Month: April 2013

Silver Class Counting

Turney

Silver Class

We are incredibly please with the progress that all Silver Class children are continuing to make with their counting skills. The aim is for all class members to be able to count confidently from one to twenty. We are working on many different activities to help us reach this objective. Singing is always important!

The Silver Class children have been enjoying singing the Five Little Ducks song on the class whiteboard to help us with our counting. We have been taking it in turns to count down from five to one as each little duck disappears. This is also a very visual activity, with encouragement from all staff to use the relevant Communication in Print signs and actions.

We are also able to provide plenty of one-on-one tuition to help the children with their counting. Each class member is able to work alongside an adult during our daily table activities. We have activities timetabled that are focussed specifically on the help that each pupil might need. This includes sequencing numbers on the number line, or counting backwards from ten to one.

Orange Class Updates

Turney

We have many great activities to look forward to in Orange Class throughout the new summer term. In science lessons the pupils will be looking at healthy plant growth. We have started to plan our weekly trips to the nearby allotments and to think about what we might want to grow. Orange Class will be planting, watering and weeding around the allotments. We will be monitoring the growth of the plants via a video diary that we are hopeful of producing. We will also share the results on the school website.

Orange Class will be starting an exciting new topic in literacy, learning all about the country of Kenya. To help us with this task we will be making the most of the Turney School library and the reference books that we have about Kenya. In particular, the children will be exploring the geography of the country, looking at mountains, waters and whereabouts different people live. This will lead towards a look at the Masai tribe, the native group of people in Kenya.

Our artwork in Orange Class will continue with the Kenyan theme. We will be introducing the children to the idea of shadow drawing. Having created a stunning Kenyan backdrop, we will then be placing some silhouettes on our pictures of some of the animals found in the country.

We are also keen for the Orange Class pupils to learn more about Turney School as they prepare to possibly enter new classes in the new school year. We will be looking at the school environment, and learning how to identify where we can find the school canteen, the playground or the toilets on a school map. You can watch an early example of this in the video above – one of our Orange Class pupils provides a guided tour around our classroom at Turney School.

Green Class New Topics

Turney

Green Class

Green Class have started the new summer term with many different activities planned across the curriculum. Our Science work will look at healthy eating and why it is so important for our growth. We will be designing a healthy sandwich that will contain ingredients that are unique to our personal taste, as well as being incredibly healthy to eat. The pupils will take part in plenty of sorting activities around this topic. We want to be able to distinguish foods or fruit not only by their colour, but also ingredients that might belong to a similar food group.

We have started reading the Three Billy Goats Gruff as one of our main literacy books for this term. This is a fantastic story in being able to offer plenty of role-play opportunities during our drama lessons. We will be extending this activity to help tell the Three Billy Goats Gruff story to our other friends around the school during a forthcoming Green Class assembly.

Finally we are all looking forward to our weekly visits to the nearby Brockwell Park. Green Class will be walking to Brockwell every Friday to help us keep fit, as well as to explore the community in which we live. We are hopeful of taking plenty of photographs and observing what is changing in the park during our regular visits.

Blue Class PSHCE

Turney

Blue Class

Blue Class have been using their PSHCE time to consider what we all need to do each day to help keep ourselves clean. We identified washing our face and cleaning our teeth in the morning. The pupils also came up with the idea of washing our hands before we have a meal, or after we have been to the toilet. This is to help keep possible germs away from our mouths. To help us remember why it is so important to have a personal hygiene routine, Blue Class have been learning a song listing all that we need to do. You can listen to a short burst in the recording below.

listen to ‘Keeping Clean in Blue Class’ on Audioboo

Class 1M Phonics

Turney

Class 1M

Class 1M have been working hard on trying to improve our understanding of phonics. This refers to the physical sounds that we can hear in different words as they are broken down into single letters. Working in small groups, Class 1M used the whiteboard to display a different picture of an everyday object. We read out what the individual words spelt, and then thought about each sound that we can hear at the start, middle and end of the word. Examples included milk, sock and lemon.

We encouraged the pupils to match up the verbal phonic sound with the relevant written letters. Class 1M will be continuing this phonic work throughout the summer term. We will support each pupil and give plenty of encouragement to help them feel confident when pronouncing the words in class.

Class 2S Map Work

Turney

Class 2S

Class 2S have been learning how to identify some of the many features that we can find on different types of maps during recent geography lessons. We introduced to the pupils the concept that maps are available in different forms. Some maps represent a particular area, whereas others might show us some other details such as rivers or lakes in a particular location.

