Explorers (Autumn 2)
Christmas Craft
The children had a wonderful time making Christmas crafts, and we would like to say a big thank you to all the parents who attended. Listening to a few conversations, I think we have a few budding project managers in our class! It was great to have a festive buzz around school and we are looking forward to the next opportunity where we can create things and learn together.
Christmas Party
Here are some photos from our Christmas Party Day. It was lovely to see everyone dressed to impress and enjoying lots of games! We had a visit from Santa, and Mrs Brunton led us in a Christmas sing-a-long. A big well done to the children in her boomwhacker club, who performed for each year group.
Outdoor Elements Trip
We had a fantastic and adventurous time at Outdoor Elements in Simonstone! We took part in lots of activities including team-building, problem solving and shelter construction. We even made and toasted our very own bread on an open fire! The activities helped us to imagine what it would be like to be an explorer and appreciate the importance of teamwork. We would like to say a big thank you to all the staff at Outdoor Elements that helped to create a valuable and memorable experience for all of us!
Building Bridges
As part of our Building Bridges project, we visited Colne Municipal Theatre with our friends from Wheatley Lane. After exchanging things in the post, and playing games over a video call, it was great to finally meet up! We were given a tour of the theatre and it was amazing to see what happens on and behind stage. We took part in workshops involving acting, singing, dancing and crafts - helping us to find out more about each other. A big thanks to all the staff that worked hard to provide us with a valuable experience.
English
Our topic this half-term was Explorers. As an introduction to the topic, we read poetry about different places that people could explore. We used our reading to help us write our own versions.
Our key text for our story writing unit was The Great Explorer by Chris Judge. We enjoyed reading some of his other books, particularly the different adventures of The Lonely Beast. The link to Chris Judge’s website is below:
We wrote character and setting descriptions, thinking about what an explorer might need and see in the Arctic. We used the plot of our key text to help us write our own versions of the story.
Maths
In maths, we covered statistics, fractions, money, volume and capacity and time. In statistics, we looked at how information can be represented and interpreted using tables, block graphs, pictograms and tally charts. In factions, we consolidated our understanding of 1/2 and 1/4. In money, we made values in different ways using coins and added coins to make a total. In capacity and volume, we measured using millilitres and practised reading different scales on measuring cylinders. We practised telling the time to half and quarter hours.
Science
Our topic in science this half-term was ‘materials.’ We thought about what we remembered from Year 1 by selecting objects in the classroom and discussing their materials, properties and their uses.
We learnt new scientific words to describe the properties of materials. We investigated the suitability of materials and thought about why they are used for certain objects.
We also carried out an experiment to test different materials and their suitability for a tent.
Design Technology
This half-term, our design brief was to design and make a bag for an explorer to carry their equipment. We investigated existing products - looking at what bags are made of, how they are joined and what they are used for. We also investigated different joining techniques and practised stitching and stapling. We then designed our bags before making them and evaluating them against our design criteria.
History
In history this half-term, we learnt about Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his final expedition to the South Pole. We first asked questions to help us find out about him, before looking at photographs of him and his team at the South Pole, and reading his diary to find out what happened. We researched by reading non-fiction texts.
We sequenced the main events of his expedition on a timeline, and compared his decisions to Roald Amundsen, who beat him in the race to the South Pole. We also compared Captain Scott to Preet Chandi, a modern explorer who has set many records on her polar adventures. A link to Preet Chandi’s website is below:
The Antarctic Heritage Trust website is a great place to find out more about Scott and his final expedition. Follow the link below:
History of Scott's Expedition | Antarctic Heritage Trust (nzaht.org)
Geography
In geography, we learnt about the continents and oceans, and the hot and cold places of the world. We used atlases and globes to name and locate them, and to help us remember them, we learnt these songs (follow the links below):
PE
In PE this half-term, we will focus on football and multi-skills. We will practise dribbling with a football and learn how to keep it under close control. We will also develop our passing and shooting techniques.
In multi-skills, we will develop our agility, balance and coordination, working on our throwing and catching skills, our speed, and our endurance.
