Elm Class

Welcome to our class page! This will give you a bit of an idea of the amazing things we will be doing in Elm this term.

Our homework is predominantly reading, and it is expected that your child reads a minimum of three times a week, every week. This includes the flashcards sent home for practice, as well as the new sounds we are learning, common exception words and reading the books issued in school. The books sent home are carefully matched to your child's current phonic and reading level and it is therefore important that your child reads the school books. In school, we encourage children to read for a purpose, so may be reading in all subject areas and environmental print too. Your child may like to read signs, notices, cereal packets etc outside of school.

Reading books will be changed up to 2 times per week, unless your child has not read the book at home. Research indicates that each book should be read at least three times to enable your child to understand the text and build their fluency in reading. We find children enjoy the story more on a third, or fourth read as they are not simply sounding out the words (decoding). Book changing days are a Monday and Thursday. Please record all reading at home in the reading record book. 

Topic homework may be set during the term and this will be no more than two pieces each term.

Please read class emails regularly so you know what has been set. We will ensure that sufficient time is allocated to complete topic homework, and this is usually two weeks.

We may set maths homework if your child needs some further support at home. 

Our PE days are Tuesday and Wednesdays. Please could children come to school in their PE kit on these days and I would suggest packing extra layers as we will be outside as much as possible. Children will also need a coat every day as we aim to be outside for playtimes and lunchtimes. We also access the Outdoor learning area most weeks, so warmer clothes are needed for these sessions. 

Children will be offered a bit of fruit every morning as a snack however if you would prefer to send your child in with a different healthy snack then please do so. Also, please ensure children have a named water bottle to bring in every day, with fresh water daily. We are a Healthy School, so please only provide fruit, raisins or crackers / cheese, rather than unhealthier options, such as biscuits / chocolate.

If you have any questions or queries about anything this term please contact me through my class email at elm@eastsomersetfederation.co.uk and I will be happy to help.

We have had a very exciting term so far. The children are engaging well in our 'Awesome Australia' topic.

In English, we have been retelling the story of 'The Cantankerous Crocodile' and we have innovated which Australian animals will come to help the crocodile who is suffering from toothache. The children have now created their innovated story maps to help them tell the story in the correct sequence, and include their own ideas. We have had 'cute Koalas', 'daring dingoes', 'brave sugar-gliders', echidnas, emus, thorny devils, snakes, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils and another crocodile to come and pull out the crocodile's tooth. Some children offered to read their stories in front of the class, on the 'Author's chair', using their story maps to guide them through. They did a fantastic job and I explained that they are now a real author!

The children have decided how the story will end - Will the crocodile in their story be thankful and let the animals drink in the Adelaide River, or will he eat the animal who helped him?

We are looking at words with 'ed' endings, such as pulled, jumped, and encouraging the correct spelling of this suffix. 

The children will now 'box-up' their ideas, then write their final story for our 'BIG WRITE'. 

In maths, we have been focusing on place value - understanding what numbers 'look like' and their relative value to each other. We have comparing sets and using words fewer, same/equal, more. We have been comparing numbers and relating this to a number line so the children can see that numbers get larger the more you count. When comparing 9 and 6, we explain that 9 will be more as it is further along the number track and has a greater value. 

We have revisited counting on and back from different given numbers, reminding children not to say the start number, and to use their fingers, or a number track, to help them keep stable number order when counting forwards and backwards. This is an important prerequisite skill to addition and subtraction.

We are learning how numbers are made up of smaller numbers, using a part part whole model and splitting up numbers, for example, 6 can be split into 6+0; 5+1; 4+2, 3+3. This is an important part of addition. The children will then learn relative number facts. For example, if we know 4 and 2 = 6, then we know 6-4 is 2 and 6-2 is 4. 

In Science, we have been sorting animals into groups. First of all we looked at animal characteristics and thought about how animals differ from each other. We looked at pets first, then wild Australian animals. We found out why some animals have long tails and whiskers. 

We then grouped animals according to their features. The children had to guess how I had grouped the animals e.g wings, no wings; feathers, skin; fur, skin. The children they came up with their own criterion. we had some fantastic ideas to sort the animals by - beaks / no beaks; ears / no ears; small ears / large ears; legs, no legs; can swim, can't swim. We discussed why some animals could swim e.g fins, webbed feet. 

We then sorted animals by lives on the land / lives in the water and introduced the Venn Diagram.

