As part of our Geography topic about the Local Area, the children are developing their fieldwork skills. We went on a second walk around the block following a simple map.
The children were learning to identify features on a map and follow a route.
The children were very well behaved as usual and worked really hard to follow the map and add buildings and features. They are becoming very good map readers.
Thank you again to our parent helpers for supporting our learning!
The children used the clues to find the shapes that were hiding in the outdoor area. They are all very good at using the right vocabulary to describe 2D and 3D shapes!
In our class, we know that we learn by looking, listening and doing. It is true that doing an action can help you to learn facts or new vocabulary more easily. Here are some of the actions and words that we have been learning...
Can you work out which shape we are describing?
Flat 2D shape...
4 corners...
4 straight edges...
Did you guess that it was a rectangle? :)
As part if our geography topic studying the local area the children are learning to use maps, plans and aerial views. Today they worked in twos or threes to make their own map. I gave them the car mat in case they needed an example to look at for ideas. Well I needn't have worried, the children worked very well together creating maps showing roads, car parks, buildings, trees and other aspects of the local area. I was particularly pleased with how many children included road names or layouts from The St. Giles Estate showing a good understanding of how maps are a 'looking down' picture of a place.
Ask your child to explain their map to you, they have some very good ideas!
We have a Challenge Area in our classroom where children can solve different Numeracy problems. This week Po, Kung Fu Panda, has been trying to write his numbers. Unfortunately he has got a few of his numbers wrong! The children have to circle the ones that he has got wrong and then write them out properly to show Po how to do it.
Po should be able to write his numbers correctly after all the help he has had!
Today we went on our first walk around the block. We talked about what we might see before we left. To develop our Geography fieldwork skills we needed to look very carefully at what we could see around us. We were very observant!
The children recognised the school building even from a different angle.
We looked at road markings and talked about the speed bumps.
I wonder if anyone can tell me what these railings are for?
We were all Noticing Newts and spotted lots of features of the St. Giles Estate.
Joshua and Henley were very excited to point out the way to their house! Maybe next time we could call in for a cup of tea! :)
Thank you to the grown ups for walking with us and talking to us about our local area as we walked.
This year we are very lucky to have so many extra teachers in school. We have specialist teachers for art, ICT and PE. The children are really benefitting from having people who are very enthusiastic about their subject and we know that they will learn a lot from these sessions this year.
The class have been working hard this week showing me what they can do! We have been very busy doing lots of jobs in Numeracy and Literacy. Here is a Pic Collage of some of our Numeracy activities.
As part of our school topic of Lincolnshire, Year 1 are beginning by looking at the local area surrounding school. I told the children to imagine that they were in an aeroplane or that they were a big bird flying high up in the sky and that if they looked down, this is what England (as part of the UK) would look like...
Using Google maps we were able to zoom in closer to the ground. The children enjoyed spotting rivers, fields, concrete, grass, trees and houses as we got closer!
We then used Street View to 'land' right outside school! If you are able to access Google Maps (or Google Earth) I would recommend showing your child how to zoom in to your street. You'll be surprised how exciting it can be to see your street and your house on a screen!
Class Dojo is our school rewards system. Each child has their own Dojo monster/avatar and for positive behaviours throughout the day they can be given a Dojo point. The children are very motivated by the points! The children all chose their own Dojo monster on the first day. This is what our Class Dojo looks like...
Here are the positive behaviours that can earn Dojo points...
So you can see that every time they bring their book bag in after reading at home, they can earn a point, any extra learning at home (writing, drawing, practising numbers and letters, bringing something in that is connected to our learning in school etc...) is rewarded with a point. And as part of our reflecting on the week, we look at the total number of points we have earned individually and as a class!
Today we introduced the class rules and talked about why we need them. We thought about what the classroom would be like WITHOUT rules and the children know that our Golden Rules help to keep us all safe and happy. Here are our class Golden Rules so that you can talk to your child about them.
We have had a great start to the new term! It was lovely to welcome the children into the class on Thursday. For those who were poorly or away, a warm welcome awaits you on Monday! We had important jobs to do such as choosing and labelling our coat pegs and finding our trays.
The children all enjoyed spending time with friends again after the holidays!
