Year 1
Measuring in cm
Today in Year 1 we spoke about Faith Stories. We heard the Islam Faith story of Bilal, the first muezzin.
We discussed the key events and the characters, and took part in activities to help us to understand important parts of the story.
A Slave Set Free
Bilal was a slave to a cruel master named Umaya. Umaya was a rich man and had many slaves, all of whom he treated very badly.
Umaya decided to test the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He gave Bilal a cane, and ordered him to strike one of the Prophet’s friends. Umaya was certain that a slave would never disobey his master. However, Bilal refused to do this, as he believed Muhammad’s teachings of equality and of Allah, the one true God.
Umaya immediately had him thrown into prison. The next day, Bilal was thrown to the ground and covered in heavy rocks. As they began to crush his body, he was heard calling out “One true God, one true God’.
The Prophet’s close companion, Abu Bakr, heard Bilal’s calls and was moved by his story. He freed him and made him the first prayer caller of Islam.
Bilal became the first muezzin.
The children used paint to create artwork that shows the emotion Bilal may have been feeling at different point in the story. The children carefully considered the colours and brush strokes to make sure it represented each feeling.
The children also built their own models of a mosque. They were asked: “Where would Bilal be standing to call to prayer?”
Models were created with minaret towers, and the children created special places for Bilal to stand to begin calling people to worship for the first time.
Attacking & Defending
This term we have been learning about attacking and defending skills in PE. The children have been considering tactics and strategies, and discussing how these skills would assist them in a game scenario.
Measuring in cm
This week during our maths sessions we have been learning about measurement. The children started off using Cuisenaire rods to measure objects around our classroom, and then the childred discovered that the rods could be used to measure in cm! The children had time to use rulers to measure objects more accurately.
Habitat Dioramas
This week in Science we were looking at large habitats. The children had time to research a large habitat and then were challenged to create this habitat in a shoe box! Year 1 were very creative and worked so well in groups to produce some very detailed dioramas.
Planting Cress Seeds
This week the children learnt that in order to grow healthily, plants need; water, light and the right temperature. We also had a discussion around the need for soil, as the children spotted that we did not use soil to plant our cress seeds. As the seed contains everything it needs to begin to grow, some seeds do not need soil to germinate. This was an excellent observation from the children, who went on to work in teams to plant their cress seeds. We have been filling in a diary each morning to record our observations.
Monet’s Garden
This week the children have been looking at French painter, Claude Monet. We discussed his life and looked at pictures of his beautiful gardens in Giverny. The children then used cotton buds and paint to give colour to an outline of Monet’s garden. The artwork is looking wonderful, and each painting is original in texture and colour.
Making Doubles
The children have been looking at doubling and halving in maths this week. We played a dice game whereby the children had to calculate the double as they rolled the dice. They then coloured in the answer. We have also been using tens frames to investigate further, looking at odd and even numbers in relation to doubles and halves.
Tens and Ones
To kick off Maths this term we have been looking at place value! The children were challenged to look at numbers 11-20 using the language of ’10 and some more’. The children first used familiar resources to build these numbers as 10 and some more, and then we moved on to using base-10 equipment to see how we can use tens and ones to regroup. This was a tricky concept but the children worked very hard and persevered well.
What makes some places special for believers?
This term we have started our RE topic by discussing significant places, and why some places such as churches, mosques and synagogues are special for believers. The children spent time exploring photographs linking to either Christianity, Islam or Judaism and wrote down some questions based on what they had spotted. We also had a look at some artefacts that you are likely to find in these places of worship.
Fixing a Broken Umbrella
Last week the children had an exciting parcel arrive at school addressed to Year 1. As the children opened the package, they discovered a broken umbrella and a note from Miss Wall’s friend Olivia. Miss Wall had told Olivia all about how well the children had worked through our Everyday Materials topic, so Olivia asked the children if they could put their skills to the test to fix her ripped umbrella! The children rose to the challenge, by grouping and categorising different materials according to their properties, then planning an investigation to find out which material was the most waterproof. We agreed on plastic from a shopping bag and some oil cloth, then the children realised that one of those materials wasn’t very strong and stretched easily. The umbrella was finally fixed with thick, durable and waterproof oil cloth, so Oliva can now go out in the rain! Well done Team Year 1!
Exploring Commutativity
The week the children have been exploring commutativity. We used multilink to show as many ways as we could of making the same total, and proved that addition can be done in any order!
Gymnastics
Year 1 have been working on their gymnastics skills. We focussed on jumping this week, and discussed the importance of safety and landing correctly from our jumps. The children worked so well as teams to ensure that our benches were stable as each child perfected their jumps!
Science – Magnetic Games!
This week the children investigated magnets! The class were given a magnet each and were challenged to go on a magnetic material hunt. Year 1 found lots of objects that were magnetic, such as the chair and table legs, nails from the wooden furniture and door handles. The children then used their magnets, paper clips and string to create their own games! We had fishing games with lots of different creatures and some tricky magnetic mazes!
Harvest Festival
The children really enjoyed their first trip to St John the Baptist Church for our Harvest Festival service. Year 1 created beautiful themed artwork to share and were very respectful throughout their visit. We sang our Harvest Samba song and listened to other classes share their work.
The Great Fire of London – Rebuilding the City!
The children have been so enthusiastic about our Topic so far, and have completed some fabulous writing and artwork linked to The Great Fire of London. In this week’s session, children were challenged to take on the role of architects from 1666. They were working for King Charles II to rebuild a safer London. In groups, Year 1 designed a safer street and explained why they had made each change. We had lots of very well explained adjustments such as houses that were further apart, and using brick as our building material instead of wood. We definitely have a few budding builders in our midst!
Science – Does it float?
This week Year 1 have continued to investigate everyday materials. The children worked in groups to predict which objects would float and which would sink. They then tested each object and recorded their observations in to a table, making sure to record the material not the object (e.g. marble listed as glass, lego brick listed as plastic).
Number Conservation
This week the children have been learning about number conservation. We used different objects and resources to represent numbers to 10. The children discussed the different representations and spotted that although the resources looked different, the value had remained the same.
The Great Fire of London
The children have been creating wonderful artwork using chalk this week. We looked at various different paintings of the fire, and discussed how we know that the fire happened. The children remembered Samuel Pepys and were interested to learn that most of the information we know today came from his diary! We will be adding houses using black sugar paper to our art once our fires are finished.
Everyday Materials
This week Year 1 have continued to investigate materials. We have been able to identify different materials around us, and can differentiate between and object and the material it is made of. This week the children began to group and classify different materials according to their properties.
