Starlings: Blog items
Starlings blog 26.11.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 26th Nov 2020 @ 9:04pm
Good evening Starlings, welcome to this week's blog.
We have had another busy but super week in class. Things are getting very festive and we are in full rehearsal mode for our Christmas performance. Watch this space!
Thank you to Ethan's family for donating the beautiful and very special reindeer to our class. We absolutely love it!
Here's a little snapshot of what we have been up to this week and what we are looking ahead to next week.
RWI
In Phonics this week we have been learning:
Red group
Book: 'Cluck'
Sounds focus: th, ch, sh, qu
Green group
Book: 'Chips'
Sounds focus: ck, ow, oi
Pink group
Book: 'Tab the Cat'
Sounds focus: ow, ai, oa
Orange group
Book: 'Haircuts'
Sounds focus: ck, ai, oa
Yellow group
Book: 'A Model Bird'
Sounds focus: wh, ph ,ue
Maths
We have been working hard this week on completing different part, part, whole challenges. Next week we will be moving on to learning number bonds to 10.
Writing
We are absolutely loving our class story 'Nibbles the Book Monster' and we are getting so much fantastic writing work from it. This week we have focused on singular and plural forms of words, and retelling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk by writing a diary entry. Next week we will write letters to tell the other characters how they can stop Nibbles from eating their books. We will also predict the ending of the story and write lists for Nibbles.
Please remember to practise spellings this week again, ready for our quiz on Friday. Thank you for the continued efforts with learning these. It is clear to see how hard the children have been working at home and it has such an impact in class!
Take care and have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern
Starlings blog 19.11.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 19th Nov 2020 @ 9:05pm
Hello Starlings and welcome to this week's blog
What another fun and busy week we have had! We have been getting into the Christmas spirit as we prepare for our virtual Christmas play. All the children who asked for a speaking part have been given one and lines have been sent home for practising. Please spend time learning these and becoming confident with using your loudest and proudest voice to say your lines in the best possible way on filming day!
We do hope you saw on Twitter that our class councillors for school council and our Ethos group representatives have been voted and chosen in class and we are so looking forward to see how these superstars represent our class.
In English, we are still enjoying reading our new class book 'Nibbles the Book Monster', we have used a diary entry to retell the stories of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood. We have also started to look at the concept of singular and plural.
Next week we will continue with making predictions and retelling traditional tales. We will also be giving Nibbles clear instructions, as well as using the word 'and' to connect two sentences.
In Maths, we have completed our first unit of work in Power Maths and have focussed our learning this week on understanding the order of numbers on a number line. Next week we will move onto using part-whole within numbers to 10.
In Phonics this week, our focus has been:
Pink Group
Sounds focus: are, ur, er, ck
Book: 'The Dressing Up Box'
Red Group
Sounds focus: y, ck, d, h
Book: 'Let's Sing'
Yellow Group
Sounds focus: e_e, ck, kn
Book: 'Grow your own Radishes'
Orange Group
Sounds focus: are, ue, er, ow
Book: 'Come on Margo!'
Green Group
Sounds focus: or, air, ir
Book: 'Black Hat Bob'
Children will come home with a new set of 5 words to learn this week so please practise these as often as possible ready for our Friday quiz.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern.
Starlings blog 12.11.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 12th Nov 2020 @ 9:23pm
Hello lovely Starlings and welcome to this week's blog.
What another busy week we have had in class.
Thank you for all of the recyclable materials, the children had a wonderful time working collaboratively to make their very own Boris robots as part of our Heartsmart PSHE work.
We were also thrilled to welcome Teddy back to class on Monday, we missed him last week because of the INSET day.
Science
This week we have started our new topic of work all about animals. We identified and named common animals and matched them to their animal group including mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians and birds.
Maths
We continued with our power maths work this week and have looked at counting more and less, counting and comparing groups of objects and comparing numbers.
Next week we will be learning to order objects and numbers in ascending and descending order, order numbers using ordinal positions like first, second and third, and using a number line to support this.
English
This week we started our new unit of Writing work based on our new book 'Nibbles the book monster' by Emma Yarlett. Our focus for this unit of work will be to make inferences and predictions about what we are reading, and to write a diary entry in role as Nibbles.
This week we have made a wanted poster and made predictions about the story. We used our phonics knowledge to spell words independently.
Next week we will be retelling popular fairy tale stories like Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood and talking about how the main characters feel.
Phonics and Spelling
Don't forget, each Friday we will be having a spelling quiz. Words to learn are found in reading diaries on the sticker, and use the spelling practise whiteboards sent home last week to practise.
