Year 5 English - Science Fiction Independent Write
After weeks of exploring distant galaxies and futuristic colonies, Year 5 have officially wrapped up their Science Fiction unit! For their final independent writing piece, the children drew inspiration from Roy Apps’ ‘Time Spinner’. They were tasked with writing a gripping tale about a time traveller from a sterile, silent future who suddenly appears in our vibrant, noisy, modern-day playground. Building on our recent drama and ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ workshops, the children have done a brilliant job of describing the sensory shock their characters felt. From the chaotic shrieks of a football match to the strange, earthy smell of the grass, their stories are packed with atmospheric detail and high-level vocabulary. We have been so impressed by their creativity and their ability to help their travellers find a way back to the future! If a time traveller appeared in our playground today and could take you anywhere in history (past or future), where would you choose to go? Let us know in the comments!
Year 1 - Phonics
The children in Year 1 have shown incredible dedication to their reading this week. We have been working hard during our Bug Club Phonics sessions, and the improvement in their confidence is wonderful to see. Our focus has been on: Blending with Precision: Combining individual sounds to read full words more fluently. Decoding Skills: Applying their knowledge to break down and read unfamiliar or challenging words. Spotting alien words: Using their detective skills to identify pseudo-words, which helps ensure they are truly mastering their graphemes. Learning to read is a complex journey, but the children’s persistence is paying off. It is a pleasure to watch them apply these new skills to their books and classroom activities. Home Learning Tip: When reading at home, encourage your child to point out any "alien words" they might find in their practice materials to test their decoding skills. Keep up the fantastic effort, Year 1. You are all becoming very talented readers.
Year 4 English - Creating Dialogue
Year 4 have enjoyed exploring the different characters of 'Gulliver's Travels' from our English Unit. They have created some fantastic pieces of dialogue between the characters, using expressive language and punctuation features. It was great fun acting our work out, with different partners, in our different roles.
Year 4 World Book Day
On World Book Day, Year 4 had an amazing time, delving in to the love of reading! We did many activities to celebrate the world of books and share the joy that reading can bring. Year 4 especially enjoyed dressing up as a character from a book for the day - the outfits were fabulous!
Year 6: World Book Day
This year we celebrated world book day in class by attending an online quiz, dressing up as book characters and designing and annotating a dream reading space. Year 6 enjoyed all the activities and produced some amazing and creative designs!
Reception- English- Create A Front Cover
During a literacy session, the Reception class embarked on a creative journey by selecting their very own favorite stories to explore in depth. After listening closely to the tales and discussing the vibrant illustrations, the children were tasked with designing their own unique front covers based on what they had seen and heard. This activity served as a fantastic workout for their fine motor skills, as they carefully manipulated their pens to bring their visions to life. Beyond the artistic effort, the project provided a wonderful platform for the children to communicate their personal interests, explaining why certain characters or scenes resonated with them. By translating auditory and visual information into their own tangible creations, they not only strengthened their early literacy comprehension but also gained confidence in expressing their individual identities.
World Book Day Reading Cafe
???? A Page-Turning Success: Our World Book Day Reading Café! What a brilliant way to celebrate World Book Day! It was truly wonderful to see our school community come together to transform the hall into a buzzing hub of stories, snacks, and shared imagination. From pupils to parents, the turn-out was fantastic, and the atmosphere was even better. Here’s a look at the highlights from our literary celebration: ????️ The Great Masked Reader Hunt The highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly our Masked Reader Hunt. It was a joy to watch everyone turn into literary detectives! Using a series of clever clues, pupils had to figure out which teachers were hiding behind their favourite books. ???? A Marvellous Finale To wrap up the event, Miss Peckson took to the "reading throne" to share a chapter from her all-time favourite: George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl. There’s nothing quite like the magic of being read to, and you could have heard a pin drop as we followed George's mischievous concoctions. Why it Matters At the heart of today’s event is a simple but powerful goal: fostering a lifelong love of reading. Reading isn't just about literacy; it’s about empathy, adventure, and expanding our horizon. Seeing our pupils enjoying books together reminds us that a good story is one of the best ways to connect with each other. "A book is a dream that you hold in your hand." – Neil Gaiman #WorldBookDay #ReadingCafe #LoveOfReading #SchoolCommunity
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Year 2 English: Retelling a story with a familiar setting.
Our Year 2 pupils have been diving headfirst into the wonderful world of story-telling! To explore our current text, "After the Storm", the children took to the stage for a dynamic partner freeze-frame task. It was brilliant to see the classroom buzzing with respectful listening and creative energy. The pupils have already gathered a treasure trove of superb vocabulary, and they are now fully primed to bring their own familiar-setting stories to life. What is your favourite story to tell? Let us know in the comments!
Year 5 English: Freeze Frames and Thought Tapping
Step into the Scene: ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ in Year 5 In our English lessons this week, Year 5 have been exploring the art of ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ to bring their characters to life. To help us understand how to describe emotions without simply naming them, we took our learning onto its feet! The children worked in groups to ‘freeze frame’ a dramatic moment: a time traveller from a sterile, silent future space colony arriving suddenly in the middle of a bustling, modern-day playground. We focused on using our bodies and facial expressions to convey the traveller’s shock at the sensory explosion of sights, sounds, and smells. The tension rose as we moved into ‘thought-tracking’; when a child’s shoulder was tapped, they had to break their freeze frame to deliver a single, powerful line of dialogue. From the traveller's stunned whispers to the confused shouts of the modern-day pupils, it was a masterclass in character development. These physical experiences are now providing a fantastic foundation for our descriptive writing as we translate those frozen moments into vivid prose.
Year 1 - Visit to Darwen Library
Books, stories, imagination… what better way to celebrate World Book Week? ????✨ Our Year 1 children had a brilliant visit to Darwen Library where they met librarian Andrew and discovered how the library works behind the scenes. They explored the shelves, browsed a wide range of books, and enjoyed sharing a story together. Moments like this help nurture a real love of reading from an early age. What was your favourite book when you were little?
Reception- Literacy- Reading
Watching Reception children engage with guided reading books on a daily basis is like witnessing a series of small, brilliant light bulbs flickering on in real time. As the children transition from simply "reading" the pictures to decoding phonemes and blending sounds with growing confidence. This daily consistency is key; it transforms the daunting task of literacy into a predictable, rewarding adventure where high-frequency words become familiar friends. The magic lies in the structured support—by revisiting carefully leveled texts every day, children don't just improve their fluency, they build the "reading stamina" necessary for more complex stories. You can see their pride swell as they realize that the squiggles on the page carry meaning, turning every session into a significant milestone in their journey toward becoming independent readers.
Year 6: English - Crime and Detective Novels
This week in English, year 6 has begun reading The Curse of The Maya. We have made evidence based predictions after looking at the front cover and reading the blurb.
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