Class Teacher: Mrs. Whatcott

Teaching Assistant: Mrs. Garland

Spring Term – Hedgehogs Class

We are looking forward to our second term of learning together. We want you to see all of the amazing learning that takes place at school so please do check Tapestry for updates, memos and photos and there is a roundup of learning in our weekly school newsletter.

English

Spring 1 Our text is Naughty Bus by Jan and Jerry Oke and we will be focusing on creating a new journey for the Naughty Bus by creating a story map and writing captions/sentences describing the journey of the bus. In poetry we are looking at Eat your peas Louise & Dinner Time Rhyme and focusing on rhyme.

Spring 2 Our text is Sunny and the Birds by Wendy Meddour and we will be focusing on retelling and rewriting the story.

Phonics

Children will continue to have a daily phonics session using Twinkle Phonics. In phonics we are moving into Level 3 where we learn the remaining single letter sounds covering all letters of the alphabet. We then move on to consonant digraphs and then vowel digraphs and trigraphs. We will be learning new tricky words and learning to spell the tricky words learned in Level 2.  We will be practising our sounding and blending with new sounds, and reading words in our head to become fluent readers. We will also learn the letter names.

Handwriting

We will be practising our letter formation by sorting letters into letter families. We practise forming letters correctly and quickly so it becomes automatic when we are writing words. We will continue to do ‘Funky Fingers’ with activities designed to develop our gross and fine motor skills and hand eye co-ordination to give us strong fingers for writing.

Maths

We will continue to have a daily maths lesson. 4 of which are following the mastering number approach from National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) which is designed to build strong number sense through short whole class lessons using practical resources. One session per week is dedicated to Shape, Space and Measure based on the White Rose Maths scheme of learning.

In Spring 1 in their NCTEM Mastering Number sessions children will be

Subitising: Children will explore patterns within 5 and beyond, recognising small quantities at a glance. They will match arrangements to finger patterns and notice patterns such as ‘1 more’ to support quick number recognition.

Counting, Cardinality and Ordinality: Children will continue to develop verbal counting to 20 and beyond, and practise counting objects accurately. They will link counting to the value of numbers and order numbers, understanding both the size (cardinality) and position (ordinality) of numbers.

Composition of Numbers: Children will explore how numbers are made, practising recalling ‘missing’ or hidden parts of 5 and 6. They will begin to understand that numbers within 10 can be seen as ‘5 and a bit’, linking numbers to familiar patterns.

Comparison: Children will compare sets of objects, using mathematical language such as more, less and equal. They will explore ways to make sets equal and play games that develop reasoning about numbers.

In shape, space and measure we will be learning about mass, capacity, length, height and time through practical, hands-on activities.

Mass: Children will explore and compare the weight of different objects by lifting and using balance scales. They will use mathematical language such as heavy, light, heavier than and lighter than, and learn how to find when objects balance.

Capacity: Children will explore how much different containers can hold, using water and sand play. They will use language such as full, empty, nearly full and nearly empty, and compare containers to decide which holds more or less, making predictions and checking their ideas.

Length: Children will explore and compare objects, using simple mathematical language such as long and short. They will learn to compare and order objects, using words like longer, shorter, longest and shortest.

Height: Children will explore height by measuring and comparing objects and themselves. They will use language such as tall and short, and begin to order items using taller, shorter, tallest and shortest.

Time: Children will talk about their daily routines and familiar events. They will begin to use time-related language such as morning, afternoon, yesterday, today and tomorrow, and practise ordering and sequencing events throughout the day.

In Spring 2 in their NCTEM Mastering Number sessions children will, in the different strands learn

Subitising: Children will practise recognising small quantities at a glance, including patterns that show 1 more or doubles. They will learn to spot when different arrangements show the same number, and when patterns are similar but represent different numbers. Children will also begin to understand when it is quicker to subitise and when it is necessary to count.

Counting, Cardinality and Ordinality: Children will continue to develop verbal counting to 20 and beyond, including starting from different numbers. They will build confidence in counting objects accurately and linking counting to the value of numbers.

Composition of Numbers: Children will explore how the number 10 can be made from smaller parts, strengthening their understanding of number relationships.

Comparison: Children will order sets of objects and link this to their understanding of ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.), supporting early reasoning and number sense.

