Year 1 and Year 2
FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER!
This term, our key concepts are
'traditions', 'passion' and 'adversity'.
As we look forward to the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, we are using this as the inspiration for our term's project. Over the term, we shall be learning about the history and traditions of the Olympic Games. We shall also find out about some famous Olympians and Paralympians and consider what drives them to succeed and how they overcome adversity.
We shall also dive into Japanese culture and heritage as we look at the beautiful cherry blossoms, the wonderful manga and kawaii art work, zen gardens, Japanese music and fan-dancing. What a busy term!
The Olympic Flame
We learnt about how the Olympic Games originated in Ancient Greece. We compared the modern Olympic Games with the Ancient Olympics and discovered some interesting similarities and differences. After that, we learnt about the tradition of the Olympic flame.
In English lessons, we have been thoroughly enjoying learning about traditional tales. We spotted some common themes within famous traditional tales and compared a traditional version of Jack and the Beanstalk with a modern version - Jack and the Baked Beanstalk! We are writing our own versions of this traditional tale now.
Japanese cherry blossom festivals are traditional festivals in Japan and are held in the spring. We made our own cherry blossom paintings after experimenting with colour mixing and painting techniques. Can you spot all the different pinks we made by mixing pink, purple, white and red?
In science lessons, we have been learning about the structure of plants and what they need to stay healthy. We have been on a local nature walk to identify native wildflowers and have compared blossoms from the UK to Japan. Can you name any native wildflowers?
Our topic this term is a Geography based one
Under the Sea
We will be exploring the oceans that can be found in our planet, the amazing animals that live there and the very important and topical theme of Plastic Pollution.
Our key concepts are:
change, morality and stewardship
English
Look at our fantastic non-chronological reports of sea animals.
Science
Children have conducted an experiment to find out if plastic is biodegradable. What do you think the answer will be?
Art and Design and Technology
We have created our own dioramas to show the habitats of animals living in the oceans. We thought about how we could make different textures, hang and move animals and also how we could attach the animals and plants.
We have also created our own sculptures to represent the problem of plastic pollution and its effects on the sea animals. We have written our own pledges about how we can personally have an impact on this problem.
Eco week
We have recycled old milk cartons to make planters as well as having a go at making our own beeswax wraps as an alternative to plastic wrapping for food.
Remember, Remember...
During autumn term our project in Willow Class is 'Remember, Remember...' In our project lessons, we are going to be finding out about people who made a difference to the world through their choices. As we learn, we shall be thinking about our key concepts of rights, democracy and sacrifice.
In our English lessons, we read 'Malala's Magic Pencil'. We learnt about the life of Malala Yousafzai and discovered what power there is in a pencil when you are brave and you want to see a change for better in the world. Malala really wanted to make sure that girls had the same right to go to school as boys. We wrote a short information text about Malala.
One thing we learnt about Malala was that she was born and grew up in Pakistan. We located Pakistan on a map. We then discovered that in Pakistan, trucks are famously decorated with bright and colourful patterns and pictures. We made our own jingle truck to brighten up our classroom.
We learnt about the time when an ordinary lady called Rosa Parks stood up for the rights of black people in America. She refused to give up her seat for a white person even though, at that time, it was the law. We learnt that Rosa Parks was an activist and her choice led to a peaceful boycott of buses by the black people in her community. It eventually led to a changes in the law to give equal rights to everyone.
On the week beginning 19th October 2020, the whole of Holy Trinity Primary School spent time looking at the story of creation as told in Genesis.
In Willow Class, we went on a nature walk and looked for some of the wonderful parts of creation in our immediate surroundings.
We finished off RE Creation week by looking at 'On the seventh day, God rested.' We spent a few minutes listening to some 'busy' music (Flight of the Bumblebee). We were really busy moving on our spot without stopping and covering as much of a piece of paper as we could with colouring pencils without stopping until the music stopped. We then took an important rest!
After half term, we are going to be learning about the events of the gunpowder plot. We shall find out why this event is marked each year on 5th November.