March 2023 – P5.17 Blog 2023/24

Character Analysis

This mornings reading skill is character analysis. A few weeks ago we read the story of Rumplestiltskin and today we watched an animated version of the story before carrying out a group character analysis of him.

There was a lot of conflicting reasons given for why he behaved the way he did, the discussions were exciting and detailed!

Then we watched a short clip of Olaf and had the chance to create our own individual character analysis.

There was a lot of great vocabulary used and some really insightful observations.

Developing a Nurturing Environment- Part 3

Thank you to our families who have generously donated books and toys to support our nurturing classroom. Today we received some fidget toys both commercial and handmade as well as a book to support a calm and happy environment.

Developing a Nurturing Environment – Part 2

As a class we talked about things we could add to our class to create a calm and nurturing environment. We explored an array of different options based on research and various things we use at home to help us feel calm and happy.

We decided on a large rug that can be used indoors or outdoors, a calming timer, fidget items and a wobble cushion. Some families also donated preloved fidget toys for our classroom.

Sequencing

Our reading skill today was sequencing, we explored together what sequencing meant and wrote our class definition in our learning journals.

Then we watched the story of The Kissing Hand and sequenced the events of the story. Finally we had a shot at sequencing instructions for making popcorn.

Developing a Nurturing Environment – Part 1

At the start of the year the teachers and children of 4.14 worked together to design their classroom and agreed that they wanted it to feel as homely as possible.

We collected plants, natural objects, cushions, rugs, battery candles and ornaments to make it feel comfortable and relaxing.

Following a staff CLPL session on developing nurturing environments we took another look at our environment and thanks to funding from the PTA selected items to make our space even more nurturing and relaxing.

Maths

In Maths we have been learning about fractions of a number line, the 8 times table and functions machines. Yesterday we took that learning outdoors.

Supermovers

One of our favourite ways to learn our multiplication tables is by using Supermovers.

Easter

This morning we welcomed a member of our pastoral care team who came to talk to the class about Easter. It was interesting hearing about the time line leading from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Author Visit

On Friday we were lucky to welcome author Emily Jacobs to our class. It was great to hear about the way she comes up with her ideas and how her novels are created. After a brief talk we were lucky to have her help and guidance with our own books.

Research

We spent our morning carrying out research in the library for our nonfiction books. This allowed us to develop our use of contents pages, glossaries and index’s as well as building our note taking skills and general knowledge. It was fun finding out where in the library our information would be.