2KA November Learning
What an exciting month this has been in 2KA!
English
In English, we began our poetry unit starting with a cold write. The children didn't feel very confident about their knowledge of poetry so we were about to introduce and develop lots of new skills. The children really enjoyed the challenge and demonstrated fantastic progress with their poetry writing skills. We began with shape poems inspired by Bonfire Night. The children used some fantastic vocabulary and wrote some beautiful poems which they were very proud of. We also explored acrostic poems, thinking about the JC values and Remembrance Day.
Maths
In maths we have moved on to learning about multiplication and division. At first we worked hard to develop our knowledge and understanding of times tables in more depth, with the children discovering that times tables are really useful for supporting their calculations! We also discovered the magic of number fact families and how knowledge of one times table fact leads to the knowledge of another and two division facts! Lots of children found this learning very tricky, but again I have been wowed by their resilience and positive attitudes to learning.
Creative Curriculum
November is the perfect time to be learning about the Gunpowder plot! We kicked off our learning by finding out about firework safety and celebrated with our own special campfire. We toasted marshmallows (delicious) and sang campfire songs. It was so much fun! We also learned that Bonfire Night is celebrated because King James ordered a celebration to take place every year to remember the capture of Guy Fawkes and the other plotters - a team of criminals who wanted to kill the king. The children had fun debating whether they thought the plotters were right for standing up to King James, or if King James was right for punishing the plotters. Some interesting views were shared!
Science
This month in science has been incredibly fun! We have continued our topic of finding out about everyday materials and completed some practical investigations. First, we investigated which material would make the best trousers for the Smartest Giant in Town - one of our favourite class stories. We discovered that paper would NOT be a suitable material for George's trousers as it would go all soggy when it got wet! We also had lots of fun using our knowledge of the story of the Three Little Pigs to investigate which material - straw, sticks or bricks - would be the most suitable material for building a house. The classroom got a little bit messy during our investigation, but our predictions were correct and we came to the conclusion that bricks are DEFINITELY the best material for building a house!
Other News
Headteacher's Challenge
Mrs Nelson has re-launched the Head Teacher's Challenge! The children were very excited about this and made some fantastic Pudsey Bears to celebrate Children In Need.
myON
This month we launched myON. A fantastic website which links to Accelerated Reader. This allows children to read a huge variety of fiction and non-fiction books online, recommending options directly linked to their own reading level and personal goals. After reading, the children are able to take a quiz on their chosen book just like they do with their class reading books. myON can be accessed here: www.myon.co.uk The login details for myON are the same as for Accelerated Reader and can be found in your child's reading journal.
