Summer 2 - Week 5

15.07.16

Welcome to our last blog of this Year.  Hasn't it flown past.  It doesn't seem two minutes ago that I started in Year 1 at Westfield! I have had a fantastic year and your children are amazing.  I have loved every minute of teaching them and will miss them dearly next year. I really hope they will come back to say hello on the playground. 

It is clear to see from the children's behaviour, work and attitudes that they have come so far since they began in Year 1 and I know that they will continue to flourish as they move into Year 2.

In English, we have been reflecting on our learning within Year 1.  We took a trip down memory lane and went back to the first ever piece of writing that we did in Year 1! We were describing the mouse from the Gruffalo.  At this point in the year, the children had a lot of support but struggled to use capital letters and full stops and form some lletters.  We have been looking at all of the things we have learned in Year 1 and have rewritten the description of the mouse using 2a sentence, similes, 'and' sentences and even ! and ?. The transformation was fantastic to see.

In Maths, we have been learning about multiplication.  As you can see from our video post we are enjoying learning our 5 x table!! It is our favourite song to sing at the moment and I think you will agree, they sing it brilliantly. We have been using arrays to multiply and counted the groups in 2s, 5s and 10s.

In Science we have been learning about different animals and what they eat.  We learnt the words carnivore, herbivore and omnivore and sorted the animals into which category they fit into.  We also learnt that humans are omnivores because they eat meat and vegetables.

​This week has also been Olympic week.  We had an amazing torch relay and then an inspiring opening ceremony with 3 Olympians speaking to the children about what inspired them to train hard enough to be Olympic athletes.

May I take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support throughout the year. Have a lovely summer holiday!!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Summer 2 - Week 4

01.07.16

In English, we have been helping Blackpool zoo to find their escaped elephant! ;-) On Monday we had a letter from the zoo to tell us that Kate, their elephant had escaped and was on the lose.  We thought of adjectives and similes to describe her. We also used ? and ! to help write sentences to included in our posters. We made escaped posters when we heard that she was in our local area to put up using the super writing we had done throughout the week.

In Maths, we have been learning about multiplication.  We have been counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. Please could you help us with this at home.  We have counted arrays in 2s 5s and 10s and have drawn some of our own simple arrays to solve word problems.

In topic we have been learning about seaside holidays from the past. We compared the human and physical similarities and differences between the beaches in Blackpool,and Mexico. We all preferred Mexico beach as the sand was whiter and the sea was bluer!

This week we have had the chance to meet out new teachers Miss Mousdell and Mrs Turton.  We spent Wednesday and Thursday morning in their class and did lots of fun maths and English activities to show them how clever we are.  They were super impressed with our behaviour and wanted to keep up, but Miss Lodge said they couldn't because we are so super!!!

More children than ever are achieving spellings badges. Please bear with us if you tell us that your child is ready for testing as the timetable is jam packed at the moment with Olympics week next week and transition mornings this week.  We are trying our best to test as many as we can!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of the children in 1W.

Summer 2 - Week 4

01.07.16

In English, we have been working on our grammar.  We have been learning about prefixes (letters that go at the beginning of the word to change the meaning) and suffixes (letters that go at the end of the word.  We have been changing the meaning of words by adding un, e.g happy - unhappy.  We know that when we add un to a word it means 'not' or the opposite.  We have also been adding -er, ing and -est to the ends of words to change the tense.  We have also written a recount of our school trip to Blackpool Zoo and done some What am I clues for our favourite animal.

In Maths, we have been learning about partitioning tens and ones.  We can break numbers up into tens and ones. We can also use tens and ones sticks to make numbers.  We have also been practising telling the time to the hour and half hour.  If you could practise this with us at home that would be really helpful.

In Science we have been learning about mammals.  We know that a mammal is an animal that gives birth to their young.  We labelled some pictures of mammals.

In topic we have been learning about seaside holidays from the past. We looked at the human and physical geography of Blackpool and Scarborough and compared them.

Well done to all the children who have achieved their spellings badges this week. There have been more than ever!!!! Keep up your hard work.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Summer 2 - Week 3

26.06.16

In English, we have been reading 'The Lighthouse Keeper's lunch.' We designed a new lunch for Mr Grinling using plurals and we wrote a letter to him to tell him all about his new lunch.

In Maths, we have been learning about 3D shapes, specifically the difference between a cuboid and cube.  We have also been practising counting in 5s.

In Science we have been learning about amphibians. We learn that they have webbed feet and wet skin.  Some examples of amphibians are frogs, toads and newts. 

In topic we have been learning about seaside holidays from the past. We learnt that photographs were taken in black and white, that people covered all of their bodies and that buckets and spades used to be made from wood or metal.

On Friday we had a lovely trip to Blackpool zoo. When we arrived at the zoo, we saw some enormous elephants. They were doing their exercises.  We then  saw some birds and monkeys.  We walked across to the sea lion show and had some lunch there.  After dinner we saw lions, tigers, giraffes, gorillas and orangutans, as well as lots of reptiles. We had a lovely day and the children were fantastically well behaved.  All of the staff involved were very proud.  Thank you also to the welfare staff who gave up their day to come and help us out. 