Our starting focus was to learn about four specific maps: a world map, a map of the UK, a street map of South London and a London tube map. We asked the pupils to look at the maps and to identify the different features. We saw how the world map contained plenty of water, whereas the tube map only has train lines.

Class 2S then carried out an exercise to help further with our map identification work. We cut up four different pictures of maps, and then stuck these in the corresponding description of each map in our geography books. We finished our work by handing around the Turney School atlases. We found out how these books can contain maps showing great amounts of detail.

Class 3J Gamelan Music

Turney

Class 3J

Gamelan music will be taking up much of our time in Class 3J throughout the summer term. This is a very melodic type of music that originates from Indonesia. It is built up around cyclical musical patterns and can be quite haunting when all the different elements are added together.

Class 3J started off our introduction to Gamelan music by listening to a short piece, and then trying to understand what type of instruments we could hear. The pupils identified bells, gongs and a xylophone. We then thought about what techniques are used to create these sounds, and what the instruments might be made out of. We came to the conclusion that hitting various wooden or metallic instruments are the main elements that can be heard in Gamelan music.

We then introduced the pupils to the idea of a pentatonic scale. As the name suggests, this is a form of music that is made up of five notes. Using the school keyboards, Class 3J worked with a partner to recreate some of these patterns. This is in practice for a planned trip to the South Bank Centre later in the term. We are hopeful of taking part in a special workshop where we will be able to play authentic Indonesian instruments and create our own Gamelan piece of music.

Class 10 Tangrams Video

Turney

Class 10 have been using their skills in problem solving to help complete a series of Tangrams. These are an old Chinese form of mathematical problem involving space and orientation. We wanted the pupils to understand how they can use different techniques to help complete the Tangram, as well as their understanding of spatial awareness.

Seven pieces make up a Tangram. They contain one square, one parallelogram and five triangles. The aim is to move around the seven individual pieces to help them slot into the overall Tangram plan. A large part of this exercise is being aware of the size of the shapes and how they can be rotated to be able to fit into a specific area.

Using the class whiteboard, Class 10 worked their way through different levels of ability to help solve the puzzles. We helped the pupils to consider how a shape may appear different if it is rotated. You can watch some of the Class 10 Tangram problem solving skills in the video above.

Class 3J Athletics Video

Turney

A new term, and some new P.E. activities for Class 3J to enjoy. The change of weather has allowed us to work outside and prepare for a summer of athletics at Turney School. A large part of this work is to learn about the science behind different activities. Class 3J have started by learning about how we can warm up and stretch each individual muscle that we will be using. So far we have looked at exercises that help us to condition out quadriceps, hamstrings and calves.

Our next task was to try and improve our sprinting speeds. Working on the Turney School athletics track, the pupils have been learning specialised techniques that will give them an extra edge whilst sprinting. We have looked at how a loose and relaxed arm style helps us to move freely. Our heads need to be focussed looking directly at the direction in which we are traveling. Finally we have focussed on using the balls of our feet to keep our sprints bouncy and flexible. A couple of our Class 3J athletes explain a little more in the video below.

Diary Dates – 6 May Bank Holiday. School Closed

Turney

Find out about future events with our online diary.

24th April – Primary School World Earth Day assembly.

24th April – Lambeth Youth Elections.

1st May – Blue Class assembly.

6th May – Bank Holiday. School CLOSED.

7th May – team representing Turney School at the Croydon Arena Athletics Tournament.

8th May – Purple Class assembly.

13th May – Music trip to the South Bank Centre for Class 2S and Class 10.

14th May – team representing Turney School at the London District Cricket Tournament.

15th May – Green Class assembly.

16th May – Class 10 assembly.

22nd May – Orange Class assembly.

24th May – end of term.

3rd June – Pupils return for teaching.

Silver Class Counting

Turney

Silver Class

We are incredibly please with the progress that all Silver Class children are continuing to make with their counting skills. The aim is for all class members to be able to count confidently from one to twenty. We are working on many different activities to help us reach this objective. Singing is always important!

The Silver Class children have been enjoying singing the Five Little Ducks song on the class whiteboard to help us with our counting. We have been taking it in turns to count down from five to one as each little duck disappears. This is also a very visual activity, with encouragement from all staff to use the relevant Communication in Print signs and actions.

We are also able to provide plenty of one-on-one tuition to help the children with their counting. Each class member is able to work alongside an adult during our daily table activities. We have activities timetabled that are focussed specifically on the help that each pupil might need. This includes sequencing numbers on the number line, or counting backwards from ten to one.