2020 - 2021

Welcome to Class 4

This page will be updated regularly.

PLEASE KEEP IN TOUCH

You can contact me via e-mail

Y2@woodlands.academy

Please let me know what you are doing, I would LOVE to hear from all of you.

22Jan20

Float or sink?

The children became scientists today as they tested different objects to find out which materials sink and which float.  The children decided that wood would be the best material to make a ship with because, although plastic floats, as does wood, plastic isn't as strong as wood.  The children decided against metal as it sinks, however, we learned that, if it is shaped correctly and is the right size, it can become more buoyant and be suitable material for ships.

21Jan20

Sail Away!

The children had so much fun joining in with the Sail Away songs when the Grimsby Jazz Projects came to visit us to launch the KS1 singing festival which is taking place on 3Mar20.  The performance given was very entertaining and the children had lots of questions about plastic pollution afterwards.

21Jan20

Conscience corridor

In English, we have been reading the story, 'The Storm Whale'.  The main character, Noi has found a little whale washed up on the beach after a storm.  This all happens while his dad is out at sea, working as a fisherman.  When his dad returns from work, Noi has to decide if to tell his dad about the whale or keep it a secret.  The children voted on what Noi should do.  Three children from each side of the argument were then chosen to create a conscience corridor.  Ava-Grace hadn't quite made her mind up so she had to walk through the conscience corridor and listen to the argument from either side before making her mind up

20Jan20

Story maps

The children thought about what life might be like living on an island, just like the one Noi from our story, 'The Storm Whale' did.  We worked in our teams to create a story map for a story about life on an island, just like the stories Noi might have told the whale while he was laying in his bath tub.

Sail Away

KS1 Singing Festival 

3Mar20

Find below the recent letter sent out about the upcoming singing festival and the link to Youtube with the songs that children are practising.

17Jan20

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Ava-Grace for her enthusiasm in science club

and

Keita for asking lots of questions about the properties of materials.

Well done to our super stars.

This week's spellings for 17Jan20

Test on 23Jan20

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

10Jan20

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

K for settling back to school well after the Christmas break.

and

Rowan, also for settling back to school well after the Christmas break.

Well done to our super stars.

13Jan20

Storm at Sea poems

The children worked in groups to write words, phrases and sentences about a storm at sea using a video clip of a storm on the west coast of the UK as a stimulus.  They then put their words, phrases and sentences together to create a group poem.

9Jan20

Beebots

The children have been learning how to program a Beebot using an algorithm (set of instructions) so that it turns in a full circle.  When it did not go as planned, the children had to work out where their algorithm had gone wrong (identify a bug) and reprogram it correctly (debug).

Autumn 2 Project

Muck, Mess and Mixtures

Let's get Messy!  Muck and mess is good!  In fact, it's mega-marvellous!

Dive in and get your hands and feet all sticky and covered in paint.  Play with liquid, squish some dough and check out the slushiest and mushiest foods.

Pour, mix, stir, splat!  How does it feel to get your hands covered in goo?  Make a wobbly jelly and draw with wibbly clay.

Write recipes, instructions, riddles and poems - there are loads of scrummy words to describe messy mixtures!

Work with paint and other squelchy stuff to create a new gallery space.  What will you make?  How will you arrange it?  How will the gallery make you and your visitors feel?

Don;t worry about the mess... it'll always wash!  

13Dec19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

G for being hard working, never giving up and being a good friend - an all-round super star

and

Vanesa for being an all-round superstar and working hard in all lessons.

Well done to our super stars.

5Dec19

Bedtime stories

The children (and adults) are all feeling rather tired and under the weather at the moment.  Because Miss French's voice is fast disappearing we decided that instead of listening to our class reader it would be a nice treat to huddle together and listen to some CBeebies Bedtime Stories.  It made a relaxing change.

Mon2Dec19

O Christmas Tree

The children enjoyed decorating our Class 4 Christmas tree.

29Nov19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Louie for making good progress in English, particularly with phonics.

and

Keita for demonstrating a good understanding of what is expected of her in English lessons.

Well done to our super stars.

