Year 2: What We Have Been Learning

 

Year 2: What We have Been Learning

In Science this week, we have been learning about materials and their properties. We revisited some common materials and explored how their properties make them suitable or unsuitable for different uses. The children learned the words rigid and flexible and used their observations to explain their ideas. For example, we discussed why a rigid material would be suitable for making a chair, while a flexible material may not be. We also investigated different materials and thought carefully about their uses. The children then sorted materials into those that would be suitable or unsuitable for making a chair...but this was no ordinary chair, the children were challenged to make a grand throne for the Egg Box Dragon.

We are developing our scientific enquiry skills by making observations, suggesting answers and explaining our thinking using evidence.

This week in Maths, we have been learning how to use number lines. The children have been using number lines to count forwards and backwards, find missing numbers and solve addition and subtraction problems.

We have been practising how to start at the correct number and make efficient jumps along the number line. The children have also been learning to use their understanding of tens and ones to make larger jumps, helping them to solve calculations more confidently.

We are developing our mathematical thinking by explaining how we know an answer is correct and choosing an efficient method to solve a problem. 

This week in Art, we have been learning to look at our familiar environment with fresh eyes and curiosity. We explored our school grounds and collected natural and everyday objects that caught our attention.

We experimented with arranging, grouping and composing our collections to create interesting shapes and patterns. We thought carefully about colour, size, texture and materials and discussed why we chose particular objects and how we arranged them.

Year 1 and 2 - Black History Month

  

Dear Year 1 and 2 Parents, 

As part of our celebrations for Black History Month, our Year 1 classes will be creating a vibrant, collaborative art display. To bring this project to life, we are learning about the importance of sustainability by turning everyday items into beautiful artwork!

We would love your help in collecting and bringing in clean, dry recycled materials that the children can use for their creations.

Materials We Are Looking For:

• Cardboard: Cereal boxes
• Plastic items: Clean plastic bottle tops, milk bottle lids, and small plastic tubs.
• Paper goods: Colourful magazines, newspapers, or leftover wrapping paper.
• Textiles: Scraps of fabric/ ribbons.

Please send any collected items into school with your child by Thursday 16th October. This will give us plenty of time to organise the materials and let the children get beautifully messy creating their masterpieces!

Kind regards,

Miss Hamilton

Year 1: What We Are Learning!

 

Year 1: What We Are Learning 

In year 1 this week, we have been learning about …

This week in Maths, Year 1 have been learning all about 'one less'.

We have been exploring how finding 'one less' means taking one item away, which makes the total number smaller. To help build a strong visual understanding, the children have been using lots of hands-on resources, including ten frames, counters, cubes, and number lines.

Try this at home!

You can easily practice this concept during everyday routines with a simple count-and-remove activity:

• Snack Time 'One Less': Count out a small group of items (e.g., 5 grapes or 6 crackers). Ask your child, "How many do we have?" Once they count them, have them eat or remove just one. Ask, "What is one less than 5?" Encourage them to notice that taking one away makes the number smaller.

• Bonus Challenge: Use a line of toys or cutlery to practice counting backwards by one!

Literacy

This week in Literacy, Year 1 children have been writing sentences dictated by their class teachers and editing their sentences by checking for capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. They also wrote a sentence in the role of Beegu, linking their writing to our class novel.

These skills link to the National Curriculum expectations for Year 1. By the end of Year 1, children are expected to:

• Orally compose: Say a sentence aloud before writing it down.

• Finger spaces: Leave clear spaces between words.

• Basic punctuation: Begin using capital letters and full stops.

• Capital letters: Use capital letters for names of people, places, days of the week and the pronoun “I”.

In school, to help your child spell words phonetically correctly, we use a sound mat
(see below) . A sound mat helps children to identify the sounds they can hear in a word and select the corresponding letters or graphemes when writing.

Supporting Writing at home

When supporting your child at home, encourage them to say the word slowly, listen carefully for each sound and use their sound mat to help them identify the sounds they need. It is important to encourage children to have a go independently before providing the spelling for them.

This week in RE, we became Nature Detectives! Our job was not to collect things but to slow down, look carefully and notice the wonderful world around us. Using magnifying glasses, the children explored the outdoors and spotted lots of natural wonders including flowers, trees, interesting bark and clouds. We talked about what we could see, what we found interesting or beautiful, and how being in nature made us feel. We also explored the idea that created things have creators. The children thought about different objects and discussed what their creators might be like, for example, whether they might be kind, clever or creative. It was a lovely opportunity for the children to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the natural world and to think about the idea of a Creator.

Well done Year 1 for an amazing week - keep up all your brilliant work!