SPRING 1
In literacy, we have been reading the story of ‘Paddington’. We linked this to our geography topic of the United Kingdom by reading versions where Paddington went to places such as Buckingham Palace. We also watched the movie when Paddington was in London. We did lots of writing on this, including creating a bank of adjectives, a character description of Paddington and then a retell of the story using both the book and film for inspiration. We then moved onto the traditional tales: ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs’, also comparing the final book to ‘The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig’. We wrote each story, completed a diary entry as Little Red Riding Hood and much more!
In maths, year 1 children learnt about place value within 10 where we understood the numbers to 20 by looking at how important each digit is, 1 more and 1 less, using number lines and ordering numbers. We then moved onto addition and subtraction where we looked at number bonds to and within 20, doubles and near doubles, methods to subtract, related facts and missing number problems. Year 2 children learnt about multiplication and division. In this unit, we learnt about equal groups, the multiplication symbol, arrays, doubling and halving, odd and even numbers and multiplying and dividing by 2, 5 and 10. We then moved onto length and height where we measured in centimetres and metres, compared, ordered and solved problems on both length and height.
Science was based on materials, in particular uses of everyday materials. So far, we have identified different materials and their uses, understood how to select the right materials to build a bridge, explored the stretchiness of materials, understood that materials can change shape and explored how materials are suitable for different purposes (Charles Macintosh), all through a lot of experiments and investigations.
In geography, we have been looked at the United Kingdom. We located the UK and identified the four countries, sorted and identified each country – through flags, Saints, food etc. – located capital cities and their famous landmarks, located Staffordshire and Draycott, identified the similarities and differences of cities, towns and villages, in addition to rural and urban life.
In art, we completed a unit called let’s sculpt! We had to create a range of sculptures inspired by several artists using different materials, such as monsters, people and buildings. We looked at the following artists: Marc Quinn, Michelle Reader, Barbara Hepworth, Jill Townsley, Brendan Jamison and Eva Rothschild. We use materials such as: sugar cubes, mini marshmallows, rubber bands, plastic spoons, cocktail sticks and cardboard boxes.
Our question for this half term in RE was ‘What is the good news that Jesus brings?’. We learnt about why Jesus had disciples, how we can show God that we will forgive others, how God can help us find peace and what Jesus teaches us about places. We looked at ‘The Calling of Matthew’, the parable of ‘The Unforgiving Servant’ and ‘Jesus Calms a Storm’. We did a lot of role-playing to understand these and discussed what each had taught us.
Our focus in PSHE was ‘What jobs do people do?’. We looked at people’s star qualities to identify both the things ourselves and others thought we were good at e.g. being creative, a good friend, patient etc. We then looked at our bright futures by looking at different jobs, including those in our community, and then thinking about what we would like to be when we grow up. The next lesson was about skills and interests. This linked to the previous lesson on jobs in the future and discussed the qualities and skills we would need to be happy and successful in these roles. Finally, we looked at IT and how people use digital devices and the internet for their jobs and everyday life.
In PE, we have looked at gymnastics where we have learnt how to move around in a space, create different shapes and moving around in these shapes, balance effectively, jump and land safely and correctly, create counter balances and counter-tension balances and how to put all of this together to create a simple sequence/routine.
Computing started off with grouping and sorting. We looked at how to sort away from the computer and on the computer by sorting objects into different groups. We then moved onto spreadsheets where we looked at what a spreadsheet is used for, the difference between columns and rows, adding images that we could both search for and draw ourselves. We also looked at e-safety for internet safety day where we looked at what digital devices we use and how we use them. We played several games and then drew our favourite thing to do on a device e.g. play TT Rockstars, listen to music, read e-books etc.
SPRING 2
In literacy, we have been writing different genres, from poetry, to castle information booklets, to recounts. We started off writing acrostic poems about our mums for Mother’s Day that some of us could perform during our afternoon tea. We had to think of adjectives to describe our mums and link them to what our mums liked to do. We then moved onto more informative writing that linked to our history unit called ‘Times gone by’ about castles. We created castle information books where we wrote about a range of facts about castles. For example, the different parts, famous castles, local castles and William the Conqueror. We also went on school trips to Tutbury Castle and the Deer Park and wrote recounts of what we got up to, ordering the events and using the correct tense.
