Y1: Gallery
Date: 3rd Apr 2019 @ 8:35pm
Over the past few weeks, Y1 have been learning about the history of our town. Inspired by our focus artist L.S. Lowry, children looked at significant buildings and structures, past and present, around our town. We learned that Newton le Willows had a significant train manufacturing factory at the Vulcan works and that George Stephenson built the Sankey Viaduct because our town used to be very boggy. Y1 then chose their favourite thing about Newton le Willows past or present and drafted their idea onto card tiles. Today children chose their favourite idea and made their clay tile by etching and carving their idea onto it. We then made a mural from our tiles which will soon be on display in our classroom. Well done Y1, marvellous mural making.
Art inspired sentence writing.
Date: 25th Mar 2019 @ 6:17pm
Today Y1 worked hard to improve our sentence writing. Inspired by our learning challenge ‘why is L. S. Lowry so awesome’, Y1 were tasked to write sentences about their likes and dislikes from Lowry’s art. Children deepend their knowledge of orall sentence rehearsal, adding suffixes to words and adding descriptive words to make our sentences better. Children then presented their best sentences to the class and we even had some standing ovations for some truly fantastic sentences. Sensational sentences Y1.
Date: 21st Mar 2019 @ 1:19pm
This week Y1 have been thinking about what makes a great artist. Children learned about the 5 senses and how our senses help us to understand the things around us. Following on from using sight and hearing during our Lowry visit, children today explored, taste, touch and smell. We worked in carousel to test out our noses, skin and tongues. We smelled, onions, perfume, cardamom, curry and orange juice. We tasted, mint, salty crisps and honey and we touched a lambs skull, coal, wood, and rubber.
Date: 12th Mar 2019 @ 5:11pm
Wow! What a day we have had. We firstly took part in a special landscape workshop where we learned some new pencil drawing techniques from one of the Lowry's resident artists. We then tested out these techniques in the Lowry's main gallery, copying and creating our own Lowry inspired industrial landscapes in front of the real paintings. Children were amazed to find out that one of the pictures we looked at was worth over 5 million pounds. Y1 then began to make a 3d Lowry styled building back at the workshop, we will be finishing these in school. After dinner the children learned about portraits and partnered up to create their own portraits using a face template. These and our Lowry landscapes will be on display during our upcoming parents evening. We had lots of comments from Lowry staff and other schools about how well behaved the children were and how fantastic their sketchings were. Well done Y1, super proud!
Date: 9th Mar 2019 @ 9:30pm
Y1 are getting excited about our upcoming trip to the Lowry Arts Centre in Salford. In preparation for this, Y1 were tasked with drawing a building. We then learned about how details in buildings can tell us things about them, how old they are, what it might be used for, who could live there. Children learned that Lowry also took inspiration from the details and patterns in the buildings around him. Y1 then explored the buildings around us, we looked deeper to find details that we could use in our second sketches. Y1 all created much more detailed second pictures. Super sketching Y1.
Date: 7th Mar 2019 @ 9:45pm
This week Y1 have been fraction problem solving. We have discussed, used and made, halves, quarters and wholes and even helped Mr. Thompson and Mr. Widowson to have their dinner. Fantastic fractions Y1.
Date: 7th Mar 2019 @ 9:33pm
Y1 are beginning to look deeper into the buildings and materials around us. Inspired by our new topic, why is L. S Lowry so awesome? Children used viewfinders to look for interesting patterns inside and outside. We learned how Lowry was inspired by the interesting buildings and views around him and Y1 will be using this knowledge and understanding to help us to create a Lowry inspired murial over the next few weeks. Great looking Y1.
Creating debates, listening to arguments and sharing opinions.
Date: 6th Mar 2019 @ 10:49pm
Today Y1 begun to understand the importance of debate. Following on from our class text ‘Meerkat Mail’ by Emily Gravett, children role played the parts of Sunny the Meerkat and his Meerkat cousins Ed and Scratch. Y1 were tasked to create a debate over which meerkat food was the best, crunchy scorpions or sloppy eggs. Children learned to share opinions and arguments in a fun friendly way, not to be upset if someone thought something different and the importance of listening to other people's opinions in a respectful way. Y1 then wrote some fantastic sentences about their opinions on eggs and scorpions as a tasty treat. Amazing arguments Y1.
