Kid-Zone

What’s Happening in Class 1 this Term?

Happy New Year to you all, we hope you’ve all enjoyed the Christmas break and are ready for the new term.

Literacy
Phonics will continue to play a large part in the teaching of Literacy in both the Foundation Stage (Reception) and Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2). Children will take part in daily games and activities to learn and reinforce letter sounds, rhyming patterns and the blending and segmenting of sounds to read and spell words. This term we will be reading a range of fiction and non-fiction texts linked to our topics as well as rhymes and poetry.

Reading will continue to be monitored through whole-class shared reading and guided reading (in small groups) with the class teacher. Reading with individual children also takes place throughout the week and is done either with the class teacher or the teaching assistant. Sometimes high frequency word packs may be sent home for you to share and learn together. Spellings will be sent home every week for those children who are ready to formally learn to spell words. These spellings are keywords and ‘tricky words’ that children in Reception and Year 1 are expected to be able to read and write. Your support with helping your child to read and spell these important keywords at home is very much appreciated. Reading books will only be changed when an adult has signed the diary. We do encourage hearing your child read regularly.

BIG WRITE is a weekly ‘writing’ session that takes place throughout the school each week. For children in class 1 this is a very short (sometimes as little as 5 minutes) time when we all have a go at ‘writing’. When appropriate preparation homework will be sent home usually on a Wednesday. This is intended as a ‘talking session’ between you and your child to aid with ideas. For example we might ask you to discuss your child’s favourite fairy tale, or items on your shopping list. We will then use this as a starting point for the ‘writing’ session. These take place on a Friday.

Numeracy
The children will take part in a daily maths lesson with a mix of number, counting, problem solving and calculation work together with practical maths such as weighing and measuring, time and shape. Your child may bring home short practical activities to work on at home. For example we might ask you to help your child to practice writing numerals, or to look at boxes showing how much things weigh to see if big boxes weigh more than little boxes.

PE
PE sessions are on Wednesday and Thursday so please ensure that your child has a PE kit in school on these days. Thank you for ensuring that your child’s PE kit is clearly named! As the children struggle with lots of bags and belongings to take home on a Friday afternoon we would like to propose that PE kits only go home at the end of each half term (unless they are particularly dirty!) Please let us know if this is not convenient.

It is strongly recommended that your child doesn’t bring toys into school as this often leads to them being lost or broken.

Class 1 will not be having Show & Tell for the first half of this term. I will send a letter when it is due to begin again. However, if your child has something of particular importance; swimming badge or some other achievement for example then time will be made for this to be shared.

What’s Happening in Class 1 this Term?

Katie Keast

Class Teacher