Auckland (FS2)

Mrs Dale

Class Teacher

Mrs Blair

Class Teacher

Mrs Phelps

Teaching Partner

Mrs Cary

Teaching Partner

OUR TOPIC FOR TERM 3: DIGGING FOR DINOSAURS

Self-initiated Learning

We value play very highly as a vehicle for learning and social development. A large variety of exciting resources are prepared in the classroom and outdoor area that are designed to stimulate creativity, curiosity, problem solving and imaginative play.

The children have access to areas such as role play, sand and water exploration, construction, art and technology. We encourage the children to select their own activities, ensuring that their experiences are wide-ranging and educational. The adults use questioning to develop language and vocabulary and to assess and further the children’s understanding. The children are encouraged to recognise and record their own learning.

Reading

The children read individually to a member of staff each week.   We also have a number of volunteers that kindly come into the classroom to hear readers. Your child has their own reading book, and a Link Book to record their progress, and these will go home with them each evening in a book bag. Every morning the children are able to choose a new book. The children move at their own pace through the reading levels.
Click on the PDF below, Reading at Home, to find out about the structure of our reading levels and how you can support your child with reading.

We also offer ‘Read Together’ books for your child to take home, story and non-fiction books that you can both enjoy as a bedtime story or at a time to suit you.

If you would like to hear readers in the classroom, please let us know.

Reading At Home.pdf

Literacy

This term our literacy work will focus on the topic of dinosaurs through stories and factual information. The children will continue to develop their writing skills by orally segmenting words into single and blended sounds and recording those that they can hear, referring to the sounds mats when necessary. Our literacy work is strongly connected with our phonics programme so the children will be building a bank of phonics knowledge that they can apply to their writing.

This term we will explore:

  •         facts about dinosaurs
  •         list writing
  •         describing words
  •         creating our own dinosaur.

The children will also be writing evaluations of their model making and using the laptops to write phrases and sentences.

Our ‘Talk for Writing’ book this term is ‘Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp' by Carol Diggory Shields. 

Understanding the World

This area of learning broadly covers science, geography, history and culture. As part of our topic, we will be exploring the life of dinosaurs and the environment they lived in. We will compare this to our own natural surrounding as we look out for seasonal signs and changes.  The children will be developing their skills by

  • carrying out their own practical investigations
  • making verbal predictions and explaining what they have noticed
  • exploring textures as we create ‘dinosaur skin’
  • creating our own ‘fossils’.

Through this area of learning the children will also be:

  • finding out about different countries around the world.
  • looking at similarities and differences of children’s lives in other countries and their own.
  • discussing past events that have happened in our own lives and others.

Art and Design

The children take part in one art session a week and have a range of activities available to them during self-initiated learning.

This term we will be focusing on dinosaurs in our art work.  The children will be developing their artistic skills by

  • exploring a variety of art materials including clay work.
  • understanding that different media can be combined to create new effects
  • using their imagination to design and create their own artwork
  • describing their work to others.

PSED and RE

In Term 3 we will be learning about celebrations around the world. We will be finding out about different religions and cultures and the festivals linked with these. We will continue having circle times to support the children’s understanding of ways in which we can be caring and kind towards others. Circle time is a time for the children to reflect on the outcomes and events of the week in order to make positive relationships within the class and to develop their own self-confidence and awareness. The children will be developing this by:

  • listening to what others say
  • asking appropriate questions of others
  • speaking confidently to others about their own interests
  • being aware of their behaviour towards others

Phonics

Phonics is taught four times a week. The sessions last around 20 minutes. This term we will continue Phase 3 of the phonics programme.

We will be focusing on sound blends. As with the individual sounds, these have a Read, Write, Inc. jingle in order to help your child remember the phoneme and the letters involved. You can find these in the first section of your child’s Link Book. In all, there are four consonant blends and fourteen vowel blends to learn. We will also learn the letter names and consolidate the sounds already learnt. The children will continue to bring home weekly mini-books until all of these blends have been covered.  You can find the Phase 3 sounds listed in the front of your child’s Link Book.

Each phonics lesson is broken down into four sections: revising previously taught sounds, teaching a new sound, practising writing and reading the sound, and applying the sound to read and write words and phrases. This structure provides a comprehensive routine that the children quickly get used to and enjoy.

See the Phonics Play link below for Phase 2 and Phase 3 activities.

Phonics Play

Maths

Maths is taught four days a week. Every week we will have a different maths focus, all of which builds on problem solving, reasoning, shape, space and measure and key number skills. Whilst the children are learning independently there are other opportunities outside of mathematics lessons where they can develop their skills and understanding. This term, during our maths sessions, we will focus on        

  • understanding number values
  • simple addition and subtraction
  • counting on to add, counting back to subtract
  • teen numbers
  • comparing size, weight and capacity.

We will continue to deliver Number Sense, a programme of short sessions that teaches a deep understanding of quantity and the composition of numbers to 10, through animations and discussion.

Topmarks

Computing

There are a variety of digital devices available in school and the children use these during their self-initiated learning, and through maths and literacy activities.  The laptops are accessible at all times and we will also be exploring the iPads and the BeeBot floor robots. This term the children will be developing their technology skills by:

  • using a mouse to draw, drag and drop
  • inputting commands into a floor robot
  • creating scenes with 2Simple software by selecting objects and activities
  • exploring simple iPad apps
  • using software to draw and write.
  • operating a cd player
  • taking photographs

Physical Education

Each week the children take part in two PE sessions, one in the hall and one outdoors. This term the children will be taking part in outdoor games, ball skills and yoga. We will be developing their co-ordination and movement and a general awareness of space and others around us. Through PE lessons the children will be:

  • improving their throwing and catching skills
  • playing a range of target activities using a variety of PE equipment
  • following rules and instructions
  • taking part in co-operative team games

During dance the children will be:

  • developing confidence, balance and control 
  • exploring body shapes
  • creating repetitive body movement patterns
  • moving in time with a clear beat

Music

Music is a fundamental tool in developing language, maths and social skills. Throughout the week we will sing songs and use simple percussion to enhance the children’s confidence and motor skills. They will become familiar with a number of topic related songs and rhymes in the classroom as well as taking part in whole school singing every day. Through our Enrichment programme, this term the children will be exploring and appreciating different styles of music as well as composing their own rhythms and sounds. They will be learning to:

  • listen to and copy a rhythm
  • play along with a beat
  • recognise differences and changes in tempo
  • compose a simple rhythm