This week in phonics, we have focused on:
Pink group
Sounds focus: u_e, aw
Book: 'Scruffy Ted'
Green group
Sounds focus: oo, ar
Book: 'Six fish'
Yellow group
Sounds focus: e, au
Book: 'A mouse in the house'
Orange group
Sounds focus: u_e, aw
Book: 'Follow me'
Red group
Sounds focus: b, d, p, j
Book: 'Got Him'
Speed sound book: your child will be coming home with a speed sound book this Friday (13th November). Instructions for how to use the book are on the first page. These books can stay at home. It would help your child if you practise speed reading these sounds with them as often as possible. It is important that any incorrect pronunciation is remodelled where appropriate, both in school and at home. Thank you, as always for your support with learning at home, we really do appreciate it!
Have a lovely week
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern
Starlings blog 5.11.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 5th Nov 2020 @ 9:12pm
Hello Starlings and welcome back to our class blog page.
We hope you had a lovely half term together and are ready for an exciting and busy term ahead in school. We are so impressed with the way the children have come back to school with a positive and eager attitude to learning.
Spellings and Phonics
Next week your child will be coming home with a Read Write Inc bookmark that corresponds with their current RWI group. Please continue to speed read and write the words on the bookmark to help with fluency.
In addition to this, 5 common exception words will be sent home in diaries to learn each week. Please use the 'Look-Cover-Write-Check' whiteboard provided to learn these spellings at home. Each child will be given their own spelling board and pen, these can be kept at home. The children will complete a spelling quiz in school each Friday. Children will then tick and dot against their spelling list to let you know which words they need to continue to learn.
This week in phonics our focus has been:
Orange group
Sounds focus: i_e, o_e
Book: 'I think I want to be a bee'
Pink group
Sounds focus: i_e, o_e
Book: 'In the Sun'
Green group
Sounds focus: ow, oo
Book: 'My dog Ned'
Yellow group
Sounds focus: tious, cious
Book: 'Danny and the Bump a Lump'
Red group
Sounds focus: d, p, b
Book: Jam
Writing
In our English lessons this week the children have planned and written their own adventure story using the structure of the Lost and Found story. We have introduced our own animal and main characters. It has been lovely to see the vast improvement in the children's focus when writing sentences.
Maths
This week we started our work on Power Maths. Power Maths is a scheme of work we use all across the school and the children have amazed us with their concentration and focus when using the power maths books. This week we have focused on counting groups of objects and counting forwards and backwards to 10. Next week we will be counting one more and one less, comparing groups and numbers of objects.
Science
Thank you so much for completing your weather diaries over the half term holiday! We have used these in our science lesson this week to help us to make a block graph to show the weather during Autumn.
Have a lovely and safe weekend.
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern
Starlings blog 23.10.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 22nd Oct 2020 @ 9:51pm
Hello lovely Starlings, you have made it to the end of your first half term of Year One! Hurray!
What superstars you have been. We couldn't be more proud of how you have faced every day with a smile on your face and a determination to try your best. Your writing, maths work, phonics, team-work and kindness has blown our socks off and we cannot wait to see what the next half-term will bring!
Here's a little snapshot of what we have been up to this week for you at home.
Phonics
In RWI this week, our groups have worked on the following:
Green Group
Sounds focus: ay, ee, igh
Book: 'On the Bus'
Orange Group
Sounds focus: ea, oi, a_e
Book: 'Playday'
Pink Group
Sounds focus: ea, oi, a_e
Book: 'Tab the Cat'
Red Group
Sounds focus: 'Special friends' ch, th, sh
Book: 'Pin it on'
Yellow Group
Sounds focus: ear, ure, tion
Book: 'In the Park'
Maths
In Maths this week we have used the langauge First, Then and Now to introduce the concept of number sentences for the inverse operations of adding and subtracting.
We know that if we have 3 first, then we add 2 more, we now have 5
3 + 2 = 5
This also works in the inverse, or opposite:
If we have 5 first, then 2 leave, now there are 3
5 - 2 = 3
English
In English we have plotted the main beginning, middle and end events of the 'Lost and Found' story ready for planning and writing our own stories after half term. We are still working hard on applying the sounds we learn in phonics to our writing, and remembering finger spaces, capital letters and full stops.
Science
We have started learning about the weather and we have used weather symbols to draw and describe what the weather is like. We will repeat this for each season and compare what the weather is like in each season.
For half-term, we would like you to complete a weather diary please. This will support our science learning for next week. There is a copy in your book bag.
We cannot wait to see your refreshed, happy and smiling faces after your well-deserved rest.
Enjoy and stay safe!
