Week Ending 07/02/25
Date: 31st Jan 2025 @ 1:38pm
Happy Friday! This week the children have been inspired to become ‘Courageous Advocates’ through our class book all about crocodiles. This simply means ‘speaking out against injustice for those whose voices cannot be heard’. We believe this develops resilience, teamwork, courage and independence and an understanding of the wider world and how we can help make it a better place. In class we discussed why crocodiles have become endangered and believe we can make a difference to save them. No act is too small. We planned to raise money by sponsoring a caiman at Chester Zoo by holding a cake sale run by our children themselves. We look forward to continuing our hard work and championing different causes which are special and meaningful to us.
Dates for the diary (Spring Term)
- Tuesday 11th/Wednesday 12th February – Parents Evening (face-to-face in school)
- Thursday 6thMarch – World Book Day
- Monday 31st March - Trip to Crown Bank Quarry Nature Reserve. Parent volunteers needed if you're available!
- Wednesday 2ndApril – Dormice class assembly (9am – school hall)
Parents Evening
Next week is our face-to-face pupil progress meeting. This time I will be giving you an idea of how on track they are to meet the Early Learning Goals across the 7 areas of learning at the end of the year. I will also give you an idea of their current short-term targets in reading, writing and maths. We have 10 minutes and Mrs Forrester will be using a bell to make sure I get through everyone and stick to schedule. If you have concerns, I’ll give you a chance to raise these at the beginning of our conversation as a priority. If you have questions that are unanswered, we can schedule another meeting to discuss any points in more detail after half term.
Little Wandle – Phonics
This week we have moved on to decoding longer words with more than one syllable and compound words. We have been using the chunking method to sound-talk these words. Over time, children will be able to read words ending in /er/ without using the chunking method, as this will aid their fluency. Next week I will completing their Spring 1 phonics assessment based on the sounds and tricky words they have learnt this half term. Please use the grapheme information sheet given out last week to support your child in being able to read these sounds in new and unfamiliar words. Can they spot the digraph? Become a digraph detective!
The Chunking Method
To break up a longer word we need to read it one part (chunk) at a time, to avoid being overwhelmed and to ease the process of blending. Clapping out syllables or chunks in words and names can help with reading longer words: lett-er, fan-tas-tic or se-ven. We also introduce the children to compound words.These are two or more words that have been grouped together to create a new word that has a different, individual meaning. E.g. wind + mill = windmill or car + park = park.
In Maths, we were introduced to ‘Octoblock’ or Number 8 because he has eight blocks altogether. We have been investigating different number bonds to 8 using the numicon. We have also been looking at creating numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 by finding 5 and his friend (5 + 1, 5 + 2, 5 + 3, 5 + 4, 5 + 5) We learnt that we didn't need to count our five fingers as we already knew we had five! This led us to introduce the strategy of counting on. How quickly can we show 6-10 without counting fingers? This is great to consolidate understanding of subitising (knowing a number without needing to count). Ask your child can they show you number 7 quickly by using 'five an a friend'. I have linked the video below. We have noticed that 'counting on' has been a tricky concept this week. We will continue to apply this to our mental starters each day to build on the learning we have done in class. Dominoes is a great resource for this. Ask your child to pick up a domino and subitise the two numbers on it. Then count on from the bottom number to find the total. For example, if the domino showed a 3 and 4. Your child would count four more after number 4, 5, 6, 7. The last number is how many are altogether.
On Monday, we did some research by using non-fiction books and videos to create a non-chronological report for a crocodile. We learnt about where they live, what they eat, what they look like and their babies.
On Tuesday, we finished the story and created a story map as a class to support our retelling. You might want to ask your child to tell you this story at home or create their own!
On Wednesday, we discussed how crocodiles are endangered due to traders sing their skin for shoes and handbags. We thought of different ways to raise money and settled on a cake sale! We then made posters to help save the crocodiles!
On Thursday, we learnt 'Frere Jacques' and added this to our music and movement songs repetoire we have been learning about this half term. We then had a final performance and performed to Mrs Line who gave it a double thumbs up with 5 stars. Jack the Dog told us the story of the Wise and Foolish builders where we learnt about the meaning of the word 'wise' and using thinking time to help us make wise choices in the future.
On Friday, we celebrated Children's Mental Health week by thinking of ways we can relax our minds and bodies. We thought about different emotions and learnt some strategies to help us when we felt BIG feelings. The children particularly enjoy tummy breaths and using peace out as a relaxation strategy. We also felt JOY where we held our own disco and enjoyed being in each other's company to dance.
Congratulations to our Star of the Week, Charlie M!
Our Mystery Reader this week was Oscar's Dad. Thank you for coming to share a story with us!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Miss Selwyn