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Summer 2 - Week 1

10.06.16

In English, we have been writing reading and following instructions on how to make a sandcastle.  We gave instructions to one another and have been focussing on using words like first and next as well as bossy verbs, such as put and mix. 

In Maths, we have been learning about number bonds.  We have been using a ten and twenty frame to calculate number bonds to ten and twenty.  We have been using these to help us find missing numbers.

In Science we have been learning about animals.  This week we were learning about fish.  We labelled a fish and talked about what the gills, fins and scales were for.  We also looked at different types of fish and talked about whether they were wild or pets.  Some of your children would like pet sharks!!! Just a heads up!!!

In topic we have been thinking about people who help us.  We invited in the mounted police before half term, but they couldn't attend but they are visiting us today so we are excited about that.

Please keep up the great work with learning the children's spellings for their spelling badges.  We have lots of children achieving their red badge now and some have received their orange!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Look at some of our fantastic writing!

We wrote some recounts to tell everyone about our Race for Life.  I have chosen three of the best examples to share with you.  I am so proud of the children's writing.  They have done a super job!!! I have had to edit some of the spellings, as they had used their sounds, but all of the punctuation and wording is their own!

Thomas:

First we put on a PE kit. Next we went to the small hall.  Then we ran around the field four times.  Finally we cooled down.  It was fun.  I felt happy.

Logan:

Today we raced for life.  First we put our PE tops and shorts and pumps on.  Next we went to the small hall.  Then we went to the soggy, wet field.  Then we started at the finish line and when Mrs Pennington blew the whistle we set off.  We ran very fast four times around the field.  Finally all the children went to cool down.  We were given a medal because we were joining in.  I was overjoyed. It was fun!

Suzanne:

Today we raced for life.  First we put our PE kits on.  Next we went to the small hall. Then we warmed up our bodies.  After that we walked to the soggy, wet field.  Mrs Pennington blew the loud and silver whistle to start us off.  We ran four times around the field.  The field was as big as a house.  All the 1Ws got a medal.  I felt exhausted! Finally we went back to the small hall and we cooled down.  Would you like to race for life?

Keep an eye out for more of our super writing!!

26.5.16

Race for Life

Today we raced for life for Cancer Research.  First, we got changed into our PE kits.  Next, we went to the small hall for a warm up.  Then we danced across the junior playground to the start line, ready to begin the race.  Mrs Pennington blew the whistle to start the race.  We ran, walked, skipped and jogged 4 times around the school field.  This was 1km. So in  total our class have run 30km for cancer research.  We cheered each other on and even  the teachers joined in.  Finally we danced and played pretend saxophones on our way back inside.  We cooled down and were all given a medal to celebrate our achievements.  It was fun! We are very proud of ourselves.

Lots of love from Year 1W

Summer 1 - Week 5

13.05.16

In English, we have been continuin our work on 'The Jolly Postman.'  This week we have been practising being fantastic storytellers and using story telling language such as: Once upon a bicycle, First, Next, Later that day, In the afternoon and Finally to make our stories flow smoothly.  We have also been using the word 'and' to make our sentences longer, but we have to make sure we don't use more than one in each sentence. We have rewritten the story of The Jolly Postman in our own words.

In Maths, we have been learning about money.  We have been recognising coins up to £2. We have been counting 2p, 5p and 10p coins using our knowledge of counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. We have also been using coins to make a given amount of money.

In Science we have been learning about plants. We looked at some sunflowers and the artist Vincent Van Gough.  We used his sunflowers painting as the inspiration for our Science and art work and did some observational drawings, using light feathery strokes and oil pastels.

In topic we have been learning about Florence Knightingale. We learnt about the work she did and wrote down some facts.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Summer 1 - Week 4

06.05.16

In English, we have been resding 'The Jolly Postman.'  This week we have used adjectives and similes to design a new character for the jolly postman to visit.  We wrote letters to him to tell him all about our new character.

In Maths, we have been learning about capacity.  We have been looking at containers that are full, empty, half full, half empty, nearly full and nearly empty.  We used the water tray at first, then coloured in containers to show their capacity.

In Science we have been learning about animals.  This week we were learning about what made a bird a bird.  We labelled the feathers, beak, breast and wings.

In topic we have been thinking about people who help us.  We went on a local walk to the post office.

Please keep up the great work with learning the children's spellings for their spelling badges.  We have lots of children achieving their red badge now and some have received their orange!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Midweek Update - Monday 25th April.

The children really wanted to share their work with the world today. They were asked to use a piece of software called purple mash to make a story.

Click here to see the story.

Summer Term 1: Week 2

22.04.16

Welcome back to the Summer Term! We have had a fantastic week, learning lots of new things. Well done to Leon Chaplin, who got our certificate this week for making super progress in Maths.  He can recognise and compare 'teen' numbers!!

In English, we have been continuing our work on poems.  We have been looking at a poem called Jump or Jiggle.  The poem is a rhyming poem about how animals move.  We performed the poem using actions and then made up our own poems using rhyming couplets!!!

In Maths, we have been learning about the value of numbers.  We have been looking at the amount of tens and ones in a number and using that information to help us work out which is the biggest or smallest number.  We have been using words such as greater and less to compare numbers, and we have been ordering 3 numbers from smallest to biggest.

In Science we have been learning about our bodies.  This week we learnt that we have 5 senses.  We investigated our different senses then thought of times we used each sense.

