The Big Bang!

We began our topic, Therfield Village, with a trip to one of the children's favourite places in the village – the park!

The children had a lovely time playing on the equipment, reminiscing about the previous years school councillors being part of choosing the new trampoline!

English 

The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring Therfield. Whilst they are familiar with the village, they learnt a lot about the local area! They spent time interviewing Parish Councillors David and Sally, the Fox and Duck landlord Ivan, finding out about the history of the village from Mr Genochio and finally, speaking to Mrs McGovern as head of our school. The children came up with the questions themselves and recorded responses. The children learnt about the features of a non-chronological report and created their own report all about Therfield Village.

Maths 

The children completed a unit on multiplication and division.

Year 1 secured their knowledge of counting in 2’s 5’s and 10’s, making links to coins and pence. They became familiar with recognising and making equal and unequal groups before moving on to making and adding equal groups. They then made arrays, and equal groups through sharing and grouping.

Year 2 counted money in pence using their knowledge of 2’s 5’s and 10’s. They divided by 2 and became familiar with odd and even numbers. The children added equal groups and used pictures to recognise multiplication.

Science

The children developed their knowledge of seasons. They used their knowledge of the four seasons, to create some beautiful paintings.

Skills such as gathering and recording data, were used to discuss recent weather. Building on their understanding of weather changes, the children learnt about different countries. They discovered that not all countries have the same seasons as and how seasons can affect the number of daylight hours.

To finish our unit, the children focused on the season Winter. They reflected on the recent cold weather, and how animals in much colder climates survive. As a class, they performed a simple test. They observed and used their ideas to suggest answers to the question; How do animals survive in cold climates?

Geography 

The children learnt about villages, towns, and cities. They looked at the differences between Therfield, Royston and Cambridge and some of the advantages and disadvantages of living in each. The children took part in a fieldwork walk, observing the environment. They used maps to spot landmarks in the village and completed a map of our school grounds.

Whilst using street maps, the children identified a variety of places and discussed if they are human or physical features.