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern
Starlings blog 16.10.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 15th Oct 2020 @ 10:29pm
Hello starlings and welcome back to our weekly blog.
We have had another very busy week in class this week and we are so proud of all the hard work completed again.
Phonics
This week we have updated the Read Write Inc phonics assessments so please look out for a label in your child's reading diary which gives information about your child's new phonics group. New groups will begin on Monday 19th October so books for that corresponding colour will be sent home on Friday 23rd October. This week's book will be for your current group.
Red group
Sounds focus: review of set 1 sounds including n, g, p and k
Book: 'Let's Swim'
Pink group
Sounds focus: oa, ew, ire
Books: 'Beep! Beep! Clocks and watches
Green group
Sounds focus: ir, ou, oy
Book: 'What am I?'
Yellow group
Sounds focus: ew, ire
Book: 'Do we have to keep it?'
Silver group
Sounds focus: review of set 1 sounds
Book: Sound blending book 4
Gold group
Sounds focus: special friends 'ch' and 'sh'
Book: Daily ditties
English
This week we have continued to read our story 'Lost and Found'. We have turned our role play corner into a post office to fit with our book and we are enjoying writing using describing words. We have written labels for lost animals, written fact files for different animals and used our senses to describe the waves from the story's storm scene. We are working very hard on using our phonics knoweldge to spell words in our writing.
Next week we will work on sequencing the events of the story and write sentences to suppport our understanding of this. We will also read some non-fiction books about animals to help us to choose an animal that we could replace the penguin in the story with.
Maths
We have progressed onto using our part, part, whole work to help us to build and write number sentences using addition and subtraction. We are using the bar model to help us with this. We have also explored the language of 'not' for subtraction.
For example we looked at images and stories and asked "There are 6 people. 2 people are wearing coats. How many are not wearing coats?"
Next week we will continue to explore addition and subtraction. We will learn and use the language of "first, second, third, then and next" to support our work and we will begin to explore the concept of addition and subtraction being 'inverse operations'.
Science
We have completed an Autumn scavenger hunt and made our own seasonal windows to describe. This has helped us to explore seasonal changes. We have also started a weather diary to collect data about what the weather is like every day. Next week we will interpret the data to answer questions about the seasons.
Help needed!
Straight after half term we will be working on making a 'Boris' robot as part of our PSHE, Heartsmart work. To do this we will need lots of recycled items from your homes, such as cereal boxes, kitchen foil tubes, milk bottles, food cartons. Please collect some of these items and bring them into school on or before Friday 23rd October. This will allow enough quarantine/resting time to make the items safe to re-use after the half term. Thank you in advance.
Have a lovely week!
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern.
Starlings blog 8.10.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 8th Oct 2020 @ 7:51pm
Hello Starlings and welcome to this week's blog page.
What a fun week we have had in class. This week the children have loved learning about the life of Mary Anning and using their super history explorer skills to place the events of her life in chronological order.
To help us to understand what Mental Health Awareness week is, on Friday we made our own class happy jar that will be proudly displayed on the hall alongside the other class jars. We all made our own version too to show what makes us happy.
In Science we have been on an Autumn scavenger hunt to help us to observe, describe and understand the changing seasons. We recorded what we found after talking about what we might expect to see.
In English this week we have loved starting our new unit of work based on the story 'Lost and Found' by Oliver Jeffers. We started off by using objects and pictures as clues about the story, we used these to make predictions about what might happen. We then wrote sentences about what we could see and wrote speech bubbles for each of the characters. We began to set up our very own class Lost and Found office and wrote labels for some lost animals to keep safe until their owner could come and collect them.
We are continuing to work hard on holding (or remembering) a sentence, and using our Fred talking from phonics to help us to spell words. We are really working hard on full stops to punctuate sentences, and on using capital letters at the beginning of our sentences and when writing names.
In Maths we have progressed onto numbers 6-10 this week. We looked at the position of numbers to 10 on the number line and began to explore odd and even numbers. We have continued our work on using a part, part, whole cherry diagram to partition numbers in two, and sometimes 3, parts. Next week we will be learning how to add two parts together using the symbols + and = to help us to build number sentences.
For Phonics this week, we have been working on the following in each of our groups:
Pink group -
Sounds focus: er, ow, ai
Book: Scruffy Ted
Yellow group -
Sounds focus: ow, ai, oa
Book: Lost
Silver group -
Sounds focus: Review of set 1 sounds
Book: Sound blending book 3
Gold group -
Sounds focus: Review of set 1 sounds
Book: Daily ditties
Red group -
Sounds focus: review of 'special friends' ch, sh, qu, ng and nk
Book: Wuff Wuff
Green group -
Sounds focus: ir, igh, or
Book: The Witch's Lunch
Thank you all for working so hard this week our little superstars!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Judge, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern
Starlings Blog 24.9.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 24th Sep 2020 @ 9:28pm
Hello again Starlings, it's that time of the week again!
