Classroom News
Teesdale Primary School
Foundation News
Learning update
We have had a busy term, with the Foundation students learning all about the world they live in. We have focused on individual continents and the landmarks, events and animals that make them special. Over the next 2 weeks, students will be working to create a book about all they have learnt about these continents. We can’t wait to share these with you at the end of the term.
Literacy
The last couple of weeks have seen us consolidate our phoneme/ grapheme knowledge. We have read stories that have included our focus phonemes and have really worked hard to form these letters on our ground, grass, sky paper. Students writing fluency has improved as they continue to practice accurate letter formation and also since the spelling of many heart words has shifted into their long term memory. It has been wonderful to watch students continue to write their sentences with increased confidence, using their phoneme fist and sound chart when they need to spell words.
Mathematics
During Mathematics, students have begun counting to and from 20. We have used an abacus as a visual representation for this and they have attempted to write the numbers that match. These numbers can be quite tricky as the writing of our teen numbers doesn’t make sense sometimes! Students have made collections, compared which is more or less and have written the numeral to match these collections.
Skill in focus
Number formation- writing numbers can sometimes be hard. We have ways to write our numbers 0-9 which makes it easier for us to write. If you see your child writing numbers incorrectly, it is beneficial to demonstrate to them how to form these numbers correctly. Sometimes they just need a reminder that it is back to front and they can then write it correctly!
Middle School News
Content Knowledge
Middle School students are continuing to enjoy the adventures of Mole, Water Rat, Toad, Badger and various other friends whilst reading The Wind in the Willows. There is a lot of archaic language included in this text such as ‘calling on’ (visiting someone), using a ‘cudgel’ (a thick stick used as a weapon), or luncheon (lunch). Students have enjoyed learning about and using this vocabulary in discussions about the text.
Text Construction:
This week we have been exploring the text themes of responsibility, irresponsibility, friendship and hospitality. Students have worked to create SPOs (Single Paragraph Outlines) and then draft these into complete paragraphs, using supporting evidence for each theme. Students have been using persuasive techniques to argue their opinions that characters in The Wind in the Willows do show these values.
Numeracy:
This week students have been applying their addition and subtraction strategies of: build to next 10, ten facts, add 10, add 9, doubles, near doubles, halves and near halves. Students have worked on two Grapple tasks. Have a go of these at home!
