Meet our Classes
19th September, 2011
Dear Parents/Carers,
Autumn Term Curriculum Letter for Oak Class
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all back after the Summer holidays. I hope you enjoyed the well-earned break of school routines, homework and so on! I have listed below some key pieces of information regarding the first term that may be of use.
First of all, a few reminders about class routines:
- Homework is set on a Friday, to be returned on a Tuesday. Homework instructions are given on a piece of paper. Homework should be an enjoyable process for your child and is not designed to take long periods of time. (10-15 minutes is sufficient). I urge you to encourage your child to complete this as independently as possible. Children who complete homework will be rewarded but homework is not assessed.
- Children are expected to read every night at home, keeping a record of their reading and reading responses in their Yellow Reading Record. I appreciate that children reading books with several chapters will, of course, be changing their books less frequently – (although this may not be relevant until later on in the year). Please make sure an adult signs the reading record every evening.
- PE kit must remain in school every day. For health and safety reasons, children will not be allowed to participate in sports activities if they have incorrect footwear, no PE kit and are wearing jewellery. If kits are taken home to be washed, they need to be returned as soon as possible.
- Please can you ensure your child’s uniform and PE kit are clearly labelled with their full name.
- For Health & Safety reasons, children should not wear jewellery to school and girls must have their hair tied back with a blue or black band.
- Art aprons are provided and so children are not required to bring their own.
- Please use the little red “Contact/Home-School Link Books” as a means of communication between home and school. We advise that children who have notes in their books should hold them as they enter the school gate in the morning and immediately show the note to an adult.
- Children’s drink bottles should be filled with water. Fruit juices are not permitted in the classroom. Fruit is provided on a daily basis at playtime.
- Due to the gradual transition from Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1, children in Year 1 will not be given spellings to learn until later on in the term. More information will be given nearer the time.
- Children’s reading will be assessed on an ongoing basis throughout the whole year. Every child will read to the Class Teacher and Teaching Assistant on a weekly basis during Guided Reading. Another adult will also hear your child read once a week during Holy Trinity Reads.
- Any money that is sent into school must be in an envelope with your child’s full name, class, amount of money enclosed and what it is for. Please take larger sums of money directly to Mrs McCarthy in the school office.
- If your child is absent from school, a note is required, explaining the absence as soon as possible.
- With all the coughs and colds that will inevitably come around as winter approaches, we will undoubtedly go through a lot of tissues in Year 1. If you happen to have a spare box looking for a home, they would be very gratefully received in our classroom…thank you very much.
This term’s curriculum will consist of the following:
Literacy:
- Narrative: Stories with familiar settings. Stories from a range of cultures. Stories with predictable/patterned language.
- Non-fiction: Labels, lists and captions. Instructions.
- Poetry: Using the senses.
(In these units, children will be taught to speak, listen, read and write for a range of purposes. Key aspects of learning include reasoning, creative thinking, empathy, social skills, communication and evaluation).
- Phonics: Letters and Sounds.
- Guided Reading and Writing: takes place daily.
- Handwriting.
- Show & Tell: details will be sent in a separate letter.
In addition to the above, children will be introduced to “Big Writing” later in the term. Children will be given a title/topic/sentence starter (usually linked to our literacy lessons that week) and will have the opportunity to write freely and independently within a set time period.
Numeracy: (to be covered over the course of the year):
- Counting, partitioning and calculating: Comparing, ordering, reading and writing numbers from 0 to at least 20; early addition and related language and symbols; solving problems involving counting, adding and subtracting, explaining methods and reasoning using related vocabulary; learning number names, counting forwards and backwards from 0 to 20 then beyond, place value; learning and counting at least 20 objects, recognising that when objects are rearranged the number is the same.
- Securing number facts, understanding shape: Patterns and properties of numbers and shapes; estimating and counting at least 20 objects, recognising that when objects are rearranged the number is the same; deriving and recalling pairs of numbers that total 10, beginning to work out and recall addition facts for totals to at least 10 with corresponding subtraction facts; solving problems and puzzles involving understanding of number and operations; explaining their methods and justifying their decisions; early addition and subtraction using related language symbols, reading and writing numerals from 0-20, then beyond, ordering numbers on a number line.
- Handling data and measures: Collecting, organising, presenting and interpreting information to answer questions, communicating findings; choosing and using appropriate units of measurement and measuring equipment; measuring and comparing lengths, weights and capacities using uniform non-standard and standard units of measurement, using ICT, sorting information on a diagram using one criterion, representing information with practical resources.
- Calculating, measuring and understanding shape: Solving problems involving counting, adding, subtracting, doubling or halving numbers, money, measures or time; time to the hour and half hour, days of the week and months of the year; position, direction and movement; counting on, finding a difference, adding or subtracting a one-digit number or multiple of 10 to/from a two-digit number; estimating, measuring, weighing and comparing objects using uniform non-standard and standard units.
- Securing number facts, relationships and calculating: Solving problems involving counting, adding, subtracting, doubling or halving of numbers, measures or money; representing and interpreting problems using numbers, practical materials and diagrams; describing and recording addition and subtraction number sentences; halves and quarters in context; counting on and back in 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s, combing groups of 2, 5, 10 sharing in equal groups; doubles of numbers to 10; describing patterns and relationships involving numbers or shapes and testing examples that fit conditions.
Science: For the first half of term we will be following a topic about Ourselves. In the second half of the term, we will be studying a unit on Light and Dark.
Foundation Subjects: These will be taught through a “topic-based” approach in order to help children make cross-curricular links in their learning. Children will therefore potentially cover various subjects within one particular lesson rather than segregating their learning into “boxes”. These subjects will often be integrated to produce practical and “hands-on” experiences for the children, and aim to encourage independence, logical thinking, creative development and social/personal development.
ICT: As with the Foundation subjects, in Year 1 ICT is integrated through various aspects of the curriculum, rather than as a discreet subject. For example, children will have the opportunity to use laptops in a variety of lessons, explore various programmes on the class Interactive Whiteboard and use the “floor robots”. There are also weekly opportunities to use the new Apple Mac’s in the ICT suite.
RE: Our RE work this term will focus on the concept of Creation, God and Incarnation.
Teaching arrangements: In Year 1, we are extremely fortunate to have Mrs. Harry teaching Music and Mrs. Matthews teaching Art/DT. We are also very lucky to have Mrs. Harry, Mrs. Hancock and Mrs. Hamwijk as our Year 1 Teaching Assistants this year.
School Trips: A theatre company will be coming into school to celebrate Black History Month and a Pantomime over the Christmas season.
Meet the Teacher: You are invited into Oak Class on Thursday, 22nd September at 14:30. It will be an opportunity to meet with me informally, go through the above information and clarify any concerns.
While I hope that this letter has given you all the information you need, please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information. We look forward to getting to know you all over the coming academic year.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. J. Davies Mrs. D. Harry Mrs. S. Hancock Mrs. C. Hamwijk
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