29Nov19

7 reads

Well done to Olivia, Kyle and Rhea who have all read 7 times in one week at least once this half-term.  Keep up the good work – your commitment to reading every day has helped you all make good progress in reading.

This week's spellings for 21.11.19

Test on 28.11.19

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

Home Learning Ideas - Muck, Mess and Mixtures

Children should complete at least 2 pieces of homework by 13th December 2019.

25Nov19

A winter warming, healthy Scotch Broth

The children looked at recipes last week and used the traffic light symbols found on packages to choose the recipe that was the healthiest.  They decided that Scotch Broth was the healthiest and decided they would like to make that.  The children all had a go at peeling vegetables and chopping them with actual kitchen knives (closely supervised, of course).  The broth was cooked in a slow cooker and it tasted amazing.  All of the children had a try and nearly all of them loved it.  

22Nov19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Jaydon-Lea for being a good friend by helping others to make the right choices

and

Scarlett for being a good friend to all Class 4 children.

Well done to our super stars.

This week's spellings for 21.11.19

Test on 28.11.19

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

19Nov19

Food tasting

The children enjoyed trying lots of different foods today - 17 of them, including rye bread, persimmon (fruit), quinoa, smoked salmon, courgette, Emmental cheese and garlic olive oil. 

The children started by washing their hands and were able to tell me that this was to stop the spread of germs.

The children tried each item of food and then recorded in their books if they liked the food or disliked it, given a reason why. They then decided which of the six food groups from the eat-well plate the foods belonged to.

I was really impressed that all of the children tried all of the foods and were able to correctly identify the correct food group. 

It was funny watching the children's reactions - some of the food they loved (especially the sweets, chocolate and cola) and some they really disliked. 

Can your child tell you what they liked and disliked most and explain their reasons why?

18Nov19

Healthy eating

The children have been learning about healthy eating to support their forthcoming cooking sessions where they must be able to explain what they are cooking and why.  The children have been tasked with choosing a healthy meal.  We discussed which foods were healthy and which were unhealthy and learned that foods with lots of nutrients are good for us whereas foods high in fat, salt and sugar should only be eaten in small amounts.  The children learned about traffic light labelling on food packaging and know that green means foods are low in salt, sugar and fat, amber means moderate and red means high.  The children used their new found knowledge to lay out recipes in order from least healthy to the most healthy.  The children have decided they would like to make Scotch Broth because it is low in salt, sugar and fat and has lots of nutritious vegetables.

15Nov19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Louie for being a helpful friend

and

Tilly-Mai for being helpful around the classroom.

Well done to our super stars.

This week's spellings for 14.11.19

Test on 21.11.19

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

It is becoming extremely clear which children are practising and which are not.

Please make sure children are practising these spellings regularly.

14Nov19

Parent Shared Learning afternoon

It was wonderful to see so many adults join us for our parent shared learning afternoon.  The children loved showing off their classroom and having a relaxed afternoon of painting with their favourite people.

14Nov19

Preparing for advent.

The children have been thinking about how light is important to Christians at Christmas time.  They have learnt about advent and that Christians light a candle each week in the lead up to Christmas representing peace, love, joy, hope and the birth of Jesus.  The children have made their own advent crowns in readiness for advent starting this year on 1Dec19.

12Nov19

Friendship week

The children discussed different behaviours and decided if the behaviours suggested the children in the pictures were being, 'a good friend' or, 'not a good friend'. The children discussed the importance of being a good friend and how difference should be valued. The children then listened to the story, 'Paper Dolls' by Julia Donaldson which is all about sticking together. The children then made their own paper dolls showing themselves holding hands with two friends.

11Nov19

Aboriginal dot art.

The children used poster paint and cotton buds to create their own artwork in the style of Aboriginal dot art.

8Nov19

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

The children have been exploring tone in art and used a basic palette of brown, orange, yellow and white to mix colours to create the desired effect for painting their Van Gogh 'Sunflowers' masterpieces.

8Nov19

Shared reading

Class 4 enjoyed sharing a book with children from Class 2.

8Nov19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Ava-Grace for working hard to improve her reading

and

Sofija for working hard in all lessons.

