Important daily learning ideas
It’s important to keep reading a little every day, The Oxford Owl website is brilliant – click on the button below to find the link and your login details.
On the side of each book is a little colour marker. The Year 1 children are best to choose books with red, yellow or blue markers to start off with. Year 2 will be able to read the books with green, orange, turquoise and purple markers. The books get progressively harder as you scroll through the colour bands.
Use the Teach Your Monster to Read App and the Monster Phonics App to work through some of the phonics games, daily. Please also keep working on spelling some of the high frequency words on the word card that we sent home in the homework books. Try to apply the words in sentences too. Phonicsplay and Twinkl are other excellent sites containing phonics activities and games. We are currently working on Phase 5/6 phonics with Year 1 and 2.
I will be adding any Monster Phonics PowerPoints and resources which you could try at home, to a folder on Teams. That way, you will be able to access these even if you can’t make the meetings. You also have access to their learning resources during this period of home learning. You can find the details by clicking on the Monster Phonics button below.
Practical Maths is the best way for children to learn, so please do not feel that your child has to complete the worksheets. You could use toys, raisins or dried pasta as counters. If you don’t have a printer, the sheets can be completed on paper or in an exercise book..
And don’t forget our live lesson which will be held at:
11.30am every day. This will be your chance to learn directly with me and to see your friends.
Click here to download this week’s work, and continue reading for quick access to all your links and other information.
Monday
Maths
Today we will be thinking about subtraction, whilst crossing ten. Start by doing the lesson together here.
Follow this up with some practical activities to try to practise what you learned in the video. There are also some resources on teams.
I have also set some My Maths tasks that the children could try. On Teams, there is a list of logins for the children to access Numbots (Year 1) and TT Rockstars (Year 2). The Numbots app is very easy at first but does get harder and is really good for embedding number facts. Please don’t try to do everything- pick and choose the activities that work best for your child.
English
Read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk that is in this week’s English folder. (I shall read this during today’s Teams meeting too). Talk about the different characters and what you know about them from the story. Use the ‘Character Description’ sheet in the Teams files to write about your favourite character from the story. There are some really good adjectives that you could use to make your writing really interesting and exciting to read. Don’t forget to use really neat handwriting, capital letters and full stops too.
Topic (Science)
The key part of this term’s topic is to learn what makes an animal an animal. Last week we classified animals into the main groups of mammals, reptiles, insects, amphibians, fish and birds. Now I would like you to investigate the features of some different creatures in each group. What is its skin like, does it have feathers, fur or scales? How does it move? Is it a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore? Does it lay eggs? The Chester Zoo, London Zoo and Blackpool Zoo websites will help you to gather this information. They even hold virtual zoo days where you can find out about the different animals that they look after.
Now I would like you to invent an animal. What is its head and body like? How does it move? What is it covered with? Does it have a tail? What is its habitat like? What does it eat? Which animal group would it belong to if it was real? Draw a picture of your animal, describe it and give it a name. You might like to download the ‘Animal Muddles’ app to help invent funny animals with different features.
Tuesday
Maths
Today, in maths, we are continuing on our mission to conquer subtraction, crossing ten. Please start by doing the lesson here, after which it would be brilliant if you do a few practical activities together. There are also some resources on Teams.
Please remember to do some reading and phonics work, every day. There are plenty of ideas in Teams and don’t forget to use the Logins detailed in the Key Learning section above.
English
Have another read through our version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Have you ever heard a different version? Traditional tales are so old that we don’t know who wrote the stories! Sometimes there are lots of different versions of the same story. In some versions of The Three Little Pigs, all three pigs survive and in other versions two of the pigs get eaten! Have a chat with your grown up about all of the different traditional stories that you know. Watch these video clips of Jack and the Beanstalk.
How is it different to the one that I read to you? Now have a look at the Comprehension activity. Can you answer all of the questions about Jack and the Beanstalk. (There are three comprehensions which get progressively harder so please choose the one that suits your child best. There is no need to print this out, it can be a discussion activity rather than written if you prefer.)