This week in maths we have been busy working hard on our counting skills, including subitising (which means looking at a group of objects and identifying how many there are without having to count them).
We have done lots more work on part, part, whole and have used something called a "cherry diagram" to help us to partition a number.
Next week the children will be applying their learning of partitioning and subitising to find the missing parts of numbers to up to 5.
In writing this week we learned about the famous athlete Wilma Rudolph and wrote sentences about her. We also looked at speech bubbles as a way to help us to role play and think about what the characters in our story ‘Look Up’ may be saying to each other.
Next week we will finish our unit of work on ‘Look Up’ by sequencing the story and thinking about what happened at the Beginning, Middle and End, before planning and writing our own versions of the story.
To help, if you get the chance to ‘look up’ at the night sky over the weekend and talk about all the things you see in the night sky, this will help your writing.
In RWI phonics this week:
Pink group have read the book ‘In the sun’ and learned the sounds i_e, o_e and u_e
Yellow group have read the book ‘Tom Thumb’ and learned the sounds o_e, u_e and aw
Gold group have been continuing with their daily ditties and have been working hard on improving fluency when fred talking to blend sounds in words.
Silver group have continued to use sound blending book 1 and have been practising ‘Fred in our head’
Red group have learned the sounds sh, qu, nk, ng and x this week and are now reading the book ‘Jam’ in phonics lessons.
In topic we were so excited to learn about fossils as part of our work in history, and we can’t wait to do more exploring of fossils next week.
In worship we have been looking at the core value of thankfulness and sharing all the things we are thankful for.
Have a lovely weekend and we will look forward to sharing more of our learning with you next week.
Mrs. Judge, Mrs. O’Marah, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern
Starlings Blog 17.9.20, by Mrs O'Marah
Date: 17th Sep 2020 @ 10:14pm
Starlings Class Blog 17.9.20
Hello Starlings families and welcome to our weekly blog.
We have had a lovely first 3 weeks in class and are just loving all being back together in one bubble. We have had a lovely mix of 'exploring time' in our continuous provision, and learning time in our new planet-named groups.
We are continuing to explore lots of mindfulness and nurture activities as we complete our whole school "All Together Now" topic, and we have enjoyed completing some computing work on the Ipads with Mrs. Judge this week too.
We have started our History unit of work by looking at the past and sorting images into past and present.
In English we are using the story 'Look Up' as a stimulus for writing. This week we received a letter telling us about a meteor shower viewing party in the park and we had to invite our friends along too! Next week we will be learning about Wilma Rudolph and comparing her to the main character in our story. We will also be ordering events from the story to show our understanding.
In Maths we have been learning about 'whole' and 'parts' and exploring how we could cut up and share fruit into parts of a whole. Next week we will be looking at how to make a diagram of part, part whole and using this to help us to learn about parts and whole of a number and exploring how numbers and groups of objects can be split or 'partitioned' into parts.
In Science we are beginning our unit of work on Plants and Seasonal Changes by going on a nature hunt to gather, compare and contrast leaves in our school grounds.
Home Reading and RWI Phonics
This week we have assessed your child to see where they are up to in RWI phonics, and we have grouped them accordingly. Tomorrow (18.9.20) we will send home the Read Write Inc. story book your child has been working on in class, along with their new homework diary. You will find a sticker in the homework diary with information about which colour group your child has been placed in for RWI.
Please encourage your child to read this book at home to you and sign in their diary when they have done so. We will check the diaries and stamp when we see comments.
Please also continue to share stories and books at home together and make a note of any reading done together. Children will still be able to earn raffle tickets for 3 signatures in their diary in a week.
Our class PE day is a Thursday, so a gentle reminder that children should be sent to school wearing PE clothes on this day. Teresa takes the children for their PE lesson and they have made a great start with their super listening and their love of sport!
Please remember water bottles daily.
We look forward to another lovely week together and will be back in touch in next week's blog.
Mrs. Judge, Mrs. O'Marah, Mrs. Esling and Mrs. Southern.
WB 29.6.20 Starlings Weekly Blog, by Miss Gillam
Date: 28th Jun 2020 @ 10:10pm
Good morning Starlings J
I hope that you had a lovely weekend and enjoyed some family time together. I am loving being able to see a little bit more of my most special people, even if it is from a distance. I look forward to seeing lots of you in school again this week.
