On this page you will find weekly updates about what the children are learning in literacy, maths and phonics so you can support at home. Our termly curriculum maps provide an outline of what the children will learn across all subjects. More detailed information for a particular subject can be found in the curriculum area of the website.
Our PE days have changed and are now on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Please make sure all PE kits are back in school and your child’s clothes are clearly named.
Most importantly, please keep remembering to read with your child at least 5 times a week so that Orlando the Owl will hopefully come and visit us!
Library books are now changed on Tuesdays.
If you need to catch up with us about anything we are available before or after school or you can email the office to arrange a time to meet.
Mrs Ingham
Week beginning 25th March 2024
We have our Easter bonnet parade this Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm. Please bring in your wonderful creations and get ready to strut your stuff in the parade. Parents are welcome to collect their children straight after it has finished.
In literacy this week we will be planning and writing invitations inviting our families to come to the parade. We will be making sure pronouns have a capital letter and using our best handwriting to convince you to come!
In maths this week:
Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be adding a two-digit number to a two-digit number and partitioning numbers in different ways to solve problems e.g. 45 = 35 + 10, 45 = 25 + __
Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots are halving and doubling to 10 and using these facts to solve problems efficiently e.g. I know that 4 + 4 = 8 so 5 + 4 = 9 because that is double 4 plus one more.
In phonics we are moving on to split digraphs a-e in game, e-e in complete, i-e in time, o-e in cone and u-e in cube.
Week beginning 18th March 2024
Super learning week- Following on from last week's assessments we will be revisiting questions that the children may have found tricky and filling in any gaps in their learning.
We will also be looking at comparative and superlative adjectives to compare objects or people e.g. small, smaller, smallest and using these in our writing.
In phonics this week we are learning new graphemes ew in stew and newt, oe in toe and woe and common exception words looked and called.
Week beginning 11th March 2024
This week is assessment week:
We are taking this opportunity to asses prior learning to ensure all children have understood the learning we have completed. This will help us to plan and re teach any aspects that are not understood fully in the following week.
The Year 2 children did amazingly at the Highbridge Festival last week. They overcame their nerves and stood on the stage with the bright lights shining on them and lots of people in the audience. They recited the poem with confidence and did us all proud! Well done to all those that took part and thank you for helping them learn the words at home.
World Book Day was also a huge success! The children loved learning about each other's words and talking about their outfits and what their own words mean. The parade was fantastic, too!
We also had a very special guest in school on Friday for the Year 2's.... Brunel! He came in and told us lots of facts about his life and the things he made.
In literacy and maths we will be working through assessment papers.
In maths Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be adding two two-digit numbers to find the sum and Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots will be finding the difference between two consecutive numbers e.g. 8-7=, 4-3= and will also be subtracting 2 from odd and even numbers.
In phonics we will be moving on to new digraphs aw in claw, wh in when, ph in dolphin and ew in blew and introducing common exception words Mr and Mrs.
Week beginning 4th March 2024
Year 2 poem practises are in full swing! We are preparing for our poem recital in the Highbridge festival. The children are doing so well!
This week in literacy we will be looking at speech bubbles and thinking about what the characters in pictures might be saying. We are continuing to work on our letter formation and celebrating World Book Day on Thursday. Don't forget to pick a word to dress up as! We cannot wait to see your creations and chosen vocabulary. On the day we will be taking part in a number of fun activities to promote our love of reading. We will be 'Dropping Everything And Reading', decorating a hat ready for our vocab parade and listening to MC Grammar's rap of The Gruffalo. At the end of the day the children will take part in a parade so we can all admire the effort and learn new words.
In maths this week, Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots will be working on number bonds to 10 and adding and subtracting 1 from any number and Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be consolidating their learning of adding and subtracting 10.
In phonics we will be looking at new graphemes: oy, ir, ue and common exception word people.
Week beginning 26th February 2024
A great first week back to school! The children have settled back to their routines well and they have definitely all grown during the half term!
This week in literacy we will be looking at the book 'The something' and we will be using adjectives and similes to describe the troll and dragon's garden. We will also invent something new to reach down the hole in the book and use the conjunction word 'but' to make a compound sentence e.g. The boy was scared but he explored the hole anyway.
In phonics we are moving on to Phase 5 digraphs looking at spelling them in new ways; ay in day, ou in out, ie in pie and ea in meal. We will also be learning to spell common exception words oi, their and writing the days of the week.
In maths this week the focus is:
Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be adding and subtracting 10 to a 2-digit number and 'proving' their answers using manipulatives such as dienes and drawings.
Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots will be continuing to focus on inverse operations e.g. 5 + 2 = 7 and 7 - 2 = 5.
We are also busy practising the poem 'My uncommon senses' ready for the Highbridge festival on Tuesday 5th March.
Week beginning 19th February 2024
We hope you all had a lovely, relaxing half term with your children. We are looking forward to hearing all the things they have been up to!
This week in literacy we will be writing recounts about the half term using time connectives; First, Then, Next, Finally to begin each sentence. We want to know if they have been anywhere, or spent time with their friends or family, or just relaxed in the comforts of their home. We will also be writing a class acrostic poem all about Spring. To help us with this task we will go on a spring hunt around the school to spot the first signs of spring to ignite our ideas then we will have a chance to perform our poems in front of the class!
In phonics we will be adding -ed to the end of verbs e.g. helped, hunted and adding -er to the end of verbs to change them into nouns e.g. hunter, singer.