In maths, year 1 children learnt about place value within 50 where we counted in groups of tens, partitioned numbers into tens and ones and used number lines. We then moved onto length and height where we compared lengths and heights, measured using objects and measured in centimetres. Finally, we looked at mass and volume where we measured and compared mass, volume and capacity, using terminology such as, heavier, lighter, full and empty. Year 2 children learnt about money. In this unit, we learnt about counting money in pounds, pence and notes, comparing amounts, making a pound and finding change. We then moved onto mass, capacity and temperature. We looked at measuring in grams, kilograms, millilitres and litres and comparing mass, volume and capacity.
We continued our uses of everyday materials in science. We learnt about more scientists, such as John McAdam, when discovering which materials change shape when making a road. We also used our learning from the previous half term and this half term to create a group presentation about the unit showing all that we had learnt. These were developed aver a series of lessons and performed to the rest of the class. We were brilliant! We also participated in numerous activities for science week, including, making ice cream (chemistry), creating kites (physics) and exploring the digestive system (biology), in addition to visiting Eland Lodge and the deer park where we learnt about animals.
In history we learnt about castles for our ‘Times gone by’ unit. We were lucky enough to go on a whole-school trip to our local castle in Tutbury, where we got to explore different parts of the castle, learnt about castle life from two guests and discovered even more facts from our castle guide. During this unit, we looked at how castles had changed over time by creating a timeline, life in a castle by researching who lived there and their job roles, the purpose of a castle by labelling the different parts, how to defend against enemies by finding out what the different features were used for and finally the parts and purpose of armour for the knights and soldiers.
In art, we completed a unit on portraits. We started off by drawing self-portraits using mirrors to look at our features and add detail. We created a few portraits that were inspired by artists like Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. Our Pablo Picasso artwork focused on the importance of using different colours to portray different emotions, whereas our Andy Warhol artwork focused on using bright colours to show how colours influence the portraits. We enjoyed being adventurous and creative with our colour choices! We also hosted an art gallery where we displayed this work, in addition to our work on the painting ‘Castle and Sun’ by Paul Klee, where we used different shapes to make our own versions of the painting. We then used blocks to create a real-life representation of our castle pictures.
Our question for this half term in RE was ‘What happened at the first Easter?’. We looked at Holy Week by learning about the significant events that happened on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We also learnt about symbols at Easter that might be seen or Christian traditions, such as going to church, seeing wooden crosses, decorating eggs, eating hot cross buns on Good Friday, making a Simnel cake and sending Easter cards.
Our focus in PSHE was ‘Who helps us to stay safe?’. We looked at what keeping safe means, how to stay safe and who can help if feeling unsafe through thinking about what we would do in certain situations. We learnt about staying safe at home by looking at dangerous objects and hazards we might find and then staying safe outside by looking at roads and scenario cards to talk through what we would do to best stay safe. We then spoke about staying safe around strangers and created mind maps on adults we felt safe around and again, went through what we would do in certain situations where strangers are involved. Safe secrets and surprises was looked at next, where we learnt that some secrets and surprises are safe, things we should keep private and what to do if we feel unsafe or uncomfortable. We finished off this unit looking at who we could go to if we needed help.
In PE, we have looked at football this half term. We started off playing some team games to show how important it is to work together to achieve and succeed. We then moved onto some of the basics of football like dribbling, passing and shooting to ensure we are secure with those skills before moving onto playing actual games.
Computing was based around animated stories this half term. Our challenge was to create an e-book that told a story using a range of elements. We began by creating a 5-page story about anything we liked, that included pictures drawn by us and sentences typed by us. We then moved onto the animation part where we got our pictures to move around the page in different direction and with different effects. Sounds were next to add, where we had to choose an appropriate sound that fitted with the pictures and sentences we had drawn. We finished off by choosing backgrounds, adding detail by using additional drawing tools and changed the font size and style.
