In Y1, in computing, we are currently learning all about Spreadsheets.
So far we know what a row, column and cell are and we have populated cells with colours, numbers, words and complete number sentences using mathematical symbols.
We have also learned how to input clip art pictures and are beginning to to make the pictures move!
Some of us used our knowledge of colours and clipart to make some lovely moving scenes!
In PSHE, Year 1 have been exploring the different life cycles of animals and humans. At first we looked at our own life cycle and discussed our different life experiences of having older/younger siblings and shared these with the rest of the class. We then ordered these as a whole class.
We discussed how we grow and the changes that happen to our bodies and how this is OK! It happens to all of us! We then discussed that it isn’t just humans that grow but animals also have life cycles. In groups, Year 1 worked hard to order different life cycles. Some groups had frogs, others had chickens or butterflies! It was so interesting to see how they changed and learn the key vocabulary such as frog spawn, froglets, chicks, cocoon etc!
Year 1 have been fantastic Geographers this week. We have loved exploring seaside’s learning key vocabulary such as coastline and landlocked to help us understand what a seaside is and what countries have them. In the previous lesson we identified and located the 4 countries of the UK and their capital cities. This week we built on our knowledge and explored different beaches found in the UK. At first, year 1 thought that all beaches would be the same and have the same physical and human features.
As Geographers we wanted to find out more so we looked at 3 contrasting beaches and discussed what we could see.
We found that beaches can be very different even in the UK! Although they do share the same physical features such as: cliffs, sand, sea. They have different human features. Some had towns, shops and rides where as the beach in Scotland was deserted and had nothing around it. One child said “I bet the Victorians didn’t go to that beach it looks boring!” We all agreed!
We then labelled the 3 seaside’s with their different features to visually see their similarities and differences.
As a plenary to our lesson we took advantage of the nice weather and explored our school grounds for physical and human features. Here are some of the things we found!
Following the requests of the children, in Creative Club this week, we developed our origami techniques and made puppets from paper.
We found folding the paper tricky at first but after some practise we became experts at it! We decided to make a variety of animals and used different coloured paper, different pens and lots of glue to create the finished effect! We think they look great!
In PSHE we had a brilliant discussion about the people in our lives who are special to us and why.
Here were some of our answers:
“My Mum because she gives me cuddles and looks after me”
“My Dad because he plays with me and helps me if I fall over”
“My Grandad and Grandma and they buy me sweets!”
It was lovely to share the special people in our lives with our friends!
In year 1, we have been looking at non-chronological reports. Linking to our English book ‘The Rainbow fish’ we were eager to find out more about fish! We learnt the facts using simple signifiers that helped us remember them!
We focussed on the different features of a fact file such as an introduction, sub-heading, pictures and captions.
In pairs we read the facts and placed them under the correct sub-heading in order for it to make sense for the reader.
We then presented our facts to the class to check they made sense.
Well done year 1!
This afternoon in Y1 we have been learning what coding means in computing – we found out that all of our favourite computer games we play on at home are all made by coding and that it is basically giving characters and objects instructions to move!
We were able to programme a range of sea creatures to move left, right, up and down! We understood we needed to give the computer very clear instructions or the creatures wouldn’t move properly.
In year one we have been learning all about jumping! We have experimented with different ways we can jump. We discovered that to jump high we need our knees bent and our arms by our side then stretched out. We then tried jumping with one leg…we did not go as high!!
We practised jumping around the space, controlling our direction using our spatial awareness (so we did not bump into each other). After that we tried to do a synchronised jump…
After that, we finally put our new jumping skills to the test to play some fun games. Well done year one. We can’t wait to develop our skills next week.
This week in Maths, year 1 have been comparing different weights using balance scales. We discussed what we thought might happen when an object that is heavier was put on one side of a scale. The children predicted it would make that side move down. We then placed a full water bottle one side and a pencil in the other. They were correct! The side with the water bottle dropped and the other went high in the sky! We kept making predictions of different items we found around the classroom. It was so fun!
Then I asked the children what would happen if I put 5 cubes on each side of the balance scale? They showed me an equal sign with their arms. I was very impressed. We look forward to exploring weight further in future lessons!
Year 1 worked fantastically together in English. We are working towards writing a sense poem for our new theme all about the seaside. We closed our eyes and listened to real life sounds of what we would hear at the seaside. They said it felt like they were there! The children came up with some brilliant language ‘howling wind’, ‘chatting seagulls’ and ‘crisp golden sand’. We worked through each sense and made sure we used adjectives to make our language more interesting.
I can’t wait to see their final poems using their brilliant descriptions. Well done Year 1!