Learning Experience Rationale

The learning experience is called “What makes a good story?” and our aim is to engage the children with the act of story telling. We will share the story ‘The true story of the three little pigs” with the children and discuss how this is a twist on the classic children’s tale and we hope the children will really enjoy immersing themselves in this story. After exploring the concept of tales with a twist, we will read ‘The tiger who came to tea’ and the children will then create their own narrative from the perspective of the Tiger.  We are keen to incorporate the use of technology into our teaching and learning and so will be experimenting using different apps on the iPads to support the development of oracy and vocabulary. To enable this, the children will be reading their work aloud and creating their own audio books on the iPads.

Learning Experience Hook and Outcome

The outcome for this Learning Experience will be our trip to the Princess Theatre on Wednesday 29^th April to watch ‘The Tiger who came to Tea”. We will also be performing a short Easter assembly on Thursday 26^th March at 2:30pm where the children will share the story of Easter with you and explain why it is an important festival for Christians. Please do join us for this.

British Value

This half term, in our Class Assemblies, we are learning about the British Value of individual liberty.

In Assemblies we are learning why Teamwork is important.

Vocabulary

The children will be introduced to a range of vocabulary, ranging from simple everyday words (tier 1) to complex vocabulary that is context driven (tier 3).

Tier 1 words: writer, change

Tier 2 words: author, twist (in the tale), intent, villain, perspective

However, during this half- term children will also explore a range of descriptive words and develop new vocabulary through this.

Maths

Year 2 children will be learning to multiply and divide, with Year 1s focusing on repeated addition (as a precursor to multiplication tables in Year 2), then sharing and grouping. Year 2s will be developing their understanding and fluency of the 2, 3, 5 and 10 times tables.

We are keen to develop the children’s fluency and accurate recall of facts within the 2, 3, 5 and 10 times tables. Please encourage your child to practice at home, either orally or using the Maths Shed or Times Tables Rock Stars programs. This will support your child as they progress through the school.

Music, art, poetry and film as part of this Learning Experience

The children will be immersed in spoken language through our trip to the theatre, use of audio books and video clips of performances. They will create illustrations using water colour.

Wider Curriculum

In RE, we will learn about the theme of salvation and why Easter is important to Christians.

In computing, we will be learning basic coding skills on an iPad app called Scratch.  

• What are algorithms?
• How do they run programs?

In Science, we will be experimenting to find out about water resistance, using the skill of observation.

• Identify and compare the suitability of everyday materials for particular uses.

Literacy: Children will be focusing on describing the characters and settings within their tale and will then share these with each other using apps on the iPads. We will be focusing on what entices people to listen to stories – great quality description and exciting events. We will encourage the children to consider how best to develop their authorial intent (how to convey the story they have in their head to other people). Children will also focus on writing in the first person from the perspective of the Tiger, using capital I within their writing. By using a well- known story as a base, the children are free to experiment with vocabulary and creating their own twist in the tale.

Reading at Home: Children will bring home two new Read Write Inc books weekly. Please encourage your child to read these aloud to you as often as is possible. These books are linked to sounds they have learnt and they should read these independently. This will help your child to develop fluency and expression, which will enable them to become confident readers. Your child will also bring home a library book. Please share this with your child and enjoy time spent reading together.

Home Learning

*Write your own story, considering the different language that could be used.

*Illustrate your story using variety of art techniques.

Dates to remember

Easter performance – Thursday 26^th March, 2:30pm.

Theatre trip – Wednesday 29^th April, 1pm.

Messages

Allergies: We have a number of children with nut and kiwi allergies so please ensure these products are not brought into school.

Absence: Should your child be absent due to illness please call the absence line on 01803 607589 and leave a message with your child’s name, class and reason for absence. Alternatively, you can text this information to 07786208446. If your child has sickness and/or diarrhea, they will need to be absent for 48 hours after the last episode of illness. For planned absences of any nature you will need to complete an absence request form, these are available on the school website or from the office.

Times of the school day: The school day begins at 8:50am (gates open at 8:40am) and finishes at 3:15pm.

Parking on the drive: In an effort to keep everyone safe, please do not park on the school drive when dropping off or picking children, particularly when collecting children from after school activities.