In shape space and measure in Spring 2, children will develop their understanding of 3-D shapes and patterns through practical, hands-on activities and exploration.

3-D Shapes: Children will learn to recognise and name common 3-D shapes such as cubes, cuboids, spheres and cylinders. They will explore these shapes in different sizes and positions, identify 2-D faces on 3-D shapes, and use them for practical purposes such as building, stacking and rolling.

3-D Shapes in the Environment: Children will identify 3-D shapes in the classroom and outdoor environment, linking mathematical shapes to real-life objects and developing their understanding of how shapes are used in everyday life.

Patterns: Children will explore repeating patterns, including more complex patterns such as AAB, ABB and ABC. They will copy, continue and create patterns using a range of resources, and identify patterns in both natural and man-made environments.

Cornerstones

In Spring 1 our overarching project is Winter Wonderland, which teaches children about the changes that happen during winter, including the types of weather associated with winter. It also explores places that have snow all year round and the types of animals that live there.

It’s companion project, Starry Night, is an Understanding of the World project which explores the differences in the world at night compared to during the day. It teaches children about the importance of a good night’s sleep, and helps them to discover what is happening in the world while they are sleeping, including finding out about nocturnal animals.

In Spring 2 our overarching project is Dangerous Dinosaurs, which teaches children about the different animals that roamed Earth millions of years ago and how they are related to animals that live on Earth today.

It’s companion project, Puddles and Rainbows, is a mini project that teaches children about the weather that happens during spring and allows them to explore natural phenomena, including rainbows. It supports them to explore colour in the natural world.

Religious Education

Spring 1 Children will be explore Who are the people in sacred (special) stories and why might they still be important today?

Spring 2 The theme is Salvation and children will explore why Christians put a cross in an Easter Garden. Children will find out what the Bible says about the last days of Jesus on earth from Palm Sunday to his resurrection and explore Jesus’ two great commandments: Love God and love your neighbour as you love yourself; Luke 10:27. To support this, children will explore the parable of The Good Samaritan.

Physical Education (PE)

Spring 1 is Dance. Children will learn to

Move in different ways

Copy actions from a teacher

Move to the music

Copy actions from a partner

Create your own actions and movements

Spring 1 is Games where children will learn to

Move in lots of different ways

Move into space

Play games with others

Use equipment in games

Keep score

PSED Jigsaw

In the first half of term our topic is Dreams and Goals where we will be learning about aspirations, how to achieve goals and understanding the emotions that go with this.

In the second half of term our topic is Healthy Me where we will be learning about being and keeping safe and healthy.

Music

In music in Spring 1, the theme is Lilting Lullaby and children will develop their listening, singing and movement skills through songs and musical activities linked to animals. They will

• practise singing accurately, learning to match the pitch of their voices carefully.
• explore a five-beat rhythm, feeling the gentle lilting pattern of music that uses two beats followed by three beats.
• listen and respond to different pieces of music, including Baby Elephant, a calm lullaby, and Mars by Gustav Holst, noticing how music can have different moods and rhythms.
• Through dance and movement, children will express ideas and feelings, learning that music can be communicated through both sound and body movement.
• explore signing and performance, combining music, movement and actions to create a simple shared performance.

In Spring 2 In this unit, Number, children will develop their singing, listening and expressive skills through familiar number songs. They will

• learn to sing with expression, using their voices, faces and actions to communicate meaning and emotion.
• explore melody shapes, hearing when the music goes up and down and drawing these shapes in the air to help them control their singing voices.
• Sing Hickory, Dickory, Dock and Ten Green Bottles, developing confidence with counting songs and repeated patterns nd help them understand how songs can tell a story.
• Children will also explore making music using recycled materials, creating simple instruments to play along with Ten Green Bottles.

Things to remember

Rhino Readers books are changed on a Thursday but we read with children regularly during the week, both individually and in a group so please can these books been in school every day along with your child’s reading record.

Library books are changed on a Friday, please can books be in school on this day. Children will be able to choose a new book but this will not go home until their old book is returned.

PE is on a Friday. Please can children come into school in their PE kits. Please ensure PE kit is named.

Maths tasks to support your child’s learning are available on Mathseeds. You will have a QR code for your child to access the maths work. This will be in the front of the child’s reading record.