This term our English and history focus is ‘movers and shakers’, exploring significant individuals and their impact. We are already planning a biography of Rosa Parks, after which we will research local footballer and WWII officer Walter Tull (with the help of a visitor from Folkestone Museum!), before writing a newspaper report of the moon landing. Later in the term we will compose speeches inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., and design posters based on the Suffragette movement. In class we have already enjoyed sharing a number of biographies of significant individuals – later in the term we will move to some classic fiction: Roald Dahl’s ‘The Magic Finger’, Dick King Smith’s ‘The Hodgeheg’, and Malorie Blackman’s ‘Whizziwig’. This is in addition to our reading practice sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, where the children read their phonics books in small groups with guidance and support from a teacher. We hope you have enjoyed listening to your child reading their phonics books to you, and that you have valued the opportunity to share their weekly ‘book for pleasure’ at home. Thank you for remembering to pop both books in your child’s book bag each day so they can be used throughout the week in school.
In maths we are deepening our understanding of place value, focussing on the patterns we can spot when counting up to 100, especially when counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. We will shortly move on to addition and subtraction, increasing our confidence when working with larger numbers, and learning different techniques for adding and subtracting at speed. Log-on details for Numbots were sent out at the start of term, and I would recommend that the children spend a few minutes every day practising their foundational maths skills via the Numbots website.
Human survival is the focus of science this term, including identifying what animals need in order to survive, and defining the various stages of human development. We will move on to consider the importance of nutrition and exercise over the next few weeks, and will learn how to carry out fair tests to measure the impact of exercise on our health.
Our RE focus this term is Christianity, exploring God’s creation. In PSHE we are focusing on ‘being me in my world’, including discussing our hopes and fears for this year, and how we can maximise our opportunities to learn by making good choices. In computing we are exploring how to use IT safely, and in our PE sessions on Monday and Friday afternoons we are learning gymnastics and fitness games. In art we have reinforced our knowledge of primary and secondary colours, colour mixing, and printing, and later in the term we will progress to DT, where we will learn about food provenance, and hopefully have the opportunity to make a healthy stew (and maybe a treat too!). In music we are honing our call-and-response skills, learning action songs, and beginning to identify and copy rhythms. As we approach the end of term, we will turn our focus to geography, when we will be revising the seven continents and five oceans, as well as refining our map-reading skills, and learning how to carry out effective fieldwork.
Thank you for your continued support, especially reading on a daily basis with your child, and supporting them to access Numbots at home.