WELCOME TO DUCKS
We are a Year 1 class and our teacher is Mrs Sophie David
Spring 2 Class News
As writers, the children have been learning the key features of instructional writing and they have all created their own set of instructions. Some children really used their imaginations and wrote sets of instructions for how to grow dinosaurs and magic beans.
As mathematicians, we have enjoyed learning all about measurement. We have been comparing lengths and heights and have learnt how to measure accurately using a ruler.
As scientists we have loved our topic on plants. We have used science skills such as observing, making predictions and testing. We have also learnt to name a variety of different plants and can say the parts of a plant and its key function. We can also talk about evergreen and deciduous trees.
As artists, the children have loved our project exploring pastels. They have been learning about different techniques, such as smudging, and have all created some fantastic spiral pictures.
Last half term, we learnt about the significant achievements of Arthur Wellesley and his legacy. This half term, we went on a fantastic trip to Wellington monument to reinforce this key learning. The monument was erected to celebrate the victory of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. The children have impressed us all with the knowledge they have retained.
Spring 1 Class News
As historians, Ducks have been learning all about Arthur Wellesley and his role in the Battle of Waterloo. Arthur Wellesley lead the British army, along with other countries, to defeat Napoleon in 1815. He was then given the title of Duke of Wellington.
To bring the history alive, we acted out the Battle of Waterloo and made Waterloo medals. These were given to all the British that fought in the battle. Ducks class have shown a great interest and enthusiasm in learning about this part of our history.
As designers, we were very excited to start our new project which is all about ‘Free Standing Structures.’ We began with a WOW starter challenge to see who could build the tallest tower with marshmallows and spaghetti, it was great fun! We then explored a range of construction sets to see if the shape and size of the base made a difference to the strength of the structure. We found out that the wider the base, the stronger the structure.
As scientists we have been exploring plants and begun our unit by exploring how roots suck up water and minerals from the earth. We did this by using a straw and sucking method to try and attach a piece of paper to it. It was harder than it looks!
We then thought about the stem of the plant and created our own plants using blocks as the stem. We added leaves and flowers so we could see how the stem supports these parts of the plant. We also talked about how the stem transports water and nutrients to the leaves.
Next, we explored how the colour and smell of petals attracts pollinating insects to the flower. We smelt paper flowers that had been perfumed and looked at flowers that we had made that were a dull colour and had no scent.
The following week we recorded what we had found out in our science books.
Autumn 2 Class News
This term in Ducks Class we have been very creative with charcoal. We used it in different ways to create different effects. It was a messy job!
We have also loved our computing lessons. We are able to programme Beebots with an algorithm (set of instructions) to direct it to reach our chosen destination. We are learning to use the laptops to publish our writing. We have made a poster about our school by adding an image and typing information.
Our key stage one children did an amazing job rehearsing and performing their nativity. We hope you enjoy it:
Autumn 1 Class News
For our 'WOW' starter in Talk for Writing we went to the park where Mrs David got stuck in the mud. The whole class worked as a team to get Mrs David out!
In Science we had a visit from an alien! The alien’s mission on earth is to find out everything that we know about animals including humans. As part of this mission, we also had an exciting visit from one of our parents who is a doctor. He helped us to answer the questions we had at the start of this unit of work.
In Design and Technology, we have begun our new topic where the outcome will be to make a moving picture using sliders and levers. Over the past few weeks we have been investigating how slider and lever mechanisms work by making some of our own. We have really enjoyed this learning.
Remote Learning