1. Reception Curriculum letter - Spring Term 2016 Literacy Our books for this term are: Handa’s Surprise (before half term) The Gingerbread Man (after term ) For each book we will be reading and getting to know the story, discussing the characters, setting, plot; getting to know the structure of the story (ie the beginning, the middle (problem), and the end (problem solved); sequencing the story, drawing story maps, re-telling the story using puppets, small toys, etc; performing the story using expression and actions. We then begin to improvise the story, using the same story format, but inventing our own setting and characters. You can watch the story on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Vmf4Cwvls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Vmf4Cwvls Our daily phonics sessions will continue and we will be learning the rest of the phase 3 sounds – ai, ee, igh, oa, ur,ar, or, oi, oo, ow, ear, air, ure, er. They will also be learning to read and spell the tricky words I, go, to, the, no, he, she, we, me, be, you, are, they, was, my all. The children are now all beginning to use their phonic skills to read and spell words by blending and segmenting the sounds they know. They will continue to practise writing their own sentence/s and developing an understanding of other forms of writing, eg lists, instructions, invitations. Physical Development In P.E. we will continue our work on travelling across, through and over apparatus; the children will be thinking about how to be safe when moving with equipment and finding a space. We will be incorporating some dance and movement sessions linked to our topic work. Children will be continuing to work on developing their fine motor skills with daily opportunities to write letters, cut shapes with scissors, use tweezers and peg boards and other fine motor skills. Personal,Social and Emotional Development The children will be developing their skills to take steps to resolve conflicts with other children and taking account of others’ ideas about how to organise their activity. The children will continue to work as part of a group or class and understand and follow the rules. Maths This term we will continue to build on our number work aiming for all children to be able to recognise, count, write and order numbers up to 20 and beyond. We will continue our learning about addition and subtraction (in practical problem-solving and by recording our “number sentences”) We will begin to explore aspects of measure through work on size, length, height, weight and capacity. We will continue to copy and create patterns and explore 2D and 3D shapes. Communication and Language The children will be developing their speaking and listening skills through daily class discussions using their learning partners. Our role play area will also provide opportunities to listen and respond to others. Understanding the World Our topic for the term is “Animals”, beginning with the animals that feature in our book “Handa’s Surprise”. The book is set in Kenya, so we will be exploring differences and similarities between life in Kenya and in England. We will also learn about other types of animals, for example animals found in cold/hot climates, British native animals, pets. We will be finding out about the traditions of Chinese New Year. Expressive Art and Design Creative opportunities are available to children throughout the day across the curriculum. Some of these opportunities include: painting, drawing, model-making, role play, imaginary play and music-making. Specific skills will be taught during our “topic” sessions in the afternoons. Most of the creative activities will be linked to our topic work, eg drawing/painting/collaging animals, fruit. Crafts linked to Chinese New Year. P.E days: Mrs Aslett’s class – Tuesday, Mrs Rawson’s class – Wednesday, Miss Baxter’s class – Thursday. Please check that your child’s clothing has clear name labels – P.E. kit, coat, jumpers, cardigans, hats, etc