We were kindly given some shells as part of our science learning on holidays. The children enjoyed finding out about the different types of shells and how we could sort them.

This half term our main topic driver is design and technology. We have spent some time learning about what design and technology is and now understand as part of this subject we need to design and make something for someone or something, for a purpose. We have read the story ‘Bonting’ by Shirley Hughes and we will be making a small bag to help Alfie to keep Bonting safe in. Before we can make the bag, we have looked carefully at other bags we use and thought about how many parts we might need. We have also started to develop our sewing skills and we are all really enjoying learning how to do a simple running stitch.

This half term we have been working on recognising and understanding numbers to 100. We have been using lots of practical resources to make numbers using tens and ones and enjoying comparing numbers too. We are getting much better at writing our numbers the right way round too!

We have been learning to measure using non-standard measures. We have used different classroom resources to measure things and recorded our results too. It was harder to measure accurately than we thought!

As part of our Geography learning we have been finding out all about Kenya and comparing life there to life here in the UK. Our learning has included learning about the Maasai Tribe and finding out about the jewellery they wear. We enjoyed looking at all the colourful patterns and making some necklaces of our own.

This week we started our Geography topic. We spent time looking at atlases in pairs and finding out all about the continents and the oceans. We used Google Earth and enjoyed zooming into Boston Spa. We looked closely at our local area and the human and physical features that you can find and even had a go at drawing a map of our school.

This half term we have started a new science topic about 'Plants and Animals'. We began by exploring our school grounds for different types of trees and looking at their features. Here are some photos of what we found!

This week we have been learning about measuring. We started by looking at how we can compare things using words such as bigger and smaller, taller and shorter. We then looked at how we can measure things in the classroom using different non-standard measures. We are looking forward to learning to use a ruler next half term!

Well done Year One for all your creative Easter eggs!

Perfectly Norman

This week we have been reading ‘Perfectly Norman’ by Tom Percival. After reading the book we talked about what makes us unique. Here are some of our ideas:

• I am unique because I am good at football. My favourite skill is a flick up. I am also good at Fortnite - Oliver S
• I am unique because I am good at playing with my friends – India
• I am unique because I am funny and clever. I am kind and I help people – Isla
• I am unique because I am a good friend - Harvey

This week we have been learning about comparing numbers and number sentences. We were amazed to find out that the Numicon is weighted and you can use it to investigate and compare numbers and calculations. We enjoyed working together too!

Last week in Year One we learnt all about Diwali. We read the story of Rama and Sita, discussed how the festival is celebrated and made our own rangoli patterns - which linked really well with our maths as we have been learning about shapes! We used a variety of materials to create our patterns and described the shapes we had used. We were also very lucky as Mia brought in some traditional clothing to show us. Along with Mia, we all particularly admired the jewels that were stitched into the clothes!

This week we have been reading ‘Dogger’ by Shirley Hughes. We have enjoyed listening to the story and wondering where Dave lost Dogger. We shared pictures of our toys with the class and wrote a short description. We love our toys!

As you will have seen from the email sent out, the Youth Sport Trust will deliver a free virtual after school club as part of a national response to the second lockdown. The 30-minute club will take place at 5pm each weekday on YouTube Live and be led by a different member of the YST’s Athlete Mentor network. Starting on Thursday 12^th November with world number one female inline skater and 10-time British Champion Jenna Downing. Aimed mainly at primary-aged children, a different theme has been assigned for each day of the club - Adventure Monday, Tuesday Play, Wild Wednesday, Thinking Thursday and Fun Friday. Follow us using #YSTAfterSchool and click below for more information.

https://www.youthsporttrust.org/AfterSchoolSportClub