Year 6: English - Creative Writing
This week Year 6 are completing some creative writing based around the short clip Dracula's Whitby. We are thinking about describing character and setting, and also emphasising the need to create an atmosphere to keep the reader curious about what will happen next.
Get ready to Read to the Beat at Blackburn with Darwen Libraries this summer.
Get ready to Read to the Beat at Blackburn with Darwen Libraries this summer. Blackburn with Darwen Libraries annual Summer Reading Challenge for children age 4 – 12 years gets underway from 1st July, with children encouraged to read and rate six library books before 30th September, collecting stickers and prizes along the way. Audio books, eBooks and eAudio (on our BorrowBox app) can all count towards the final total, and this year children can mix and match with a range of reading related challenges too. Enrolment is completely FREE of charge, so don’t delay! Visit your nearest Blackburn with Darwen Library from 1st July onwards and get your Read to the Beat challenge started. Read to the Beat is a partnership between local libraries, The Reading Agency and Universal Music Group.
Year 3 - English - Preparing Playscripts For Performance
Our Year 3 actors and directors have been busy bringing two legendary tales to life this week: The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Instead of just reading the stories, the children stepped into the shoes of playwrights and performers to understand how a narrative transforms from a text into a live performance. The Rehearsal Process The classroom was buzzing with energy as the children worked through the essential steps of theatre production: Script Preparation: Children took ownership of their roles by carefully highlighting their specific parts. The Table Read: A focused read-through helped the groups understand the rhythm of the dialogue and story pacing. Character Development: The children experimented with dramatic voices and expressive physical actions to bring their characters to life. The Grand Finale: Each group took to the stage to perform their playscript live to the rest of the class. The final performances were packed with tension, humour, and fantastic expression—from the panic of the trickster shepherd to the booming threats of the grumpy troll.
Reception- Literacy- Story Time With Collette
The Reception children were treated to a wonderful storytelling session when Collette visited the school to share a special book. The classroom was filled with quiet focus as the children listened intently to the story, completely captivated by the adventure. Afterwards, Collette opened up the floor for a lively discussion, where the children eagerly answered questions and shared their favorite moments from the tale. To wrap up the exciting visit, everyone got to tap into their own creativity by making their very own "scribble monster" characters—a hands-on, messy, and thoroughly delightful end to a memorable morning of reading and imagination.
Year 5 - English - Story Writing
Year 5 have come to the end of their English unit based on the story of Greta and the Giants. They have enjoyed being creative and also learning about Greta Thunberg.
Year 4 English - Creating complex sentences
In English, Year 4 have been extending their sentences by including descriptive features in their writing. This week, the focus has been on including fronted adverbials and subordinate clauses to create complex sentences. Year 4 enjoyed reading and listening to each others creations about a predator hunting its prey. The outcomes were amazing!
Year 5 - English - Hot Seating
Year 5 have been putting themselves in the shoes of a character in our story Greta and the Giants. They asked lots of probing questions.
Reception- Literacy- Tricky Word Challenge
The Reception children have been working incredibly hard on developing their knowledge of tricky words. To make this learning as hands-on as possible, our independent learning turned into an active word-hunting challenge! The children loved searching through the magnetic letters, eagerly hunting out the correct graphemes to build these "tricky" words. Once they successfully assembled a word, they matched it up directly to their personal word logs. It was fantastic to watch their confidence grow and their enthusiasm for matching their magnetic creations to their logs showed just how much ownership they are taking of their reading journey.
Y1 - English - To Write a Prediction
Year 1 started their new English topic this week, The Last Wolf. The children went on the hunt for a wolf after Mrs Murray told us there had been reports of one on the loose! The children gathered clues, including a red cloak, an apple, a bin bag and a log. Using these, the children wrote a prediction of what they thought our story eould be about.
Year 6: English - Creative Writing
This week in English, year 6 have been responding to the Literacy Shed clip 'The Eye of the Storm'. They have written descriptions of the setting and characters, and are working on integrating action, dialogue and description - which have showcased great creativity so far!
Year 6: Communion
This week year 6 have attended communion. Some children read their prayers of thanks, and bible verses in front of the congregation. It was their last communion of their journey at Darwen St James, and we made the most of it!
Year 4 English - Information Texts
Year 4 have been looking at different types of information texts recently and are experts at identifying the features! They used their Computing skills to research information effectively and put their skills to the test, designing and creating their own information texts. The results were amazing! Well done, Year 4!
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