Month: October 2022

P1/2 October 2022

In Literacy Primary 1 have been introduced to the first two sets of sounds and have worked very hard to listen to them in words, read them and form them correctly. P2 have been learning some two-letter sounds and working on tricky words in pairs. We have been listening to lots of Mr. Men stories in order to improve our listening skills and vocabulary.

In Numeracy P1s have been working on counting , ordering and forming numbers 0-8, and making numbers one or two more. P2s have worked on strategies for addition to 20 and reinforcing subtraction to 10. Everyone has worked on 2d and 3d shape, positional language and pattern making.

In RME we learned about Harvest traditions and sharing food with our neighbours, and in music learned a Harvest song  called ‘Cauliflowers Fluffy’ to sing when we delivered the food. In Art we have painted and used oil pastels and collage to create a variety of pictures. In French we have learned about the country of France and some greetings. In Drama we learned how to use our body posture and actions to adapt a role. In PE we have been working on improving our core strength.

Through our topic ‘Senses’ we learned how we use our senses to find out about the world around us. Thank you very much to the parents who visited the class to share their knowledge and experiences, there will be other topics throughout the year that you may be able to help us with.

P6/7 October 2022

Literacy

P6/7 have thoroughly enjoyed our novel this term – Wonder by R J Palacio. Our writing has been based around this, and the children wrote a diary entry from the perspective of one of the characters. We had lots of discussion on the characters and their thoughts and feelings during the planning of our writing. The children all worked well to use the novel to inform their writing. You can see the final drafts of these pieces of writing on Seesaw! Below is a picture of the Character Log we created for our wall display.

 

In Grammar, we have re-capped the Parts of Speech (adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns) and have started to think about using these to up-level our writing to make it more interesting.

Next term, we will be focusing on Character and Setting Descriptions in our writing.

 

Maths

In maths this term we have covered Place Value and the 4 Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). We learned about the value of each digit in numbers to 1,000,000 and played games to reinforce this. We have covered lots of different strategies in addition and subtraction, including the empty number line method, column method, and partitioning (breaking the numbers down). In multiplication, we have been developing our confidence in sharing our mental maths strategies, as well as practising our times tables. We have learned the grid multiplication method for long multiplication, as well as the column method. Ask your child what their preferred method is!

With Ms Casasola, we have been learning about the names and properties of 2D and 3D shape. The children have also been practising to draw shapes accurately and neatly. Ms Casasola has also taught the children about different the types of triangles.

Health and Wellbeing

In Health and Wellbeing, we have been learning about Growth Mindsets. We have discussed the difference between a Growth and Fixed Mindset, and the children have reflected on their own attitudes towards their learning. We created a ‘Learning Pit’ display in the classroom where we can move our name to show where we are in our learning journeys.

In PE our focus has been on Striking and Fielding skills, and we have been putting this into action through Cricket. The children have written the skill they feel they have developed, which you can see on Seesaw. I have watched the children grow in confidence each week which has been lovely to see.

Next term, we will be focussing on Badminton in PE.

IDL

The children have enjoyed learning about Dundee in our topic this term. We have researched landmarks in Dundee and created a wall display with this information. The children created posters on Jute, Jam and Journalism, and the significance this plays in Dundee’s history. We have enjoyed doing some different STEM activities, building the Discovery Ship and V and A Museum which looked fantastic!

Expressive Arts

P6/7 have loved art with Mrs Gatherum this term! In music, the children have been learning about the different sections of the orchestra through listening to the Harry Potter Symphonic Suite – this was a big hit!

I hope you all have a lovely October holiday!

P2/3 – October 22

In numeracy this term, we have been working on place value either with 2-digit, 3-digit or 4-digit numbers.  We invited our parents/carers into a learning workshop to share our place value learning.  We worked collaboratively to build models using 1s, 10s and 100s dienes.  Our parents/carers then supported the children to total the value of our model, focusing on grouping in tens to support our counting.  In beyond number we have been learning about 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes and thinking about their properties.

In literacy, we have been focusing on developing our independence in our writing and knowing what can support us; word bank books and independent white boards.  We have also been focusing on making our writing legible and knowing when to use full stops and capital letters.  We are also developing our reading for enjoyment through daily ‘everybody reading in class’.

 

In health and wellbeing we have worked together to create our class charter based on our school visions and values.  We have also been learning about growth mindset and how this can help us on our learning journeys.

           

For our topic we have been learning about Helping our Community.  The children came up with lots of learning activities so have been learning about who helps us in our community and we had a parent GP come in and explain their roll to the children and gave them the opportunity to use some medical equipment.  The children also suggested helping their community by organising a litter pick-up.  We therefore went out into the village and collected lots of litter from our walk.

P4/5 – October 22

Hello Everyone!!

Primary 4/5 have settled well into the new school year, I cannot believe it’s the October holidays already! The children have learned lots this term and made some good progress. Thank you all for signing up and engaging with our learning on SeeSaw, it really is a great way for us to keep you updated with what’s happening in the classroom in real time!

 

Literacy

This term, our writing focus has been letters. We have identified the difference between a formal and informal letter and the different features of each. The children have written, checked and redrafted their letters often with the support of their peers. Finished articles can be found on SeeSaw!

We have been answering comprehension questions for our reading books in class and the children enjoy reading out loud to an adult. We are working on the fluency of our reading this term and trying to add expression when reading aloud.

The children took part in a short debate organised by Mr Cormack in which the children had to put forward ideas for lunch time clubs in school and give feedback on the speakers.

 

Maths

In number this term, the class have been working on place value, ordering and estimating and rounding with Miss Riley. We are now working on addition and subtraction. The children found place value tricky, so more practice on this would be beneficial! We are learning to ‘carry’ in our addition and subtraction chimney sums.

In beyond number with Miss Davie the children have been working on measure. They have worked on capacity and area and have carried out lots of practical tasks to support their understanding and bring their maths in school into a wider world context.

Next term, the class will be moving on to multiplication and division. Any practice of times tables will always be great to support the children’s maths.

 

Other Curricular Areas

The class have loved having Mrs Gatherum working with the class – this term they have been working on creating seasonal pictures using a mixture of media. This has included watercolours and oil pastels. The quality of work the children have produced has been beautiful!

RME

The children have been learning about Buddhism with Miss Davie. They have created lots of great work including Tibetan Prayer Flags which are up in the hallway outside the classroom! They learned about the Four Noble Truths and have been practicing meditation and mindfulness – this has been great to see!

 

French

We have been learning to say the names of shops in French, and to identify what you can buy from these shops! The children created these, and we have started to make a little French street in the classroom.

Thank you so much for your support this term, I know we have asked for donations of items for lessons and for you to join us for our Sharing the Learning session. Once this has been published, you will all have been in to see us already so thank you in advance for that. I hope you all have a great October break, and we will see you in term 2!

Miss Riley