In topic we have been thinking about what job we would like to do when we grow up.  We have been thinking about where we would work and what our responsibilities would be.

Please keep up the great work with learning the children's spellings for their spelling badges.  We have lots of children achieving their red badge now and some have received their orange!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Summer Term 1: Week 1

15.04.16

Welcome back to the Summer Term! Hopefully we are due some summery weather sometime soon!! This is a really important term in school as the children continue to progress towards their end of year targets.  Our topic this term is 'People Who Help Us.' We will be learning about the different people who help us in our local area. Our role play area is a Post Office and the children are really enjoying writing letters and filling in forms in our role play area.

In English, we have been resding and performing poems.  We have learnt that some poems rhyme and some have rhythms and patterns.  We have used loud speaking voices and actions to perform the poems.  We have really enjoyed doing this! 

In Maths, we have been learning about the value of numbers.  We have been ordering numbers to 50 and 100 and thinking about one more and one less than a number.  We have also been learning how to find out ten more and ten less.

In Science we have been learning about our bodies.  Our topic will be animals, including humans. We played Simon says and sang heads, shoulders, knees and toes.  We labelled pictures of our bodies.

In topic we have been thinking about people who help us.  We made a mind map of all the people who we could think of that help us.  Some examples included our parents, teachers, the police, fire service, lollipop ladies, bin men and many more.  We talked about what we would like to be when we grow up and why.

Please keep up the great work with learning the children's spellings for their spelling badges.  We have lots of children achieving their red badge now and some have received their orange!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Play our "Name the body part" game.

Click here to match the words to the body parts. Press the back key to return to our blog page.

Spring Term 2: Week 3

11.03.16

We have had a wonderful school trip today.  First the children arrived at the farm.  We put down our bags and were able to hold and stroke some baby goats, lambs and chicks.  Then we had a bumpy tractor ride to the top of the hill, where we fed the donkeys. After that, we had a donkey ride and then we had our lunch.  In the afternoon we fed some of the animals and we watched the cows being milked.  We have had a super day and all of the children were fantastically well behaved and had super manners.  I was very proud of them and they represented Westfield well. Look at our pictures below!

In English, we have been reading the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  We have been retelling the story and using freeze frames to think about how the characters were thinking and feeling.  We have written adjectives to describe the giants and some of us have been learning the suffixes -er and -est and writing sentences including these. 

In Maths, we have been learning about shapes. We have been naming 2d and 3d shapes and talking about their properties.  We have been looking at everyday items and deciding which 3d shape they are.

In Science we have been on a plant hunt.  We looked for plants around our school grounds.  We found some daisies, buttercups, clover and dandelions.  We talked about what the plants were like and where they were growing.  We have also been looking after our seeds, which are really growing well now!

The children have also visited the book fair on Monday of this week.  Year 5 children chose a story to read to the Year 1s. Both classes really enjoyed it and it was a great success.

Next week it is parents evening.,  If you do not have an appointment please come in and book one to discuss your child's progress.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term 2: Week 2

04.03.16

What a fantastic week it has been this week. We have had a fabulous World Book Day.  The children loved coming in their fancy dress and could talk about their favourite book characters and favourite books.  The children, who got involved in the book exchange, were very happy with their newly exchanged cheap books!

In English, we have been continuing with our wordless book, called ‘Chalk.’  We have planned out our own adventure and written a story about it.  We have also written warning letters to warn other children not to draw anything scary with the magic chalk.  At the writing table we have been writing instructions on how to plant a seed - please ask us to teach you at home!!

In Maths, we have been learning about weight.  We have learnt how to compare weights using the language heavier and lighter.  We have been estimating and weighing using cubes and grams.  We used balance scales and had to watch carefully for each side to be equal.

In Science we have been learning about garden plants.  We have made a fact file about the plants that we may see growing in our gardens.  We talked about how plants are a habitat for insects as well as making our gardens look pretty.  We have been looking after our seeds that we planted last week too.  The cress seeds are growing lots and the peas have begun to sprout. We have been watering the plants everyday and making sure they have enough sunlight.

In Topic we have been learning about the land uses around Wigan.  We looked at google maps to see where there were shops, houses, countryside and roads.  We could spot the DW stadium.  We used the words rural and urban to describe the different areas of Wigan.

Next week (Mon 7th - 11th March) the book fair will be in school.  Please come along and have a look at the books with your child! Also don't forget you can spend your £1 book token from book day in Wigan at Waterstones and WH Smith.  These book shops stock the 'World Book Day' books, which only cost £1 in total - (stock subject to availability).

We are looking forward to next week as it is our first school trip on Friday!!! See you on Monday - have a lovely weekend.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term 2: Week 1

25.02.16

Welcome back after our half term holiday.  I hope you all enjoyed the break and are well rested ready for the term ahead. Our new topic this half term is 'Farmer Farmer.' In this topic the children will learn about where food comes from and how plants grow. 

Our achievement award this week goes to – Jamie Houghton- Jamie has come into school every day of this week and got straight on with his activities without being reminded.

In English, we have started a new wordless book, called ‘Chalk.’  It is about some children who find some magic chalk.  Everything that they draw in the magic chalk becomes real.  We have been thinking about and acting out what we would draw.  We have planned out who we would meet on our new adventure, how we would feel and what we would do.  We will be writing these stories next week!