Date: 28th Feb 2019 @ 9:04am
Today children in year 1 begun to identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and learn about the sense associated with each part of the body. Today we explored our eyes and the sense of sight. Children learned about the iris, pupil, eye lid and eye lashes. We tested how our pupil gets bigger in the dark and smaller in the light, how an adult eye is the size of a ping pong ball and we examined each other’s iris colour and drew and labelled very accurate pictures of our own eyes using mirrors. Some children also wanted to tell the class about the time they went to see an optician and talk about the tools used to examine their eyes. Super science Y1!
Date: 14th Feb 2019 @ 11:18am
This week Y1 have been reading the text 'Mama Panya's pancakes, a village tale from Africa'. Children have collected information from the book to help us write our own instructions for making African spicy pancakes. Today children tested out their instructions and made some real African pancakes. Whilst the pancakes were cooking children collected a bank of words based on what they could smell, hear, see and taste. Our pancakes were fantastic and enjoyed by the whole class. Children will be using their words latter this week to write a thankyou letter to Mama Panya. Good cooking Y1.
How do polar bears stay warm in icy Arctic warter.
Date: 14th Feb 2019 @ 11:08am
This week Y1 have been learning about conditions within the Arctic circle. We have looked at the clothes needed for cold climates and hot climates and we have begun to discuss some adaptions animals have to make to survive in these conditions. Today children predicted how a mass of blubber on their hand would feel in ice water compared to a hand without blubber. Children tested out their predictions dipping both hands into icy water, one hand covered in thick blubber and the other hand without blubber. Children then compared their predictions with their findings and then recorded this into their science books. Y1 were amazed to feel how one hand became very cold yet their blubber hand remained warm. We collected some fantastic conclusion questions from the afterwards, these ranged from, do all Arctic animals have to be fat?, Does a polar bear ever get too hot? Would a polar bear survive in Africa?. Super science Y1.
Date: 11th Feb 2019 @ 8:58pm
Today in Y1 children compared the ability to get a glass of water in our class to getting a glass of water in a Kenyan school. Children were shown a variety of hand made African water jugs and bowls made in villages across Africa in aid of storing, carrying and holding water and food. Children discussed how most people in Kenya made these items as supermarkets and shops are not as common in Africa as they are in England. Y1 were then tasked with following a simple set of instructions to make salt dough and then shape and make a bowl or jug that can carry water. It was messy work but children loved learning to follow instructions and create their own African inspired bowl, plate or jug, great making Y1.
Which African animal has the widest feet?
Date: 11th Feb 2019 @ 8:27pm
Y1 was invaded this morning by a variety of African animal footprints. Children looked at and discussed a variety of different tools used for measurement, from scales and thermometers to clocks and tape measures. Children were then tasked to estimate which African animal they thought had the widest footprint. We then discussed and decided on the best tool to use to help us find the answer. Children used rulers and recorded their findings on sheets of paper. Y1 found out that meerkats do not have wide feet, elephants have the widest feet and giraffes feet are wider then zebras feet. Fantastic work Y1.
Date: 7th Feb 2019 @ 3:26pm
Children were shown pictures of sunsets from around the world and asked if they knew what these were or if they had seen something similar before. Year 1 then discussed why the landscape in Africa makes their sunsets so special. Children were then tasked with a range of shading activities using the hot colours of Africa. We were all amazed at the beautiful artwork we had created and it is now on display in our school hall. Inspirational work Y1.
Thinking about weight and capacity.
Date: 4th Feb 2019 @ 6:22pm
Today Yr1 begun to explore weight and capacity. Children worked hard to fix, discuss and experiment with problems related to weight and capacity. Thanks to our special dinosaur toys, we solved lots of problems and children have added some fantastic new words to their vocabulary, such as, heaviest, lightest, balanced, scales, and volume. Well done team Y1.
