Welcome to our new Willow Class page...
Meet the team:
Miss Kyndt
Mrs Gipp
Mrs Wisbey
Knowledge organisers for this term.
Week beginning 27th February
This week the children in willow have been using adjectives to describe the greedy tiger that came to tea, coming up with their own idea of who he is and what he enjoys doing!
In Math the children were introduced to fact families, word problems and they learnt how to find the difference between two numbers - a tricky concept but one we will continue to put into practice as the numbers get bigger.
In DT they children tested out different ways of joining fabric and chose their preferred method ready to design and make their own finger puppets. In Forest school, the children have been making nature bracelets, climbing trees, making swings and a mess in the mud kitchen - This week it was extra exciting as they were all dressed as Where's Wally for world book day (See pictures below)! In computing they worked in groups of four to create a bee-bot tutorial on the iPads, explaining how to program one and clear the instructions given.
Week beginning 6th February 2023
And just like that we are half way through Year One!
This week we have been tying up lose ends by completing more units of work. Willow launched their rockets in computing and collected data for a class spread sheet (see pictures below), they pained their gargoyles in Art and in English the children independently wrote a set of instructions in ‘How to Wash a Dirty Dog’.
We ended our week on a school trip to St Mary’s Church, which linked in nicely with our unit of work for this half term. The children had a fabulous time, taking part in a rotation of activities. (See pictures below.) On behalf of Willow class I would like to say a big thank you to all the parents who volunteered to support us on our trip, it would not be possible without you!
See you in a week. Enjoy your half term break!
Week beginning 30th January 2023
This week in Maths the children have been working out sums by using a number line and in English they’ve practised writing simple sentences with time connectives and imperative (bossy) verbs! For example - First get / Next chop / Then put / Finally eat
In Art, the children put their architectural skills into practice by designing and making their own penguin enclosures. They worked to a brief in groups of 4 and had a lot of fun doing so! The children also built Rockets in pairs by following a set of instructions in their Computing lesson and to their delight will be able to test these next week, inputting data as we work out how far their rockets have travelled! We talked more about our community in PSHE and in RE we learnt what goes on inside a church ahead of our visits next Thursday.
Week beginning 23rd January 2023
This week Willow class learnt about some of the different architectural feature on Southwark Cathedral in particular the Gargoyles, to which they all had a go at recreating out of clay. They were positively ghastly, in a good way. In PSHE the children discussed the different communities they are a part of, family, friends, their school and various different clubs! See pictures below.
In English we have finished our unit on the Three Little Pigs and the children were given the task of writing some instructions on how to wash your hands for some clueless aliens. In Math we have been comparing numbers within 20 and learning how to use a number line. Next week we hope to build rockets by following instructions from our computing lesson, it would be a great help of you could save any plastic bottles you may have a bring them into school early in the week.
Week Beginning 16th January 2023
This week in Willow class we have started constructing our own sentences for the 'Three Little Pigs', joining two sentences or clauses together with 'and' and learning when best to use an exclamation mark. In Art, we studied at the rose window in St Paul's Cathedral and created our own stain glass windows out of black paper and brightly coloured tissue paper.
In RE this week we discovered that some churches have clocks this is because in the past many people didn’t wear watches or even have clocks at home. Take a look next time you pass a church, apparently the clocks are blue to remind people of God up in heaven. We also found out many churches have weather vanes, this linked in nicely to our science lesson last week on different weather tools. While we're on the topic of weather, this children successfully made windmills in their DT lesson this week.
We ended the week sharing books from the book corner that we particularly enjoy. Two boys in Willow shared 'Belonging' by Jeannie Baker which is a beautifully illustrated, wordless book that sparked a great conversation about time and change and what we think makes a home. Another shared Knuffle Bunny by Mo William, she was able to explain the entire story just by looking at the images, again something that spark great conversation among the children about whether or not they have lost a valued item before and how that made them feel. Others find links to our learning, sourcing an illustrated family tree and a poem about St Paul's Cathedral. It was a truly lovely way to end week!
Week beginning 9th January 2023
First full week of the spring term complete. This half term we are lucky enough to have Mrs Parker teach us dance on a Monday morning, the children this week learnt a routine in which they were super heroes!
