The children in Year 1 have been successfully combining different areas of work based around our monster poems. We have been using our literacy time to write these poems, our ICT sessions to present them on the school laptops, and our D & T time to create some scary monsters out of clay.

We helped the children to think about some of the features and characteristics of their own monsters. We wanted questions to be answered such as what does my monster look like, and what might my monster sound like?

We have encouraged all pupils to use similes in their descriptive work. An example of this might be ‘my monster is as loud as heavy thunder.’ You can listen to a short selection of our Year 1 monster poems being read out in the podcast below.

Year 4 have been exploring some of the emotive themes that we have found in our current class reading book of Edward Tulane. This tells the story of a china rabbit that passes though many different life situations, and the experiences that he learns along the way.

One such scene involves Edward hearing some homeless people talking about friends or family that are very special to them. We have used this theme as the inspiration for our own Year 4 literacy work. We asked the pupils to write a short piece, introducing someone who is special in their life, and then to explain in a descriptive manner why this is so.

We encouraged the pupils to add in a personal touch, and to give the reader an understanding as to how the special person has touched their lives. You can hear a short selection of these pieces of work being read out in the podcast below.

As we approach the final term in Year 5, we have asked the pupils to reflect for a short while on all that they have achieved, and more importantly, what they want to achieve ahead of Year 6 in September. In literacy that has meant reviewing our reading targets, and then suggesting new areas for improvement and solutions as to how we can achieve this.

Examples included making more use of the dictionary or thesaurus, editing and correcting our own work or adding in more punctuation to give excitement to our stories. This is a major focus for Year 5 between now and the end of the summer term. We will be continually looking back on these targets and making sure that we try and stick to them.

As we approach the final term in Year 5, we have asked the pupils to reflect for a short while on all that they have achieved, and more importantly, what they want to achieve ahead of Year 6 in September. In literacy that has meant reviewing our reading targets, and then suggesting new areas for improvement and solutions as to how we can reach these.

Examples included making more use of the dictionary or thesaurus, editing and correcting our own work or adding in more punctuation to give excitement to our stories. This is a major focus for Year 5 between now and the end of the summer term. We will be continually looking back on these targets and making sure that we try and stick to them.

We are incredibly impressed with the response that we have had from our Year 2 pupils as they prepare for their SATS assessment later in the summer term. As this is the halfway stage in the year, we decided to recap on the knowledge that we have learnt so far in the year. We asked all Year 2 pupils to think of a number up to 99, and then to write down as many sums, statements or facts that they know about this number. We encouraged the use of all four mathematical operations. We received a great response from this exercise and are greatly encouraged about the second half of the school year.

Elsewhere in Year 2 and the children are about to start their new class topic of the rainforest. This will also be linked in with their SATS work, as a large part of the literacy exercise will involve writing about this subject. As well as learning about the environment found in the rainforest, Year 2 will be learning about the many nocturnal birds that live in this type of area. To help with our work, the Year 2 book corner has been transformed into a magical rainforest area!

With World Book Day almost upon us, the children in Reception are having great fun reading What the Ladybird Heard. As well as the literacy part to this work, we are also taking a musical approach with plenty of singing. We have been learning many songs that represent each animal, as well as sharing our thoughts about what the different characters in the story might be feeling.

We are all looking forward to a very special event taking place in the Michael Faraday Reception over the coming weeks – the Indian experience! We will be spending a whole afternoon learning and celebrating Indian culture. Many of the parents have very kindly volunteered to give u their time and to offer their skills and knowledge. We will be having an Indian food tasting session, as well as drawing many of the elaborate patterns that we associate with Diwali. Plus we can’t wait for the Bollywood style dancing lessons that are going to be given by our regular Zumba teacher!

We have introduced the Year 2 pupils to the wonderful new topic of the Great Fire of London. This is a project that we will be working on for a number of weeks, combining history, literacy and drama. We started off our early work on the Great Fire with some drama and character exploration. We wanted the children to think about what it must have felt like to live in London around the time of the Great Fire, and to think how the city has changed from where we now live.

Some children took on the role of market sellers; others were wealthy Londoners who were interested in buying different goods. We encouraged the pupils to stay in character, and act out various bartering scenes. The sellers had to think about the goods that were being sold during this period, whist the buyers explained their needs and reasons for wanting the goods.

Comparisons were made with the nearby East Street Market, and some of the sights and sounds that we hear whist out shopping. We soon realised that not a lot has changed in terms of how we go about buying and selling our goods!

This early piece of exploratory drama work was followed through with some literacy work back in the classroom. Each pupil produced a written report, addressing what they could hear, what they could see, what they could smell and how they were feeling. Much more work on the Great Fire of London to come!

Year 5 have been continuing with their work based all around the Street Child book. This is a fascinating piece of fiction that has really caught the imagination of our pupils. Set during Victorian times, it tells the tale of Jim Jarvis and his changing fortunes. We have been using this as the basis for much of our literacy work. Year 5 have written various diary entries based on the main characters that we have been learning about.

We have also been trying to find as much information as we can from a series of Victorian pictures. We asked the children to think about the characters that appeared in these pictures, and then to try and explain a little more about their life. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they do to earn money? We were then able to build up a series of character profiles that are very different from what we see around us in 21st Century London. As you can see from the picture above, Year 5 have also had some fun playing with a collection of Victorian toys.