Date: 28th Jan 2019 @ 4:31pm
Today, Y1 have begun to look at the weather all around us. Children monitored the weather outside today and have begun to learn some great vocabulary to describe the weather. Each child will keep their own weather chart this week and everyday we will update it and compare our weather with the weather of Nairobi in Kenya, Melbourne in Australia and Toronto in Canada.
Date: 24th Jan 2019 @ 4:28pm
Children in Year 1 had great fun trying to make 2d and 3d shapes from cocktail sticks and sticky sweets. They made lots of shapes from squares, triangles and hexagons to cubes, cuboids and pyramids. Children then explored why using the tools they had they were unable to make circles, spheres, cones and cylinders. Great working Y1.
Date: 20th Dec 2018 @ 3:41pm
Year 1 celebrated Christmas in royal fashion today. Children competed in a royal tournament to be crowned Prince and Princess Charming and we even had a special visit from Father Christmas! Super competing Year 1.
Tree planting with the Mersey Forest.
Date: 7th Dec 2018 @ 3:31pm
This morning children in year 1 took part in a tree planting session run by the Mersey Forest Organisation. Children worked in pairs digging holes and planting over 50 saplings. Year 1 then wrote fantastic thankyou letters which we will be emailing across to the Mersey Forest Organisation over the weekend. Well done Year 1, super hard work!
Date: 16th Nov 2018 @ 4:15pm
After learning about the BBC Children in need appeal, children in Year 1 and 2 decided to set up a last minute 'unloved toy shop' in aid of the charity. Thank you to all the children and families who all pulled together and donated toys and books for the shop. Key stage 1 raised a fantastic £50.00, which will be donated to this years appeal alongside the schools own clothes day donations. All unsold donations will be donated this weekend to Willowbrook Hospice.
Date: 6th Nov 2018 @ 3:58pm
Today in year 1, children spent time looking at, using and discussing old and new toys. It was extremely interesting to hear children talk about how they thought their toys worked. Some children thought spinning tops were an early form of bottle flipping, and some children thought our stick and hoop game was some kind of instrument. After 30 mins of exploration, the uses of these toys were finally revealed. I have a feeling when we write our comparisons, later this week, that new toys may be the overwhelming winners. Great exploring Year 1.
Why did Cinderella not use a hoover?
Date: 2nd Nov 2018 @ 4:08pm
Today children thought about the tough job poor Cinderella had, cleaning her step mum's house. We looked at ways Cinderella could have speeded up her tasks. We replaced our broom with a brush and found this much easier. We then decided to use a hoover, which was definitely the quickest way to clean our carpet. Children were asked, why does Cinderella not just use a hoover? After a class discussion the children began to understand that the story of Cinderella was a long time ago, and unfortunately hoovers or vacuum cleaners were not invented. Year 1 then looked at other old items and what new items had replaced them, from old tin baths and carts to modern day cars and indoor bathrooms. Great understanding Year 1!
Date: 31st Oct 2018 @ 9:39pm
Today year 1 loved learning about halloween traditions from around the world. Children discussed the recent Disney movie 'Coco' and made Mexican style masks representitive of the things they regard as special to their own life.
Date: 19th Oct 2018 @ 4:41pm
Today children read our class text 'Aliens Love Underpants' by Claire Freedman for the last time. Together we discussed other Claire Freedman stories and how we would compare this story to them. Children were excited to plan and write a book review for this text. We discussed how some children may like the story whilst others may not. Children shared their favourite parts from the story, the characters in it and the setting it takes place in. Some children also discussed their favourite illustrations from the book. Great work Yr1 you made fabulous book reviews. Claire Freedman will be happy to know Yr1 reviewed this book very highly.
The final farewell from planet Earth.
Date: 19th Oct 2018 @ 4:09pm
After his 6 week visit to Lyme Primary School, it was finally time for children to say goodbye to Zorg. Children planned the afternoon building their previously designed spaceships. Children tested their ships and predicted if they would move well are not move at all. Children also begun to develop their collaborative learning skills, working and sharing together and negotiating with tools and ideas. Well done Year 1 and thankyou to all our parents who helped to support this lesson by bringing in lots of resources for us to use.
