Highlights of the week:
Phonics:
We have learnt the letter group oo as code for the short sound /oo/ as in hook and the long sound /oo/ as in moon.
We have then had a go at forming our letters correctly. We have been working on our pencil grip using our ‘froggy legs’ and trying to form the letters correctly using the word patters/rhymes to support us.
The children are working hard towards our end of year expectations for reading and writing. For your information we have attached the end of year Early Learning Goals. These set out what a child is expected to have achieved by the end of the year.
Early Learning Goal - Reading:
- Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs.
- Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending.
- Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.
Early Learning Goal - Writing:
- Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed.
- Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters.
- Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.
Phonics Top Tip:
We teach children to never sound out the ‘end e’ in words as it usually is not code for any sound. This is because many words in the English language end with the letter ‘e’ but often it does not require decoding with its own ‘sound’. There are some exceptions to this rule and the children will learn these as they move through the school.
Maths:
This week in maths we have been comparing quantities using the language ‘more’ and ‘fewer’. For more information about how to support your child with this learning please log onto Tapestry. We have been working on our mental recall of number bonds to 5 as this is a key part of the end of year expectations in maths. We have put some home learning suggestions for you on Tapestry.
The children are working hard towards our end of year expectations for mathematics. For your information we have attached the end of year Early Learning Goals. These set out what a child is expected to have achieved by the end of the year.
Early Learning Goal - Number:
- Have a deep understanding of numbers to 10, including the composition of each number.
- Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5.
- Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts
Early Learning Goal - Numerical Patterns:
- Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system.
- Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity.
- Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.
Jigsaw:
This week we continued our new unit of ‘Relationships’. We continued our talk about how we need to be kind to our friends and thought about some of the things we say to our friends and how it may make them feel.
Core text:
We have been learning about responsibility through our core text Lulu Gets a Cat. We have looked closely at the illustrations in the book to see how Lulu proves to her mum that she is responsible and that she would be able to look after her own pet cat.
Topic:
We have been talking about responsibility in a range of contexts. Responsibilities at home and at school. We have also been exploring whether it is our responsibility to look after the environment. We have read the book Somebody Swallowed Stanley and talked about plastic pollution and littering. We have talked about how environments have changed over time as new houses have needed to be built and discussed how we can help maintain the natural world by planting flowers. We have now started our sunflower challenge!
Music:
This week we continued our new unit of music called ‘Big Bear Funk’. The children enjoyed listening to the song ‘My Promise by Earth, Wind and Fire’ at the start of the lesson. We then talked about what they liked or did not like about the song. We explored the rhythm and pulse of the song. We then had a go at playing various notes on the glockenspiels and bells in time with each other. We worked on playing synchronised as a whole class. We then played the instruments to the music playing the notes DDCD along to the words ‘funky music’.
Library:
Please remember to send in your library books and we will change these as a whole class on a Friday morning.
Home learning ideas:
- How many levels can you complete on Numbots?
- Take some time to look through your child’s phonics folder with them and pick out some pages to practise. You can record this as part of your child’s reading in their reading journal.
- Remember you can complete the reading challenge and collect a prize from the prize box every time you read 10 times.
- Can you listen to some of the number bond songs and recall all of the numbers bonds to 5?
- To support your child in reaching the end of year expectation in comprehension, enjoy reading and talking about books together. Reading comprehension is about the children being able to talk about what has been read to them.
This is the Early Learning Goal for comprehension which sets out what a child is expected to have achieved by the end of the year.
Early Learning Goal - Comprehension:
- Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.
- Anticipate (where appropriate) key events in stories.
- Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, nonfiction, rhymes and poems and during role play.
