Summary
They carefully considered how these mechanisms work and made detailed plans for how they would construct their moving parts, thinking about which materials and tools would be most effective.
This week in Beech Class, both our Year 1 and Year 2 children have been deeply engaged in exploring imaginative stories and developing their skills across a wide range of subjects. The classroom has been full of curiosity, creativity, and lively discussion as the children built upon their growing confidence as readers, writers, and thinkers.
In English, the Year 2 children have been looking at the story Beegu by Alexis Deacon. They explored the emotions and thoughts of the characters, thinking carefully about how Beegu might feel being lost in an unfamiliar world. Using their understanding of dialogue, they wrote thoughtful questions as if they were spoken by the characters, making sure to use speech marks correctly to show who was speaking. This activity helped them to develop both their punctuation accuracy and their ability to write from a character’s perspective.
Meanwhile, the Year 1 children have been thoroughly enjoying The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. They began by drawing detailed story maps to sequence the events and identify the key parts of the story. Using these visual aids, they then wrote about their favourite moments, describing what made those parts special and practicing their sentence writing and sequencing skills. It has been wonderful to see their growing confidence in using descriptive language and retelling familiar tales in their own words.
In Maths, the Year 1 children have been learning about halving. They explored this concept by practically halving shapes, objects, and small groups of items to see what it means to share equally. Through hands-on activities and games, they have developed a solid understanding of division as sharing. Year 2, on the other hand, have been strengthening their subtraction skills. They learned a new mental strategy for subtracting 9 first subtracting 10, then adding 1 back on. This clever method encouraged them to think flexibly about numbers, helping to build their fluency and confidence in mental maths.
Science lessons were filled with discovery this week. Year 1 explored reptile skin, observing pictures to study the different textures, colours, and patterns. They discussed how these unique features help reptiles survive in their environments, and then created their own reptile skin artwork using paint and sponges to recreate the scaly textures. Year 2 have been young scientists investigating floating and sinking. They experimented with a range of materials, predicting which would float and which would sink before testing their ideas in water. Through their investigations, they discovered how properties such as shape, density, and material type affect buoyancy, deepening their understanding of forces in action.
In Design Technology, this week was all about planning and preparation. Year 1 children began designing cards featuring sliders and levers. They carefully considered how these mechanisms work and made detailed plans for how they would construct their moving parts, thinking about which materials and tools would be most effective. Year 2 pupils planned their free-standing sculptures, drawing inspiration from famous buildings around the world. They studied architectural features such as arches, towers, and domes, and began sketching ideas for their own creative structures. This project has encouraged them to combine imagination with problem-solving and structural thinking.
We are incredibly proud of all the children’s enthusiasm and hard work this week. Their creativity, curiosity, and growing independence have been wonderful to see, and we can’t wait to watch their imaginative ideas and exciting projects come to life in the coming weeks.