In Maths, we have been learning about doubling and halving.  We have used cubes and counters to double by making towers that are exactly the same.  We can write doubling as an add sentence, e.g. 4 + 4 = 8 or a multiply sentence e.g. 4 x 2 = 8.  We have also been halving numbers by sharing them between two people.  We are very good at using the phrase ‘one for you, one for me’ to help share an amount in half.

In Science we have begun our new topic on growing.  We have planted some flower and vegetable seeds and we be learning how to care for them over the next few weeks.  We have a rota for watering our plants help them to grow.  We have also been learning about wild flowers.  We have looked at different wild flowers and talked about the flower and leaf shape and colour.  We talked about how important wild flowers were in creating habitats for other animals, such as insects and bees.

In Topic we have been thinking about our new topic 'Farmer Farmer.' We thought about what we would like to find out in our topic and the children asked some incredibly thought provoking questions, such as: How do cows make milk? How do chickens make eggs? What meat comes from pigs? etc.

Enjoy your weekend

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term: Week 5

05.02.16

Our achievement award this week goes to - Indie Davies- Indie has been doing super independent work this week.  She enjoys learning new things.

In English, we have started a new book by Oliver Jeffers, called 'How to catch a star.' This week we have been thinking about how we would catch a star.  We came up with some super ideas, such as climbing the Eiffel tower, using a super tall ladder and using balloons to fly! We thought about how the boy would feel and what he would be thinking in the story.  We have been beginning to use the words and and because to write longer sentences.

In Maths, we have been learning about subtraction and finding the difference. We have used counters and numberlines to help us to take away and we have been using cube towers and numberlines to help us to find the difference.  We even  solved some word problems today!

In Science we have been learning about materials.  This week we revisited our original spacesuit design that we did in the first week.  Now we know more about different materials we could improve our design and think of good reasons why certain materials would be better than others for the design.

In Topic we have been learning about Neil Armstrong.  We learnt about his life and how he was a test pilot before he worked for NASA as an astronaut. We wrote fact files all about him!

Enjoy your weekend

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term: Week 4

29.01.16

Our achievement award this week goes to - Thomas Unsworth- Thomas has been putting lots of extra effort into his sounding out and improvements are showing in his writing.

In English, we have been learning how to write sentences with 2 adjectives and a noun.  We have even used verbs in our writing this week.  On Tuesday we received a box of items from the little boy in the way back home story.  He had sent us some objects from space.  We used our senses to describe them and we wrote him a letter using adjectives, to say thank you.

In Maths, we have been learning about addition.  We have been using a numberline to add numbers together by jumping on.  We have also been practising counting on too. We worked hard to solve missing number problems on Friday.

In Science we have been learning about materials.  This week we have been investigating which materials are absorbent and not absorbent and magnetic and non magnetic.  We discovered that metals were magnetic, but not all metals were!.

In Topic we have been learning about Neil Armstrong.  We learnt about his life and how he was a test pilot before he worked for NASA as an astronaut.

Enjoy your weekend

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term: Week 3

22.01.16

We are working really hard in year 1 at the moment and lots of us are becoming more independent and beginning to work on our own more.

Our achievement award this week goes to - Lacie Jolley - Lacie's confidence is growing at school and it s showing in her work. Keep working hard and believing you can do it!

In English, we have been learning how to write sentences with 2 adjectives and a noun.  We have even used commas in our writing this week. An example of one of our sentences is: There were twinkly, bright stars in the sky. I think you will agree that this is very impressive in year 1! We have also been learning about plurals in our grammar lessons and how we add 's' to make a singular plural.

In Maths, we have been learning about place value of numbers.  We have been using dienes to make 2 digit numbers using tens and units.  We can tell you the number of tens and units in a number.  We have also been ordering and comparing numbers this week.  We are practising counting in 5s so please help us with this at home! The children have also learnt how to add ten and take away ten from 2 digit numbers using a 100 square. 

In Science we have been learning about materials.  This week we have been investigating which materials are stretchy and which are stiff.  We thought about our spacesuit design and where on the suit the stretchy materials would be needed and where on the suit the stiff materials would be needed.

In Topic we have been learning about Neil Armstrong.  We learnt about his moon landing and how he placed the American flag on the moon.

In PSHE we have been talking about how we can hurt each others feelings by saying unkind words. We likened this to squeezing toothpaste out of a tube and not being able to get it back in, i.e. not being able to take the unkind words back!

Enjoy your weekend

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term: Week 2

15.01.16

Another busy week it has been in Year 1!

Our achievement award this week goes to - Jack Parr -  For always giving 100% effort to all he does.

In English, we have been learning how to write questions, using question marks.  We thought about what we might like to ask the little boy in 'The Way Back Home' story and then hotseated one another to find out the answers to the questions.

In Maths, we have been learning to recognise coins and count out different amounts of coins! Please help us to practise this at home! We have played coin recognition bingo as well as playing coin dominos.

In Science we have been learning about materials.  This week we have been investigating which materials are opaque and which are transparent.  We thought about which parts of our spacesuit we would like to bee see through and which parts did not need to be see through.

In Topic we have been learning about space travel.  We made a timeline of the events that have happened in the history of space travel and labelled the people and animals who had been into space.

