Once again, Class 2 have had an ‘I can’ attitude in all aspects of their school work this week.
In English they have moved on to different story texts in their RWI groups and have looked more in depth at improving their sentence structure when recording text related sentences. Talk for writing has been key with the children experimenting with more adventurous vocabulary. In reading we have worked on answering verbal comprehension questions, giving more of an evidential answer as well as a predictive one. The children have also enjoyed our whole class story times where I am sharing some of my favourite stories. Next week….one from Roald Dahl. For their spelling and grammar we have used the conjunction ‘and’ to link sentences and our ideas together in our writing based on their ideal birthday parties.
In maths the children have been looking in greater depth at subtraction and how we can use apparatus to help when working something out independently. We also talked about how subtraction is relevant and used in their everyday lives in the world around them. We then moved on to finding the difference between 2 quantities in practical contexts and have recorded our number sentences from this alongside ways to record findings in models used to help us. The children are also starting their times tables journey again with their 2 times table.
In topic the children have been exploring ‘the Polar Bear Capital of the World’, a little natural haven called Churchill, a town in Canada. They have been in role as tour guides who are trying to persuade people to visit there. They watched a visual tour presentation of the place and learned about the bear’s habitats and habits they have there. They also reminded people what items they were required to bring to such a destination and when was best to visit. They also gained an understanding of why the bears congregate in the town and the devastating affects which are happening to the ice caps and their normal environments in the wild.
In design and technology the children have been up and down ladders, sawing and also….painting, cutting and sticking bits of their class ‘Grand Design’ house. After a mildly heated discussion as to whether to paint the door pink or not, watching the collaboration and sharing of ideas and materials this week was a joy. Some of the children have also worked on smaller structures and shapes in which resembles the skeleton of a house after they were shown some visual 3D animations of houses being planned and built.
In music the children have incorporated different instruments into their performances and songs with Mrs Tann. The timing of the children playing along as groups or a whole class is really developing. It is evident that we have a class full of budding musicians.
In Science we are continuing to monitor the seasonal weather using our measuring tools we designed and made to collect our findings. The children have a more developed understanding of the seasons and the affects they have on lives during different times of year.
New spelling lists have gone in the children’s books today to be tested next Friday.
Please do not hesitate to come and see me if you need anything and have a lovely weekend together.

Mr Mavin

It has been another lovely week with my Class 2 Superheroes.
In English we have been reading new stories together in our RWI groups. Every child is taking a lot of pleasure from their own reading as well as that of their peers. They have probably made this evident to you when reading their stories at home.
The children have been trying to improve their writing with adjectives and simple conjunctions. They wrote for purpose about their Chester Zoo trip as a diary entry and used talk for writing beforehand in order to compose their sentences from their very vivid memories of the day. Towards the end of the week our spelling and grammar focus was using exclamation marks. They then went onto using them in a comic strip format involving their favourite superhero’s dialogue.
In maths, we have started chanting and singing our two times tables. We have been learning how to record subtraction number stories as number sentences after using practical scenarios to help us. We have also had a focus on working through both addition and subtraction number sentences systematically explaining their reasoning along the way. All of the children have contributed so well during lesson starters involving mental maths and problems solving with real life contexts with their maths partners.
In Design and Technology the children are in the initial stages of building their class house made from various pieces of cardboard. They have taken real ownership of it in their small groups and have really thought hard about its structure, and which shaped boxes would complement other parts best. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next for it!
The children did wonderfully well again with their spellings today. The new lists have gone into their books today for next Friday. Thank you for supporting your children at home with them.
An enormous congratulations to Cerys for being Class 2’s winner of Bicton’s creative writing competition. Well done also to everybody who entered. We are so proud of you and your entries.
Thank you so much for your continued support and have a lovely weekend together.
Mr Mavin

First and foremost I would like to say a massive “WELL DONE” to everybody in Class 2 for their lovely performance in their Celebration Assembly before we broke up for half term.
In English this week the children in Purple Group have been reading the RWI book ‘Ken’s Cap’ and have been answering questions and writing exciting sentences which have built up to writing a letter of apology concerning a lost item linked to both the text and their own experiences. Red Group have been reading ‘The Big Match’ and have focused on the ‘ck’ speed sound in particular when reading and writing writing this week. The children have also used their literacy skills in their topic work when devising interesting questions to ask a current scientist working in the Arctic.
During maths this week the children have continued the mastery process for addition. They have used lots of equipment and scenarios to aid their understanding of the concept. The children are also becoming very confident with recording their number sentences neatly in their books on squared paper. Today they have moved onto finding one less than a given number through subtraction, something which we will look at in greater depth next week. Another one of our next steps is to start counting confidently in two’s. I can feel a song and rhyme coming on…..
In Science we have learned how the different seasons affect animals. We looked at the Robin garden bird and how it adapts to each season. We also discussed how some animals, such as hedgehogs, hibernate in the winter months and what this means.
New spellings have gone out today to be tested next Friday 16th November. Your children are doing so wonderfully well with them and they relish their Friday challenge every time.
Our trip to Chester Zoo was a very memorable one indeed. The children were wonderfully behaved and we all thoroughly enjoyed the amazing animals we encountered. Mind you, Class 2 had the penguins at the top of their agenda.
Have a great weekend together and see you on Monday.
Mr Mavin