us on our mission. We have been writing a risk assessment of all the dangers that could happen and saying how we would resolve those problems if they were to arise. The children came up with super hazards such as no oxygen, no food, no water and the temperature. We also said that it was very important that the pilot didn’t get too tired.
RWI and Star Group
This week, all the children have been continuing to learn there sounds in preparation for the phonics check. On Thursday, all the children did their phonics check and they all did such as brilliant job.
Trip to Longshaw Estate
Last Friday, all of the Y1’s went to Longshaw Estate. When we got there we were split into groups and did different activities. Then, after lunch we all swapped over. The first activity, was to walk through the forest with a teacher from Longshaw Estate. We listened to the sounds in the forest and discussed about different plants, trees and birds. After, we went on a mini beast hunt where we used brushes and cups to catch the mini beasts so we could look at them. Then, we put them back in their natural habitat. After lunch, we went to the pond to do some pond dipping. We caught lots of different creatures including many tadpoles. It was a great day out and we all learnt so much about nature and science.
Thank You for taking the time to read our blog. I look forward to seeing you all new week for parents evening.
Summer 2
Week 1
It is great to see everyone back after the holidays. This week has been the first week of our last half term as Y1’s and it has been a very busy and interesting week.
RWI
This week, was the time were all the children found out their new RWI groups. The children really have been working so hard and so many children moved up to new groups. The Y1 star group, has grown meaning that more children in Y1 have completed the RWI programme with is fantastic.
Maths
This week, we have been learning about place value. We have been understanding how a two-digit number has tens and ones in them. All the children were using physical manipulatives such as dienes and base 10 to making numbers physically so they could tell how many tens and ones were in each number. After this, we recorded what we had found out in our books. Later in the week, we learnt about the terms less than, greater than and equal. We learnt that these words have symbols that can be written down to make a number sentence. We watched a video of an alligator eating numbers to help us understand the less than and greater than symbols. Here is the video link if you would like to watch it.
Creative Curriculum
After Eric the alien had repaired his spaceship, he successfully landed back home on his own planet. He had a problem though. While he had been away meteors had struck his planet and destroyed all his food. He asked Anansi class if they could help him as they had welcomed him and treated him so nicely when he crash landed on Earth in our forest school. We accepted the challenge and set to work. We decided to make spaceships and put seeds in them so Eric could use the seeds to grow crops then he would send our spaceships back. We made some excellent spaceships. They were well painted in bright colours so Eric could see them coming. They were also made really robustly to withstand the dangers of space travel.