We are beginning out final theme of the year – Under the Sea! Please find attached a few Under the Sea themed maths worksheets.
Summer theme Maths
I’ve taken the theme ‘summer’ and ran with it for maths for week beginning 25th May. Below are some options of worksheets if you would like to supplement the material provided in the learning plan.
Extension work:
(NB on extension numeracy booklet – we have not looked at symbols <, > and =. This is a 1st class booklet that’s actually mostly too easy for 1st and a good extension for JI, apart from pg. 4.)
Length and comparing
Next week for maths, we will be looking at length and comparing sizes. Here are some worksheets to supplement what you are doing at home if you would like.
cut and stick caterpillar length comparing
The zones of regulation
The zones of regulation are something that we have talked about in the classroom, and have been an invaluable tool for recognising when we need a little bit of an adjustment to our behaviours or attitudes. They are also a wonderful tool for exploring emotional awareness and literacy.
There are 4 zones, each characterised by different emotions. Each zone has its purpose – blue for bedtime, green for ready to go time, yellow for exciting celebrations etc. We always stop and engage in some calm down strategies when in red. We have talked a little bit about at what times each zone is appropriate for, and that, for example, the yellow zone isn’t that appropriate for calm circle time etc.
The zones create a super opportunity for emotional check ins and for developing emotional regulation skills.
Here are some useful resources if you would like to learn more about the zones of regulation and adopt them at home.
2D & 3D shape 11th-15th May
We will be revising 2D and 3D shape. I am 90& sure that all of the pages in Operation Maths for shape have been completed, so here is some supplemental material if you would like it.
Colour by 3D Shapes – Lower Ability
roi-n-5535-colour-by-2d-shapes-activity-sheets
t-n-694-2d-and-3d-shapes-colouring-sheets_ver_1
t-n-5916-2d-shape-cut-and-stick-matching-activity-
t-n-2546731-springthemed-2d-shapes-count-and-colour-activity-sheet-english
Maths – time (sequencing)
Next week for maths time, we will be looking at time and sequencing (putting things in order). Keep an eye here for extra cutting and sticking sequencing activities to supplment the work in the home learning plan!
Some PDFs
prek farm field to table sequencing cards
A note on writing
We only completed our first formal ‘piece of writing’ the Friday before schools closed. The activity was to copy a sentence from the board and draw a picture for it. My aim this year has been to build all the tools for writing – ie. Letter formation, being able to sound out words, understanding the need for and the use of written words – and allow the children to build a desire to write before we formally got into it.
A big part of the Junior Infant writing curriculum is something called ‘Mark Making’. This is basically anything from drawing pictures to convey information – eg. a story, a shopping list, a letter etc. – to using the sounds, letters and sight words we are learning to attempt writing words. A really great story (available on Epic!) that shows a boy using all his mark making skills to write a story is called ‘A squiggly story’ by Andrew Larson and Mike Lowry.
Your child brought home their free writing copy. This is the half purple copy. In it, the children have been given the opportunity to create their own stories in their copies using their mark making skills. After they finished, they would tell the class their story. This was such an amazing time as you could see the creativity and confidence build in every member of the class. So please feel free keep using the free writing copies in this way, and if there’s time at the end of the day, your child might be able to share their story with the family.
Your child brought home their formal writing copy also. This is the full sized purple copy with space at the top for a picture and lines to write on. Feel free to use this copy as you see fit. I will assign one piece of formal writing a week where a child will copy a sentence from a selection. They can then continue the story if they wish and draw an appropriate picture at the top of the page.
Emotional Literacy
Emotional literacy is a foundational part to all social emotional learning (SEL). We have been working a lot on this area in class, and are very good at going around the circle, saying how we’re feeling and why. I’ve attached a few good resources below that will help in further developing emotional literacy should you wish. None of the concepts below should be new to the children, but recapping on these things is always benficial!
Feelings-Check-In-Worksheet-Editable
Other resources:
roi-a-32-my-feelings-activity-booklet
t-he-625-how-am-i-feeling-emotions-cards_ver_1
us-t-2548761-emotions-question-cards-english-united-states
Revision of sounds & sight words
The children have done the most amazing job at learning all of their sounds and sight words for the year. Thank you grown ups at home for helping them succeed so well!
At this stage in their reading, it’s still important that there is repetition of sounds and sight words so they don’t lose the skills and knowledge that they have picked up over the past 7 months. I have outlined some ways of making repetition and revision of sounds and sight words a bit different, a bit creative and hopefully the children will not get bored too easily!
- As a challenge, make some very basic flashcards of the sounds without the pictures. The children might be relying on the pictures to know the sound.
- Jolly Phonics Actions Sheet Use the Jolly Phonics actions to help the retention of the sounds. A ‘multi-sensory’ approach to learning is definitely top of the list for getting things to stick!
- Play a sound/sight word hunt around the house or your outsdie space. Bluetack sounds or sightwords around the house to hide them. Tell your child how many there are hidden, and that they have to find them and read them all to you.
- Fill a tub with dried rice (or beans, pasta etc. I’ve tried cous cous and it’s a nightmare – goes everywhere and tricky to clean up!) and hide sounds/sight words in the tub. Tell your child how many there are hidden, and that they have to find them and read them all to you.
Variation on sound/sight word hunt and rice games Give the child a picture of a word that can be built with the sounds they know and is very decodable (ie. cat, shed, crab etc.) and they have to hunt for the sounds that make up that word. CVC picture cards CVCC picture cards Word and Picture Cards
- Use the sounds/sight words/decoable words as passwords for preferred activities eg. the ipad has a sticky note with a few sounds or sight words and the child has to read the sounds/sight words before the get the ipad. Note: make sure that when doing this the sounds/sight words used are absolutely known by the child!
Variation on passwords Instead of using sounds, use words that are decodable. decodable word list
- Write out some decodable words of items around the house. The child has to read that word and stick it in the correct place. decodable labels for the house
Visual timetable, first-then, choice board
I have already shared about using first-then-reward in the classroom and how you can use it at home. I find that structure and visuals to support stucture are the easiest ways to manage the routine of the day when we’re in the classroom. It has become neccessary when there are 27 children wondering ‘what’s next’ or ‘when’s lunch time’. It might not be neccessary at home, but this is a fantastic catch all resource with visuals and structures to use if wish. As with a lot of these brilliant resources, they were developed for children with autism in mind, but are beneficial for everyone!
Junior Infants Blog 