Weekly update 10.11.08

Hi everyone!

Welcome to another week in school.

By now all of the children should have brought home a section of the Christmas play script which contains the lines they will need to learn and practice at home. This week they should also be bringing home a costume list of what they will need to wear for their character, and ONE ticket for each performance of the play.

The children always look fantastic when they are up on stage performing, and we do appreciate the effort that parents put in to making sure every child looks 'the part'.

As we will be starting rehearsals for the play this week, the work that we have planned may well be continuing into the next week.

Literacy

We are beginning a new topic of Instructions.
The children will be reading, following and giving oral instructions and recognising the key features.

This is a great opportunity to get out those old board games and have a look at the instructions. How are they set out? What kind of language is used? Are they easy to follow?

If you are out and about, look out for any examples of instructional language that you may see, e.g directions to places, road signs, posters etc.

By the end of the week:-

ALL children MUST be able to read and follow a series of simple instructions correctly.

MOST children SHOULD be able to give oral instructions in the correct sequence.

SOME children COULD identify key features of written instructions.

http://www.hitentertainment.com/artattack/artattacks.html

http://www.makersgallery.com/joanirvine/howto.html

http://www.helpkidzlearn.com/findout.html

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=teaseq

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/lists_and_instructions/eng/Introduction/default.htm


Numeracy

This week we are working on the theme of subtraction by counting back in 1s, 10s and 100s from a given number.

By the end of the week:-

ALL children MUST count on or back (in ones from any small number, in tens from and back to zero, in twos from zero then one, in steps of 5 from zero to 20, in steps of 3 from zero).

MOST children SHOULD count on or back (in ones or tens from any two-digit number, in hundreds from and back to zero, in twos from any small number, in steps of 3, 4 or 5 to at least 30 from and back to zero then from and back to any given small number).

SOME children COULD count on or back (in tens or hundreds from any two- or three-digit number, in twos from any two-digit number, in steps of 3, 4 or 5 from any small number to at least 50)

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Ghostblasters3/ghostsub2.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/maths/crosstheswamp.shtml

http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/mathmagician/mathssub.html

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/subtractiontest.html

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/grids/blobkid.html


Topic

We begin two new topics this week.
Our Science topic is Variation where we begin to look at similarities and differences between living things.


ALL children MUST be able to describe simple characteristics that define plants and animals.

MOST children SHOULD be able to state that humans belong to the group of animals and describe some similarities.

SOME children COULD be able to describe ways in which humans are different from many other animals.

http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/animals/animalid/index.htm

http://www.techniquest.org/virtual/#

http://www.schooltrain.info/science/animals/groups/animal_index.htm

http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/whatami01.shtml


Our other topic is History based and is about Remebrance Day.
This is a very important topic and the children always enjoy finding out about real events that have happened in the past.

As this Sunday (9th November) is Remembrance Day it would be useful if the children could watch part of the ceremony at the Cenotaph on TV prior to beginning the topic.

Also if anyone has any war memorabila at home that the children could bring in to school for us to look at that would be fantastic. We will look after anything that is brought in.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Remembrance.html

http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Album/RemembranceSunday.htm

http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/teachers/t20th-Century-Britain/STO920.html

http://homepages.tesco.net/~derek.berger/holidays/remembrance.html

Have a great week!

Only 45 'sleeps' until Christmas!!!!

Love from
The Year 2 team
xxx