Emerald Class

Welcome to Year 1 (Emerald Class)

Miss Purdham is your class teacher. 

Thursday 20th July 2023

We had a special visit from Laura and her band - We loved singing along and dancing before some bouncy castle fun! What a perfect way to spend our last day in Year 1! 

Tuesday 18th July 2023

In Science we played ‘Seasons Corners’. Our task was to listen to and/or read a fact discussing one of the four seasons. Using all of our learning this year, we decided if this fact was about Autumn, Winter, Spring or Summer before moving to the correct corner of the room. Miss Purdham was super impressed!

Wednesday 12th July 2023

Emerald Class loved their yoga session with Lauren from Active Families this morning! 

Monday 11th July 2023

What a great sports afternoon! Miss Purdham was so proud of our team work skills - We loved encouraging and praising our friends! Special thanks to our Year 6 sports leaders for planning and delivering such fantastic activities! 

Thursday 6th July 2023

This afternoon, Emerald Class used their creative skills to produce a 3D model of the Amazon Rainforest. We used our Geography knowledge to make sure we included relevant physical and human features. Super job Emerald Class! 

Tuesday 4th July 2023

Emerald Class worked together to create a giant story map for our current text, The Magic Bed. We then 'stepped into' the storybook and orally re-told the story as we moved through each picture/event with our friends. Miss Purdham was super impressed with our adverbials of time and adjectives!  

In DT, we made healthy pitta pizzas! They were delicious! 

Tuesday 27th June 2023

In RE, Emerald Class have been discussing how different religions show care for others and the world. This week we focused on the story of ‘The Good Samaritan’ and discussed how this tale teaches Christians about caring for others. Then, we acted out our own version. This involved some children being unkind, knocking another child’s water out of their hands. Two children walked past but they did not stop to help because they were busy. Luckily, afterwards, someone showed care by stopping to help, just like the good samaritan.  

Thursday 22nd June 2023

Emerald Class have been comparing the value of purses using inequality symbols. We know that it does not always matter how many coins are in the purse as some coins have a greater value than others! 

We have been researching features of the Amazon rainforest. We discussed climate, plants, animals and even some humans that live there! 

Tuesday 20th June 2023

Today, Miss Purdham shared with Emerald Class a dream she had in which she travelled to another place... a Princess castle filled with cupcakes! Emerald Class asked questions to find out more about Miss Purdham's dream setting. The children then discussed places they had travelled to in their dreams and used their senses to describe their setting. What magical dreams Emerald Class have! 

Monday 19th June 2023

Year 1 had a fantastic day at the beach with Reception and Year 2! We had fun at the park, played in the sand, and had a splash in the sea after our delicious ice-cream!

Thursday 15th June 2023

Today Emerald Class have been exploring 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins. We selected the correct coin to put in our purse and then made a purchase from Emerald Shop! 

In PSHE, Emerald Class have been discussing the life cycle of a human. After a game of guess who using our baby pictures, we created a cartoon strip of our life cycle so far. The children have brought this home so they can discuss with their grown ups some of the ways they have changed since they were a baby.

Monday 12th June 2023

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Please see below useful information and resources to support your child with the upcoming Phonics Screening Check in June. 

Thursday 8th June 2023

This week Emerald Class have been counting in two's to find the total number of objects. 

Tuesday 6th June 2023

In English, Emerald Class have been using adjectives to describe. Working with our team, we matched adjectives to a range of contrasting storybook characters. Some of us even added our own too! Then, we created our very own pair of contrasting characters and used adjectives to describe their external and internal characteristics. 

In Geography, we explored what a rainforest is and used maps to locate them across the world. Emerald Class were super at explaining the location of rainforests in relation to the equator, using this information to explain their tropical climate. 

Emerald Class loved working with their partner to produce a joint piece of artwork. We were inspired by the artist Richard Long.

Summer 2

Please see below our class information and curriculum overview for Summer 2.

Thursday 25th May 2023

Today we concluded our Science experiment. We examined our cress pots and discussed our findings.

Wednesday 24th May 2023

This week Emerald Class have been focusing on measurement. We have used non-standard units of measure, and today, used a ruler to accurately measure the length and height of objects in centimeters. We also used key vocabulary including: Longest, longer, shortest, shorter, tallest and taller to compare objects. 

This afternoon, we created a place that was special to us. We wanted it to be peaceful and calming with a sense of togetherness, similar to other special places we have been learning about in RE, such as churches and mosques.

We created our own butterflies and flowers and chose our favourite 'feel good' quotes, before planting some gorgeous flowers for a finishing touch! Emerald Class love to draw and read so we added some mindfulness colouring and special stories about feelings.

Emerald Class can't wait to spend some time in this wonderful new special place over the next few weeks!

Monday 22nd May 2023

This week we are investigating what plants need to survive.

We planted some cress seeds in four different conditions:

1. Light and water 

2. Water but no light

3. Light but no water 

4. No light and no water

Over the next few days we are going to see which pot grows best. I wonder if our predictions will be correct... 

Wednesday 17th May 2023

In English, Emerald Class wrote letters of advice to Yeti. We advised different ways he could make friends as he is feeling lonely in the icy mountains. 

As today is National Numeracy Day, with Mrs Woodhall, we discussed how we could use tally charts to show information. We then made our own tally chart! 