In PSHE we have been discussing favourite toys and jobs they would like to have when they grow up, Lettie had by chance brought in a photo of herself dressed as a police officer which then sparked the conversation of jobs for boys and jobs for girls. We all agreed that we could do whatever job we wanted, if we worked hard enough! In RE we have been learning why Church is a special place for Christians and discussed where the children consider to be their special place and in Art we have started a unit on architecture. The children have been ‘drawing’ on their prior knowledge of lines by sketching some famous London Landmarks. We had one child kindly bring photos of her father abseiling down the side of the gherkin, eeek!
The children brought home a Maths Textbook this week. This is for the children to practise at home as and when they wish to do so. It does not need to be brought back to school :).
Week beginning 2nd January 2023
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year!
Welcome back Willow class!
The children have settled back into school very well.
Well done Willow class!
Week beginning 14th November 2022
On Tuesday afternoon the children came face to face with real artefacts from the Bronze Age. A local archaeologist presented a variety of old everyday items from a site not too far from Ely. The children studied old pots, spearheads, animals remains, swords and so much more.
In Maths we have been sharing number stories to help us make sense of the learning. For example, 'There are 7 people on a bus, 4 get of at the next stop so 3 are left' we have used pictures to support this and our own drawing to help work out the answers.
In English, we finished our unit on character description through a Missing poster for Little Red Riding Hood. News came to us via a video link sent specifically to the children in Year 1 at Spring Meadow. She was last seen skipping through the deep dark woods holding a small basket. The children were asked to help find Little Red by creating Missing posters for her. Hopefully through their descriptions she will be found, safe and sound.
Week beginning 7th November 2022
This week in English we wrote 'Wanted' posters for the Big Bad Wolf (pictured below). After describing what he looks like the children came up with some additional information. For example, did you know he enjoys feasting on little pigs as well as little girls and in his spare time he likes to play games and do Maths.
In Maths this week we have started subtracting numbers within 10 by drawing the problem out. See below for an example.
In Art this week the children have extended their learning by creating line pictures out of different materials (pictured below). In RE we learnt about baptism and what this means to Christians and in Computing we experienced what could go wrong if an algorithm is not precise (Click here to watch 'What is an algorithm?).
1/12
Big Bad Wolf - Wanted poster
2/12
Big Bad Wolf - Wanted poster
3/12
Big Bad Wolf - Wanted poster
6/12
Experimenting with different materials to make different lines.
Previous
Next
Week Beginning 31st October 2022
Welcome back Willow!
A super start to our week as we begin to use adjectives in our English work. Describing character from traditional tales in groups and ending the week by independently labelling monsters, we had some brilliant double adjective flying around - Sharp, white teeth and big, pointy horns!
In art this we we have been exploring the use of different lines (see pictures below), the children were taught step by step how to draw a simple penguin and then put what they had learnt into practise by drawing a park using the different lines taught. Ask your child if they can remember the names of the lines and even better show you what they look like!
In DT we started our unit on mechanism. The children made sliders using lolly sticks and their own drawings. During this lesson they had another opportunity to use what they had learnt in art by drawing the penguin and then extended their learning further by drawing the penguin a home. The penguin was then sellotaped to a lolly stick and could slide around the habitat they had drawn.
Week Beginning 17th October
We have successfully made it to the end of our first half term and the children have already made phenomenal progress.
This week in English, we finished our unit on instructions with the children coming up with their own rhyming spells.
In Maths we have started learning about number bonds up to 10 and finding different ways to partition numbers.
We have ended our week by using our senses in science! The children got to smell, taste and touch various foods and materials, after which they gave their opinion. Chocolate was a hit!
It is now time for a well earned break and your children certainly deserve it. I would like to say a big WELL DONE and THANK YOU to Willow class. What a brilliant start to the year!
Week Beginning 10th October 2022
This week we finished writing up our instructions for smoothie making and together read a new story about a witch and her cat, 'Meg and Mog'. This is in preparation for inventing our own spells next week!
