Robins

Welcome to Robins! 

This page will give you a little information on what will be happening this term in Robins. 

Who's Who? 

Miss Nolan is the class teacher and will be supported by Miss Weaver. Miss Vallender will cover PPA (planning, preparation and assessment) time once a fortnight. 

What's happening in class?

This Term, we will have P.E on a Monday and a Friday. Children can come to school wearing their PE kit on both of these days. Jewellery, wrist-bands etc. are not allowed for safety reasons. Make-up and nail varnish are also not allowed. 

Homework will be set for Year 1 children only. It will be given on a Thursday and should be returned the following Tuesday. This is work that is appropriate to their level and so should be completed as independently as possible. 

What are we learning this term?

Maths

Our focus in Maths throughout the year is for the children to become secure and confident with their numbers and the way the number system works. For EYFS children this means we will be taking the time to explore each number in detail. We will spend a fortnight on a number (from 3 onwards) and will look at the different compositions of the number. We will learn the number bonds and how to represent these using a part-part-whole model as well as considering the shapes that can be linked to the number (e.g triangles for 3).  For Year 1 children we will begin by consolidating their knowledge and understanding of the number system to 10 before exploring further operations and then moving on to numbers to 20.

English

In our ‘Talk 4 Writing’ children will be using the skills of story mapping to enable them to become fluent story tellers. For EYFS children for the first half term we will be focussing on Nursery Rhymes and the aim will be for the children to be confident and fluent in retelling some familiar Nursery Rhymes. We will then move on to explore the texts of “Polar Bear Polar Bear” and “Dear Santa” 

In our first unit with Year 1 children we will be using the skills of Talk For Writing to explore a Quest and our second unit will look at an Information Text.  

Reading

Children will be read with in school twice a week and their books will be changed weekly, where appropriate. Please note that just because your child has had a book for a week it won’t necessarily be changed. We may feel that more time reading the same book will build your child’s confidence and fluency with their reading and therefore may leave the book. Our reading books are linked with our phonics learning and children won’t be expected to read books with any sounds that they are not yet familiar with. We will also share a daily reader as a whole class 

Phonics

Phonics will happen daily for all children. For EYFS children we will spend this term learning Phase 2 and phase 3 phonic sounds. For Year 1 children we will be consolidating Phase 5 sounds. For all children we will learn 4 new sounds each week, with consolidations of the sounds happening on a Friday and a review week built in to each half term. It is really key that children produce these sounds as ‘pure’ sounds so do ensure when you are supporting them at home you are doing this too. If you are unsure don’t hesitate to ask!

Understanding the World  EYFS

We will be using our outside area to pay attention to the changes we can observe in the natural world as the seasons change and talking about what we can see, hear and feel.  Linked to our learning on Polar Bear Polar Bear we will be exploring ice and the process of it melting alongside explorations of the Arctic and the difference in environment to where we live.

Science Year 1 

Through our science learning this term we will work alongside the EYFS children exploring the seasons and then link this to our senses- learning which part of the body is associated with each sense. We will also explore animals and will be learning about different animal classifications and begin to identify their key features and structures.

 Humanities (History and Geography) Year 1 

In Autumn 1 we will be focussing on History- looking at our local area. We will become historians and develop our skills of interpretation and enquiry to gain information around what our local area used to look like and compare that to the present day.

In Autumn 2 we will be focussing on Geography- looking at continents and oceans. We will be developing our locational knowledge using a range of maps, atlases and globes to support us.

Religious Education

Through our learning in RE we will begin to recognise and understand that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways. EYFS children will be exploring why the word God is important to Christians and why Christmas is so special to Christians. Year 1 children will be learning about the Islam faith and culture.

DT/Art

In EYFS and Year 1 we have an artist of the term. This means that throughout the term we will explore the style of artwork and techniques produced by this artist, and will have a go at producing some work in a similar style. For the first half of the Autumn term we will be exploring the artist Wassily Kandinsky and then we will move on after half term to look at the work of Andy Goldsworthy. Year 1 will develop their skills further by revisiting these artists and developing their own skills of blending, shading and tint. 

Music

This term we will be singing lots of nursery rhymes and songs to help us with our learning, for example a days of the week song and a tune to help us remember the months of the year. We will also be exploring different instruments and thinking about how we can use these to express our feelings and ideas.

PE

In our PE sessions this term we will be working on our gross motor skills and core strength. We will be exploring the trim trail, and using this to support us with our balancing and climbing skills. Year 1 will also be doing ball skills.

PSHE

Through our PSHE sessions this term we will be learning about our different emotions, and what they might look like in us and in others as well as finding tools to support us in regulating our emotions. We will also think about ways we can express our feelings and build constructive and respectful relationships. We will consider the ways in which we are all valuable individuals and will share ideas around ways to keep healthy, both physically and mentally.  

French

We will begin French this half term and we will start by learning some simple nursery rhymes.