In this half of the spring term we have been getting on with lots of fun learning. 

In Maths we have been completing addition and subtraction strategies, building on the learning from spring 1 term with numbers extending to 50.  We have also been looking at the value of numbers to 50 and understand how 2-digit numbers to 50 are made up of tens and ones.  We have been learning to count to 100 in tens.  Why not see if you can play our ‘100 and out’ game at home.  Each player says a tens number each in order starting at a different tens number each time. The person who lands on 100 is out.  (e.g.  start at 40… first player says 40, second says 50, third says 60 and so on until it goes around the players up to 100.  Then start again at a different number e.g. 60).

In English we have been learning all about information texts and have linked it to the seasons.  We read and became familiar with a text called ‘The Mighty Oak’.  Our writing was all about The Strong Sycamore tree and how it supports all sorts of plant and wildlife in the wood/forest.  We then completed an independent writing piece based on the ‘Birch Tree’. After editing and making changes, the children had produced a in information text about what we expect to see happening to the Birch tree and life around it, throughout all four seasons of the year.

In P.E we have been looking at how to create dance movements based on animals in a zoo.   We used our bodies and facial expressions to create different large and small animals, including arctic animals.  We were able to then link the movements together to create a motif (sequence of movements) based on a chosen animal and the zoo keeper.  We have also learned about how we can run in various ways using our arms, head and legs effectively.  We have then used our running techniques in games to aid acceleration and distance.

In Computing we have been learning how to group data and information in various ways.  We have learned that similar properties of information can be grouped together.  In Our Internet safety lessons we have looked at how to manage our information when online and who to talk to before we post anything online as it will be there forever.    

In RE we have been learning about the Easter story and how Christians believe that it is the most important festival of the Christian faith because Jesus died on the cross to wipe out people’s sins and then he was resurrected to go to heaven.  We discussed and sorted the main parts of the story, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.  Can your child retell you the story?

In science we have been looking at why we it is important to care for our planet and that we can all help out in small ways.  We discussed things that we do already to make our environment better (recycling, reusing, using bins for litter, turning off lights, closing doors to save heat, not wasting food etc).  We began Forest Schools and wanted to help the natural environment so we decided to make a wild flower garden, a hedgehog house and bee houses.  We also did a litter pick to help reduce the human impact on the natural world.  Once we had finished making our improvements, we wanted to buy signs for our new areas so we made eco-friendly dog biscuits to sell and make the money needed. We also looked back at the seeds we planed at the beginning of the spring term.  We observed the changes that had occurred and drew a diagram of the plants at the beginning of planted and now to show the differences and how planting can change after many weeks.

In history we have been learning about castles.  We looked at the timeline of castles, discussing when they were built and how and why they changed over the years.  We looked at different types of castles and their different parts.  We looked at how they were built to defend against invaders and who would have lived in them.  We also learned about Bolsover castle, a local castle in Chesterfield.

In Design & Technology (D&T) we have been designing and making castles thinking about how we can make the different parts.  We made 1 large class castle using a cardboard box as the main structure.  We cut out battlements and thought about how we could attach these to the top of the castle.  We made turrets for each corner of the castle, using cardboard tubes.  We attached them using the slit technique where we cut slits in the tube and slide them onto the main box corners.  We painted the castle to look like stone as this was easier to defend than wooden castles.   Lastly, we made a drawbridge using rope to attach it, pulling the rope back and forth to open and close.

In Music we have been learning about ‘Timbre’ and how we can identify the instruments and voices by the unique noise they make (the ‘timbre’).  We made different character voices and then matched instruments to them to make each character have their own unique sound… their ‘timbre’.

As you can see, this half term has been very busy but it has also been fantastic!