Image of Year 4 English - Making Predictions
9 Sep

Year 4 English - Making Predictions

This week, Year 4 have been immersed in a variety of clues to gain insight into our vehicle text, before reading. We have examined pictures and artifacts to make sensible predictions about the story, based on what has been presented. Year 4 have some detectives in the making!

Image of Reception-Literacy-Name Writing
8 Sep

Reception-Literacy-Name Writing

Our Reception children have been busy making their mark as they practise writing their names this week. We have been forming letters in the sand and carefully writing them into our Literacy books. We are very proud of how hard they have been trying.

Image of Nursery And Pre-School - Literacy - Wiggle Me Into Squiggle
7 Sep

Nursery And Pre-School - Literacy - Wiggle Me Into Squiggle

Our Nursery and Pre-school children have made a fantastic start to our new 'Wiggle Me into Squiggle' intervention this week! This programme focuses on developing large, gross motor movements, which form the essential physical foundation needed for fine motor control and early writing. This week, our focus was all about mastering 'UP' movements. The children began in a group setting using ribbons in each hand, lifting their arms high and watching the fabric flow through the air as they tracked their physical movements. To refine these big movements into early mark-making, the children then moved over to the easels holding two paintbrushes at once. Working with both hands simultaneously helped strengthen their bilateral coordination while turning those large arm sweeps into controlled, painted strokes on paper. It has been brilliant to see their confidence grow as they connect active movement directly to writing skills!

Image of Year 6: English - Creative Writing
7 Jul

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.

Image of Get ready to Read to the Beat at Blackburn with Darwen Libraries this summer.
2 Jul

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.

Image of Year 3 - English - Preparing Playscripts For Performance
30 Jun

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.

Image of Reception- Literacy- Story Time With Collette
24 Jun

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.

Image of Year 5 - English - Story Writing
24 Jun

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.

Image of Year 4 English - Creating complex sentences
17 Jun

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!

Image of Year 5 - English - Hot Seating
17 Jun

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.

Image of Reception- Literacy- Tricky Word Challenge
16 Jun

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.

16 Jun

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.