What’s going on in Year 1?

St. George and the Dragon.

Far, far away in the darkest cave in the deepest valley amongst the highest mountains there lives a huge and terrifying dragon. With his fiery breath and mighty strength, this awesome beast fears no man, but he is afraid of one thing ….. What are you afraid of? George and the Dragon by Chris Wormell will make a fantastic stimulus for discussing any fears we may have. It will also fuel the children’s imagination and help transport us back to the times of knights, dragons, castles and damsels in distress. After learning about life in a castle the children will prepare for and take part in their very own medieval banquet.

We will start by sharing the legend of St George and the Dragon. The children will develop an understanding of the themes through role play before gaining an understanding of the characteristics of fantasy stories. They will then write their own fantasy story. We will also be writing poetry inspired by the gargoyles that will be created as well as writing lists in the form of menus when organising their medieval banquet. 

Science

Can we see without light? Exploring the concept of light and dark will be lots of fun. What would people have used to see with long ago in a dark castle compared to the light sources we use nowadays. Which of our senses enable us to ‘see’ when there is no light? We will investigate the Sun as a light source and discuss shadows as well as deciding which materials and colours show up best in the dark and are most appropriate for making reflective clothing.

Art

As our art theme is ‘Sculpture’ we thought it would be interesting to explore gargoyles. After learning about line and tone the children will explore different gargoyles seen on castles and churches and will sketch them. The final outcome will be the creating of their own gargoyle from clay which will decorate the classroom castle.

If you haven’t already visited the current sculpture ‘Nature vs Nurture’ exhibition/trail at Barnwell Country Park in Oundle I would thoroughly recommend it. It displays some of Britain ’s new and emerging talents and there is no entrance fee (only £2 parking for 12 hours!).