Well done to our super stars.

This week's spellings for 7.11.19

Test on 14.11.19

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

6Nov19

Inference - how might people be feeling?

The children are beginning to develop their skills of inference in guided reading.  We discussed how inference works - we use clues, such as vocabulary, images or behaviours, and link them to what we already know about the world to make our own conclusions.  We discussed how we can tell how someone is feeling without them even telling us by looking at clues in how they behave.  The children used their prior knowledge to show me how people might behave when they feel happy and sad.  We then discussed colour and decided that dark colours suggested sadness and bright colours suggested happiness.  The children were then able to use a picture painted by Van Gogh and some clues in a text to tell us that Van Gogh felt very sad towards the end of his life.

5Nov19

Bend it, stretch it, twist it, squeeze it.

The children worked methodically in science to test objects made from different materials.  The children needed to test them to see if they could change their shape by bending, stretching, twisting and squeezing the objects.  They then recorded their results carefully.

4Nov19

Diva Lamps

The children have been finishing their diva lamps as part of their learning about Diwali by painting them a lovely silver colour.  The children discovered that Hindus represent light (good) overcoming darkness (evil) by lighting diva lamps and setting off fireworks.  The children used this information to create posters showing light and dark.

1Nov19

Rama and Sita

The children are currently learning about the Hindu celebration, Diwali.  The children listened to the story of Rama and Sita, sequencing the main events of the story and discussing the key theme.  They then made diva lamps from air-drying clay.

Can your child explain the main theme of the story of Rama and Sita and can they explain why light is important at Diwali?

1Nov19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Frankielee for working hard and having a great attitude to learn

and

Keita for her fantastic attitude to learning and always trying her best.

Well done to our super stars.

This week's spellings for 31.10.19

Test on 7.11.19

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

28Oct19

Messy Play Afternoon

What a great way to launch our project,  'Muck, Mess and Mixtures'.  The children were all able to try finger and hand printing with paint to produce some fabulously colourful creations that will be used to back an upcoming display of our project.  Each child got to experiment with frozen paint to see what swirly patterns they could make as the ice melted.  Just like Betty in our story this morning (Potion Commotion), the children made their very own potions with sparkly water, oil, glitter and sequins.  Every child in Year 2 was able to take home some stretchy slime that they made themselves.

There was lots of cleaning up to be done after the children left school but it was absolutely worth the effort to see the children enjoy themselves so much 

We all had a wonderful afternoon!

This week's spellings for 17.10.19

Test on 31.10.19

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

Maths - Number Skills

How you can help at home.

Topmarks is a website which has a collection of fun, free and very helpful games that can help your child with their maths in school.

The children absolutely love playing these games and they can really help with developing your child's ability to answer questions quickly and automatically - a hugely important skill needed in maths. 

Having a rapid recall of number facts frees up brain space for working out problems - without rapid recall of number facts, too much thinking time is spent on the basics.  We do lots of work in school to support the children with this but extra help at home would really help your child make even greater progress in maths.

Here are the links to some of our favourite games...

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/gingerbread-man-game

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/helicopter-rescue

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/chopper-squad

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/place-value-basketball

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/caterpillar-ordering

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/mental-maths-train

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/number-facts/number-fact-families

Towers, Tunnels and Turrets

See the castle ahead? Get ready to invade its mighty walls! Shoot a projectile with an archer's aim! Head across the drawbridge, over the moat and up to the top of the tower...

Meet Rapunzel who lives in a tall, tall tower. Let's build a brand new one... Whose is the tallest? Can you measure it?

Then dig deep, deep down, making burrows and tunnels, just like the animals that live underground. 

What's that sound? I hear little hooves going trip, trap, trip, trap over the rickety bridge. Watch out for the angry troll underneath. He likes to gobble up little girls and boys! Make sure your bridge is sturdy enough to take our weight and get us safely to the other side. 

Home Learning Ideas - Tower, Tunnels and Turrets.

Children should complete at least 2 pieces of homework by 18th October 2019.

