Learn with Your Child: Year 1 and 2 Topic

1. Year 1 and 2Topic“Learn with your child”

2. Year 1 Staff 1T- Miss Kathryn Trevor Teaching assistant – Miss Tracy Hoban 1PT – Mrs Julie Parker / Mrs Julie Thornton Teaching assistant – Mrs Viv Simpson 1G – Miss Sophie Gardner Teaching assistant – Mrs Jo Lush

3. Year 2 Staff 2MW - Mrs Nicola Mill / Mrs Sarah Webb Teaching Assistant - Mrs Carol Owens 2R – Mrs Suzanne Roberts Teaching Assistant – Mrs Sarah Sharp 2W – Miss Holly White Teaching Assistant – Mrs Julie Wood

4. Transition from Reception Gradual transition from Reception –there is an expectation that the children develop greater independence with personal organisation and with their work. Opportunities to choose own activities amongst “must do” teacher chosen activities and tasks. Complete more whole class activities as time goes on. Subjects are taught through topics and cross-curricular links are made wherever possible. Concentrating can be tiring so please expect your child to be a little teary from time to time. Please comment on the reading record provided to show that your child has read at home, (a whole book or a few pages). This will ensure your child will receive their special certificate once it is complete.

5. Transition from Year 1 Towards the end of Year 1, the children are prepared in readiness to begin Year 2 eg. to work in a timetabled way/fewer “choosing” times. In Year 2, tasks will involve some choice, e.g. in the way of presenting work, and will be varied. Children are expected to work independently alongside teacher guided activities. Continued cross-curricular links Year 2 maths is taught in sets. No set scheme for reading books. More independence with changing and choosing books. Please comment on the reading record provided to show that your child has read at home as in Year 1.

6. Year 1 - Typical School Day • Children line up outside their own class door in the mornings. • Classroom staff will collect any letters, monies etc…from bookbags. • Your child will put their book bag in a special box. • They will put their water bottle in a basket on the side. • Any personal items will be put in their own tray. • Coats and PE bags are stored in the cloakrooms on their own named peg. Please make sure all items are named. • The children gather on the carpet for registration. As the year progresses, children will complete short learning tasks in this time (usually linked to maths or phonics). • The rest of the day is spent learning through activities and whole class learning sessions.

7. There will be a daily phonics session. • Other lessons will include, maths, literacy, art, DT, PE, ICT, geography, history, science, RE, music, boot camp, outdoor learning and PHSE. • The children will be given a fruit snack and have a drink (paid milk or water bottle) together in the classroom at a designated time. • The children will go out to play as a year group in the morning and afternoon in addition to their usual lunchtime break. • They will have their lunch in the school hall. • At the end of the school day the children will leave one at a time when the member of staff can see their appropriate adult. Please inform staff if it is someone else collecting.

8. Year 2 Timetable 8:40-9:00 Handwriting 9:00-10:00 Maths in sets 10:00-10:15 Playtime and snack 10:15-10:35 Guided reading 10:35-11.35 English 11:35-11:45 Phonics 11:45-1:00 Lunch 1:00-1:55 Topic 1:55- 2.10 Assembly 2.10-2.20 Playtime 2.20-3:10 Topic

9. The National Curriculum • As a school we follow the National Curriculum (September 2014). • Content and coverage is specified but we have the freedom to teach this in a way that best suits our children. • There is an emphasis on grammar and spelling in literacy and on working with higher numbers in maths. Children are introduced to recording multiplication and division in number sentences from Year One.

10. Year 1 Maths

11. Year 2 Writing

12. Topic Work In Key Stage One, wherever possible, our work is linked to our topic. We feel that this enables the children to thoroughly immerse themselves in their learning, making it more memorable. They will then have a deeper understanding of the topic and gain a wider vocabulary. The subjects we teach in a cross curricular way are: English, Art, Design and Technology, Music, Geography, Computing, History, Science Physical Education and Religious Education can be, but are not always, cross-curricular.

