23rd February 2009, what have we been up?

This week we began our exciting learning journey into the world of Changes. In science we discussed what a seed would need so that it could grow into a plant. We each planted our own sunflower seed. Then we linked our science activity to our literacy; we wrote instructions to explain how to plant a seed. We also read the story Jack and the Beanstalk. We decided, as a class, that our role play area this half term will be the giant’s castle. We started to make the resources for it.
In numeracy, we have been focusing on 2D and 3D shapes. We have been describing the properties of shapes. Below you will find an internet link to some shape games that can be played at home.
This week we also found out about Shrove Tuesday. The children shared their experiences of Pancake Day. In Geography, we found out about what it might be like to live in desert.

http://www.ictgames.com/Y1shape.html
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/longshape3d.html

w/c 26th January 2009, what have we been up to?

This week in Literacy, we have done alot of work inspired by the book Handa’s Surprise. There have been activities such as matching games (words to pictures) and the children have been very successful in identifying key letter sounds within the names of their favourite animals and fruit.

In our Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy (PSRN) sessions this week the children have been exploring the concept of money.  Our activities have included working out the correct amount of change required when buying a specific item with specific coins.  In addition, the younger Hedgehogs have been matching coins with items that cost that exact amount.  We have used ICT to support these activities, with the children playing money games on our interactive whiteboard.

Science this week has included investigations into static electricity.  Hedgehogs have found this great fun, using balloons to generate the static electricity and observing the effects on each other!

For our Religious Education, and Knowledge and Understanding of the World, we have looked at why the Torah is special to the Jewish People.  In the Geography session, we have continued to learn about Christopher Columbus, and have been finding out about all the places he visited.

The illustrator, David Armitage, was the subject of our History session this week.  His beautiful line and wash drawings have been used in the Lighthouse Keeper stories, amongst others.  We discussed how an illustrator approaches his work, in reading and interpreting the author’s word.  Also, in our Art and Design sessions, the children did some lovely observational drawings of fruit, again inspired by Handa’s Surprise.

Throughout this week, our older Hedgehogs have also had to contend with mid-year tests to ascertain their progress.  They have coped superbly with the “test” conditions, and have done their very best in each of the Reading, Numeracy, Spelling and Writing tasks.  What a busy week!

This week (19th January 2009)

In Hedgehog class this week, for our numeracy, we have developed our understanding of halves and quarters using visual cues such as pizza sections!  We also learnt how to separate a number of objects into two (halves) and four (quarters) equal groups.

In literacy, we have worked on our story telling and writing.  We have been using the story of Little Red Riding Hood as a base and the children have been looking at small sections of the story and adding to it from their own imagination.  They have come up with lots of fantastic ideas from Red Riding Hood being the baddie, to alien involvement and laser zappers!

We created simple circuits in Science, using a battery and two wires to light a bulb.  For RE, we were looking at appreciation and understanding of special books.  The children have been excited by Christopher Columbus in Geography, where he came from and the places he travelled to and what it was like at the time.  For History and Music, we have been looking at the Beatles and a small number of the vast catgalogue of music they produced.  The children have been creating some spectacular marbled pictures in Art and Design, and finally in our PHSE sessions we have been talking about goals, how we can set them for ourselves, and how we can go about achieving them.

What are we working on?

You’ll be interested to know that for literacy this week we are working on rhyming words, and will be making a “rhyming soup” (with many strange ingredients no doubt!). 

In numeracy we are looking at odd and even numbers, repeating patterns with colour or shape, and extending the work we have already done on 2 dimensional shapes.

We will publish further posts giving more information as the weeks progress – watch this space!

Words of the Week for w/c 20.10.08

This weeks words are:

For Little Hedgehogs -   an   and   am   dad

For Big Hedgehogs -   what   with   out   one

Words for week commencing 13/10/08

This weeks words are as follows:

Big Hedgehogs -  them    there    then    that

Little Hedgehogs -  is    it    in    at

Words of the Week 6.10.08

Our words for the week beginning 6th October 2008 are as follows:

For Little Hedgehogs – to     the     and     a

For Big Hedgehogs – this    they    said    she

Letters for week ending 3rd October 2008

This week we have been learning p, i, and n.  The big hedgehogs have also been learning the blends of sh, ch, and th.  In addition to this we have worked on s, a, and t in prior weeks.

A New School Year with the Hedgehogs!

Welcome everyone to a new school year.  This year we are calling ourselves Hedgehog Class, we are made up of 10 year one children (the big hedgehogs) and 15 reception year children (the little hedgehogs)!

This week, as many of you will know, we have had our Harvest celebration at St Mary’s church.  This took place on Wednesday 1st October 2008, and was most enjoyable with our children performing the “Little Red Hen” song.  If you were able to attend, we do hope you found it as delightful as we did and thank you so much for your donations to St Patrick’s Nightshelter in Brighton.

We’d also like to thank those of you who were able to attend our class curriculum meeting on Monday of this week.  We hope you found it informative and useful.  However if you have any further concerns or questions, please feel free to raise these with us either in the playground in the morning, or in your child’s blue home/school diary.

Weekly words 9.6.08

This week’s words are: day, going, come.