This term:

In English

We are looking at the book:

•  ‘The Ugly Duckling'

We will be looking at story writing, poetry and non-fiction texts. 

In Mathematics:

Year 1's are learning Place Value to 10, Addition and Subtraction to 10 and Shape 

Year 2’s are learning Numbers to 100, Addition and Subtraction up to 100 and Shape

Foundation Subjects

This term we are covering the subjects, History, DT and Religious Education (RE), Music, PE, PSHE and Computing. 

In History, we are completing two units of work: The first one is entitled, ‘Who is Guy Fawkes and why do we remember him?’ and the second unit is entitled, ‘How have toys changed over time?’

In Design Technology (DT), we are looking at the question, ‘Where does food come from?’ and thinking about healthy dishes.

In RE, we are investigating the question ‘Why do we celebrate special times in particular, Christmas?’

In Music, we are looking at the musical elements of Timbre and Texture as we explore descriptive sounds and developing a sense of beat using our own bodies.

In Computing, we are looking at staying safe online and recognising why we use technology.

In Physical Education (PE), we are looking at Dance based on Food and Playground games as well as continuing to develop our basic movement skills.

In PSHE, our work will be based around ‘Celebrating Differences’.

Look what we have been learning about this term:

Week 1

This week we have been discussing the reason why we have Bonfire Night on the 5^th November. In our History lessons we have learned about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot and have been detectives looking at the photographic evidence for the plot. Related to this, in English, we have written Firework poems based on our senses.

In Maths, we have compared objects and numbers, used the language of fewest and greatest, looked at numberlines and the Year 2’s have counted in 2’s, 5’s, 10’s and 3’s.

Week 2

This week has comprised of many different areas of the curriculum. First, we completed a unit on DT and looked at where different food comes from. We also made a ‘Tortilla Calzone’ as a healthy snack. On Tuesday, we had our termly RE day where we thought about why Christmas is special to us and special to Christians. Wednesday was our Outdoor Learning day and luckily the rain held off. We had great fun building dens, looking at minibeasts and creating nature art. Along with these activities, we learned about different animals; their homes, food and whether they hibernate. We found different kinds of seeds around the school grounds and discussed seed dispersal. On Friday, we spent the day thinking about why we have Remembrance Day and the symbol of the poppy.

Week 3

This week we have started a History unit about Toys in the Past. The children brought in their favourite toy from home and they discussed why it was their favourite. We gathered data about favourite toys in the class and presented the results on a Block Graph. The children started to compare old and modern toys and made their own ball and cup toy. In English, we continued to work on the story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ by retelling the story with actions and the children drew a story map and then retold the story in words and written form. This story has also supported our discussions about Anti-Bullying Week. In Maths we have completed assessments and started our learning on Addition and subtraction by looking at Part Whole models.

Week 4

In History this week, all three teachers brought in their childhood toys to show us. We compared them to toys we like to play with. We also sorted pictures of old and modern toys. During our English lessons, we innovated the story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ with our own ideas. We are making our teachers proud with the progress we are making. In Computing, we have used the Chromebooks to complete a safe search for different animals on the internet.

Week 5

This week in Year 1/2, we completed our Toys unit of work with a visit from the Trowbridge Museum staff. They showed us some old toys from various decades. In English, we invented our own stories based on the theme of a change. Each class made a different Christmas Craft to sell at the Christmas Fayre. In PSHE, we discussed what makes a good friend and in Maths lessons, we continued to learn about Addition. On Thursday 1^st December, we were all excited to come into school and find a Christmas tree and a letter from Santa to say he had sent us an elf that would be helping us to think about better behaviour and learning choices.

Week 6

This week in Guided Reading, we have started to look at a non-fiction text about Reindeer and we have found out lots of interesting facts about them. In English lessons, we have learned about verbs and nouns as well as revising how we use question marks when writing questions. During Maths lessons, we have worked on improving our understanding of subtraction. In the afternoons, we have taken part in Music lessons where we have practised keeping the beat with our bodies and using percussion instruments.

Week 7

This week we have been celebrating Christmas in a variety of ways. We have created Christmas cards and made hats and mats for our Christmas dinner on Thursday. We also had our Christmas party where we had a good boogie to Christmas songs and played some party games. During the week, we completed our Computing unit by making a poster to show what we had learned about being safe online. In Guided Reading, we continued to focus on a non-fiction text about reindeer and we retrieved facts from the text to complete a comprehension and then summarised all we had learned. It has been a busy term and we are all looking forward to having a rest and spending time with our families. Happy Christmas to you all from Nightingale Class!