Now that most of our Starlings are back in school, our home learning blog is going to look a little bit different. Each Monday you are going to get a suggested task list with lots of ideas for your home learning challenges for the whole week. We will also have a daily discussion which you can access on our school website. This week, our special whole school project will be called ‘Save Our Seas’.
SAVE OUR SEAS
Ideas for activities: (Pick the ones you like or choose your own)
- Look at the Global Goals and particularly Number 14- Life Below Water
https://www.globalgoals.org/ https://www.globalgoals.org/14-life-below-water
- Watch the Pollution Problems clip on the https://worldoceanday.school/ website. Go around your house and do a survey of the single use plastic you have. Can you decide as a family to ‘Save Our Seas’ ‘Make One Change’ in something you buy from now on. Please Tweet your pledge to ‘Make One Change’ and we will spread the message and give ideas to others.
- Read of the attached document First News pages 7 and 10
Who is Diego and why is he so special? How can we help to stop plastic pollution?
- Find out about the work of Surfers Against Sewage https://www.sas.org.uk/our-work/plastic-pollution/plastic-pollution-facts-figures/
- Make a ‘Save our Seas’ video, poster or leaflet with all your ideas. Here are 2 of Mrs Evans’ children showing an example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkSBV8UKwIc&feature=youtu.be
- Practise your geography with continents and oceans of the world using: https://world-geography-games.com/continents/index.html and
https://world-geography-games.com/oceans/index.html
- Choose a particular ocean or sea to find out about.
- Use teddies or models you have at home to make a play or puppet show about the dangers facing the oceans.
- Find out which seas and rivers are linked with the Bible
- Go on a litter pick (with an adult from your house) in your local area.
- On your daily walk with an adult, visit a local pond, lake or river and talk about the local plants and wildlife there.
- Do a survey of the animals and wildlife you see at the local pond/river/lake. Make a pictograph or bar chart.
- Find out about an ocean animal or plant. Think about: Appearance, Habitat, Diet and whether it is endangered or not.
- Read sea poems and have a go at writing your own
https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/2019/04/over-my-toes/ https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/poem/over-my-toes/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1sWlGCvcAQ - Michael Rosen Seagulls
- Make an ocean biome out of an old shoe box. Or use play dough to create an ocean scene or habitat. Use the Salt dough recipe to make Salt Dough Starfish.
- Make your ocean themed word search https://thewordsearch.com/maker/
- Decorate a pebble with a sea theme and ‘Make One Change’ and put it outside school in front of the sharing window.
- Use your imagination to write a short story linking to the sea. Remember to use capital letters, full stops and finger spaces, and to re-read your work to check it makes sense.
- Create a masterpiece using the ocean as inspiration - https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sea-creature-crafts
Useful websites:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/nature/kids-vs-plastic/pollution/#/1470659139836
https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/oceans.html
https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/ocean-facts-for-kids.html
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/ocean/346185
https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts
https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Ocean-Facts-for-Children
https://modestfish.com/ocean-facts/
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sea-creature-maths-worksheets
https://conserveturtles.org/sea-turtle-tracking/ follow the migratory movements of endangered turtles
https://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/marine-habitats
http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1258376/
Twinkl have lots of free resources (I have downloaded most of the ocean themed ones which will be attached to the daily blogs)
David Attenborough clips and programmes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW3jEIYBFzg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLx4fVsYdTI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfIsMMTbL4
https://www.bbcearth.com/shows/blue-planet/ Blue Planet 1
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04tjbtx Blue Planet 2
Newsround programmes:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/42810179
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47979998
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47445196
Lovely Sea themed books and stories to share:
https://vimeo.com/60259773 - watch the reading of Big Blue Whale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jamBzIML79o - Barry the Fish with Fingers
Listen to our lovely staff read some stories linked to our ‘SAVE OUR SEAS’ theme
- Listen to Mrs Evans reading about a Marine Biologist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a21-zC2B3I8&feature=youtu.be
- Listen to a Sea Turtle Story with Miss Thwaites today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IOIi1kFHSU&feature=youtu.be
- Listen to Big Blue Whale with Miss Beattie today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjS9AT2HrsQ&feature=youtu.be
- Listen to Mrs Powell read The Snail and the Whale
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLqBBeLFnYs&feature=youtu.be
Other stories
Listen to our staff read some wonderful stories. It was finally my turn to read a story this week. Do you notice anything about this story? Does it remind you of any stories that we have read before?
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlwgA17RaWw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odHMuoH6yws
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_lDCNQfwBo
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Lm3RA0pFg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VEISPlRks4
You can e-mail a photo or deliver any of your work to school to help us change our Sharing window into a Save Our Seas sharing window.
