Dear Parents/Carers
A warm welcome back to you all after the Christmas holidays. We hope you have enjoyed quality time with your families and are all keeping safe and well. Hopefully your children have had time to relax and re-energise ready for the exciting and busy term ahead. We have lots of challenges and fun learning planned for them.
In English and EYFS ‘Communication, language and literacy’ we will continue to develop our reading skills daily. This will be through learning our phonics, building up fluency when reading aloud and developing deeper comprehension skills. We will be starting the reading challenge again and encouraging children to read at least twice a day. Don’t forget to write comments in the reading planners! There will be opportunities in school to read individually, with a partner and in small groups as well the class/year group stories, poems and non-fiction texts we share. This term non-fiction texts will link to ‘materials and toys’ in Science, ‘locations’ in Geography, ‘Ripon in the past’ in History and ‘sculptures’ in Art and Design. Speaking and listening skills will be developed through interactions with adults and peers through role play, circle time, discovery boxes, new vocabulary and group question times. Writing opportunities will focus on handwriting formation, grammar and punctuation of sentences and will link to topic areas for Y1 and Y2. There will be a big focus in writing our spellings correctly. In EYFS, gross and fine motor skills and writing will be developed through using a range of mark making equipment.
In Mathematics, children will be learning how to develop their own ideas and solve problems through the areas of investigating numbers, finding patterns, solving calculation problems and exploring relationships between multiplication and division. They will discover and explore 2D and 3D shapes and continue learning how to talk about what they know in maths through sharing ideas and new vocabulary. Independence and skills will be developed through children selecting appropriate ‘hands on’ resources, drawings, pictures, writing to record and through photographs. In EYFS, children will learn through stories and rhymes as well as role play and ‘real life’ problem solving activities to develop number and numerical patterns. During this term they will focus on developing mastery of numbers to 10 through various representations, comparison and composition of numbers. They will compare mass and capacity, 3D shapes and explore measures through length, height and time activities. The children will be making links with the world around them all the time.
During this term we will focus on the themes of ‘Which materials are useful?’ and ‘What was Ripon like for people in the past?’ In Science, we are learning about different types of ‘Materials’, their uses and where they come from. Children will be identifying, naming, describing, comparing and grouping various materials (wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, rock, fabric). They will make links between an object and the material it is made from, describe physical properties and identify uses and suitability of different materials. Comparisons will be made, looking at ‘What is the same, what is different?’ and we will explore how materials can be changed. We will be using the five types of investigation – pattern seeking, classification and grouping, observing over time, fair testing and scientific research.
In Geography the focus will be on geographical vocabulary and key human features including city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop. Geographical skills will be developed through using maps, fieldwork and observational skills and looking at key human features of the environment. Historical skills will focus on significant historical events, people and places in our own locality within North Yorkshire. We will visit Ripon Museum to find out how local people lived in the past through hands on activities and real life learning. Children will learn about E-safety, staying safe when using computers in Computing. They will also develop understanding of what algorithms are and be able to follow, create and modify instructions on computers and iPads. They will learn about logical reasoning and the behaviour of simple programs when following instructions.
Through DT/Art and Design and EYFS ‘Expressive arts and design’ the focus will be on ‘Sculptures’. We will explore a range of materials which can be used for sculpture and discuss the work of different artists and craft makers. Children will be able to develop their own designs for making musical instruments and using different materials. Through Music, they will be using voices expressively and creatively singing songs, chants and rhymes. They will learn to play tuned and untuned instruments and have opportunities to listen to a range of live and recorded music to develop their concentration and understanding.
Through SEAL themes and PSED, we will be finding out about ‘belonging to a community’ (rules, caring for others and looking after the environment), ‘media literacy and digital resilience’ (using the internet and digital devices as well as communicating online) and ‘money and work’ (people’s strengths and interests and jobs in the community).
Activities in RE will include experiences and learning about ‘Who is a Christian and what do they believe?’ and ‘Who is a Muslim and what do they believe?’ Children will be able to reflect through sharing feelings, emotions, stories, gifts, special food and role play activities.
Through PE and EYFS ‘Physical development’, children will continue to practise and develop fine motor skills using various mark making equipment and tools. Gross motor skills are developed during PE sessions and during activities in the outdoor areas and at Forest School where we will investigate the environment around us. We will explore invasion games and multi skills building up stamina running, jumping, throwing, catching and team work, developing tactics for attacking and defending. Through gymnastics, we will master different movement patterns and develop balance, agility and coordination.
Reminders
- Book bags come in to school and go home every day.
- Water bottles come in to school and go home every day.
- PE days are Tuesday (Y2) and Friday (whole class). Wear outdoor PE kits on these days.
- Forest School is on a Tuesday for EYFS and Year 1 children. Come to school wearing Forest School clothes to suit the weather and trainers. Bring wellie boots in a separate bag to change into.
We are really looking forward to learning new things together this term and completing exciting new challenges!
Mrs Hainsworth, Mr Clark, Mrs Gudger and Mrs Jackson