Chestnut Class – Year 1/2
Welcome to Chestnut Class! We love playing and learning together, exploring and discovering as we go...
Our Long Term Plan…
Our learning in Term 6…
This term in Geography, we will be learning to develop our map skills and field work. This includes going on a wellies walk around Wellow! In Art, we will be studying the artists, Giuseppe Arcimbolodo. An Italian artist from the 16th century who used nature and the seasons to inspire his work. in his later years, he created some very famous portraits where the facial features well all made out of fruit and vegetables, and we will be using this to inspire all artwork this term! In addition, our learning will also cover Digital Photography in Computing, where Chestnut will be using iPads to take many different styled photos. In Music we will be continuing to expand our knowledge of percussion instruments, particularly focusing on the glockenspiel. Additionally, we will also be investigating mark making and composing our own music.
To add to our Science knowledge, Chestnut will be continuing on from our topic ‘Plants’, which we began in Term 1&2. We will be learning what a plant needs to grow and stay healthy. This will involve observing plants, where certain factors will be manipulated to discover which is the best environment for a plant. In addition, Chestnut will be learning about seed dispersal. ‘Changing Me’ is our Jigsaw theme for this term. This focuses on how our bodies change growing up. In Maths we will be covering a range of different topics. Year 1 will be covering fractions, position and direction and then consolidating the knowledge they’ve gathered over this year. Whereas, Year 2 will be continuing to cover lots of different topics, particularly focusing on time, money, shape and fractions. We will be constantly focusing on fluency to support understanding, which will then be followed by reasoning and problem solving to consolidate learning. In RE we will be learning about exploring ‘Humanism’. We will be investigating one questions: How do humanists view the world?
In English, we will be covering several genres to strengthen and refine our writing style. Chestnut will be writing a story, setting description and then we will finish off with our own mini Poetry Slam! Phonics continues in Year 1, along with reading groups; whereas Year 2 continues with Spelling and Whole Class Guided Reading using a range of texts.
Important dates:
- Radstock Museum trip (Wednesday 2nd July)
- Mobile Library (11th June)
Please note:
- PE lessons will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays! Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit.
- Children need to have in school every day a spare pair of shoes or wellies for our Paddock area.
- It is important that children always have a coat in school as we will be outside as much as possible in all weathers.
- As the weather is beginning to get hotter, please make sure your child has a sunhat, water bottle and preferably sun cream brought in every day or left at school!
- Contact books/reading records are required in school every day.
Weekly Home Learning Tasks
It is really important that children spend some time at home each week consolidating their learning at school and it is helpful if they have a quiet space to do so. You can find a copy of our Home Learning Expectations on the policies section of our website. In our class the expectation is:
- Reading every day
- A weekly Maths activity on Numbots or Doodle Maths
Reading, Spellings, Phonics and Times Tables:
Year 1:
Children will bring home two reading books. One book will be fully decodable and chosen by an adult to increase fluency. This book will be sent home on Wednesdays and will need to be returned to school on Mondays. This book will be familiar as we will have read the book three times in school before going home. They should be reading the book fluently, with 90% of the words being read without the need to segment. As a result of this increase in fluency, speed and accuracy, comprehension improves as cognitive overload is reduced. The second book the children will bring home will be a ‘sharing book’. This will have an ‘s’ sticker on the front. This is a book chosen by your child to encourage a love of reading and can be changed at any time. This book will not be fully decodable, therefore this is a book you can read together. Please ensure you sign the purple home-school contact book/reading record each time you read with your child.
At the beginning of the term we will send home a list of the phonemes covered each week in our phonics sessions. We will also send home a list of words containing these phonemes. Children can then practise reading these words at home.
Year 2:
Your child will have two reading books that they use at school. One will be a levelled scheme reading book that will go home and be brought into school every day. The other will be a book that they keep at school to read for pleasure. Your child will be assessed on their book level by the class teacher and teaching assistants at regular intervals throughout the term. We will listen to your child read individually or within a small group every week.
Spellings lists will be shared on this page (on the right hand side) at beginning of the term. We no longer complete Spelling tests on a Friday, instead we complete ongoing assessments. Sometimes this will take the form of a traditional spelling test, but this could also be in the form of a dictation exercise. These assessments can happen on any day, they are low stakes and often informal in nature. They will be based on previously learned spelling patterns and rules from that term, that year or even an earlier year group.
Year 2 children will be taught and assessed on their times tables alongside their Maths lessons so will not have a regularly scheduled times table test. By the end of this year, children in Year 2 are expected to know and recall at speed the multiplication facts in the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Login information for any online resources has been stuck into the inside cover of your child’s reading record.
What we have read so far….
Class Teacher:
Miss Webb
Teaching Assistants:
Mrs Moss
If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Miss Webb on Class Dojo. However to report absences, illness or update on medical appointments or results, please phone or email the school office.
Helpful links:
