This morning we took part in a TTRS/Pobble writing lesson in which we used a picture stimulus to create a new story. The children were really engaged and wrote some fantastic stories. Some even stayed in at break to illustrate their books!
We have been researching endangered animals using one of our Expedition Anchor Texts, Red Alert! We have been gathering information to help us write an information text about what leads to extinction and how this can be prevented. We decided to focus on sea turtles but before that we loved learning about frogs, bears and many more endangered species!
Today we began our new writing unit and made predictions about what we thought might happen in the story. A few eagle eyed children even thought they recognised the story! I can’t wait to see what they all produce this time!
Today we used colourful semantics to talk about our activity. Colourful semantics is used for sentence building to help children understand how to make a sentence and the order we put our words and phrases in. The children first start with a “who, doing, what?” structure, which is then built upon depending on their understanding.
Today’s activity involved more planting, and today we planted thyme, basil, and oregano.
This week we have started our independent write about an endangered animal searching for food. We have loved inventing a new story… here we are using our plans and resources to help us produce beautiful stories.
One day each week in Crew Frost, we spend time focusing on developing our fine motor skills through activities such as using scissors to cut along lines and around shapes. Cutting is an excellent skill to master in the Early Years, as it supports so many of the important skills children need as they begin their writing journey.
The children are learning how to separate and strengthen the muscles in their fingers and hands whilst carefully controlling the scissors. They are also developing their hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills as they work out how to move the paper and scissors together whilst trying to stay on the lines. This takes a huge amount of concentration, control, and perseverance.
Alongside this, we have been practising our “ready to write” positioning by sitting with our tummy to the table and all six chair legs on the floor. Developing core strength, balance, and posture is a very important part of early writing development, helping children to gain the stability needed for mark making and pencil control in the future.
Although cutting may look simple, it is actually a very tricky skill that requires children to coordinate many different movements at the same time. We are so proud of the resilience, determination, and focus Crew Frost have shown whilst practising these important skills. Well done, Crew Frost — it is much harder than it looks!
Take a look at some of our beautiful pieces of writing from last week. I am so proud of how well the children are working hard to get smart and take real pride in their work. Keep up the amazing work Crew McGlone!
Crew McLoughlin began their independent writing journey by creating amazing story maps to plan third-person suspense narratives. These story maps helped structure how the suspense will unfold naturally while keeping readers emotionally connected to the characters. Children worked super hard to create beautiful high-quality work.
CrewRobson enjoyed practicing performing poetry today to hook them into our new writing unit.
Year 3 loved sharing their stories inspired by ‘The Journey Home’ with FS1, Year 2 and Year 5.
The staff were very impressed with their stories and how confidently they read them.
Well done CrewRobson!
