6:Aquamarine

Welcome to the last term as an Aquamarine!

From Mrs Taylor, Miss Holland & Mrs Harrison

Our topic for this half term is...

We are continuing the Our Environment topic this half term. We loved finding out about our local area so we are now going to compare and contrast Sawley with other parts of the UK and the wider world, developing our geographical knowledge and understanding. We will be finding out about the four counties of the United Kingdom and their individual cultures and traditions. We are learning key facts such as the capital cities of the UK and the names of the 5 oceans and 7 continents of the world. In science we are learning to identify types of flowering plants and trees. We will continue to consolidate their knowledge of how plants grow and what they need to be healthy. We are pleased with the progress in our year one allotment garden and will be planting and growing even more this half term. We will also be finding out about famous people from history who came from the local area, such as Robin Hood and Florence Nightingale

P.E.

In athletics we are learning how to use our running, jumping, hopping, skipping and throwing skills to games and activities, ready for sports day! Sports day is planned for Wednesday 5th July, so fingers crossed for nice weather that day! In the run up to sports day we are practising a range of games and activities such as the bean bag balance, the dressing up race, the sack race and the egg and spoon race.

In dance we are covering themes linked to our topics such as Africa and Growing. We will be creating sequences linked to our knowledge of plants and the environment and our interest in Africa and the local environment including the animals that are found there. The children will continue to progress their control and presentation skills when performing to an audience.

Our outdoor PE sessions are on a Monday.

Please ensure that your child has suitable and warm clothing and footwear for outdoor PE

Our indoor PE sessions are on a Thursday.

Please ensure your child has shorts and a t-shirt for indoor PE.

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We will be continuing to consolidate the children’s understanding of e-safety and how to stay safe online. They will be researching and finding out about our topic, whilst making use of their e-safety skills. We will be creating our own music using computers, linking to our learning in music about creating a score using online software to generate or record sounds.

In RE we are learning about how to care for our world. We will be finding out about what different religious stories teach us about caring for each other and the world around us. It is important to learn about how we have an impact on the world around us and how we can use our gifts and talents to make the world a better place.

Music

In music this term, we will be continuing to use the Charanga work scheme. The children will be listening and appraising different genres of music. This term, our main genre is Latin. Therefore the children will be singing and composing their own piece of music based on a given Latin song.

They will be comparing the genre of Latin against a range of other genres such as jazz. The children will be following a given score to create music with instruments and their bodies. They will then be creating their own scores.

PSHE

In PSHE next term we will be concentrating on ‘Changes’ as we begin to transition into Year 2. Changing teachers and classes can be a very worrying time for the children. Therefore, we will be doing lots of work in order to prepare the children for this transition. We will be focusing on recognising and dealing with our feelings in a positive way, discussing any worries and concerns that the children may have. The children will have the opportunity to share any questions, concerns and worries that they may have. We will be responding to the holiday homework within PSHE lessons.

Literacy

Leading up to the phonics screening check, the children will continue to develop their phonic skills, which include decoding and reading real and ‘alien’ words. Don’t forget to log on to bug club to read some of the phonics based texts, and have a play on phonicsplay.co.uk in the phase 5 section.

This term in our Literacy lessons, we will be reading and responding to traditional tales. We will then be looking at the alternatives to these well-known stories. We will explore how these traditional texts have been altered and begin to create some of our very own. The children will be using features from our everyday writing toolkit which is displayed in every classroom.

Maths

This term we will be consolidating and deepening our understanding of the strategies taught so far this year.

We have had lots of opportunities to practise our skills, so this term we will be focusing more our recording in preparation for year 2. We will be problem solving and reasoning using all four of the calculations operations; addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Don’t forget to use the links on the class website to practise all of the skills we have learnt so far.

This half term we have been learning about different measures, including time, weight and capacity. Have a go at these games at home to practise the skills we have been learning.

Weekly Homework

Reading.

Each week we would like you to listen to your child read as often as possible and practise key words (if still receives them) - Reading is not restricted to texts sent home, this can be comics/magazines and whilst out and about sign posts, labels, leaflets, a menu, anywhere print can be found. The targets that need to be worked on can be found at the back of their reading diaries.

Children also love to hear their favourite stories over and over again and although reading some books themselves still love a story that is read to them.

Numeracy

Each week children are given numeracy homework. This is usually a worksheet given on a Friday and reflects what the children have been doing in class that week or an area that requires more practise.

Below are some useful links to websites to further support your child in numeracy - have fun!

Useful place value, addition and subtraction and money websites to support your child/children at home. Click on the picture to select the game you wish to play.

Place value