We finished our Design Technology project through sharing our thoughts on the smoothies we made last week. The children were shocked by how much they enjoyed a smoothie featuring spinach or cucumber!
In history this week, the children learnt about what archaeologists do for a job and what kind of artefacts they have found (on Must Farm in Whittlesey) in order to learn about human life, many years ago. We discussed what archaeologist might find, in years to come if they came across their homes, 'toys' and 'teddy' were popular answers!
In Maths this week we have moved on from representing, writing and comparing numbers to 10 and have now started to partition, introducing the plus sign (See example below).
Week beginning 3rd October 2022
Once again we end the week with a new and exciting, hands on experience. The children in Year 1 took a dislike to spinach last week and yet this week, the spinach smoothie was a favourite! (Find a link for the smoothie recipes below.)
In Maths we have finished our first unit on counting, ordering and comparing numbers and objects up to 10. We're now starting to partition numbers within 10 as we delve in to addition and subtraction in the coming weeks.
Week beginning 26th September 2022
This week we have moved on from poetry and started looking at instructions. See if your child can remember the actions for the time connectives used - ‘First, Then, Next, After that and Finally’. To help us remember our instructions we had a go at following some on how to make a jam sandwich. Yum yum!
In DT this week we have continued our theme of food tasting and tried a variety of fruit and vegetables. Strawberries and bananas were a big hit, spinach wasn’t so popular. Maybe they’ll change their minds next week when they try it in a smoothie!
Week beginning 19th September 2022
Continuing with poetry, this week Willow have been learning about rhyming couplets. We have made up actions and words to a new poem ‘Spaghetti, Spaghetti’ see the words below and ask you child if they remember the actions!
During our PSHE circle time, the children came up will 9 simple rules for us to follow, to help maintain a safe and happy classroom.
In DT the children have enjoyed learning the difference between fruit and vegetables and where they grow - underground, above ground or in a tree/brush/vine. We’ve played games to help us remember and been surprised by some of the findings - did you know rhubarb, botanically, is a vegetable and peppers and cucumbers are fruits. See if your child can remember why?!
Week beginning 12th September 2022
The children in Willow this week have worked extremely hard and coped really well in learning the new routine of Year 1.
It's been an exciting week in English as we start the year with poetry. The children have been touching, tasting, smelling and looking at the different characteristics of Jelly, learning the words to and making up actions for 'Jelly on a Plate'. See if your child can remember any words or actions for some of the other fun food poems we came up with.
Our afternoons have been equally as busy as we have been learning about primary and secondary colours in Art, what is meant by the past and present in History and discussing how it feels and what it means to belong, as the children share with their peers the different clubs and communities they belong to. I for one feel very lucky to belong to Willow class. They should be very proud of what they have achieved this week already.
Week Beginning 28th November 2022
This week Year 1 have started a new unit in Maths learning the names, describing the features and sorting 3D shapes. The children enjoyed building towers and describing what shapes they had used, we all agreed a sphere would not be suitable and cones and pyramids could only feature on top.
In English this week the children have worked hard learning to read and spell tricky words, playing multiply games of bingo and putting them into simple sentences, helping us to get ready to retell our story “Jesus’ Christmas Party” next week.
In Art we drew our family in the style of Paul Klee, using the different lines learnt so far this term and in Computing the children learnt about decomposition, which is a problem solving technique that is essential to computer science. By breaking down instructions in to simple steps, we can clearly source bugs (mistakes) in our algorithm (instructions) and fix them.
And finally we have started to get festive by ending the week making Christmas decorations and practising our songs for Wednesday’s church performance. They have been on repeat in class so the children should be singing them in their sleep (I know I am).
Week beginning 5th December
This week in Willow we took a walk to the newly refurbished St Mary’s church in Ely, where the children sang Christmas songs along side Reception and Year 2. Due to some minor technical issue they rocked it acapella!
In English we finished our unit on Jesus’ Christmas party and we are a step closer to finishing our moving books as we spent time cutting, sticking and constructing it in DT. In Geography we learnt the compass points and had a go at debugging a set of simple instructions in Computing.
Next week will be a fun filled finishing off topic work week and time to enjoy some Christmas arts and crafts.
