Summer Term

18^th April 2012

Dear Parents,

Summer Term Topics

 Here are some details about our curriculum for the following term. For the first half of term we will be using Traditional Tales as our focus for learning. Each week we will read a different tale and use this as a basis for our learning activities. The Traditional Tales we will be reading are as follows:-

Week 1 – The Little Red Hen

Week 2 – The Big Carrot (The Enormous Turnip)

Week 3 – Lots of Nuts (The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse)

Week 4 – I Will Get You (The Three Billy Goats Gruff)

Week 5 – Rabbit on the Run (The Hare and The Tortoise)

Week 6 – Chicken Licken

 In the second half of this term we will be looking at  ‘New Life’, where we will be finding out about plant growth, butterflies, frogs and babies.  We will be using the topics to help develop skills and knowledge in all areas of the curriculum.

 Personal, Social and Emotional Development

We will continue to aim to create motivation, excitement and interest in lessons.  The children will be developing confidence to try out new activities and to speak in familiar groups.

We will be extending our ability to concentrate and maintain attention for longer periods of time.

Through the Traditional Tales we will learn that cooperation and hard work are to be valued and will begin to consider how our words and actions affect others.

Through our study of ‘New Life’, we will develop respect for all living things and for our environment.

We will continue to use the Golden Rules to work in harmony together as a class and within the school as a whole. Please find the Golden Rules attached.

Communication, Language and Literacy

Literacy continues to be an integral part of all classroom activities, with the emphasis remaining on speaking and listening. The children will continue to have daily phonic practice with new letters and sounds introduced and the chance to use their knowledge in games and activities.  We will continue to use these in reading and writing and will continue to learn more irregular words (such as ‘the’ and ‘all’) by sight using ‘Look, cover, write, check’.  Lists will be sent home for you to practise with your child.

We will listen to stories every day and write notices, lists, descriptions, poems and stories related to our topics. Children will be encouraged to ‘have a go’ at writing independently, writing the sounds they can hear. When ready, they will learn to write in sentences, using full stops and capital letters.

We will use non-fiction texts, ICT and fact cards to find out information about our topics. The children will be encouraged to use story-maps and drama to retell the Traditional Tales and to use these as a basis for beginning to write stories of their own.

 Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

We will be using our topic to understand number in the real world, such as measuring out the flour necessary to make bread or counting the number of tadpoles we have daily.  We will measure the height of our plants using non-standard and standard units.  We will be investigating measuring liquids when watering the plants, and measuring soil when planting them.  We will continue with basic addition and will introduce subtraction. We will continue to use, recognise and write numbers to 20 and beyond.  We will consolidate our understanding of 3D shape and will also begin to learn about money and cost.

Children’s knowledge of number will continue to be extended according to their individual needs.

 Knowledge and Understanding of the World

We will be using the Traditional Tales as a basis for learning investigations.  We will make bread, vegetable soup, build bridges and investigate their strength. We will consider what we need to be healthy and how exercise affects our bodies.  We will explore how quickly different objects fall and think about why. We will look at some of the different environments that people live in and decide which seems to be the most pleasant.

The children will be learning the names of the plant and what a plant needs to grow.  They will be observing how tadpoles grow and change as well as butterflies.  Later in the term we will be looking at how they have changed and grown too.

We will continue to use the construction equipment to develop planning and evaluating skills. We will be learning to log on and off computer accounts using simple user names and passwords and we will be learning to switch off properly.  We will also begin to use the keyboard.

Physical Development

The children have twice weekly PE sessions with Rising Stars.  They learn to find spaces, catch balls, jump safely and begin to use simple equipment such as bats properly. They have a weekly gym or dance session where they are taught to hop and skip etc. and to work in pairs to make repeating movements.  

They will also be learning a traditional country dance.

Creative Development

We will be using a variety of resources to create flower pictures.  We will continue to extend our knowledge of colour mixing and shading.  We will be designing our own butterflies and evaluating our results.

Children will get the opportunity to sing action songs and chants.  They will listen to poems, sounds and music, use instruments, compose music for a dance performance all to consolidate the musical element of dynamics/loud and quiet.

Thank you for all the support that you give to your child and the school.  Please continue to listen to your child read daily. Could you also ensure all items brought into school are named.

I would like to stress that at this time of year particularly, children should bring in a named water bottle.  Children in Reception class spend a long part of their day outside and you may wish to apply suncream in the morning.

I will shortly be sending you a letter to inform you of our ‘Show and Tell’ sessions.

If you have any concerns or wish to talk to me about your child then please see me at the end of the day.

Kind Regards

Clare Worsley

The Golden Rules

1. We are gentle.
2. We are kind and helpful.
3. We listen carefully.
4. We work hard.
5. We tell the truth.
6. We look after our belongings.