We have been looking at what animals eat, and have sorted animals into groups according to their diet. The children are learning that carnivores eat other animals; herbivores eats plants; omnivores eat plants and animals. We talked about human teeth and how they are designed to eat meat and plants, but discussed that some people eat a vegan / vegetarian diet. 

Our first Scientific enquiry question was 'How can we use animal poo to identify if an animal is a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. The children seemed delighted to engage in our 'poo experiment', observing and breaking up the fake poo, to reveal what the Australian animals had eaten. Inside the smaller, round rabbit poo, there were leaves and carrots. Inside the cube shaped wombat poo, there was Eucalyptus leaves. Inside the Emu poo, there was grass, stalks, seeds, bones and red food colouring (blood). Inside The Tasmanian Devil's poo there was just bones. 

Our next Scientific enquiry is: Do all animals have the same senses? We shall be researching animal pictures using the chrome books and looking carefully at their features. We will encourage children to ask questions, such as 'Why does the possum have such large eyes for a small creature?' We will answer a question posed earlier in the topic by a child - 'Why does a koala have a big nose?'

We shall finish our Science unit by classifying and sorting animals into 5 groups - amphibians, birds, mammals, fish and reptiles. The homework over the Christmas period will be to extend the learning and find out more about the animals your children are fond of and which group they belong to. 

Spring Term 1 - 'It's so cold down here!' Antarctica.

In Spring Term 1, we had a penguin arrive outside Elm class door. He looked lost, so the teacher took him inside and placed him in a bowl of ice. We didn't know where the penguin had come from at first, but we learnt that most penguins live in Antarcticia. 

We have built our 'Talk for Writing' English unit loosely around Oliver Jeffer's book 'Lost and Found'. We have followed the children's interests and curiosities to adapt the story. The children made some 'Lost penguin' posters to display in their home towns and villages. Unfortunately, no-one claimed the penguin! The children said we should make him a boat and one day, our penguin was found packing his things and getting ready to set sail. 

The children wrote what might happen to the penguin as he arrives in Antarctica. Some children suggested he was hungry, so he might have a picnic. Some children said he would meet a killer whale, or a dangerous seal. I added to their ideas, and we learnt about the skua bird. The children then wrote 'the problem' in their stories, and the ending. We focused on describing the weather, and the wildlife. We focused on creating fear and suspense for the reader.

One child has written so far: 'Plippy was overjoyed and thrilled when he saw the glistening land of Antarctica. the weather was snowy and frosty. His feather ruffled up in the snowy blizzard. His feet were frozen and his stomach was covered with snow, Suddenly, a fearless, greedy ,sneaky leopard seal spied Plippy and then slivered onto the shimmering land of Antarctica. Then, the leopard seal started chasing Plippy. Plippy was frightened. He saw an ice shelf floating in the sea. He dived into the sea and jumped...' 

I wonder how this story will end?

We have introduced 'Drop and read' as a fun way for an additional reading session during the week. The children chose where they wanted to read in the classroom, including under tables and in the cloakroom! This is in addition to our guided reading sessions, and 1:1 reading, where we can. 

In Maths we have continued learning about addition and subtraction, as well as place value of numbers. The children have been recapping number bonds of all numbers to 10. We encourage children to apply the facts they know to number stories and problems. We have counted up to 70, with a great emphasis on passing through the decade numbers e.g 29 ....30; 39 ....40. We have looked at 3D shapes and found shapes around the classroom. 

In Science, we have been learning about the weather. The children have learnt about weather symbols and made a class pictogram showing which weathers they prefer. The children have been taught to read a thermometer and they completed a weekly weather diary, drawing the daily weather as a symbol and recording the daily temperature. We have also been learning about body parts in Science - naming the different body parts and talking about joints (knee and elbow). We have adapted the song 'Head, shoulders, knees and toes' to include many different body parts. We also play a warm up game in PE called 'Shake out the body part' which the children have enjoyed. We have been learning about the five senses and which body part they are associated with. We went on a 'Senses walk' around the school, finding out what we can see, hear, smell, touch and taste. We shall carry out a Science experiment to find out whether we smell better when we cannot see. The children will be making predictions first.

In Geography, we have recapped the seven continents and have learnt more about Antarctica. We have learnt about the equator and that the hotter countries are near the equator, and the colder countries, further away. We have recapped the five oceans, explaining that polar bears swim in the Arctic Ocean, whereas penguins swim in the Southern Ocean. We have talked about the North and South poles and directions. 

