Dear lovely Year 1 children and families,

Wow, it was so wonderful to see so many of you this week in our Zoom session! We loved hearing what you’ve been up to and seeing your smiling faces again. We were very glad to see you seem to be doing well at home. It has also been so lovely to see the work you have been doing; please keep sending this to our class email addresses!

SUMMER 1: WEEK 4

Phonics:

Continue with your flashcards for phase 5. If you’d like to, try watching a Mr Thorne video (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqh11DN6jmbBHVCDeYtWRgJcZLowiu9cv)  - scroll down to choose your sound.

Afterwards, you could try to write 5 words which contain that sound.

Reading:

Please keep on reading every day! Use all the skills we’ve practised – phonics, sounding out and blending, picture/context cues, missing out the word and finishing the sentence to see if you can work it out.

If you find a really great book, perhaps you could write us a book review. This would tell us the title and author of the book and what you thought of it. Why did you like it? What was your favourite part? Who were your favourite characters? Do you think we would like to read it? You could even draw us a picture.

English:

This week and next, we were going to be reading “The Tin Forest” by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson. You can listen to the book being read here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j_XPFxy5js

Talk with a grown up about the story. Did you like it? Why/why not? Where does the old man live? How does he spend his days? Why do you think he does this? What does he want?

SPaG: Do you remember verbs (action words) from last week’s instructions? Can you find 5 in the story and mime these actions to your grown up?

When we want to say the action has already happened, we have to change the verb. Can you say the new verb for the following: Tomorrow I will walk, yesterday I walked? Repeat for jump, shout, play, wash, kick. What sound are you adding to the end? Which 2 letters would make this sound? Now try to write the new verbs i.e. walked etc

Do this again, but this time imagine you are doing the action now! Can you say the new verb? Yesterday I walked, now I am walking. Repeat – say the new verb, work out the sound being added and write the words.

On the first page of the book we learn there was a place “filled with all the things that no one wanted.”  Can you write a list of all the things you think would be there? E.g. a bike with a bent wheel. Remember how a list is different to our usual writing (each idea on a new line).

Describing the settings: Watch the video again and look at the wasteland at the start:

What adjectives could you use to describe it and the rubbish there?                                                                           

 You can refer to the list you write e.g. rusty bike. Some of you might remember using similes at school – for a spicy challenge you could try using one by comparing the object to something else – shattered glass, as sharp as a knife.

Repeat this activity for the green forest at the end of the story. 

Finally, can you pretend to be the old man in the story? Put on your imaginary glasses, wind an imaginary scarf around your neck… Choose either the wasteland or the forest and imagine you are looking at that setting out of the small window in your small house. Can you describe to me what you can see? Try to use adjectives to help me imagine the same picture as you have in your head and try to use some conjunctions (https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-e-007-conjunctions-word-mat) so that your writing doesn’t sound like a list;                                                                                                   

 I look out of my window and see tall mountains of grey metal. Some of the metal is rusty and brown because it has been abandoned in the rain.

Maths:

This week in maths we were meant to be learning about capacity. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view(!), this means the work will be mainly practical and talk-based.

First, find 6 containers which can hold water e.g. jar, water bottle, jug, butter tub etc. Talk with your grown up about which you think will hold the most and least water. Can you fill and half fill a container?

Fill one container and choose another. Predict what will happen when you pour all the water from one into the other. Will it spill over, or not fill? Repeat with other pairs of containers.

Choose a large container and a small container. How many times do you think you could fill up the small container and empty into the large one until it is full? (Children often scoop some water into the smaller container in this activity but fail to fill it to the top so do check this!) Can you write a prediction and the result for each pair that you try? Were your guesses close?

If you have a measuring jug at home, perhaps you could look at how we measure amounts of liquids and the words we use. Discuss litre and millilitre (and mention pints if your container uses these). Have lots of goes at filling the jug to a certain capacity.

If you would like to try some investigative maths, you could try answering these questions:

Using just 1, 4, 5, +, - and = how many different number sentences can you write? (Your answers can be different to these numbers!)

If you have some coins at home, work out all the different ways you could have 9p in your pocket. How about 14p? 25p?

As always, we will set a further maths game on Abacus. Abacus emailed us this week to say that they are upgrading something on the website again so if you have had your login details saved where you sign in, you may have to enter these again – sorry!

Science:

If you are able to go outside in your garden or for a walk, how many different types of leaves can you find? You may be able to collect some samples (if they have fallen) or take photos or make sketches. Ask a grown up to help you identify which tree they came from (something like this may help you https://www.discoverthewild.co.uk/post/british-tree-leaves-sheet).

Topic (Humanities: Geography):

This week we are journeying (virtually!) to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. As before, please find out where it is, locate it on a map and find out some facts about what is there to visit. Could you present your findings to a grown up/sibling/teddy and convince them to visit? This could be on paper or as a verbal presentation.

Music:

Charanga lesson. I know some people have struggled to log on as they don’t have the details. They were sent home on paper in the last week of term but may well have been misplaced at either end! Mrs Nichol can send your details if you email Mrs Ina in the office and ask.

PE:

Mr Roberts will send the links for PE at the usual time on a Friday morning via ParentMail. We would also have been starting some Rounders skills this term so perhaps you could work on your throwing and catching skills? Keep your eye on the ball, make a “basket” shape with your hand, bend your knees to be ready to move your feet to catch the ball.

Art:

Could you find (or use from your Science) some leaves to take rubbings on? A crayon is better than a coloured pencil for this. Experiment to find out the best way of arranging your leaves or using different colours.

In a link to our Tin Forest work, perhaps your chose colours could reflect those in the forest at the end (greens, yellows, reds and blues). You could also try rubbing foil over the backside of a leaf and creating imprints. 

French: Madame Naylor would like you to  look at this short video with your child. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNk42Ax89YY  then help your child to practise the correct pronunciations for as long as necessary. 

Children, draw a large, clear picture of yourself, showing head and shoulders, even showing your fingers and toes.  Now, using some of the body parts you are learning in the video in French, try labelling some areas of your body, for example, by drawing lines leading to your arm, your ear, your mouth.  You do not need to use all of the body parts in the video.  Just a few would be perfect! 

Stay safe and well, and remember that these activities are just suggestions. Feel free to choose any other learning you feel suits you and your child/ren and don’t feel under any pressure to complete tasks. We know you may be trying to juggle other children and your own work. The health and well being of you and your family is our priority.

Do let us know if we can offer any help or support,

Year 1 teachers x