Year 1 have had an incredible term exploring the world of Julia Donaldson! Throughout the term, we’ve delved into her wonderful books, enhancing our creativity, literacy, and numeracy through a variety of engaging activities.
We kicked off the term with Stickman, using the Pie Corbett ‘Talk for Writing’ actions to help us retell the story. We have been using the Pie Corbett ‘Talk for writing’ actions to help us retell the story. We also loved measuring Stickman using different items. This task supported our story telling skills and has prepared us for our retelling activities throughout the term. we used the ‘Austin’s Butterfly Model,’ creating three drafts of Stickman. This allowed us to refine our drawings, focusing on detail, and the final results were fantastic! We also held a class vote to determine our favourite Julia Donaldson book, and used a bar chart to display the results. The children loved this activity as it was initiated by them!
After Stickman, we moved on to The Smartest Giant in Town. Did you know he was such a helpful giant? The role play around this story has been a highlight! The children used large clothing items to create their own giants, imagining themselves as customers and tailors, and even took their learning outside to build a giant from natural materials. Their creations were amazing!
One of the most exciting experiences this term was our visit from Animal Encounters. The children showed great bravery, holding and interacting with a variety of fascinating animals. We met a snake, Biscuit the bearcat (Binturong), a skunk, and an armadillo! The children absolutely loved it and learnt so many interesting facts about the animals and how they linked to the Julia Donaldson stories.
Our final special visit was from Louby Lou, who led us through a series of drama workshops. We made magic potions, went to flying school and retold the story through dramatic performances. The children had so much fun participating and bringing the story to life.
We can’t wait to continue our Julia Donaldson theme after the half term break. What new adventures will we have?
Wishing everyone a wonderful and safe half term! Enjoy your break!
