Birch topic for this term was: From A to B
Birch class has been very busy doing a lot of exciting activities around this theme! During this term, the children in Birch have been looking at how people, every day all over the world, make different types of journey, on land, on sea and in the air. We have been exploring all types of transport in different countries and we also looked at the different ways of transport in the past and in the present.
Literacy
Speaking, Listening and Drama
Speaking, listening and drama, are skills normally taught and applied both socially and across the curriculum. During our circle time and discussion sessions, the children have been given the chance to speak and listen to each other. Book talks have been exciting opportunities for our class for exploring new language, encouraging critical thinking, predicting, retelling and creating characters and setting for new stories. Ultimately, at IFS, comprehension is developed through talks and exchanging of ideas rather than through textbook comprehension exercises.
Reading
Without any doubts, reading for the Birch pupils, is not a chore but a true joy! The children have been enjoying many shared, guided and read- aloud sessions. We have been reading various books on types of transport, real and magic. We started with The Boy who could Fly, a fiction book with an element of fun and magic. To ensure learning was kept lively and interactive, we have been using many drama activities in the classroom. For this purpose, we usually keep a dress up box in class with fancy dresses, props and accessory that the children can use every day to get into different characters and act out their favourite scene from the book. Throughout various drama techniques such as paired improvisation, hot seating, meetings and freeze frames the children got the chance to explore issues and dilemmas, to develop vocabulary, sequencing and story language. It was a rewarding pleasure to watch the once shy and quiet children, literally running to the dress up box, eagerly dressing up and acting out one of their chosen characters from the book! They were certainly having fun!
Creative writing, phonics and spelling
We also read the 3 books about Bob (Bob the Man on the Moon; Bob and his best, ever, friend; Bob and the Moon tree Mystery) which have had a huge success!
The children have been following Bob in all his adventures on the Moon and they have had many opportunities to show and practice their writing skills especially in the Class Journal, which has been filled in with many little stories, comments and drawings! Grammar, punctuation and spelling (phase 3 and 4) have been taught and practiced through engaging activities around the main theme. All the children have been encouraged to make contributions to the journal. Following the teacher’s model, the children have been taught how to plan, edit and proofread their work. In addition, pupils, have had the opportunities to be creative writing nonsense sentences/poems, diary entries and shopping lists. Last, but not the least, handwriting has been practicing every day and children can show now their huge improvement!
Numeracy
During this term, the Birch students have been busy learning all about money. They have been taught how to recognise and know the value of different denominations of coins and notes (Euros), how to order the coins from the smallest to the largest and how to add euros and give change. The classroom quickly turned into a market square! We placed stalls selling food and vegetables and a bank where we could go and get some money (using our debit cards!). Everybody was busily engaged in various activities! It is always a pleasure for the teacher to watch the students getting excited and actively involved in so many activities at the same time, but still, keeping very well organised within the groups.
The children have been practicing counting the money in multiples of 2, 5 and 10 which has helped recognise number bonds and practice timetables. They also have been taught to identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations including the number line and how to read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and equal symbols (also: more than, less than, most, least and fewer).
In the last week of the term the children have been taught how to recognise and use language relating to dates, including days of the week and months of the year.
IPC
In science we have been exploring the solar system and finding out facts about our planet Earth and other planets. This topic proved to be very popular and exciting! We have been following the ISS (International Space Station) orbiting around the world, identifying the continents and countries on his pathway!
On the last day of the term we had, as our exit point for IPC, a TV show where Bob was invited! Kids came on zoom video conference dressed up as alien and asked Bob various questions. After the interview Bob dashed into his spaceship and off, he went back to the Moon!
The children also had science sessions about action and reaction, how objects move from A to B. They have been taught about mass and gravity and they enjoyed making their own mode of transport, in class and at home.
Our Let’s get cooking club has never been busier! We decided to move the coking station into the classroom as it was easier and smoother to move from one working station to another one during our carousel morning activities. We made lentil soup, red kidney beans soup, chicken and vegetable stew, apple cakes, chocolate cakes, courgette roll and pasta with tomato sauce. It was all so yummy and healthy, and the children took great proud of their meals!
For our PE lesson, in addition to our warm up/obstacle course sessions and football on a Wednesday, we also played volleyball in school. We completed a couple of basic lessons on how to serve (throw) and how to hit (respond) the ball.
The children in Birch also enjoyed cycling in the forest! All wearing their helmets and following the health and safety rules, they took turn in small groups going on a cycling adventure in the forest! That was fabulastic!
Although a couple of art sessions had to be cancelled, the children in Birch still managed to learn how to make a decoupage piece of work.
They also learned how to make a picture of a Greek vase using wax crayons.
And they learned how to make a silhouette landscape using cards.
Over all a huge well done to all the students in Birch! I am ever so proud of the achievements you all came so far! See you after Easter!