Enjoy your weekend

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Spring Term: Week 1

08.01.16

Welcome back after the Christmas break.  I hope everyone is well rested and excited for the New Year.  Happy New Year to you all! New year is a time for reflecting on targets and goals and we have been talking to the children this week about things they would like to get better at.  You will be pleased to here some said 'tidying my room!' 

Our achievement award this week goes to - Georgia Heyes -  For fantastic independent writing.  Georgia's writing was out of this world!

Our new topic this term is 'To Infinity and Beyond.'  In this topic the children will learn about Space, the planets and the history of space travel, as well as designing their own spacesuits choosing materials with the appropriate properties. Our Role Play area will be set up as a Spaceship!

In English, we have started a new book this term.  It is called 'The Way Back Home,' by Oliver Jeffers.  It is about a boy who flies his toy plane to space.  He crashes on the moon where he meets a martian who has also crashed.  They help one another to fix their vehicles and return home.  The children have been retelling the story this week, remembering to use capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. We acted out the story using finger puppets, which was lots of fun.

In Maths, we have been thinking about the events in the day and whether they happen in the morning or the afternoon. We have sequenced the events in the day and put them in time order of when they happen.  We have also been learning the days of the week and the months of the year! If you would like to help your child with this please share the videos attached.

In Science we have been learning about materials.  This week we talked about why spacemen need a spacesuit.  We designed our first spacesuit to show our teachers what we know about materials. We chose which materials each part will be made out of and discussed why that material was a good choice.

In Topic we have been learning about space travel.  We researched Space travel and found out the America and Russia had a race to space and that America won, that fruit flies, monkeys and dogs have been sent to space and that the moon is a big rock with craters in it.

Enjoy your weekend

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 7

17.12.15

Our little elf Buddy has been returned to the North Pole to help Santa get ready for his big night.  He wrote us a letter telling us how good we had been and how much he enjoyed being in our classroom over Christmas.  We enjoyed having Buddy too, even if he did cause a little mischief!!

Our achievement award this week goes to - Megan Wooton -  For being a more independent learner and wanting to learn new things all the time.

This week we have been very busy! We had a super Christmas party on Monday.  In the morning, we made Christmas party hats and place mats for the tables and in the afternoon we played lots of party games.  There were some gorgeous outfits and Christmas jumpers and lots of great dancers too.

We have also been making Christmas cards to bring home. We used different fingerprints to make the robins brown fur, red breast and the snow in the sky.  We enjoyed getting our fingers messy and getting out the festive glitter!!

We have also used clay to make snowman decorations for our Christmas trees.  We had to squeeze and mould the clay to make it the right shape and then use different clay tools and joining techniques to attach the snowman's head tp his body!

The children have worked really hard this term and deserve a well earned rest over the Christmas holidays.  They are a fantastic class and I am very proud of them all.  I wish you all a very happy Christmas and hope Santa brings all everyone was hoping for. 

See you all in the new year 2016!!

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 6

06.12.15

Our little elf Buddy has been up to his usual tricks this week.  He turned our book shelf up side down, he has been playing with our cars and our lego at night and he even made us a new Christmas workshop small world area.

Our achievement award this week goes to - Laiba Panthan-  For writing fantastic 2A sentences and using capital letters, full stops and commas! -  well done.

English

In English, we have been learning how to write a 2A sentence.  This is a sentence with 2 adjectives followed by a noun, for example: a shiny, red bike.  The children first identified the noun, then thought of 2 adjectives to describe it.  A naughty elf had jumbled up all of the letters at the North Pole, so we re-wrote our letters to Father Christmas using our super new adjectives! We think he will be really impressed.  Mr Sherriff was!

Maths

In maths we have been continuing our work on fractions. We have been reading fractions and colouring the correct amount of the shape as well as writing our own fractions to match.  We have also sorted fractions and solved a tricky fractions problem - Can you half a half?

Science

This week we learnt about animals that hibernate and migrate.  The children came up with lots of interesting suggestions for animals that hibernate, which challenged their teachers; so we did some shared learning to find out that some snails do hibernate.

Computing

In computing we have been using logits to measure how hot and cold different areas of our school are.  The hottest place was the middle phase corridor and the coldest place was the MUGA.

Topic

In topic we have been learning about compass points.  We used the beebots to travel north, south, east and west on an enlarged world map.  We also labelled our maps with the equator, the arctic and Antarctic circle, and the north and south poles.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and don't forget Christmas party day is on Monday, so the children can wear their own party clothes. 

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 5

05.12.15

This week we have had the arrival of a little elf from Santa.  He is called Buddy and has been causing lots of mischief in our classroom.  The children have been writing letters to Santa to tell him about all the mischief he has been causing.  He even took Miss Lodge's camera and took an '(s)elfie!!' Boo boom!!! Also the children wrote myself and Mrs Grimes a shopping list for all of the things we needed to buy to decorate our Christmas tree.

Our achievement award this week goes to - Ryan Rickard-  For doing extra maths at home. Ryan did extra calculations and got them all right - well done.

English

In English, we have been using adjectives and similes to describe Father Christmas.  We came up with some super ideas and today we wrote some fantastic descriptions of what he looked like.  Mrs Stubbs posted them off to the North Pole to show Father Christmas our wonderful writing.

