Spring 2

What a fantastic half term we have had! Our learning in English has centred around descriptive writing. We read the story ‘Tadpole’s promise’ and worked hard to imitate and innovate the story. As part of our Talk for Writing approach to English, children learnt actions to help them remember the story. We also looked a non-fiction, focusing on life cycles. The children again used our talk for writing approach to learn the model text, before coming out with their own information text on the life cycle of a frog.  

In maths, we began the half term by continuing our learning on multiplication and division. We looked at grouping and sharing as out division strategies and using a number line and partitioning to work out multiplication problems. We then moved on to fraction for the second part of the half term. We worked on understanding what different fractions meant, and that they were part of a whole. We’ve become very good at finding fractions of amounts and shapes.

This half term we have been focusing on Geography. We have been learning about the continents and oceans of the world. The children used map work to complete tasks, recapped using co-ordinates to find specific places and began to understand the difference between weather and climate.

Our Science this half term has been around life cycles and plants. The children have identified and compared the different parts of plants and what their uses are. We have grown cress, runner beans and sunflowers, recording our findings and making sure we were conducting a fair test.

In PE this half term, children have been learning balance, using our imoves scheme and also dance using RealPE. They continued their learning on jumps and using apparatus safely when preforming jumps, and how we can balance when landing.  

Spring 1 

In Spring 1 our Learning Journey was called ‘Fire and Ice’. We launched our topic with the beautiful topic “The Snow Dragon by Vivian French.” The children found some dragon’s eggs in the hall which we have cared for. We have also investigated the historic event, The Great Fire of London.

English
We started this half term learning about wishing tales. We learnt the story of ‘The Snow Dragon’, looking carefully at the story structure and typical plot of a wishing tale. Children then used their knowledge of ‘The Snow Dragon’ to create their own wishing tales. Also in English this half term, we have written descriptive poems, imagining what it might have been like to be in ‘The Great Fire of London’. We have tried to include adjectives, similes and alliteration to describe the fire. 

In spelling sessions, we have focused on adding the suffixes -ed and -ing to root words. We have used the rhyme, “Is there a letter we need to drop? Is there a letter to double or swap?” You could help your child with their English skills by reading with them as often as possible and learning to read and spell the tricky words in your reading diary.

Maths
As Mathematicians the children have continued to practise the application of their number skills to solve problems and reason. We have continued to focus on addition and subtraction, to build a secure foundation before moving onto multiplication and division. We have also learnt more about money, including the coins and notes we use, making different amounts and adding and subtracting money.

The children have also been practising quick recall of multiplication facts from the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, at the beginning of maths lessons and at varies times in the day.

Science

We have been looking at what the body needs to service this half term. We also learnt that keeping clean helps us to stay healthy and did an experiment using bread and washed and unwashed hands to understand how germs can spread.

Creative Curriculum

We have found out all about The Great Fire of London and showcased our learning through the Arts. The children had a very special visitor in the form of Samuel Pepys. They were fully immersed in life in London in the 1600’s and during the time of the great fire. As well as looking at timelines of events, creating poems and comparing life of London in the past to London now, the children also built their own model London. After investigating how the fire spread and how quickly, we arranged our model houses. We were then lucky enough to go on to the school field and recreate our own ‘Great fire of London,’ by setting fire to the house and watching how the fire quickly caught and spread-much like it did in 1666.