18Oct19

End of Autumn Term 1

Wow!  How quickly has the first term of Year 2 gone?  It has been such a busy, fun packed term.  The children have thrown themselves into the school year and have embraced the hard work and extra challenges that have been presented to them.  

We took some time to reflect on our project, 'Towers, Tunnels and Turrets' and could not believe all of the interesting learning that has happened in such a short space of time.

We cannot wait for our new project.

18Oct19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Kacie-Leigh for working hard to present her work neatly

and

Rhea for working hard to improve the presentation of her work.

Well done to our super stars.

18Oct19

Dharma

In RE, we have been thinking about how people 'belong' to a religion.  We have thought about all of the different groups we belong to, including school and family groups.  We have then looked at how different groups of people have different rules that they follow.  Following these rules is a way of showing belonging.  In school, we have our 'Golden Rules' and we all follow these because we belong to the school community.  Last week we learned how Christians follow a set of rules called, 'The Ten Commandments'.  Hindus don't have a clear set of rules though and instead follow Dharma, (the concept of knowing right from wrong and always choosing the right thing).  The children were given some pictures and had to work out what the right and wrong things were.  They then used these to create a set of rules.

15Oct19

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The children are very familiar now with the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  So they were all able to sequence 27 pictures from the story in the correct order, retelling the main parts of the story.

14Oct19

"Gobbled"

We are enjoying exploring the vocabulary that we come across every day in Year 2.  The children were asked to explain what the word "gobbled" meant and try to use it in a sentence.    

Can your child explain to you what vocabulary means and which vocabulary they have learned this term?

11Oct19

Lincoln Castle

The children behaved really well and had a great day at Lincoln Castle.  It really helped the children to understand what we have been learning all about this term.  It was a very busy day and we managed to enjoy lots of exciting activities, including:-

• Castle Wall Walk
• Trying on armour
• Dressing a knight
• Firing arrows from bows
• Making shields
• Eating at a banquet, dressed as noblemen and women

8Oct19

Natural materials sculptures

The children were tasked with creating tall structures using only natural materials.

This week's spellings for 3.10.19

Test on 10.10.19

Year 2 spellings

Spelling pattern; [j]

jungle

jingle

jewel

jacket

join

Previously learned spellings to be retested 

Spelling pattern; alternative [j] - [ge] and [g] before [e] or pi]

cage

huge

change

large

charge

gem

giraffe

magic

engine

angel

The children have practised these words already in class, but the more they practise the better score they will get.

4Oct19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Charlie for respecting the opinions of others

and

Loula-Jo for always showing respect to others and their property.

Well done to our super stars.

4Oct19

Marvellous Mathematicians

The children have been working hard to improve their maths skills this week.  The children are really beginning to understand the importance of working methodically and not rushing to find the answers.

3Oct19

Spaghetti and Marshmallow Bridge Building - Parent Shared Learning Afternoon

It was so lovely to see so many parents at our shared learning afternoon.  The children and adults worked wonderfully in their teams and everyone did a great job of building their bridges.  As the structures became bigger, it became clear that the bridges needed to be made stronger, stiffer and more stable.  The children in Year 2 remembered that triangles and extra layers were a good way to do this and we saw lots of budding engineers work out how to achieve this.  Well done everyone!

3Oct19

Namaste

The children have been learning different ways that Christians and Hindus show they belong to their chosen faith.  The children discovered that Hindu's greet each other with the word 'namaste' which means 'I bow to you'.

1Oct19

The Princess, the Pea, the Prince and the Queen.

The children have been showing off their fantastic drama skills again today.  This time, they have been telling the story of The Princess and the Pea through drama.  The children showed a wonderful understanding of the main points of the story.

1Oct19

Testing bridges.

The children were shown lots of pictures of bridges and were tasked with sorting them.  The children decided they could sort them into large bridges and small bridges.  They then decided they would group them into bridges with curves and bridges without.

The children were then asked to test the strength of card bridges by adding multi-link cubes to the centre of the bridge to find the maximum weight they could support.  The children added extra layers and then retested them and found that the more layers they added, the more cubes could be supported.  We then watched a video about bridges around the world and discovered that triangles and arch shapes could spread the load of the weight so the bridges could support more cubes. 