Topic (Computing)
This afternoon, I would like you to think about internet safety. Please look at the childnet page here. I have added a Smartie the Penguin Powerpoint to the folder on Teams and a sheet of questions that you could use to aid discussion about this important issue.
Wednesday
Maths
When we are learning about maths and number, we look at and realise that there are related facts. Knowing and understanding these facts helps us to solve harder problems. Please watch the lesson here and then do some practical maths together. Don’t forget there are resources for you to use on Teams as well.
English
Today we will peep through the keyhole into the giant’s castle and see if we can think of some amazing adjectives to describe what we can see. Let’s go and climb up the beanstalk…..ssshhhh!!!! (We will try to do this during our meeting but if there is a technical hitch, the interactive activity ‘Giant’s Castle’ is in the English folder.) Peep through and move the key hole around. Describe what you think you could hear, smell, see, taste, touch if you were in the castle. Try to use lots of adjective (exciting describing words). If you press the space bar it should clear the picture so that you can have a good look around the room. Using the ‘Inside the Giant’s Castle’ sheet, write some sentences about what you think you can see, hear, smell, taste, touch inside the giant’s castle. (Use ideas from through the keyhole plus own imagination.)
Topic (Art)
Have a look at some different animal skin patterns. Try to sketch and colour some. Above you can see examples that you might like to try:
Thursday
Maths
Today we will be comparing different number sentences. Please do the lesson here and then follow it up with some practical activities and look out for any resources on Teams.
English
Recap on the story. When we read ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ we feel glad that Jack defeats that giant and lives happily ever after. But how do you think the giant’s wife feels when she finds out what Jack has done? Make a ‘wanted’ poster to help her to catch Jack. His crimes could be stealing and also killing the giant! What reward to you think the giant’s wife would offer to the person who catches Jack for her? There is a template that you could use on teams or you could create your own.
Topic (R.E.)
Last week we looked at how we have special meals with our families to celebrate different occasions. When Catholics celebrate Mass, they are celebrating Jesus’ special meal.
Read this story:
Last week, I asked Mum why we always went to Mass on Sunday morning. Mum said Sunday was a special day for the friends of Jesus. “It’s a day when the parish family gather together to remember Jesus, a day when they celebrate Jesus’ love,” she told me. “It is a very special meal that Jesus asked us to celebrate to remember him. It helps us love Jesus more.”
After Mass, Mum bought me a book in the little shop at the back of church. It is all about Sunday. It has pictures of what happens at Mass. When we got home, Dad read it with me. I can remember lots of things it told us. There is a picture of the priest welcoming all the people. He reminds them that they have come together to remember Jesus and his love for them. He says a prayer. Everyone sits down to listen to stories about Jesus. They say prayers thanking God for sending Jesus. Some receive Holy Communion, and some receive a blessing. The priest sends people home to take Jesus’ love out to everyone they meet.
Chat about the story then draw a picture of someone receiving communion or a blessing at Mass.
Friday
Maths
There is an activity to try on Teams which checks the children’s understanding of the addition and subtraction unit that they have just completed. All of the resources are in the folders if you need to revisit any concepts with your child.
English
What do you think happened to the beanstalk after the end of the story? Did Jack, his Mum and Daisy stay in their house or did they move? Did the man have any more magic beans and if so, what did he do with them? What else do you think happened to Jack and his family? Write the next part of the story to explain what happened to Jack and his family after the point at which ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ ends. (Maybe Jack finds some more beans and has another adventure up a beanstalk.)
Topic (P.E.)
Be active! Go for a walk, ride your bike, learn how to skip with a rope. Don’t forget the daily PE with Joe Wicks which is live every morning at 9am. Cosmic Kids Yoga is also lovely, you can find sessions on you tube to follow (see link), and they also have an App (fees apply).
In the PE folder on Teams, there is a Moving Animals Powerpoint. Have a look through it, then see if you can move like the different animals. Can you crawl, slither, gallop, jump, creep, swim, fly? Can your family guess which animal you are pretending to be?
As you know, we use Monster Phonics in school, and, to support parents through home learning, they are providing free access to their resources.