Autumn 2023
Autumn Term 2023 (1st half)
Dinosaur Discovery
The children found out about the adults and other children in their class when they talked about the items in their Special Boxes. It was a great way to get to know everyone. Playing circle games such as Pass the Smile has also been a fun way to learn other children’s names.
Learning about different feelings was important because there were lots of new experiences and friends to make at school. The children listened to the story of The Colour Monster and talked about how the Colour Monster felt. They have learned to move their photograph onto the ‘Feelings Board’ to show others how they are feeling.
The children learned to alliterate and rhyme and recognise letter sounds. They used play dough and tools such as scissors and tweezers to strengthen the muscles in their fingers. The children practised writing their names using a cursive style.
The children became dinosaur experts learning about carnivores and herbivores. They learned dinosaur names and facts. The children enjoyed listening to stories about dinosaurs such as: Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs, The Dinosaur Who Lost Her Voice and Mad About Dinosaurs.
The children sorted, matched and compared sets of objects. The children compared and ordered objects using language such as big/small, short/long and short/tall. They recognised and created simple patterns using objects. Healthy fruit kebabs were created using a repeating ABAB pattern.
Going to the computer suite for the first time was very exciting. The children developed their mouse skills and over several sessions, learned how to move the mouse, click the left button on the mouse and drag the mouse. The children created patterns from left to right.
The children have enjoyed learning through playful activities both inside and outside on the terraces. There have been many different activities to try, routines to learn and new friends to make. It has been a successful first half term at Russell Lower School.
Autumn Term 2023 (2nd half)
Once Upon a Time
The children will be listening to traditional tales such as: The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and The Gingerbread Man. They will compare and contrast characters from stories including a figure from the past such as Guy Fawkes.
The children will learn about Diwali and will make firework pictures using a computer program. They will listen to the story of Rama and Sita and make clay Diva lamps and colourful rangoli patterns.
The children will learn to recognise, say and write letter sounds and then segment and blend them in words. They will write their names, labels and captions.
The children will learn to represent and compare numbers up to 5 and learn about their composition. They will find out about shapes with 1, 3 and 4 sides. The children will explore 1 more/1 less and challenge themselves to explore 2 more/2 less or even 3 more/3 less. They will describe when events happen and measure time.
Learning about artworks by environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy and going on an autumn walk in the school grounds to collect leaves will enable the children to create art works individually and collaboratively.
The children will continue to develop their mouse skills and over several sessions, they will learn how to move the mouse to draw enclosed circles, click the left button on the mouse to change the pen colour and add patterns from left to right within the circles. This will result in the children creating colourful, decorative Christmas baubles.
The children will learn the Christmas story and celebrate Christmas by making decorations and cards. As a fabulous finish, the children will dress up and perform the nativity story.