Maths

In maths we have been learning how to find half and a quarter of a shape.  We have learnt that a half means two equal pieces and a quarter means four equal pieces.  We have cut and folded our own shapes as well as colouring different fractions.

Science

This week we made observational drawings of the trees.  We revisited the seasons and talked about what the weather was like in each season.  We learnt the weather symbols that weather forecasters use in their report and we even made our own (see video.)

Computing

In computing we have made a pictogram to show our favourite kind of weather.  We used our own pictures to make one on the carpet, then made one on the computer to match.

Topic

In topic we have been learning about cold places.  We have found out lots of facts about Antarctica and the Arctic.  We have also been collaging arctic animals in the shared area.

I wonder what mischief Buddy will get up to over the weekend! Well done Year 1.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 4

20.11.15

This week has been writing week and as you m ay well have heard it has been very exciting. On Monday a mysterious egg appeared on the ALPs area cordoned off by police tape.  The 'CCTV' footage from school showed a spaceship flying over the ALPS and dropping the mysterious egg.  We thought it was an alien egg.  On Tuesday there were 3 fingered handprints all around our school.  Some of our classrooms had been disturbed by the alien.  We had a video message from the mummy alien asking if we could use adjectives to help her find her baby!

Our achievement award this week goes to - Georgia Heyes-  For always being a good friend to all and always being helpful.

English

In English, we have been using adjectives to verbally describe our alien egg in the ALPs for newsround.  We videoed one another describing what we could see.  There were photos of the baby alien all around our school and outside and we used these to come up with super adjectives and similies to help the mummy alien find her baby.  We wrote some super lost posters and the children did their best writing yet in year 1. I was very proud of all of them!

Maths

In maths we have been learning how to subtract numbers to 10.  We have done subtraction by taking away with cubes, crossing out pictures and we have been trying to write number sentences too. We also looked at how subtraction is less and talked about the vocabulary of subtraction.

Art

In art this week, we made alien handprints.  We dipped our hands in the paint and printed them onto paper.  We then used glitter, pom poms, pipe cleaners and jewels to decorate our handprint and make it look like an alien.

Computing

In computing we have been learning how to use a computer to draw pictures. We used 2simple to draw pictures of an alien, in partners.

We have had a super fun writing week and produced some fabulous work. Well done Year 1.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes, Mrs Stubbs and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 3

20.11.15

The children have been working hard at school this week, as ever. Our achievement award this week goes to - Indie Davies-  For always trying her very best in writing. Due to this extra effort Indie is making good progress - well done.

English

This week we been continuing with our story of 'The Snail and the Whale' by Julia Donaldson.  We have been learning to describe characters using adjectives and similies.  We learnt that a character is a person from the story.  We looked at two scenes from the 'Snail and the Whale' story and described the different characters we could see, using adjectives and similes, for example The firemen were as brave as soldiers.  On Friday, we pretended to be the snail and wrote a thank you letter to the whale!

Maths

In maths we have been learning how to add numbers within 10.  We have learnt how to count out the two different amounts, then count them all together.  We have also been learning how to add by putting a number in our heads and counting on from that number.  When we do our adds, Miss Lodge encourages us to count on from the biggest number.

Topic

In topic, this week, we have been learning about the line that goes around our Earth, called the Equator.  We talked about the fact that countries nearer the equator are very hot.  We pretended we were going to a hot country and packed a suitcase of all the things we would need to take with us!

Science

In Science, we have been learning about shadows.  We have learnt that shadows are made when the light cant pass through an object.  We used the projector and whiteboard in our classroom to make shadow puppets.  We also experimented with torches to see how shadows changed as the objects were close or far from the light.

Computing

In computing we have been learning how to make pictograms on a computer to show information.  This week we drew npictures of our favourite weather.  We used a tally to count up how many people liked snow, rain, sun, wind or cloudy weather best.  We will use our symbols and pictures to make a pictogram next week.

Well done to everybody.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 2

06.11.15

We have had a super exciting week in Year 1 this week! Our achievement award this week goes to - Jenson Brennan-  For looking after his friends.  Jenson always helps anyone who is struggling and helps people who have hurt themselves.

English

This week we been continuing with our story of 'The Snail and the Whale' by Julia Donaldson.  We have been learning to describe setting using adjectives and similies.  We thought of adjectives and similies to describe both the hot and cold places that the snail goes to.  We used these adjectives and similes to help us to write a postcard home, from the snail.

This week we also had our very exciting pantomime production of 'Aladdin' for the children.  All the children thoroughly enjoyed the performance and joined in calling out the 'Oh no he didn't' and 'he's behind you's!'

Maths

In maths we have been looking at number bonds.  We have been using our part part whole model to break whole numbers into two parts and record these.  We have used this model to help to show us how to parts combine to make a whole and this will lead us onto into addition.

Topic

In topic, this week, we have looked at a world map.  We have talked about the equator and the North and South Poles.  We coloured our map to show which countries were hot and which were cold.

Science

In Science, we have been learning about the sun.  We have learnt that it is a very hot ball of fire made of gasses, it is a long way away and that the planets move around the sun.  We drew pictures of the sun and added our facts onto the picture.  As well as that we have been looking at the position of the sun in the sky at different times of the day.  In the morning the sun is over Mr Sherriffs office, at lunchtime over Mrs Evan's class and in the afternoon over the nursery. 