The children added a curved piece of card below the flat surface and concluded that an arched bridge was far stronger than the straight bridges. 

30Sep19

Where are the castles?

Today, the children have discovered that we live in the UK which is short for 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.  They used the mnemonic 'NEWS' to help remember the four countries that make up the UK (Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland).  They then worked in their groups to read about some of the castles that can be found in the UK.  Using the information, they were able to identify which of the four countries of the UK the castle belonged to and labelled a map accordingly.

I wonder if your child can tell you what the correct name for the UK is and what the four countries of the UK are.  They may be able to tell you what the capital city of each of the four countries are too.

30Sep19

Rapunzel

Today the children worked in small groups to recreate the story of Rapunzel by acting out the key parts. 

We have a very dramatic bunch in Class 4.

27Sep19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Rowan for working hard to follow the golden rules.

and

G for always following the golden rules.

Well done to our super stars.

23Sep19

Significant historical figures.

The children read some facts about Isambard Kingdom Brunel and then ordered them on a timeline.

20Sep19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Matthew for always being ready to listen and ready to learn

and

Scarlett for always listening to and following instructions.

Well done to our super stars.

18Sep19

"Hello, my name is..."

The children are beginning to learn some words and phrases in French.  Here they are replying to my, 'Bonjour', with, 'Bonjour, j'amapelle [name]' (Hello, my name is [name].)  Not bad for a first attempt. 

18Sep19

Coordinating conjunctions.

The children were back out in the atrium to work with Class 3 to practise using coordinating conjunctions.

Can your child give you some examples of coordinating conjunctions?  We are going to be learning all about these throughout Year 2 and practising using them - LOTS.

13Sep19

Roald Dahl Day

To celebrate Roald Dahl day the children learned about the gentleman who illustrated all of Roald Dahl's books, Quentin Blake.  The children really liked his illustrations and worked really carefully at recreating some of his fantastic characters. 

13Sep19

STARS OF THE WEEK

This week our stars of the week are...

Olivia and Kyle for settling into the new school year so well.

Well done to our super stars.

10Sep19

Habitats and Micro-habitats.

The children explored the habitat of the wooded outdoor classroom to find as many micro-habitats as they could. 

Can your child explain what this means?

10Sep19

The Tunnel by Anthony Browne

The children are enjoying learning the story of 'The Tunnel' by Anthony Browne.  The children recalled the main parts of the story and then wrote and drew the key points of the beginning, middle and end of the story.

9Sep19

Spectacular Vocabulary

Class 4 and Class 3 love working together and heading out of the classroom.  As we have been focusing on the author Julia Donaldson we spent the morning in the atrium browsing through lots of lovely Julia Donaldson books trying to find the most exciting words. 

9Sep19

Maths

The children worked with their learning partner to try and count a basket containing 50 objects.  They realised it was quite tricky as every group miscounted.  The children were then tasked with grouping the objects by colour.  They discovered there were 5 groups, each with 10 objects.  The children decided it was easier to count the objects now because they could count 5 lots of 10 and they knew that 5 tens are 50.

6Sep19

Our first two days.

The children seem to have enjoyed their first two days in Class 4 - there have been lots of big smiles and the children are enjoying each other's company.  We have started the year as we mean to go on and have already been incredibly busy.  In English, we have been writing character descriptions about the costumes that we wore on our project launch day.  In maths, we have been working systematically to show all number bonds to ten.  We have also been carefully showing 2-digit numbers using dienes (ten sticks and ones cubes).  The children also enjoyed ordering gingerbread men by the number of buttons on its tummy.  The children had fun with Mr Weeks, our PE coach, on Friday morning - Mr Weeks will be working with the children every Friday morning throughout the school year.

Towers, Tunnels and Turrets - Project launch.

To introduce our new project, 'Towers, Tunnels and Turrets', the children and staff in Key Stage 1 all dressed up as knights, princes, kings, queens and princesses. The children looked fantastic in their costumes and got into their roles beautifully as they strolled majestically around the school.  What a great start to what will, no doubt, be a fascinating and exciting project.