Year One Topic Review
We ended this week with a review of our previous topic unit, The Great Fire of London. The children were thrilled to welcome some of you to join in the fun and take part in our Great Fire of London quiz.
Everyone worked brilliantly in their teams, answering questions about key events, Samuel Peyps and life in 1666. The children impressed us all with their knowledge and enthusiasm. They proudly showed off their learning, explaining how the fire started, why it spread and how it was eventually stopped!
The children also had the opportunity to show off the painting they have been working on in their new topic, Art. Sharing their knowledge of the artist George Seurat and the style of art he created, pointillism.
Thank you to the parents who joined us—it was lovely to see such teamwork and encouragement. This event was a wonderful celebration of the children’s hard work!
Help at Home:
- Visit your local library to find books about the Great Fire of London.
- Explore online resources together, like videos or interactive timelines.
- Practice timeline skills by talking about events in your child’s own life.
Topic Review – Art Open Classroom
We loved welcoming parents to our topic review where we looked at the work we have done so far this half-term in art. Having reviewed the art we have already created using white pencil on black paper and by using different pens on tracing paper, we trialled a new process using carbon paper.
We will soon be combining all the different processes to make a collage.
Philosophy Friday – 29.11.24
Philosophy is thinking deeply.
Every Friday, we start our day with some time to wonder and ponder.
We’ve a different question each week – there’s no obvious right/wrong answer and no underlying moral message. All children are given the opportunity to contribute their ideas and give reasons for their thoughts.
This week’s question related to our current topic:
This half-term, we’re artists. We’ll develop our art knowledge and skills.
This question sparked some interesting discussion and debate.
It doesn’t even have to be good. You can do anything you want as long as you had a good time doing it.
– Freddy
It’s always going to look nice to someone. I believe you should do whatever you want.
– Izabella
If every painting looked like something, it could be a bit boring. It could just be colours and shapes.
– Olly
It’s the colours that make a painting beautiful.
– Ellis
Our oracy focus this half term is:
Help at home by discussing this week’s Philosophy Friday question with your child. Can you find any examples of art that don’t immediately jump out as resembling something?
PE – Gymnastics
We have been working hard in Year 5 and Year 6 developing our gymnastic skills. We have been performing many jumps and balances and putting together short routines – all whilst maintaing control.
Today we used more of our gymnastic equipment and transferred our skills. We explored, experimented and created ways of moving around the space available.
Help at home – We have some amazing gymnasts in our class. If your child is keen to join a club outside of school, we have many gymnastic clubs in and around Wetherby. Why not give them a go?
Topic – Art
LO – I can use visual and tactile elements to achieve my intentions
In topic this week, we have been looking at artwork by Orla Kiely. We have been annotating her work highlighting visual and tactile elements, such as colour, line, repeated patterns, symmetry and shape.
We then created our own mono prints using a leaf design. The children really enjoyed the activity and showed off their creative sides. The work produced was superb (much better than Mr Kilner’s).
Help at home – Look at designs by Orla Kiely. Ask your child to highlight any repeated patterns or lines of symmetry. Which designs do they prefer, why? How do the designs make them feel?
Living and Learning – I can talk about my feelings
This week’s Living and Learning statement is:
We discussed a range of emotions and the importance of recognising and talking about them.
Emotions are feelings – they can change all the time. We all experience a whole range of emotions, from anger to happiness to fear. This is ok and normal.
Emotions and feelings are our mental health.
We talked about how we can read people’s faces and body language to help us understand how they might be feeling. The children had a go at showing what these emotions might look like.
Everyone has the right to ask for help. If you need help with your emotions, or you notice someone else might need help with their emotions, speak to a trusted adult.
Help at home by discussing this learning with your child. Encourage your child to talk about their feelings – do they know who to speak to at school if they need help with their emotions?
Why not try completing this emotions chart with your child to highlight how emotions can change over the course of a day or event?
Living and Learning: I can talk about my feelings
This week, we’ve been exploring emotions and how they shape our feelings. We’ve talked about how emotions can change all the time and how it’s completely normal to experience a wide range of them—from anger and fear to happiness and excitement. Emotions are an important part of our mental health, helping us understand ourselves and others.
During our circle time on Monday, we focused on specific emotions: happiness, excitement, worry, and tiredness. Together, we reflected on how each of these emotions feels in our own experiences.
- “I felt worried when I stayed at my cousin’s house, and my mum wasn’t there.”
- “I feel happy when I come to school because I love learning.”
- “I felt excited when I went on holiday.”
- “I felt happy when I had hot chocolate while feeling unwell.”
Today, we became “emotion detectives”! We practiced identifying emotions by studying pictures. We carefully examined facial expressions and body language to decide which emotion best fit each character. It was a fun and insightful way to learn how to recognise feelings in others!
Afterward, we all took turns demonstrating how different emotions might look and feel through facial expressions and body language.
proud
surprised
fear
nervous
sad
happy.
Help at home: Take moments throughout the day to check in with your child and ask how they’re feeling. Encourage them to think about their emotions—what might that feeling look like? Does it have a colour, shape, or even a sound? This can help them better understand and express their emotions.
Reading – Inference
In reading, we’ve been reading The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury.
It’s a comically inverted version of the classic fable and the children have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. We spent some time discussing the pig’s character:
We’ve been using the text as a vehicle to practise our inference skills. Inference is the skill of using clues to make a sensible guess about something we don’t know.
One of our favourite activities for practising inference is ‘hot seating’ in which characters, played by members of the class (or the teacher!), are interviewed by the rest of the group. It encourages children to embody a character, thinking deeply about themes and ideas, and exploring their behaviour. We had great fun pretending to be the big bad pig!
Help at home by trying a hot seat activity with your child’s current book. Can they embody a character and dramatise their behaviour?
Online safety
We talk a lot about online safety in Year 5 and Year 6. It is crucial that the children are aware of how to stay safe, how websites keep us logged in and the role that cookies play.
Below are links to explain pop-ups and cookies in some detail:
When online, here are some key principles to keep safe:
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Limit your screen time.
Avoid clicking on ads.
Clear your cookies frequently.
If you want to spend money, set a reasonable limit but ask yourself – is this really worth it? Will I want this in a year’s time? Can I use the money for something else?
Living and learning – I know how to make careful choices
This week, Year 3 have learnt about making careful choices in and out of school. We’ve also spoken a lot on how to disagree with other respectfully, especially if you feel you are in an uncomfortable position. In circle time, the children began by finishing off the sentence stem ‘I feel respected when…’ – here’s some pupil responses:
I feel respected when I’m listened to.
I feel respected when people give me time to myself if I ask for it.’
I feel respected when people give me eye contact.
We then went into imaginary scenarios, where children can offer advice and support to the situation. Pupils discussed different ways that we can disagree respectfully with others, especially if we are feeling that the situation is wrong or uncomfortable. Even with friends and peers, it’s important to disagree respectfully if necessary. All pupils responded well in this session and left feeling happy and healthy.