Computing

In computing we have been learning how to make pictograms on a computer to show information.  This week we made a pictogram to show our favourite fruits. 

A super week children.  Keep it up.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 1

06.11.15

Welcome back to what is always a very busy term in the run up to Christmas! We have had a super first week back.

Our achievement award this week goes to - Chloe Nsemba-  For always being kind and friendly to others and giving 100% effort in all she does!

English

This week we have started a new book called 'The Snail and the Whale' by Julia Donaldson.  This book tells of a little sea snail who wants to travel the world as opposed to being stuck on a rock in the middle of the ocean.  He is helped out by a friendly whale, who takes him on his tail. This week we have been thinking of adjectives to describe the snail and thinking of similes to add detail to our descriptions of the snail.

Maths

In maths we have been looking at number patterns.  We have been working out which numbers are odd and even with the help of our dinosaur friends Bod and Steven.  We have been counting in 2s and in 10s so please help us to practise this at home!

Topic

Our new topic this term is 'Hot and Cold.' This week we have looked at a globe and identified land and sea.  We have talked about countries that we have visited and what a country is.  We talked about how some countries are hot and others are cold.  We have also been enjoying playing in our new role play area, which is a travel agents. (see pictures!)

Computing

In computing we have been learning how to make pictograms on a computer to show information.  This week we made a pictogram to show our favourite sport.  Some children even had a go on their own on 2count at making pictograms to show Year 1s eye colours and favourite colours.

What a fantastic start to our new term year 1. Keep up your hard work.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 8

23.10.15

Well done to all of these children in 1W who have achieved 100% attendance this term.

Lewis, Leon, Suzanne, Indie, Kacey, Alfie, Georgia, Logan, Abbie, Georgia, Logan, Abbie, Chloe, Jack, Ryan and Megan.

Our achievement award this week goes to - Demi-Leigh-  For a super start at Westfield school.  Demi Leigh joined us this week as has joined in with all activities with a smile on her face!

English

This week we have had a spooky theme.  We had a visit from a terrifying witch, who bought us a list of ingredients to make a magic.  We followed the instructions and made the potion.  Unfortunately, a little bit spilled onto Mrs Grimes and turned her into a dog!!! Luckily, we said the magic words ABRACADABRA and managed to turn her back! Phew! We wrote a list of ingredients to make our own gruesome potions and wrote instructions using time connectives; such as first, next, after that and finally.

Maths

In maths we have been collecting data about our favourite Halloween costumes. We have used tally charts to record the data.  We then made pictograms to show what our favourite costume was.  We have also been finding all of the possible outfit options for a skeleton using 2 different hat choices and 2 different cape choices!

Topic

As part of our topic work, we have been learning about our local area.  We have transformed the generous donations of junk into some super models.  (Please see pictures) I think you will be impressed! We made the DW stadium, our school and a row of terraced houses.  We used different joining techniques and thought carefully about the colours and sizes of paintbrushes to paint the different areas.

We have also had our Westfield bake off this week.  After much deliberation we decided to make a Gruffalo cake, as we have been learning about The Gruffalo this term.  We iced the cake and modelled the teeth and eyes.  We used bananas to make the tusks and horns.  We cant believe we didn't win with our fabulous entry!!!

A big thank you to all for your on-going support this first half term.  I feel that the children have settled into year 1 brilliantly and try so hard with their work.  They are a lovely class.

Have a lovely half term. 

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 7

16.10.15

We have had a busy week in year 1 this week as we have been doing some assessments to show our teachers just how clever we are! As we have worked so hard there will be no homework set this week.  If you would like to help your child at home, please read their book with them and practise counting and simple addition and subtraction. Our achievement award this week goes to - Lewis-  For always being a friendly and happy member of year 1. Lewis is a superstar.

English

This week we have been learning about the story of the 3 little pigs.  We had great fun hot seating the wolf and dressing up in Miss Lodge's furry coat. We put on our terrifying wolf voices and scared the teachers!!! We used our experiences to write some adjectives to describe a wolf and today we have done some independent writing all about the wolf. Our teachers were impressed with us!

Maths

In maths we have been learning about number bonds to 10.  We have been learning how to write the addition sentences,  If you want to help us at home with this our number bonds are:

1+9 = 10, 2+ 8 = 10, 3+7=10, 4+6=10 and 5+5=10.

Topic

As part of our topic work, we have been learning about our local area.  We have been looking at the local buildings and have planned how we are going to recreate the buildings using junk modelling.  Thank you to all parents and carers for your donations of boxes, bottles etc.

A big thank you too to those people who have brought in tins of food for our Harvest assembly. It is very much appreciated.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 6

09.10.15

Wow - another busy week has flown by in Year 1. Our achievement award this week goes to - Kacey -  For her Super subtraction.  Kacey has been practising her subtraction on a whiteboard in class outside of the maths lesson and is a subtraction superhero! Kerpow!!

English

This week we have been learning about what a setting in a story is.  We have looked at different stories and were able to identify the settings within the stories.  Following our theme of Little Red Riding Hood, we looked in more detail at the setting of the woods.  We used 2 of our senses, sight and hearing, to describe what the woods were like.  We used these words to help us to write a setting description.