13. Topic Work in Year 1 The cross-curricular topics we teach are: Seaside Pirates Ourselves Seasons Queen Victoria/Elizabeth I Winter Plants Kenya Life in the Past

14. Topic Work in Year 2 The cross-curricular topics we teach are: Seaside The Great Fire of London Guy Fawkes Remembrance Florence Nightingale Judaism Madagascar Christianity Habitats/Mini-beasts 1960’s

15. Hooks! At the start and throughout our topics we use exciting “hooks” to immediately engage the children and draw them in. Examples of these are: Dressing children up as Florence Nightingale/ a Victorian child. Having a mystery artefact (religious/historical) Using a time portal. Having a Madagascan animal appear in the classroom, (health & safety only allows a stuffed toy version!)

16. Exciting activities in Year One Examples Planting seeds and tending planters in Year One area Spending the day at Victorian school Making Newsround videos/Gardeners World Composing our own music School trips e.g. Avoncroft Dressing up and re-enacting stories Sewing our very own teddy bears Planning and designing our own miniature gardens Opportunities for parents to come and join in with learning

17. Exciting activities in Year 2 Making lighthouses Burning Tudor houses to show how quickly the fire spread (risk assessed in Forest school and weather dependent). Cooking Challah bread and making Torah scrolls. Becoming a rainforest activist or a farmer making a living from the land. Having a 1960’s party with 1960’s dance moves!

18. Outdoor Learning • Outdoor Learning helps the children to engage in their topic learning in an exciting and multi-sensory way. • In Year 1, we have Boot Camp which happens weekly and we have access to an outdoor learning area. • In Year 2, the outside environment is used to enrich the curriculum, for example: - creating our own mini-seaside - hunting for mini-beasts/plants - mapping our school environment - turning forest school into a rainforest - seasonal walks – looking for change

19. Purpose • Giving the children a purpose for the learning gives them a reason as to why they are doing what they are doing, or a role to carry out, and engages them in their learning more. • Examples of different purposes: - Presentations to other classes/year groups/ parents - Becoming a Madagascan tour guide - Becoming a hospital inspector - Becoming a Health and Safety advisor (buildings in Stuart times) - Creating a lift-the-flap information book to teach younger children about The Great Fire of London

20. And in Year 1… • Becoming an expert gardener so that we can keep our school grounds tidy. • Knowing how to care for the wildlife around us (particularly over the winter). • Learning to work co-operatively so that we can be part of a team as we grow older. • Be imaginative and have good ideas so that we become creative thinkers.

21. Trips and Visitors – Year 1 We have already had a visit from Red Ted, who will also be visiting your homes (Warning –he enjoys adventures and likes to keep a diary of these!). We are hoping to visit: Avoncroft – This will be in June 2019 and will incur a cost of approximately £13. The Lido park – (linked to our plants topic) A local church We are hoping to have visits from: The wildlife trust Fortis- landscape gardening A healthcare worker to teach us how to keep clean and healthy A sewing expert!

22. Trips and Visitors – Year 2 We are hoping to have visits from: • A nurse (Florence Nightingale topic) • Freshwater Theatre Company (The Great Fire of London drama) • The Royal British Legion We are hoping to visit: • A synagogue • Lower Smite Farm • A local church

23. How can you help? • Ask your child about their learning at school (let them teach you!) • Research with your child (on the internet/ at the library) • Link to days out (visits to places of interest, such as London, arboretums and museums) • Make models together - but try not to take over! • Volunteer to help on school trips • Help out with hands on topic activities such as cooking/sewing – extra pairs of hands are most welcome! • Look at the website for topic letters and information • Look at website for Year 2 homework • Look at the displays in and around the classrooms which reflect the topic learning.

24. Learn with your child session In the Year 1 Classrooms… • During our seaside topic, the children have been talking about what it is like at the seaside. We have named features in geography and explored shells and sea creatures in science. We have seen what it was like to go to the seaside in Victorian times. • Our artwork has been reflected in our literacy with seascapes showing surging, spraying seas, with rolling, crashing waves. We have explored applying paint to create different effects. • Today we will be exploring a famous painting by Hokusai “The Great Wave”….you and your child will run wild with your imaginations to add your own drawings to a Great Wave picture. . Have fun!

25. In the Year 2 Classrooms… • In Geography the children have been looking at the features of the seaside. In English they have read the story of ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch.’ • The children have practised making lighthouses using a variety of construction materials, such as K’nex, Lego etc. • In the classroom the children will be making a lighthouse from card that can stand up by itself. • You will be helping your child to complete this task. Have fun!

26. Thank you for coming this morning. Have a lovely time in class!