Welcome to Penguins 

Class Teacher - Miss Hine

LSP - Miss Cook

email:  class.penguins@burnttree.sandwell.sch.uk

Our learning

Spring Term

Our learning

Maths

This term our learning focus is for the children to learn about numbers within 20.  The children will have a regular opportunity to verbally count and recognise numbers to 20.  They will work practically and use a range of equipment and strategies. The children will learn patterns of the sequence of numbers and continue to count forwards and back in 2's, 5's, and 10s.  They will continue to extend what they have previously learnt in the autumn term, 1 more and 1 less than a given number. Children will have the opportunity to understand numbers using a number line and track. They will learn the addition and subtraction symbols and will use representations to solve and answer questions.

In addition to this, the children will continue to develop mathematical vocabulary and answer reasoning and problem-solving questions every day. The children will have an additional 15-minute lesson to master number each day.

We will encourage the use of the CPA (concrete, pictorial and abstract) approach in our maths lessons. This is where we use a mixture of resources that will enhance your child's mathematical understanding. We will continue to consolidate our knowledge from our previous learning while developing previously taught skills in arithmetic quizzes.

English

In Literacy, we will continue to use the Read Write Inc phonics scheme to promote and further develop reading and writing. This scheme teaches children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them and how to form them correctly.  Children will continue to be provided with an appropriate book to read at home to improve their fluency and speed at reading. Children will be encouraged to use the skills developed from phonics in all other curricular lessons.

In writing, children will have the opportunity to explore texts; fiction and non-fiction, to develop their creativity and understanding through descriptions, poetry and recounts.  Writing opportunities will allow children to communicate and express their ideas, developed through phonics sessions, to write simple and dictated sentences.  Throughout the term, we will continue to develop the children's spelling, punctuation and grammar skills. This half-term we are reading stories by Sue Hendra and Cressida Crowell. We encourage you to take your child to the library and read a range of stories written by her or similar novelists.

The children will have the opportunity to read, share and explore non-fiction texts, papers and magazines that also promote further a love for reading. This selection of texts develops a fun, rich and enjoyable reading culture, which is crucial to developing language, vocabulary and a love of reading. Once read by an adult, the children will have the opportunity to share these books either individually, in groups and as a whole class. 

Phonics/Reading

We will continue to use the Read Write Inc phonics scheme to promote and further develop reading and writing. This scheme teaches children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them and how to form them correctly. The children will be assessed at the end of each half-term and placed in the correct phonics group for their level. Children will be provided with an appropriate book to read at home to improve their fluency and speed at reading. This book will match their phonics level. Children will be encouraged to use the skills developed from phonics in all other curricular lessons.

Science

Working scientifically, in Science this term we will be studying animals, including humans. The children will learn about five of the groups that scientists use to classify animals: mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians. They will learn to identify the group an animal belongs to by its features and will classify animals according to their group. They will also learn about the different diets animals eat. They will be immersed in a rich vocabulary and begin to ask and answer questions. 

Throughout the topic, the children will have the opportunity to recall information taught through retrieval questions, maintaining and deepening their understanding. Using knowledge from previous learning in Reception, we will recall information and record what they have found out - working scientifically. As young scientists, children will explore the real world, and they will have the opportunity to develop scientific skills that provide an opportunity for continued understanding and progression.

Throughout science in year 1, children will be exposed to many scientific methods, processes and skills to improve their learning. There will be plenty of opportunities for children to ask questions, take part in observations, perform simple tests, and gather different types of data. As the seasons change throughout the school year, we will also continue to observe all different types of changes in the weather and environments across all four seasons.

History

This half-term, we will be focusing on history. Children will be learning about toys from the past, thinking about how toys have changed overtime. Children will once again develop their understanding of time using timelines from the 1920s to the current time. They will use their science knowledge of materials from the autumn term, and compare what is similar or different about toys working practically.

During these lessons, children will learn about toys from the past and have the opportunity to bring in a favourite toy. They will develop their art skills, sketching and drawing toys, using previously taught skills and pencils. The children will recall events previously taught using retrieval questions.  They will be immersed in rich vocabulary through fun activities and videos while having the opportunity to build on these through reading.

Geography

The theme for Geography in Spring 2 is ' What is the weather like in the UK?'. 

Children will learn to identify the four countries, recognise their own country and describe locations using basic compass directions. They also measure different types of weather, using symbols used for weather. Children will have the opportunity to take part in lots of field work

 

Art and Design

In spring two, the children will continue to follow a scheme of work to develop art skills. They will begin to explore sculpture and 3D paper play - creating three-dimensional sculptures. They will focus on techniques such as rolling paper tubes of different lengths, shaping paper strips and constructing sculptures. They will be required to paint sculptures with good coverage.

Design and Technology

This term, through (DT) Design Technology, children will have the opportunity to learn about and design vehicles in the form of whacky racers. The children will build on the skills taught in the autumn term following a design process. The children will research, plan, create, test and evaluate their work. After this, they will have the opportunity to develop their product and improve their design. The children will also complete activities through a mini-topic book, learning about influential people, British Values, Black History Month and understanding online safety - IT. Through our Inspire programme, we will welcome parents to join us and be creative in supporting their children.

Music

In music this term, we will be taught how to use our voices in different ways. We will be taught by Mrs Kinsella, who will teach the children songs that allow them to change the pace, tone, rhythm and pitch of their voices. They will learn how to sing together in time with the music. The key vocabulary for these lessons will be: pitch, tone, voice, music, high and low. We will perform our music at school at the end of the half-term! 

Physical Education (PE)

Our weekly, high quality, PE educational lessons will take place on a Wednesday and Friday afternoon. We want all of our children to develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities and field games. The theme this half-term is dance. They will be listening to rhymes and moving their bodies to the beat and pace. The children will showcase their learning to the other groups.

 Children will continue to know the importance of staying fit for our future health and wellbeing. They will learn about flexibility, stretching and curling and work in pairs to develop safe gymnastics skills.  The children will also take part in activities to enable them to catch, throw and retrieve a ball in a fun and supportive environment. Children will learn to work together in teams, and if they encounter a problem, learn to carry on moving forward to solve it. 

Computing (ICT)

In computing this term, children will have the opportunity to use technology safely, and understand how to stay safe online and navigate a website. They will learn to use the iPad to research topics and develop their IT skills to make an image move. Children will begin to think about how we use technology in the home and in educational settings. The children will learn about programming and algorithms as we progress through the term.

RE

In Religious Education (RE) this half-term, the children will learn about the Sikh faith. We will celebrate by having a Sikh day, learning about the religion. Children will be able to understand the importance of Sikhism as a faith, including the key place of worship, The Gurdwara.  We will share images and artefacts, along with videos of stories told.  We will share stories that were taught by the Guru. They will learn about Sikhs in the local area, including the school community.

We will explore how Sikhs celebrate special times, what they wear and what they eat. We will explore this by food tasting in the afternoon.

At Burnt Tree Primary, the children are taught to be highly respectful of different faiths, listening to each other, showing love, kindness and respect at all times. 

PSHE

In our school, we follow the scheme 'Jigsaw' and the theme for this half-term will be dreams and goals. This will help children to understand why having aspirations is important and how they can work towards them.

The children will continue to learn how to sit in a circle and take it in turns speaking and listening. They will voice their opinions whilst also acknowledging that their friends may have a different opinion. They will learn how to be responsible and know their actions have consequences. 

Look what we have been doing...

History Showcase

 

   

On the afternoons of 5th and 6th December, we invited parents and carers into school to look at, and hear about, our amazing History learning.

 

 

We have made some lovely artistic work over the last couple of weeks! Have a look :)