Maths

In maths we have been learning about subtraction.  We have been learning to write the take away sign and read number sentences. We have used counters and pictures to help us to take away and some of us have even begun to use a numberline!!

RE

This week we have read the story of Noah's arc.  We have made masks for the animals on the arc (2 x 2 of course!) We talked about why God flooded the land and the children had an animal council to decide what they would tell the humans to help them improve the world after the flood.  We came up with some super suggestions!

Topic

As part of our topic work, we have been learning about our local area.  We have been for a walk along Montrose Avenue this week, looking at the different types of buildings.  We saw flats, semi-detached houses and terraced houses.  We talked about the types of houses that we lived in too.  The children were so sensible and well behaved on our walk and I was very proud of the way they represented Westfield school.

We have had a wonderful day today, dressed up as super heroes.  As ever, a big thank you to parents and carers who have provided the wonderful costumes.  Both myself and Mrs Grimes were blown away with how fantastic they were!

Have a lovely weekend. 

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 5

02.10.15

Our achievement award this week goes to - Suzanne - who also got Pupil of the Week! For her enthusiasm for learning.  Suzanne has gone home and done extra homework each day linked to our addition work and has got ALL  the answers correct! Well done.

English

This week we have been reading the story of Little Red Riding Hood.  We went to the ALPs on Monday to listen to the story and to let our imaginations run wild.  We hot seated the wolf and little red riding hood herself!  During the week, we have been continuing our work on adjectives.  We have thought of super adjectives to describe Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.  We wrote these into sentences and drew pictures to show the scary wolf and the red cape that Red Riding Hood wears.

Maths

In maths we have been learning about addition.  We have been learning that addition means combining two amounts.  We have been counting out counters to match 2 numbers (rolled on a dice). We have then pushed the counters together to count them all and find the answer. Some of us have learnt that if we don't have counters we can draw circles to help us to add.  We have also been learning about repeating patterns.  Look at some of the patterns we have made (see our pictures!)

Science 

This week we have carried out a science investigation. We have been using our knowledge of materials to build houses for the 3 little pigs.  We made predictions first about which materials would make the strongest house.  We then had lots of fun blowing the houses down with the 'Big Bad Wolf' (hairdryer!!).

Have a lovely weekend. 

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Week 4

25.9.15

Our achievement award this week goes to - Nathan! He always gives 100% effort in all he does. Nathan is a pleasure to have in class.

English

This week we have heard that the Gruffalo has been on the loose in our local area.  The children have reported sightings of him, such as purple prickles behind the door at the chip shop, a furry tail at the airport and an orange wart seen in Asda!!! We had to put a stop to this terrible beast on the lose, so we designed a trap to catch him.  It was reported that there had been sightings of the Gruffalo in the ALPS area, so we wrote some instructions to help us to set up our traps and catch him! We are hoping that they will work over the weekend.

Maths

In maths we have been learning about units of measurement. We have learnt that weight means how heavy or light an object is and we have used balance scales to weigh and compare objects around our classroom.  We have also been measuring the length of objects in our classroom and comparing them.

Topic 

This week we have been continuing our learning about old and new toys. We organised a visitor to come and talk to us about what toys were like when he was young.  We thought of lots of super questions to ask him and he thoroughly enjoyed answering them. The children learnt lots about the past and they were very well behaved - I was very proud of them all.

I hope you enjoy your weekend.  Don't forget your wellies for more fun in the ALPs on Monday.

Lots of love

Miss Lodge, Mrs Grimes and all of Y1W x x x x x

Maths

In maths we have been learning how to order numbers. We have been ordering number tiles outside and finding hidden numbers. We have also been finding one more than a number.

English

In English we have been making Gruffalo food.  We have been using our imaginations to design a new food to attract the Gruffalo. We designed all sorts of gruesome foods, such as Spider soup, Slug pie and Snail pizza. Disgusting!!!! We wrote a list of the things we would need to make our gruesome recipes!

Science

In Science we have been looking at what materials objects are made of.  We have sorted materials around our classroom into plastic, wood, glass and metal.  We also talked about the properties of these materials.

Topic

In topic we have bee thinking about our favourite toys.  We have talked about what our toys are made out of and how they are powered.  We compared these to toys from the past.  We had a chance to play with some toys from the past and we sorted toys into old and new toys.

Welcome to 1W's Class Blog.

Week 2

It has been a busy week in year 1 and we have all been working very hard!

Maths

In maths we have been learning how to count and order numbers up to 20.  We have used counters and number cards to help us.  We have made trains out of unifix and had competitions to see who could make the longest train and count the carriages!

English

In English we have been retelling the story of the Gruffalo.  We have acted out the story, taking on the roles of the different characters.  We have also learnt what the word adjective means (a describing word!) We have been thinking of adjectives to describe the Gruffalo and the mouse.

Science

In Science we have been learning about different materials.  We have learnt that materials can be hard and soft and rough and smooth.  We have sorted a variety of objects according to their properties.

PE

In PE we have been learning how to move our bodies in different ways.  We learnt how to travel around the hall making our bodies large, like a Gruffalo and tiny, like a mouse.  We had lots of fun, especially when we got to slither like snakes!