We also had lots of fun with Lauren from Active Families! 

Monday 15th May 2023

Emerald Class used their drama skills to re-enact the rescue night at Longstone Lighthouse in 1838. Grace Darling and her father, William, sailed through the stormy sea to help 9 survivors escape a shipwreck, showing lots of courage and bravery.

Friday 12th May 2023

Today we completed our independent non-fiction writing. Miss Purdham is so proud of the fantastic work we have produced! 

Thursday 11th May 2023

Today we explored the Islamic faith; discussing the significance of mosques. We created our own beautiful mosque before exploring the features inside. 

Wednesday 10th May 2023

Emerald Class agreed to be super helpful and create a 'how to' guide for Pig the pug. We are writing to inform other animals how they can be a good cat, rabbit, or parrot. Today, we focused on the 'playing and exercise' section of our guide; moving and and speaking in role as our chosen animal. We then discussed how our verbs could be changed using the suffix -ing, before writing our amazing sentences. 

Emerald Class are fantastic at consolidating their learning independently! From partitioning and positioning numbers, to writing 'how to' guides... and everything in between! Miss Purdham is very impressed! 

Friday 5th May 2023

Today, Emerald Class continued to explore the position of teen numbers on a number line. We created our own giant number line and practised finding the mid-point before moving ourselves to the correct position. We used the language 'greater than' and 'less than' to support our reasoning. 

This afternoon we celebrated the coronation of King Charles III! Thank you grown ups for joining us! 

Thursday 4th May 2023

In preparation for our non-fiction 'how to' guide writing next week, we created a pet puppet and spent our lesson in role as our pet, chatting about what we like to eat and play with, as well as how we like to sleep. 

In Maths, we have been exploring the position of teen numbers on a number line. We know that we can use our numbers to 10 to help us, as the ones in teen numbers increase in the same way... we just have an additional ten too. We can also find the mid-point - Our special numbers were 5, 10 and 15, depending on the numbers at the start and end of our number line. By finding the mid-point first, we could position other numbers onto our number line accurately. 

This afternoon we visited Hetton Independent Methodist Church to support our learning in RE. We identified and discussed features inside the Church. We explored why this place of worship is special to Christians and also chatted about the thoughts and feelings we experienced whilst visting the church. 

Wednesday 26th April 2023

Emerald Class have been exploring 'teen' numbers! We know they have two digits and are made up of 1 ten and some ones. 

Monday 24th April 2023

We are getting coronation ready; writing letters to our new King and lots of red, white and blue craft! 

In Science, we explored how trees can survive in Winter. We classified a range of deciduous and evergreen trees, before creating a cartoon strip showing how each changes, or does not change throughout the seasons.

In Art, Emerald Class used natural objects to create different shapes, lines and patterns. We were inspired by the artist, Andy Goldsworthy. 

Thursday 23rd April 2023

Today we discussed what a lighthouse is and where they can be found, including those in our local area. We also discussed how lighthouses have changed over time and why they were important in history, before creating our own lighthouse model with our friend. Super partner work Emerald Class! 

Monday 17th April 2023

This term, our Science topic is plants. We used our five senses to explore a range of plants. We were able to locate the different parts of each plant, including the roots, stem, leaves and flower. Next, we used our bodies to represent a growing plant, starting as a tiny seed and eventually growing into a beautiful flower. We discussed which part of the plant our body represented. Then, we created our own plant, making sure to include each part.

Summer 1

Please see below our class information and curriculum overview for Summer 1.

Thursday 30th March 2023

In Geography, we have been identifying physical features of the Arctic; where Inuit people live. We used our imagination to experience an Arctic walk and discussed what we could see, hear, and touch. After, we created our own 3D Arctic model and labelled the physical features. 

Thursday 29th March 2022

Today, Emerald Class visited Hetton le Hole Independent Methodist Church for an Easter service. We discussed the Easter story after singing our favourite Easter songs. We were absolutely amazing - all teachers were feeling super proud and I am sure grown ups were too!!!

Monday 27th March 2023

Today we focused on making inferences about Sofia's thoughts and feelings in the story, The Sea Saw. Our task was to 'freeze frame' Sofia's expression and speak in role as Sofia during the beginning, middle or end of the story. We were amazing!  

Thank you grown ups for joining our Easter craft afternoon! We had so much fun creating Easter wreaths, baskets, eggs and so much more! Biscuits and juice were a highlight too of course!

Friday 24th March 2023

Today we have been finding half of numbers up to 10. We know that to find half we need to partition our number into 2 equal parts. Emerald Class noticed only even numbers could be shared equally... and halving is the inverse of doubling, so we could use our knowledge of doubles to help! 

In PSHE, we have been discussing The Green Cross Code and how this helps us to cross the road safely. We used our drama skills to act out crossing a road using think, stop, look and listen, wait, look and listen again and finally arrive safe! 

Thursday 23rd March 2023

Emerald Class love their English writing text, The Sea Saw! In teams we created a map to show Bear's journey, beginning at the fun beach and eventually leading to the trickling stream where Bear is reunited with Sofia after many years! As well as using our phonics to add labels, we made character pegs and used these to retell the story on our map. Miss Purdham was super impressed!