Spring 2 

This half term, children have consolidated their place value knowledge by learning numbers to 50. We have partitioned numbers into tens and ones, which the children really enjoyed. We have also continued to add and subtract numbers within 50 and compare them using greater than and less than. To finish off the half term, children have learnt about weight and capacity; comparing the weights of different objects and discussed vocabulary such as heavier and lighter.

In English, children have learnt the story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ which is a rags to riches tale. Children spent lots of time looking at the structure of the text and identifying capital letters, full stop, exclamation marks and adjectives. Then, they innovated the story to create their own main character who transformed from rags to riches.

The children have really engaged in their Science unit, Plants, this half term. They had lots of knowledge about different types of garden and wild plants, as well as the structure of plants and trees which they built on further by classifying and sorting and identifying trees at Sheffield Botanical Gardens. During the trip to the Botanical Gardens, children displayed exemplary behaviour and represented Redscope to such a high standard. They were enthusiastic and actively participated in every part of the trip. It was a great opportunity to consolidate their learning about plants and they really wowed the volunteers with their knowledge and understanding.

Additionally, in Geography, children have been learning about their local area; Kimberworth Park. We discussed how Kimberworth Park is a suburb in a town called Rotherham. Children have used aerial photos and maps to describe the human and physical features of Kimberworth Park and even went on a local walk to learn more about these. They then discussed how there are lots of local amenities like a butchers, hairdressers, church, dentist and a doctors.

Finally, children have learnt about Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist who loves dots. Children have created clay sculptures of pumpkins and painted these in the same style as the artist. They even made their own box to display the pumpkin in which mirrored the art, just like Kusama.

Spring 1 

The children have settled back in well after the Christmas holidays.

We launched our new learning with a walked to Barkers Park to look at the seasonal changes that had occurred now that it is Winter. Children observed the cold temperature, the snow, the trees having no leaves and a lack of wildlife as signs of seasonal change. This local walk then helped our non-fiction unit in English; a recount. The children learned how to structure a recount in chronological order and to use time openers and past tense verbs. We then moved onto a narrative; specifically a warning tale. The children were really inspired by our suspense writing and produced some amazing pieces.

We have continued to consolidate place value in maths by looking at numbers to 20. Children have used concrete apparatus and pictorial representations to add, subtract and compare numbers within 20. We then moved on to measuring height and length.

In history, children have learned about the lives and times of two very significant individuals: Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. They were able to recall lots of facts about each Queen and how they changed the role of the monarchy. We then compared and contrasted the two Queens.

The children have really enjoyed learning about algorithms in computing and have undertaken several activities to create their own algorithms, debugging them when errors occur, using BeeBots.

Finally, we are really lucky to have had a specialist music teacher to teach percussion this half term. The children have looked at musical notes and have clapped and performed, with instruments, different beats.