Year 1 Update – Wk 17
This week in Year 1 the children have settled back into class and school routines very well and we have been pleased with their eagerness to learn and work together well in their classes.
On Thursday the children were treated to a fantastic theatre performance of “The Way Back Home”. It was lovely to see the children enjoying the interactive acting and music that live theatre provides. Please talk to your child about the performance and what they enjoyed about the story. “The Way Back Home” by Oliver Jeffers makes a wonderful bedtime story so maybe take the opportunity to follow up on their theatre experience by sharing the story together this weekend.
Portfolio Folders
We hope that you enjoyed viewing your child’s work in their Portfolio folder and on their online e-portfolio. Please kindly make sure that you return all green Portfolio folders back to your child’s class teacher by Monday 9th January.
History Museum Trip
As part of our new Unit of Inquiry, on Friday 13th January the Year 1 children will visit the History Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui. We will be leaving school after assembly and will return to BHS in time for the school buses. Please make sure that the children wear BHS school uniform and have a packed lunch and water bottle with them in a small bag. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to help supervise the children on this trip. Unfortunately we are unable to take all parents with us this time, so as a result we have picked names out of a hat whilst giving priority to those parents who were unable to come with us to Peng Chau in November. Please look in your child’s school diary this Friday to find out if you have been successful this time.
Historical Artefacts
Thank you to all those parents who have helped their child find a historical artefact that represents what life was like in Hong Kong in the past. We have received many interesting artefacts so far, such as an old abacus, old photographs of Hong Kong and old Hong Kong currency. Please continue to send artefacts into school as we will be using them for discussion and for developing curiosity and wonderings with the children.
Next week we will be starting to look at the children’s personal histories and would also like them to bring in an artefact from their history that they are able to share with others. Examples of artefacts could be a special toy that they had as a baby, photos of them growing up or an item of baby clothing that they wore when they were younger.
Central Idea: Exploring artefacts helps our understanding of people’s histories.
This week the children have tuned into our new Unit of Inquiry by exploring a range of historical artefacts. They were encouraged to observe the objects, think about what they could have been used for and form further questions that they have about the artefacts. To support the children in structuring and developing their thinking skills we used a thinking strategy called ” I see, I think, I wonder”. The children made some very interesting observations and have developed good questions for further inquiry.
Next week we will be starting to look at the children’s own personal histories by drawing pictures and writing about the things they could do at different stages in their lives. They will also be exploring more historical artefacts by making observations and forming their own wonderings.
How the World Works (our year long unit of inquiry)
Central Idea: The Earth’s changes affect the activity of living things
This week we have been focussing on the weather and how the temperature is different at different times of the year and in different places around the world.
Next week during our Writer’s Workshop lessons the children will be starting to put together their own books describing historical artefacts. We have been so pleased with the children’s efforts to “have a go” with their writing during Writer’s Workshop. We will now be focussing more on how the children can structure their writing effectively by using finger spaces, full stops and capital letters.
Phonics
We will continue to focus on all the one letter sounds, including the new sounds:
V, W, Y, Z, J, N, K, E.
The children should be able to hear these sounds in words that are consonant, vowel, consonant, such as log, cut, hat and be able to tell you the word when you give them 3 sounds. We are aiming for the children to be able to write them too.
Camera Words: all, is, me, no, they, said
Please spend some time at home each week focussing on the camera words by looking for them in books when you are reading, playing games such as matching pairs and snap, using flashcards and practicing using them in their own writing. Of course there are many other ideas that you can use to make this learning fun so be as creative as you like.
Due to the public holiday on Monday there was no Golden Book this week.
To do this week:
Book 
Oliver Jeffers is an Irish children’s author who has written many popular books that are enjoyed all around the world. As a follow up to our theatre trip yesterday take some time to read some of the other wonderful books that he has written with your child. Below are a list of his well known books. If you have a parent library card, you are welcome to borrow some of these from the school.
Lost and Found
The Incredible Book Eating Boy
The Day the Crayons Quit
The Heart and the Bottle
To Catch a Star
The Moose Belong to Me
Up and Down
Stuck
The Great Paper Caper