If you are Tweeting your work please add the tag @LostockGralamPrimary and add #Saveourseas and #Makeonechange
All the work which is currently on the sharing window will be moved to be displayed in church- which we think will bring a huge smile to everyone there.
Please continue to complete your home learning pack and use our fantastic Read Write Inc, Oak Academy and BBC Bitesize online lessons. We will also continue to set a daily discussion on our website. This will be checked throughout the day and children in school will have opportunities to respond to discussion comments. This is a lovely chance for us to be together as a class without all being in the same room. Please select ‘View all Discussions’ and click on the relevant date.
- http://www.lostockgralam.cheshire.sch.uk/
- https://classroom.thenational.academy/schedule-by-year/year-1
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/tags/zjpqqp3/year-1-and-p2-lessons
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo7fbLgY2oA_cFCIg9GdxtQ
Have a wonderful week Starlings and please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions or concerns. Speak to you on our class discussion!
Miss Gillam xx
Message from Mrs Powell
This week we are celebrating our wonderful oceans.
The UK is surrounded by the sea, and our waters provide the habitat for over 44,000 different species of sea life, yet often our wonderful beaches are covered in litter.
Point out that scenes like these show us that all is not well in our oceans. Marine scientists have discovered that many plastics that find their way into the world’s oceans are toxic. This means that these plastics can damage the animals and even kill them. Another problem is that wildlife such as seabirds can get entangled in bits of plastic or even become stuck in plastic bottles. Fortunately, scientists, marine conservation societies and the UK government agree that we need to do more to protect our seas and oceans, particularly where the use of plastic is concerned. They suggest that we can all take some action – even if it is something as simple as taking home our rubbish after a day at the beach. We all need to do the following: Invest in a reusable water bottle rather than relying on single-use ones. Take a bag with you when you go to the shops, rather than paying for single-use plastic ones. Look for alternatives to plastic containers.
Time for reflection
Many world faiths believe that we all have a responsibility to look after the world in which we live.
Christians believe that God made the world and wants us all to care for it: this is known as stewardship.
The Bible says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it . . . for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.’ Christians believe that this means that we have no right to abuse God’s creation. Instead, we should act responsibly, realizing that we are privileged to have such a wonderful place in which to live.
Prayer Dear God, Thank you for the beautiful world in which we live. Thank you for the amazing variety of animals and plants. Thank you for the sea and the beaches. Please help us to think carefully about our responsibility in the world. Please help us to care for the environment. Please help us to think before we act. Amen
26.6.20 Starlings Class Blog, by Miss Gillam
Date: 26th Jun 2020 @ 9:28am
Good morning Starlings
How is your home learning going? It would be lovely to hear from you either on Twitter, our School Spider discussion or via email.
After today, we are going to change our Starlings blog a little bit. Each Monday you will get a menu of activities to choose from to last you the whole week. This menu will contain activities for each area of our curriculum. I hope this will make it easier for you to plan your week of home learning.
Reading
Keep practising your reading comprehension. Understanding what you read is so important! I have attached some questions below for you to complete. Remember, they do not need to be printed.
Writing
Complete these activities based on the book Beegu by Alexis Deacon. Listen to the story being read here when you have finished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaX_zGZO0Y8
Maths
How big is your hug? Follow the instructions attached below to find out!
History
We have learnt about toys and how they have changed over time. Now it is your turn to design a perfect toy for a child in Year 1! Think about; what it is made of, what it does, why it would make a great toy. Create a poster or a TV advert to tell people why they should by your new toy.
Art
Follow this lesson to create some repeated patterns, inspired by the artist William Morris.
https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-create-repeated-patterns
Have a fabulous day and I will be in touch again on Monday.
Love
Miss Gillam
25.6.20 Starlings Class Blog, by Miss Gillam
Date: 25th Jun 2020 @ 6:50am
Good morning lovely Starlings,
I hope you’ve had a lovely week so far and haven’t melted in the sunshine! It’s going to be another very warm one today so lots of sun cream, water and a sun hat today! ☀️
I’m so pleased to hear we have some more of you coming back to our bubbles next week. School is a little bit different to what it was like last time you were there, so please have a look at the pictures below. It’ll really help you to get ready for coming back! We’ve been having so much fun in our bubbles, have a look at some of the things were have been doing on Twitter. 😊
Today's sporting challenge is demonstrated by Miss Thwaites completing the Speed Bounce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p1JP1Fw1j8&feature=youtu.be
This will certainly get your heart racing! How many times can you jump side to side in 10/20/30 seconds? How many people could you challenge to beat your score?
