Welcome back! We hope you have had a relaxing half term break. We are excited to introduce the children to our new Learning Experience!

Learning Experience Rationale

Our Learning Experience is entitled ‘What calls the polar regions home?’. Throughout the Learning Experience we expect the children to be able to answer this question with a lot of detail about two polar animals: the Emperor Penguin and the Polar Bear. They will finish the Learning Experience with a good understanding of the differences between the North and South poles and adaptations that animals have to enable them to live in such extreme environments.  

Learning Experience, Hook and Outcome:

The children will be hooked into this Learning Experience as they enjoy watching a video, created for them, of a polar explorer talking about what he has seen and experienced in the Arctic. Our polar explorer will set the children the challenge of writing their non-chronological reports and then will visit us in school to look at their work and answer any questions the children may have.

Literacy:

The children will be writing a non-chronological report about either Emperor Penguins or Polar Bears (they will have the choice). We will be focussing on different sentence types, consolidating finger spaces, full stops and capital letters and to use a wide range of conjunctions (such as and, because, so) to extend their sentences.

Vocabulary:

We are committed to building the vocabulary and understanding of the children at Preston Primary School. To support us in this, please could you share the following words with your children:

Habitat, Environment, Adaptation, Climate.

The children will finish the Learning Experience with a good understanding of these words and be able to use them in their writing.

Home Learning: All children will need to use the online learning programs Spelling/Maths Shed and Times tables Rock stars to consolidate their learning.

Alongside this, please could children choose an activity to support their Learning Experience:

• Conduct some research into other polar animals and create a poster showing us the key facts.
• Create models of their chosen polar animal.
• Create (or draw) your own polar animal – what adaptations will it need to survive? How is it well adapted to the polar environment?

Please could homework be in school the week commencing Monday 9^th December.

School value focus: Independence                

Maths: During this half term, the children will develop their understanding of adding and subtracting. We will be using concrete resources to support the children in their learning. Year 2 will be focussing on two digit numbers within 100, and Year 1 children will focus on addition and subtraction within 20. Please help your children to practise their number bonds to 10, 20 and 100.

Reading at home: Please encourage children to read at home as much as possible. The children will return home with new Read, Write Inc books and a new library book once a week. Support with reading at home is vital to develop children into confident and fluent readers.

Rotation:

RE – We will continue to look closely at stories that are special to us and religious stories. We will consider why religious stories are important to some people.

Spanish –We will learn about Spain and countries where people speak Spanish. We will then learn greetings and how to say farewell.

Music – We will continue to learn the names of the instruments we have in school and learn to play them in a steady beat.

PE – Sports Hall Athletics.

There will be no swimming this half term – our pool has now been closed down for the Winter.

We thank you for your continued support,

Miss Pettitt, Mrs Blatchford and Mrs Braddon.

 

Please join us for our Nativity Play on Monday 16^th December at 9:30am or 2 pm. Further details will be sent to you closer to the time.