We were very lucky to have Jamie visit us. Jamie is a carpenter who has visited Antarctica three times to work on projects there. He shared some amazing photos, including the Southern lights, Captain Scott's hut and, of course, photos of the magnificent wildlife and scenery. The children wrote some very articulate, and well-thought out questions to ask him, such as 'Where do you get water to drink?' 'What types of penguins did you see?' 'How did you get there?' We found out that Jamie traveled by plane which landed on the sea; he slept in a tent in the Summer and in a building in the Winter; he had to drink sea water which had been put through a machine and he met Adelie and Emperor penguins. 

We will look at the historical evidence to answer questions about Captain Scott, such as 'How do we know he went there?' 'How do we know his journey was difficult?' 'Was he the first explorer to reach the South Pole?' 

In Art and DT, we have looked at weaving and the work of American weaver, Diedrick Brackens. the children will weave with paper and look at weaving with fabric. 

In computing, we have been directing a Beebot robot. 

In our outdoor learning sessions, we have shown an interest in birds. We have been making bird nests and a bird shower! We have signed up the the RSPB bird watch, and have now completed the survey. The children enjoyed making the bird feeders and seeing the birds line up on the telephone wires in the next field. They tallied the birds they saw, such as robins, sparrows, crows, pigeons, blackbirds, blue tits - and we were very lucky to see a male and female chaffinch!

Spring 2 - Gruel and School (Victorian England).

Welcome to the second part of the Spring Term in Elm class. 

Our Christian Value this term is 'Love' and our RE focus is 'Easter'.

It's going to be a term of fun with World Book Week and Science Week in weeks 2 and 3 of this term. 

For World Book Week, our school focus is POETRY. In Elm class we have selected Edward Lear for our chosen poet to study. We will learn 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat' by rote, and perform our poetry. We shall also share some of his nonsense poems, such as The Duck and the Kangaroo. We shall invite family into be our 'Mystery Readers' across the week. 

For Science week, we are looking forward to our visitors from Devon to launch our Science week and take part in learning about forces, by making rockets to launch. We shall also carry out our own class experiment, with the title of 'Should we flush it away?' 

For English this term, we are focusing on 'The magic porridge pot' and we shall innovate (change) and write the story. 

We have already read instructions to make gruel and we have written a food review. Surprisingly, the majority of the class liked salty gruel - with one child giving it five stars and writing 'I think gruel is salty and delicious!'.

In DT, we shall be designing our own porridge recipes and using hand tools to grate, cut, whisk our ingredients. 

In Maths, we continue to look at place value of two-digit numbers, and compare numbers using what we know. We shall be adding and subtracting within 20. We shall rehearse counting on and back from different numbers to aid us with our calculations. We shall be measuring height and length using non-standard and standard units. 

In Science, we are learning about months of the year, seasons, and typical weathers and events within each season. We have already been out in our school grounds, spotting signs of Spring and looking at the thermometer. 

Our Maths 'High ceiling, Low Threshold' challenge:

For Science week. Elm class have investigated a Scientific question: 'Should we flush it away?' We created 4 'toilets' from milk carton bottles and filled with water. We marked the side of the cartons to ensure it was a fair test, all with the same amount of water. Into our toilets we placed a tissue, a piece of sugar paper, some toilet roll and a paper towel. The children then each gave the toilet 3 shakes (as a flush) and investigated which material would disintegrate. We found out that it was only the toilet roll that disintegrated, and were surprised that the tissue did not. 

More recently, we have investigated the question 'Does the wind always blow the same way?' We made wind socks and observed the effects of the wind upon our creations. We discovered that the wind was blowing in all different directions. We read the poem  'The North wind doth blow', which fitted nicely with our phonic learning of the sound 'ow' - blow, snow.

We have designed and created a bowl of tasty porridge and have learnt the skills of whisking, grating and cutting. We also learnt about food hyqiene, such as washing our hands and ensuring the equipment was clean and safe to use. Most of the bowls were scraped clean!

We have been learning about Victorian Schools for history and we went outside for 'drill'. The children were shocked to learn about the cane, and 'the basket' as punishments for poor behaviour. We have looked at different sources of evidence, such as photos, museum artefacts, paintings, and a teacher's log. The children then answered the question 'How do we know about Victorian schools?'