Year 1 English- Following Instructions
To kickstart their new English unit on instructional texts, Year One had to listen to a series of instructions and carry them out in order to create and complete an obstacle course. They thoroughly enjoyed this and were very good at it. Year One spotted that instructions contain both time conjunctions and verbs. They will also learn that adverbs can be a useful part of instructional writing too. What a fantastic start to our unit and even better that it was during mental health week as we know how important exercise is to keep us happy and healthy.
Year 6 English - Explanation Texts
This week, Year 6 have begun their new English topic on explanation texts. They have been learning all about the key features of this text type. In particular, they have been identifying and writing sentences that contain adverbials, causal conjunctions and relative clauses. The children have learned that these devices help to create cohesion or add extra information.
Year 4 - English: Debates
We love a good discussion in Year 4, and with our new English topic being “Debates”, we certainly have a chance to shine! After a little research into deforestation, we recorded some of the reasons mass tree felling occurs, followed by a look at the positive and negative effects. We then went on to sorting the effects into two piles - for and against. It became evident to the children that there were more reasons not to fell so many trees than to continue, we will see what their finished balanced arguments look like.
Year 3- English- Identifying features of a playscript
In English, Year 3 looked at what makes a playscript and how it’s different from a regular story. To get ready for writing their own playscripts based on the film Soar, they worked with familiar stories like Jack and the Beanstalk, The Gingerbread Man, and Little Red Riding Hood. There were plenty of giggles as they acted out different parts, which really helped them think about how to make things exciting for an audience, use stage directions, and figure out timing and scenes.
Year 1 Presentation of Learning
Last week, Year 1 performed ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ to the whole school. They have been focusing on story mapping and reciting this story by heart in their English lessons before they take it one step further and write their own innovated versions of the story. Well done Year 1 for using your clear, rhythmic voices and having brilliant accompanying actions. It was wonderful to see so many other children remembering the story from when they were in the infants.
Year 5 Writing: Diary Entries
In English, Year 5 have been reading “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens and have now started writing diary entries from the perspective of Oliver. The focus has been on fronted adverbials, describing feelings and the senses, as well as using ambitious vocabulary to make their writing more descriptive. All of the children have produced some super writing!
Year 6 Independent Writing
Year 6 have begun their independent pieces of writing, based on the model text: Macbeth. They have been focusing on using a range of adverbial openers, descriptive sentences, the senses, figurative language and ambitious vocabulary. The aim was to create descriptions which made the reader experience a feeling of unease, which the children have done brilliantly!
Reading News
*READING* Please find here some posters that I have created for the news library books and recommended reads. They are going to be displayed in our school library but I thought it would be useful to share them with you all so that you can support and influence the choices that your child makes with regards to their reading book. For example, if your child has just finished reading the Dog Man sequel and they are looking for similar books, you can make reference to these posters for recommendations. If yourself and your child decide on a book together, then it is worth jotting this down in their reading record so that their class teacher or TA can help them to find it in the library. *BOOK DONATIONS* We try our best to keep our library up to date with new and exciting books. This includes newly released books that add to existing sequels. Therefore, we can't always replace the books that get destroyed due to general wear and tear and/or duplicate our extremely popular titles that many of our children want to read. With this in mind, please consider us when you are having a clear out of books that are still in good condition and are written by popular authors. Here is a list of some of our very popular authors although it is not exhaustive. Picture Books Julia Donaldson (The Gruffalo, Stick Man etc..) Sue Hendra (Supertato collection) Rachel Bright (The Lion Inside, The Squirrels Who Squabbled etc..) Michelle Robinson (Ten Fat Sausages, When Jelly Had a Wobble, When Ice Cream Had a Meltdown etc..) Alice Hemming (The Leaf Thief etc..) Kes Grey (Oi Frog! Ou Cat! Daisy and the Trouble With collection etc…) Oliver Jeffers (Lost and Found, How to Catch a Star etc..) Tom Percival (Ruby’s Worry, Ravi’s Roar etc..) Tom Fletcher (There’s a Monster In Your Book, There’s An Alien In Your Book, The Dinosaur That Pooped … etc..) Nathan Bryon (Clean up! Etc..) Nadia Shireen (The Bumblebear, Grimwood etc..) Short Reads and Novels Katie Kirby (The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks) Dav Pilkey (Dog Man, Cat Kid collection, Captain Underpants) John Patrick Green (InvestiGATORS collection) Liz Pichon (Tom Gates collection) Andy Griffiths (Storey Treehouse collection) Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid collection) Pamela Butchart Aaron Blabey (Bad Guys collection) Pip Bird (The Naughtiest Unicorn collection)Swapna Haddow (Dave Pigeon) Rachel Renée Russell (Dork Diaries) Dick King Smith (The Queen’s Nose etc..) Andy Stanton (Mr Gum) Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon) Neill Cameron (Freddy Vs...) Helen Rutter (The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh etc..) J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Collection) Eva Ibbotson Lisa Thompson Phillip Pullman Jeremy Strong Roald Dahl Jacqueline Wilson Michael Rosen Helen Cresswell Malorie Blackman Maz Evans Michael Morpurgo Katie and Kevin Tsang David Baddiel Many thanks, Miss Flynn, English Leader
Year 6 - English
Year 6 have been working hard on studying Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They have focused on the opening scene that takes place upon a heath and have used this as inspiration for their own narrative opening. They have had to create their own atmospheric and character descriptions followed by some dialogue that advances the action.
Reception: Challenge Champions
This week in Reception, we are focusing on the story, Sharing a Shell. The children have been really busy in provision completing challenges. They have been attempting to write sentences, strengthening their muscles in the fine motor area, creating rockpools, drawing fish, painting using the skills of Pointillism, counting shells to play a subitise game and moulding the playdough to create different characters from the story. Well done!
Year 4 English - Identifying and Discussing Dilemmas
In our English lesson today we looked at identifying and discussing dilemmas. A dilemma is a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made. We watched a clip called ‘French Roast’ where a homeless man asks a rich businessman for help. He declines but then needs a favour back when he is robbed of his wallet by a thief. The children then worked on two poems - I did a bad thing once written by Allan Ahlberg and Please Mrs Butler . Both have hidden dilemmas which the children identified. Finally we developed our voice 21 skills by rehearsing our performance poetry.
Year 3- English- Identifying features of a shape poem
This week in English, Year 3 have been identifying features of shape poems. To get the children inspired, I read some shape poems aloud, and they used their whiteboards to draw the amazing images that popped into their minds. They were incredibly creative. We also identified key features of shape poems, such as how their shape reflects the subject matter and how they often use vivid language to bring the poem to life. The children read a variety of shape poems, including examples like a mountain, a tree, a snowflake, and a raindrop, which helped the children understand how these unique forms can enhance the meaning and impact of a poem.