In P1 the children have taken to their new reading programme with great fervor. Now they are developing skills that allow them to buddy read effectively.
This enables children to support each other and model good reading strategies, whilst also developing an enjoyable reading experience as it is something that they are doing with their friends.
We talked about how to sit and behave correctly when buddy reading and covered the EEKK approach.
Then the children spent 10-15 minutes buddy reading in the class. They even got to choose their own buddies!
This term we have been learning about length and weight. I wanted the assessment for this unit to be a practical hands on activity and spent a while thinking about what we could do.
We ended up making a Lego model that met certain requirements. They had to weigh 300g and measure 25cm (height, length or width).
The children seemed to really enjoy this activity and worked hard to meet the criteria for their models. Only three children actually achieved it though.
I wasn't too concerned about the children managing to get their model to weigh 300g and measure 25cm but I was interested in the children being able to show me that they were competent in using and reading scales and rulers correctly. There was a lot of evidence of this through the entire assessment and the students also got opportunities for developing other knowledge and skills too.
Through the morning I had plenty of opportunity to sit with each pupil and assess their understanding of the measurement topics we have covered and have left the information for the class teacher to use in their paperwork.
For the past few weeks there has been a student in my class who was really keen to teach TheCup Song to her classmates.
On Monday, she got her opportunity.
When the rest of the class were told about this there were some initial issues as they re-adjusted their mindset around their peer. I said they had to treat her as they would a teacher and I was going to be watching to make sure that happened. Once they started learning the song, the class quickly fell into good relationship.
The girl did a great job in sharing with her classmates and managed to teach most of them the whole pattern. She shared the job with a friend who already knew the song and they worked with half the class and smaller groups to support the rest to learn it.
I feel that student led activities are hugely beneficial for the students in a range of ways and hope that this activity will open the door for more requests/suggestions from the children in this class so that they can become more involved and engaged in their learning.
As part of our shape work we decided to go outside and make patterns with the items we found in the playground.
I was particularly impressed with the patterns that the students managed to create which included a lot of patterns with 2 piece repeating pattern but a few 3 part patterns and more.
This week we have been learning about the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. We introduced the topic last week and got the opportunity to make and play with driedels. This was a great game and the pupils all grasped the concept quickly and enjoyed playing with each other.
This video showed us how to use the driedels and used counters to play.
This week we looked further into the hanukkiah which is a special symbol for Hanukkah. The class discussed the differences between the hanukkiah and menorah, which are two very similar jewish items.
We saw that the hanukkiah had more candle arms than the menorah and also featured a shamash which is the central candel holder that is slightly higher.
We then used paper to create an art piece based on the hanukkiah. The classes did a fantastic job with this and had to solve a lot of problems along the way.
In P1/2 this week the Primary 1s were learning about the letter f and the primary 2s were learning about words that end with all.
We did a phonics carousel to help us consolidate our understanding and knowledge of these words and sounds. The pupils in this class are getting much more confident in undertaking a carousel independently.
Last week we did some art and the trays were stored in sandwich bags to use next time. Unfortunately there was an accident with the trays and the paint ended up getting mixed and spilled. So we took this as an opportunity to use the paint bags as a multisensory phonics activity in our carousel!
The children also got a chance to explore the mixture of colours with this activity which they enjoyed.
We also made the letter f with Lego, and spelled out some words that started with f. The pupils really impressed me with this activity by staying focused and not messing around with the Lego during work time.
They also completed some worksheets to help with their letter formation.
In RME this term we have been learning about the festivals of light. The first festival we looked at was Diwali.In class the students watched a story telling us the background of the celebration which they got to reenact. The classes enjoyed this activity and along with developing their drama skills they worked on team work and collaboration, which some groups struggled with. Then we looked at the importance of Rangoli during the festival and talked about how they are used during the celebrations. We looked at examples online and practiced creating our own designs on paper in class and took the opportunity for some outdoor learning and drew designs in the playground using chalk. I was particularly impressed by the results and how focused the pupils were during the tasks.
This term we have been learning about length and weight. I wanted the assessment for this unit to be a practical hands on activity and spent a while thinking about what we could do.
We ended up making a Lego model that met certain requirements. They had to weigh 300g and measure 25cm (height, length or width).
I wasn't too concerned about the children managing to get their model to weigh 300g and measure 25cm but I was interested in the children being able to show me that they were competent in using and reading scales and rulers correctly. There was a lot of evidence of this through the entire assessment and the students also got opportunities for developing other knowledge and skills too.
This week we looked further into the hanukkiah which is a special symbol for Hanukkah. The class discussed the differences between the hanukkiah and menorah, which are two very similar jewish items.
Last week we did some art and the trays were stored in sandwich bags to use next time. Unfortunately there was an accident with the trays and the paint ended up getting mixed and spilled. So we took this as an opportunity to use the paint bags as a multisensory phonics activity in our carousel!
In RME this term we have been learning about the festivals of light. The first festival we looked at was Diwali.
In class the students watched a story telling us the background of the celebration which they got to reenact. The classes enjoyed this activity and along with developing their drama skills they worked on team work and collaboration, which some groups struggled with. Then we looked at the importance of Rangoli during the festival and talked about how they are used during the celebrations. We looked at examples online and practiced creating our own designs on paper in class and took the opportunity for some outdoor learning and drew designs in the playground using chalk. I was particularly impressed by the results and how focused the pupils were during the tasks.
