Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome back after the Easter holidays and we hope you have had an enjoyable break spending time with your families and friends. We have a busy Summer term ahead of us and are really looking forward to new, exciting and challenging activities together!
During this term we will focus on the themes of ‘How are living things suited to their habitats?’ and ‘How has technology changed over time?’
‘English’ and ‘Communication Language and Literacy’ opportunities will enable children to listen to and follow instructions to complete different tasks and follow routines. They will have daily opportunities to listen to and share class stories and poems. Speaking and listening skills will be developed through asking and answering questions. Reading will be developed through phonics activities and learning key words and spellings. Writing opportunities will focus on grammar and punctuation of sentences and will link to topic areas. Through non-fiction texts we will focus on links with other areas of the curriculum in Science, History and Geography.
In ‘Mathematics’, children will be learning how to develop their own ideas and solve problems through the areas of investigating numbers and calculations, geometry (exploring and describing shapes and describing position), and measures (length, mass and capacity). They will be learning how to ‘convince’ each other what they know in maths. New vocabulary will be learnt and skills will be developed using ‘hands on’ resources, drawings, pictures and photographs. Children will be recording maths pictorially and in written form. They will learn to select the resources they need and build independence through handling objects when solving problems and demonstrating how they can record their knowledge to share with other children and adults. In EYFS, children will also learn through stories and rhymes as well as role play and ‘real life’ problem solving activities.
Science/Geography/History/Computing/Understanding The World
Children will be asking and answering questions including looking for patterns, making observations and performing fair tests in scientific activities. They will be identifying, naming, describing, comparing various plants and habitats, as well as exploring their own senses in various ways. Stories will include original and alternative versions of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and ‘Superworm’. They will be making comparisons linked to seasonal changes of Spring and Summer. Geographical skills will be developed through identifying the locations of the hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles. Children will name and locate the seven continents and five oceans. Historical skills will link to ‘the lives of significant individuals in the past’, comparing similarities and differences between John Logie Baird and Tim Berners Lee. Children will learn about staying safe when using ICT and explore how we organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital data.
Through ‘DT/Art and Design/Expressive Arts and Design’ the focus will be exploring how to design a bird box, bug hotel or other wildlife home. They will have opportunities to design, make, develop and plan their own ‘wildlife home’ ideas. Then they will evaluate and compare similarities and differences between different designs. Through music, they will be focussing on composition and using their voices expressively and creatively through songs, chants and rhymes. Through stories there will be opportunities to play tuned and untuned instruments. They will be listening to a variety of music genres.
Activities in RE will include experiences and learning about ‘what we can learn from sacred books’ and ‘what makes some places sacred?’. Children will be able to reflect through sharing feelings, emotions, stories, gifts, special food and role play activities. Through ‘SEAL themes and PSED’, we will be finding out about ‘relationships’ and ‘changes’ -how we learn from and get along with other people and what changes in our lives over time.
Through ‘PE’ and ‘Physical Development’, children will practise 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 explore and investigate the environment around us. Children will explore athletics and multi skills building up stamina, running, jumping, throwing, catching and team work. They will develop balance, agility and co-ordination as well as tactics for attacking and defending in net, wall, striking and fielding games.
Reminders
- Book bags come in to school and go home every day. Our daily reading challenge continues – remember to write daily comments in your planners.
- PE days are Tuesday and Friday for Y2. Wear outdoor PE kits on these days.
- EYFS and Y1 children have Forest School on Tuesday and PE on Friday. Wear clothing appropriate to the weather for Forest School day and outdoor PE kit on a Friday.
- Water bottles come in to school and go home every day.
Many thanks for your continued support and we look forward to a busy Summer term with lots of fun and exciting activities.
Mrs Hainsworth, Mr Clark, Mrs Gudger and Mrs Jackson