Our story today is brought to you by Mrs Campion reading Little Owls first day. What a perfect book for her to read as she will be welcoming lots of new little Owls in September for their first day at school. It is also perfect for us with today being our first full day back in school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRFtO4lZQWg
Writing
In today’s writing lesson, we will start to write our information text. You will need a piece of lined paper and a pencil for this. Don’t forget to let me know if you have run out of space in your home learning book.
https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-begin-to-write-my-information-text
Maths
In our Maths lesson for today we will be exploring ‘equal groups’ in the context of shapes with equal numbers of sides. Can you solve problems using repeated patterns?
https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-solve-problems-using-repeated-patterns
Geography – Where are the world’s Oceans?
Today, we will be learning about the 5 oceans on our earth and the location of them in relation to the 7 continents. We will be looking at which continents surround the oceans. We will then compare the difference between an ocean and a sea. In this lesson you will need a pencil, a piece of paper or an exercise book and your wonderful brain.
https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/where-are-the-worlds-oceans
Science
Lots of us are back in bubbles at school now so this week make your own bubbles. Watch this video to help. Make your own bubble blower using an empty water bottle. Experiment with different materials, shapes and sizes to see what else you can use to blow bubbles. What is the biggest bubble you can make?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJqPHI8z2hk
Have a wonderful day and please do share what you get up to today either in our class discussion, via email or on Twitter.
Lots of love
Miss Gillam
A message from Mrs Powell
Our Wonderful World!
Please enjoy this poem!
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe
Big blue planet, what can it be? What can it be?
It’s the planet earth, it’s the planet earth.
It’s the planet earth, it’s the planet earth.
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe,
Big blue planet, what can we see? What can we see?
The great blue waters and the great green land
The great blue waters and the great green land
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe,
Big blue planet, what can we see? What can we see?
The great blue waters and the great green land
The great blue waters and the great green land
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe,
Big blue planet, what can we see? What can we see?
The great blue waters and the great green land
The great blue waters and the great green land
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe
God loves the planet
Loves the land and loves the sea
Loves the land and loves the sea
Loves the people, that’s you and me
Loves the people, that’s you and me
We’ll love it too, it’s our planet EARTH
We’ll love it too, it’s our planet EARTH
How can you help to keep God’s world a wonderful place? What could you do?
Dear God
Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken.. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our sadness. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our friends. Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty. And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven.
Amen
24.6.20 Starlings Class Blog, by Miss Gillam
Date: 24th Jun 2020 @ 8:22am
Good morning my SUPER Starlings
I haven’t stopped smiling since seeing so many of your gorgeous smiling faces yesterday. I can’t believe how much you have all grown and can’t wait to see you all again tomorrow. We had no tears and every single starling left the school saying that they felt happy and confident on their feelings chart. What more could be ask for?
A big thank you to those children who came to say hello with their big brothers and sisters in the morning too.
I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow.
Today's sporting challenge is "The Wacky Race" brilliantly demonstrated by Mr Beswick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4b7XbRuGiI&feature=youtu.be
Can you create your own Wacky race? Add obstacles, find different ways to move and compete against the clock? Can you beat your time? Please send us photos of your challenges.
Our storytime today is Mrs Hulse reading "Thank You Baked Potato." I'm intrigued about this story, I'm off to lie on my sofa with comfy cushions to settle down to a new story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipCbCwyu_k
In case you haven’t heard the baked potato song yet… I know that you will LOVE it. Have a listen to Matt Lucas singing the potato song by clicking the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs-5Fl3XVkk
For today’s learning I thought it might be fun to spend some time away from the screen, especially with it being such a beautiful day. Here is a list of fun and simple non-screen activates that your Starling can complete at home.
- How many different words can you make from the letters in this sentence, below? Grab a pencil and paper and write a list!
‘Learning from home is fun’ - Thank a community hero. Think of someone that helps you in some way and write a short letter to thank them.
- Get building! You could build a Lego model, a tower of playing cards or something else!
- Can you create your own secret code? You could use letters, numbers, pictures or something else! Can you get someone else to try and crack it?
- Start a nature diary. Look out of the window each day and keep note
of what you see. Birds, flowers, changes in the weather, what else? - Hold a photo session. Use a camera or a mobile phone to take some snaps. What will you photograph? Your pets or toys perhaps?
- Build a reading den. Find somewhere cosy, snuggle up and read your favourite book!
- Use an old sock to create a puppet. Can you put on a puppet show for someone?
- Make a list of all the electrical items in each room of your home. Can you come up with any ideas to use less electricity?
- Design and make a homemade board game and play it with your family.
