Welcome to Swallows class page

Ms Sarwar, Miss Gray, Miss Pearce and Mrs Welsh

Things to Remember:

• PE is on Monday and Thursday. Please ensure your child wears their PE kit to school.

• Homework and spellings are given out on Friday and should be handed in by the next Friday.

• Spelling tests will be completed on Fridays, and scores will be written in their folders.

Reading

We encourage you to continue reading with your child as often as possible—just a few minutes each day can make a big difference. Each time you read at home, please remember to sign or tick your child’s reading diary (adding a short comment if you can).

To motivate and celebrate regular reading, children will earn a stamp every time they read at home. These stamps build up towards rewards, with children working their way through Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels. At each stage they will receive a prize, with the rewards becoming more exciting as they progress. Consistent reading will not only support your child’s learning but also give them the chance to achieve the top-level prize from Mrs Lewis.

Spellings

Your child will receive their spellings on Monday. Please take some time to practise these together at home, as this will support their learning in school. The spellings are key words that children are expected to be able to read and spell by the end of Year 2 (Key Stage 1).

Numbots

Your child will have their Numbots login in front of their reading record. This online game supports children's mathematical skills and we recommend playing at home if possible. The children also have the opportunity to play in school. 

Play Numbots 

Online games to support learning

Hit the button - practice number bonds to 5, 10, 20, and 100.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button 

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What we are learning this term

English

This term in English, we will be using Lars’ Adventure to explore a range of different settings. The children will be developing their descriptive language skills, learning how authors create vivid settings using interesting vocabulary. By the end of the half term, the children will apply these skills to write their own setting descriptions.

After half term, we will be reading Kassim and the Greedy Dragon, which links closely to our castles topic. The children will learn about the features of a warning story and explore how authors build tension and deliver a clear message. They will then use this understanding to plan and write their own warning stories.

Maths

In Maths, the children will be learning about money, including recognising coins and notes and understanding their values. They will practise adding amounts to work out the cost of items and solve real-life problems. The children will then move on to multiplication and division, which are key areas of learning in Year 2. They will focus on the 2, 5 and 10 times tables and learn how to multiply and divide using these facts. To finish the term, the children will explore measurement, including length, height, mass and capacity.

Science

In Science, the children will be learning about everyday materials. They will identify and name a variety of materials and explore their properties, such as whether they are hard or soft, stretchy or rigid, waterproof or absorbent. The children will compare the suitability of different materials for particular uses and explain why certain materials are better for specific objects. They will also investigate how the shapes of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching, helping them to understand how materials behave in the world around them.

Phonics

The children are taught discrete phonics lessons everyday following the Twinkl Phonics program which is a DfE approved programme.  We teach the children the sounds in order for them to read and write with increasing proficiency. At the end of Year 1 the children completed a Phonics Screening Check which is a legal requirement for each child. They will apply their phonics knowledge to read 40 words, 20 of which are real and 20 which are not (we call these alien words).

In Year 2, we will continue to build on children's phonics knowledge from reception and year 1. Children will have lessons tailored to meet their individual needs and next steps.

There is more information about the Phonics Screening Check here: 

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/home/reading-owl/expert-help/the-year-1-phonics-screening-check

Here is an overview of our phonics programme. We will be recapping level 3 and teaching levels 4-6 in year 2, depending on the children's level.

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Common Exception Words

We will be teaching the children how to spell these common exception words by the end of year 2.

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