Introduction

Our focus for the Autumn Term is 'Ourselves'.

Core curriculum areas

Literacy

Our emphasis will be on letter sounds, spelling and key words, which will be reinforced through hand writing practice. The concept of a sentence, use of capital letters and full stops will be developed through a range of activities. Children will be given the opportunity to explore text through drama, play, with the use of puppets and by listening to and retelling familiar stories. The children are encouraged to speak clearly and in sentences, to further reinforce the concept of a sentence making sense.

Numeracy

We continue to develop the children’s understanding of number through counting sequencing and simple addition and subtraction of number. We set up role-play areas to encourage children to apply their knowledge to practical situations. Games and practical activities are central to our work.

Science

During the first half term we explore the topic of 'Ourselves', looking at how we change as we grow and how our body works. After half term we look more closely at 'Sound and Hearing' by sorting musical instruments, identifying loud and quiet noises and making our own instruments.

Information and communication technology (ICT)

Within the first half term we develop the children’s control of the mouse and introduce them to a variety of new programs, encouraging some independence when using the computer in class. The children will learn the basic skills of word processing and become more familiar with the keyboard.

Foundation subjects

Geography

We go out into the local area and explore our surroundings discussing why things have changed and why things are where they are. Children are encouraged to give their opinions and record findings in a variety of ways, including map making.

Religious eduction (RE)

We visit a local church and find out about the features and their purpose. Work is done towards harvest celebration and the children learn about the Hindu festival of Diwali and the Christian festival of Christmas.

Physical education (PE)

We cover dance, gym and games during the first term.

Physical, social and health education (PSHE)

The new school year always starts with a settling in period, getting to know the classroom, each other and new routines. In the first couple of weeks the Golden Rules of the school are explored, both in class and in assembly time, to make sure everyone knows what is expected of them. The theme of 'New Beginnings' supports this well looking at class rules and how to solve simple problems. This is built on after half term with the topic ‘Getting on and Falling out’. The children think about friendship, how they can best work together and how to manage feelings.

Art

Throughout the first half term the children are given the opportunity to express themselves using a range of materials often in response to work in other areas of the curriculum. In the second half term the sketchbook is introduced and the children’s work is focused on portraits.

Design and technology (DT)

Junk modelling and the use of construction kits is encouraged throughout the year. At the end of the term the children are shown how to make pop-up mechanisms resulting in a Christmas card.

Music

The children will be working on pulse in music and linking their work to sounds and hearing.

You can help at home with

Reading

Please spend 10 minutes daily reading with your child, discussing the book and practising key words. It is important that the children can be clear and give details when discussing the stories read and when describing pictures. We would also encourage the sharing of stories and magazines at home as this gives the children a model on which to base their reading. This has a huge impact on your child’s reading development. Do look at and talk about the punctuation marks in the reading books.

Numbers

Encourage your child to count recognise and use numbers as part of everyday lives e.g. shopping, looking at house numbers and counting stairs.