Reading

This fortnight in Reading, students have been revising the sounds they have learned and building their knowledge of spelling patterns to strengthen their reading and decoding skills. They have been learning to recognise when to use ‘tch’ or ‘ch’ at the end of words, exploring words such as catch, match, lunch and lunchbox. Through explicit teaching, word sorting and reading activities, students have been identifying these patterns and using their knowledge to read unfamiliar words.

Students have also been exploring the prefix ‘un’, learning that it can be added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. They have been practising recognising and reading words with this prefix, such as unhappy, untie and unpack, and discussing how the prefix changes the meaning of the base word.

Throughout the week, students have continued to revise previously learned sounds and spelling patterns to build their confidence and fluency when reading. They have also been practising reading and writing Tricky Words from Sets 1–11, strengthening their ability to recognise these words automatically and spell them correctly in their writing. These activities support students to become more confident, accurate and independent readers.

Writing

This fortnight in Writing, students have been exploring the picture book Jetty Jumping to develop their understanding of narrative structure and strengthen their imaginative writing skills. They have been learning to retell the story in sequence, identifying the characters, setting, problem, important events and ending. Through class discussions and shared activities, students have explored how characters’ actions and feelings help move a story forward and how changing elements of a familiar story can inspire new ideas.

Students have been practising how to combine simple sentences using the conjunction ‘and’ to join two ideas or actions. They have also been learning to identify the subject of a sentence and describe what the character is doing. To help their stories flow and make sense, students have been exploring time connectives such as One day, At first, Then, Next, Suddenly, Unfortunately and Luckily to sequence events and connect ideas.

Students have been using story planners to draw, organise and share their ideas before turning them into written sentences. They are working towards writing their own imaginative narratives with a clear beginning, problem, solution and ending. Students are also continuing to develop their writing conventions by using capital letters, full stops and complete sentences, as well as rereading their work to check that their ideas make sense.

Maths

In Maths, students are learning about position, direction and time. They will practise using ordinal numbers, such as first, second and third, to identify the position of objects and follow instructions to rearrange items. Students will develop their spatial awareness by giving and following verbal directions around an obstacle course, as well as using written instructions and symbols to navigate between locations. They will use direction words, including forwards, backwards, left and right, to solve simple position problems and explain how they found a particular location.

Students will also explore time and develop their understanding of calendars and different units of time. They will practise naming and ordering the seven days of the week and the twelve months of the year, as well as identifying yesterday, today and tomorrow and determining which day or month comes before or after a given one. Students will investigate the number of days in each month and learn that a year usually has 365 days, while a leap year has 366 days. They will also develop their understanding of longer periods of time by learning that there are approximately 52 weeks in a year, 10 years in a decade and 100 years in a century. Through hands-on activities, calendar tasks, discussions and problem-solving challenges, students will make connections between these mathematical concepts and their everyday lives, while practising how to explain their thinking, use different strategies and check that their answers make sense.

Home Learning

Reading:

Read words ending in ‘tch’ and ‘ch’ together, such as catch, match, lunch and much.
Go on a word hunt in books and find words ending in ‘tch’ or ‘ch’.
Find words with the prefix ‘un’, such as unhappy, unpack and untie, and discuss their meanings.
Practise reading and spelling Tricky Words from Sets 1–11.
Read a story together and encourage your child to sound out unfamiliar words using the sounds and spelling patterns they have learned.

Writing:

Read a story together and ask your child to retell it in order, including the characters, setting, problem and solution.
Encourage your child to create their own imaginative story by changing a character, setting or event from a familiar book.
Practise using time connectives such as one day, at first, then, suddenly, unfortunately, and finally when retelling or making up stories.
Encourage your child to combine two actions using and. For example, “The girl ran to the jetty and jumped into the water.”
Look at pictures in books and encourage your child to describe what is happening using a complete sentence.
Support your child to write a few sentences about a favourite activity or story, remembering to use capital letters and full stops.
Encourage your child to reread their writing aloud to check that it makes sense.

Maths:

Position and Direction

Practise using ordinal numbers such as first, second, third, fourth and fifth to describe the position of objects in a line.
Create a simple obstacle course at home and encourage your child to give and follow directions using words such as forwards, backwards, left and right.
Play a treasure hunt game by giving your child verbal or written clues to help them find a hidden object.
Use toys to practise following instructions, such as “Move the teddy bear to the second position” or “Place the car behind the chair.”

Time and Calendars

Practise saying and ordering the seven days of the week and the twelve months of the year.
Look at a calendar together and identify today's date, yesterday's date and tomorrow's date.
Ask your child to identify the month before and after the current month.
Discuss birthdays, holidays and other important events, and identify which month they occur in.
Explore the number of days in each month and discuss why February sometimes has 28 days and sometimes has 29.
Talk about longer periods of time, including how many weeks are in a year, how many years are in a decade and how many years are in a century.
Discuss events from the past and present, such as how much your child has grown in the last year or how technology has changed over the past decade.

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