- Do something kind for someone. Can you pay them a compliment, make them something or help them with a task?
- Can you create a story bag? Find a bag and collect items to go in it that relate to a well known story. If you can’t find an item, you could draw a picture to include.
- List making! Write a list of things that make you happy, things you’re grateful for or things you are good at.
- Design and make an obstacle course at home or in the garden. How fast can you complete it?
- Can you invent something new? Perhaps a gadget or something to help people? Draw a picture or write a description.
- Keep moving! Make up a dance routine to your favourite song.
- Write a play script. Can you act it out to other people?
- Read out loud to someone. Remember to read with expression.
- Write a song or rap about your favourite subject.
- Get sketching! Find a photograph or picture of a person, place or object and sketch it.
- Junk modelling! Collect and recycle materials such as yoghurt pots, toilet rolls and boxes and see what you can create with them.
- Draw a map of your local area and highlight interesting landmarks.
- Write a postcard to your teacher. Can you tell them what you like most about their class?
- Draw a view. Look out of your window and draw what you see.
- Get reading! What would you most like to learn about? Can you find out more about it in books? Perhaps you can find a new hobby?
Take care and I will see you all soon.
Miss Gillam
A message from Mrs Powell
Honesty
My Mum used to tell me and my brothers and sister this story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKWktweAZb0
What would you have said to the boy to help him?
Jesus told his disciples a story to teach them about honesty. He told them about a rich man who had a manager, and the manager was using the man's money for himself. When the rich man discovered that the manager was wasting his money, he called him in and fired him. After telling this story, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
If you and I make sure that we are honest in the small things, then we can be sure that we will be honest in the big things. If people know that they can trust us in small things, they will know that they can trust us in the big things too.
Dear God
Please help us to remember what Jesus taught about honesty and help us to be honest in every situation big or small.
Amen.
23.6.20 Starlings Class Blog, by Miss Gillam
Date: 23rd Jun 2020 @ 6:59am
Hello my super Starlings J
I hope you are ready for a big day today. Mrs Southern, Mrs Elson, Mrs Rice and I are so excited to see you this afternoon. I have woken up feeling excited but a little bit nervous today. That is totally normal. As soon as we running around our beautiful grounds together everything will feel normal again.
I am absolutely thrilled to be taking you up into Year Two with me with me in September. That means that I get to have the pleasure of teaching ALL of you again. I think it might take a little while for me to get used to calling you Swallows though! I think that we, along with your lovely families make a wonderful team and I can't wait to welcome you all back and spend the year learning, playing and making memories together. I hope that you don't mind putting up with me for another year!
Today's story comes from Mrs Simmonds who is reading "Shark in the Park". Perhaps you could read a story to your family today? You could even video yourself reading and post it on Twitter for all of your friends to see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL3kIMjXRYk
Are you ready for another sports challenge?
Can you create your own target game? Would you use underarm throw or overarm throw? What is the highest score you could get? How could you improve your throwing?
Here is Mrs Evans to show you how it's done...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSgAcyEnoGI&feature=youtu.be
English
Look at the attached ‘random object generator’ to create some new objects. Create 5 new objects and draw a picture of what you have created. Write a sentence about each of your new objects.
Maths
Practise some more code breaking with these Emoji problems, this time with addition and subtraction. Remember, this activity can we completed on the screen. All you need to do is write the answer. You could even have a go at drawing your own emoji’s!
Science
Make 5 ice cubes. Place each one in a similar cup or pot and place them in 5 different places around your house and outside. Predict which one you think will melt first and why. Keep an eye on them and time how long it takes each one to completely melt. What did you notice? Where did it melt the fastest and the slowest? Why?
Creative
Use your imagination to create something using an empty toilet roll or kitchen roll tube.
I really can’t wait to see you all Starlings, whether it be this afternoon or in a few weeks’ time. You are all so special to us here at Lostock and we know that we will have the best time learning and playing together VERY soon.
Have a wonderful day!
With lots of love
Miss Gillam (Your sparkly new Year Two Teacher)
A message from Mrs Powell
Kindness
Mark Twain said "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
Kindness is something we can all understand. It generates a great experience as both giver and receiver.
In Greece, kindness towards the elderly is very important; they believe the older you are the wiser and more valuable you become. In Japan, people show their kindness and gratitude by bowing to each other. The younger person bows to the older person. A simple act of kindness can create an endless ripple effect!
How do you show your kindness? What are you going to do today?
22.6.20 Starlings Class Blog, by Miss Gillam
Date: 22nd Jun 2020 @ 7:37am
Happy Monday Starlings.
I hope you have had a lovely weekend and are ready for a week of sports of friendship.