From Head of Lower School, Tracy Spottiswood
I just wanted to share some of the English work which has been happening in the Lower School over the past couple of weeks with you.
The Nursery the sound of the week has been ‘o’. This has suited the wild-life obsessed class to a tee and owls became the name of the game. I have seen some gorgeous ones with beautiful O shaped eyes and I enjoyed listening to ‘Owl Babies’ by Martin Waddell read by Mrs Kendall. Always a favourite of mine.
The Reception class wrote a wonderful class poem about penguins and how they move. They went outside and could be observed doing most convincing penguin waddles. Their individual poems are super special and can be seen on the windows of their classroom.
In Year 1 the children have been learning about Space in their Magic of Movement topic. The beguiling character of Beegu in the book by Alexis Deacon, captivated the children and they thought hard about the feelings of this little Alien. Year Two also worked a little on Beegu as they learned about how to plan and structure work on setting scenes and ask questions in order to write an interesting piece of work. This was extended into work on a Pixar short called ‘La Luna’. They wrote a story board and used it to retell the narrative using expanded noun phrases.
Year 3 have been working on ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. They had a super discussion as to why Mr Tumnus, the faun, had been arrested. Which side should they be on? That of the establishment – the Queen of Narnia, or that of a faun, who, after-all, had sought to betray Lucy? They had to call in the sole witness of the event, a beady-eyed robin, who they hot-seated to obtain information. It was all great fun, I have to say!
Year 4 are working on Myths and Legends, following on from their study of Image Poetry. Mermaids have been front and centre this week. Some of the class took it upon themselves to extend their work into drama when they chose to act out the story, taking turns to play the different parts. Great off-piste learning which went alongside some interesting study. If you want to know the difference between a myth and a legend, ask Year 4!
I think that you will agree that there has been a good variety and I am delighted with the progress that the children are making from class to class. A most enjoyable week of Literacy learning.