I hope you all had a good Christmas and will have a wonderful 2020!
Thank you so much for all the gorgeous gifts you so thoughtfully gave me for Christmas. I really do appreciate that.
We have lots to look forward to this term, especially as the weather gets better and we can do more outside. Below are the plans for the coming half term.
English
We will be working on contemporary fiction. The focus text is 'The Last Noo-Noo' by Jill Murphy. It is a brilliant story and last year the children loved this project. We will be focusing on key skills for reading and writing. The children will be using their phonetic knowledge to decode the words in the text. There will be the opportunity for plenty of role-play. The children will be using speech bubbles, using the correct punctuation for questions, creating labels and re-telling the story to their partners.
The second text focuses on instructions. It is called 'How To Wash A Woolly Mammoth' by Michelle Robinson. The children will be identifying the main theme of the story, sequencing a series of instructions. They will use the cloze procedure, as a comprehension activity, dictation to aid continuity of sentence structure and they will order sentences correctly. This work will come from the two texts mentioned.
The children will learn phonics and spellings on a daily basis and practise handwriting three times a week.
Maths
We will begin by learning to find fewer and more than. We will focus on the language of difference. The children will create weather charts and use the learned vocabulary to explain the changes in the weather. We will be solving problems to ten and twenty using the part/whole model which will enhance understanding of addition and subtraction. The children will be counting back from thirty, twenty and ten and subtracting one-digit numbers from two-digit numbers.
We will have 'maths fluency' sessions which will focus on counting in twos, fives and tens, finding the difference between two numbers and odd and even numbers.
History
Our topic is 'homes.' The children will be identifying and investigating a variety of homes today and in the past. We will look at the materials used to build homes and the features of different places to live. Homes in the future will be explored as we think about the differences and similarities of styles through the decades.
This will lead into exploring the interior of homes and the designs that are currently popular in conjunction with the fashions from the past. The children will be able to design their own home.
The project leads into Victorian homes and the children will consider how technology and electricity have prompted change to home interiors and exteriors.
Home Project
As we are exploring homes and home design ideas, the home project this term is to create a home of your choice. This can be anything from a single room to a complete house. It could be a tree-house, a dream house, a home from the past or you can let your imagination run wild and create a futuristic home. The room or home can be made from any materials of your choice. The children can use the designs created at school, or can change it up completely and work on something different.
The children have the whole of the Spring Term to complete this, so that there is plenty of time to collect materials and come up with ideas. If you would like any further information regarding this project please come and chat to me.
Science
Our topic for this half-term is Materials and their Properties. We will begin by making a class list of items in the room and categorising the materials they are made up of. We will look at how water affects materials. The children will describe materials and extend their vocabulary in this area. We will be grouping materials according to their properties. The children will research the reasons for using different materials for different purposes. They will think about building materials as we go for a local walk and see what different buildings are made of.
Art and DT
What is sculpture? The children will see slide shows and recordings of different sculptures around the world. They will consider the materials that are used for them, which links with our history and science topics. We will investigate the range of materials that can be used to create sculptures. They will research the work of Andy Goldsworthy and take a woodland walk collecting natural materials for sculpting back at school. They will design their sculpture and use their design when deciding what materials they will need to collect.
The children will also create sculptures from plasticine, so that they have a variety of experiences.
ICT
The children will use their ICT sessions to learn how to use search engines, log in quickly and correctly, retrieve their work from files created and use 'Word' to increase typing skills.
A couple of the sessions will be used for Maths Seeds, which I hope will encourage them to use the programme at home.
PSHE
Our focus will be on dreams, ambitions and goals. We will discuss personal struggles and how goals can be achieved through continuing to try, not giving up and focusing on the final achievement. We will make a class goal and discuss how we can achieve it. We will reflect on cooperation. For one of the sessions will look at academic achievements and how people have been successful. We will read 'Going On A Bear Hunt' and think about all the obstacles the family faced.
Finally we will talk about stepping stones and the steps we need to take to achieve our goals.
Religious Education
This term we will be thinking about 'belonging.' This will include family and community. the children will focus on the school community and who is important to us and why. We will ask ourselves why it is important to have a close and caring community and what this means.
The children will be learning about baptism. We will visit the church and the children will be able to see the font. We will hear about why some people are baptised and what that means.
Toward the end of the coming half term we will be looking at the symbols of prayer and worship.
NEWS
- When the children return to school they will need to bring their PE kits. Please can the children bring a small PE bag with their kit inside. They do not need any other bag apart from reading folders and lunch boxes. Our cloakroom area is quite small and space is limited. Many items get knocked off the pegs as there is not enough room for more than one PE bag on each peg.
Ms Davis
