Auckland (FS2)

Mrs Dale

Class Teacher

Mrs Blair

Class Teacher

Mrs Phelps

Teaching Partner

Miss Last

Teaching Partner

OUR TOPIC FOR TERM 5: SEE HOW THEY GROW

Self-initiated Learning

We value play very highly as a vehicle for learning and social development. A large variety of exciting resources are prepared in the classroom and outdoor area that are designed to stimulate creativity, curiosity, problem solving and imaginative play.

The children have access to areas such as role play, sand and water exploration, construction, art and technology. We encourage the children to select their own activities, ensuring that their experiences are wide-ranging and educational. The adults use questioning to develop language and vocabulary and to assess and further the children’s understanding. The children are encouraged to recognise and record their own learning.

Reading

The children read individually to a member of staff each week.   We also have a number of volunteers that kindly come into the classroom to hear readers. Your child has their own reading book, and a Link Book to record their progress, and these will go home with them each evening in a book bag. Every morning the children are able to choose a new book. The children move at their own pace through the reading levels.
Click on the PDF below, Reading at Home, to find out about the structure of our reading levels and how you can support your child with reading.

We also offer ‘Read Together’ books for your child to take home, story and non-fiction books that you can both enjoy as a bedtime story or at a time to suit you.

If you would like to hear readers in the classroom, please let us know.



Reading At Home.pdf

Literacy

This term our literacy work will focus on the topic of Around and About Us. We will be exploring a number of stories and a selection of non-fiction books relating to our surroundings, our bodies, our families and our health. The children will continue to apply what they are learning in our phonics sessions in order to segment words for writing, creating whole sentences. They will be encouraged to include exciting vocabulary and tricky words when writing their own stories. Through independent writing opportunities and guided writing, we will be:

  • producing instructions
  • creating lists
  • writing our own stories in the style of topic books
  • generating creative descriptions of surroundings
  • creating e-Books

Our Talk To Write book this term is Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne.

 

Understanding the World

This area of the curriculum covers science, geography and history, as well as cultural and religious knowledge.

This term our topic of ‘Around and About Us’ will focus both on the human body and the local environment. We will also be comparing our area with that of the city of London and appreciating the number of countries around our world.

Various science activities are available for the children to explore during their self-initiated learning times, as well as weekly science sessions when the children will work in groups to carry out their activities. There will also be sessions relating to geography and history. The children will be:

  • exploring the use of our senses
  • discovering ways to keep ourselves healthy
  • investigating how our bodies react to exercise
  • thinking about how we differ from others
  • comparing our surroundings to other cultures and traditions.

Art and Design

Art is taught once each week and this complements our creative area, which is constantly available for the children to explore a variety of materials and resources through self-initiated learning. This term the children will be using a variety of mediums to create work in the style of local artist, Tanya Hinton.

The children will be developing their artistic skills by

  • understanding that different mediums can be combined to create new effects
  • using their imagination to create their own artwork
  • developing pencil control through sketching
  • describing their work to others.

Also, this term the children will be designing, making and evaluating their own healthy sandwich. They will draw plans, create a shopping list and develop their chopping, spreading and grating skills as they put their sandwich together. We will provide the ingredients and the children will be testing their creations at home!

PSED and RE

We will be thinking about how we keep ourselves healthy. We will look at healthy foods, exercise and looking after ourselves, including cleaning our teeth.

We will also continue to reflect on who we are and our achievements. As a link to our worship theme we will discuss what humility means which will give the children an opportunity to recognise and celebrate their own actions. This will encourage and support their skills of personal reflection and talking about themselves in a positive way.   

Through Philosophy for Children, they will be given the opportunity to make choices and decisions and express their reasons for these selections.

The children will be

  • listening to what others say
  • asking appropriate questions of others
  • speaking confidently to others about their own accomplishments
  • being aware of, and respecting, the accomplishments of others

Phonics

Phonics is taught four times a week, each session lasting around 20 minutes. This term we will continue Phase 4 of the phonics programme. We will be learning to read the new tricky words and spell Phase 3 tricky words. Phase 4 is a consolidation phase which aims to enhance the children’s recognition and recall of all previously learned graphemes and support their application to read and write polysyllabic words. It also supports their reading and spelling of words with adjacent consonants or blends (e.g. st, cr, dr, nt, scr).

This term we will also be revisiting the spelling and reading of high frequency words and practising full stops, capital letters and finger spaces for sentence writing.  Each phonics lesson is broken down into four sections: revising previously taught sounds, teaching a new sound, practising writing and reading the sound, and applying the sound to read and write words. This structure provides a secure routine that the children quickly get used to and enjoy.

Please continue to refer to the mini-books that the children have brought home as they will help to practise decoding words and the recognition of tricky words.

Maths

Maths is taught four times a week. Each week our maths focus builds on practical problem solving, reasoning and numeracy skills. Whilst the children are learning independently there are other opportunities outside of our guided mathematics lessons where they can develop their skills and understanding. This term, during our maths sessions, we will be:

  • building on addition and subtraction skills
  • consolidating number bonds within numbers to ten
  • exploring the pattern of odd and even numbers
  • learning to count in 2s to 20, 5s to 50 and 10s to 100
  • recognising the value of different coins
  • exchanging coins for the equivalent amount of pennies.

Computing

There are a variety of digital devices available in school and the children use these during their self-initiated learning and through maths and literacy activities.  The laptops are accessible at all times and we will also continue to explore the iPads and the BeeBot floor robots.

This term the children will be developing their technology skills by:

  • using a mouse to draw, drag and drop
  • inputting commands into a floor robot
  • creating scenes with 2Simple software by selecting objects and activities
  • exploring simple iPad apps
  • using software to draw and write
  • operating a cd player
  • taking photographs.

Physical Education

Each week the children take part in two PE sessions.  This term the children will be taking part in athletics and outdoor games. We will be developing their co-ordination and movement and a general awareness of space and others around us.

Through PE lessons the children will be:

  • extending their awareness of others and space around them
  • increasing their skills of managing direction and speed and using them for a purpose
  • practising catching and throwing a variety of objects
  • improving their skills of balance whilst both stationary and moving
  • enhancing their team skills and sporting values

The children will also be celebrating Sports Week during Week 3, culminating in our whole school Sports Day on Friday 21st June (weather permitting) where we ask each child to wear a T shirt to match their house colour. (See the inside cover of your child’s Link Book.)

 

Music

Music is a fundamental tool in developing language, maths and social skills. Throughout the week we will sing songs and use simple percussion to enhance the children’s confidence and motor skills. They will become familiar with a number of topic related songs and rhymes in the classroom as well as taking part in whole school singing every day. Each week we also have a short ‘Move it Moments’ session, dancing to different music styles.

The children will be learning to

  • explore body percussion combinations
  • compose a simple rhythm pattern
  • recognise the different sounds that instruments can produce
  • combine percussion sounds to create layers of sound.