We will also have a big focus on reading real and alien words to prepare the children for their Phonics Screening Test later on in the year. This is for Year 1 children and any Year 2 children who did not pass last year.
In maths this week, Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be adding and subtracting a 1 digit number to/from a 2 digit number and using their knowledge of number bonds to 10 to help them.
Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots will be finding the missing parts in their addition and subtraction stories and equations (First there were children in the pool. Then some children got out. Now there is 1 child in the pool. How many got out?) and will begin to explain that addition and subtraction are inverse operations.
Week beginning 5th February 2024
Parent's meetings - Monday 5th, Tuesday 6th February
I am really looking forward to meeting with you again and to discuss how well your children have done this term. We are so proud of them!
The last week before the end of term is a fun and busy one! We will be making pancakes on Monday and then writing instructions on how to make them, using short and clear steps. The children did so well writing their instructions on how to make a pizza so I am looking forward to seeing them write confidently and independently!
In phonics we are revising Phase 4 graphemes and phonemes, CEW and adding -s and -es to the end of verbs and nouns to make plurals and third person markers e.g. trees, foxes, thinks, wishes.
In maths Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be finding the difference between two numbers and creating a class bar chart to compare our favourite chocolate bars.
Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots will be representing First, Then, Now addition and subtraction stories and creating their own e.g. First there are 4 ducks in the pond. Then 2 ducks swim away. Now there are 2 ducks left.
During half term Chinese New Year and Valentines Day occurs so within our provision we will include enhancements to allow children to celebrate these occasions!
Week beginning 29th January 2024
Movie Night - Friday 2nd February
What another great week in Turtle Class. All the children have been pushing themselves in their writing and maths and they have been so proud of what they have achieved! So many children are working independently which is really lovely to see!
This week in literacy we will be looking at a rhyming poem called 'Have you ever wondered?' We will introduce similes and use them to describe the dinosaur in the poem e.g. The dinosaur is as strong as a superhero! We will also use adjectives to describe where the dinosaur might end up at the end of the poem and invent 2 new endings.
In phonics we are finishing off Phase 4 mastery lessons and blending words with adjacent consonants and digraphs e.g. trench and revisiting CEW when, out, what.
This week in maths- Circ-o-bots and Tri-o-bots we will be beginning to look at models and equations containing three parts and discussing how this links in with prior knowledge of mathematical language. We will also be beginning to look at how we can partition numbers using subtraction.
Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be adding 3 addends together efficiently by bridging to 10 first. e.g. 5 + 3 + 5. We know 5 + 5 is 10, so 10 + 3 is 13. We can show this as 5 + 3 + 5 = 10 + 3
Our numbots winners for Friday 26th January are:
1st Mason
2nd Grace
3rd Ezmae
Week beginning 22nd January 2024
We had such a fun week last week making our delicious pizzas. The children decided on their toppings and made their own pizza step by step. We took photos to help us remember the order of the steps and then the following day we wrote clear instructions on how to make a pizza. The writing was independent and fantastic!
This week in literacy we will be focusing on the story 'Open very carefully... a book with a bite!' We will use adjectives to describe the main character, think about where the crocodile might go next and then think about what we could feed him if he was hungry again. We are using 'and' to join words and sentences together and trying our best to write independently.
In phonics we are blending words containing two adjacent consonants and revisiting common exception words were, there.
In maths this week...
Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots are finding the whole in part whole and bar models and writing 4 equations for each one.
e.g. 2 + 4 = 6, 4 + 2 = 6, 6 = 2 + 4, 6 = 4 + 2.
Pent-o-bots and Tri-o-bots are finishing off comparing numbers 20-99 using < > = and then will be moving on to adding 3 addends together to find the whole e.g. 5 + 2 + 5 = 12. We will be looking at how to add these addends together efficiently by finding the total to 10 first.
Our numbots winners for Friday 19th January are:
1st Mason
2nd Ezmae
3rd Poppy
Week beginning 15th January 2024
Another great week in Turtle Class! The children loved the skipping workshop last week and they really impressed us with their skipping skills. It's lovely to see their enthusiasm for skipping has continued out in the playground, too!
This week in literacy we will be writing instructions on how to make a pizza. Of course we have to actually make the pizza first (and eat) and then we will be using our knowledge of 'bossy' (imperative) verbs to begin each step. We will establish what a verb is and compare these words to nouns.
Our phonics focus is moving on to polysyllabic words (words with more than one syllable) and using our existing reading skills to decode and write these words. We will also revisit common exception words: some, come.
We now have our new maths groups in school. These are:
Tri-o-bots, Circ-o-bots, Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots. We will be delivering two sets of work to help fill in any gaps and introduce new maths skills.
In maths this week...
Tri-o-bots and Circ-o-bots will be using the = sign to show the whole and the sum of 2 parts are the equal. We will be recapping that an 'addend' is a part and that 2 parts added together without an equals is an expression. The children will be using STEM sentences to fully explain what they can see in each representation.
Pent-o-bots and Square-o-bots will be representing numbers 20-99 in different ways, explaining and marking these numbers on a number line and comparing them using < > =.
The Numbots Awards are continuing. It is great so see so many children engage with the app at home.
The winners on Friday 12th January were:
1st Mason
2nd Grace
3rd Poppy
Week beginning 8th January 2024
We had a fantastic three days back at school. It was so lovely to hear about your children's break and what they have been up to. The children settled back so well and enjoyed being back into routine!
This week in literacy we are moving onto poetry. We will share a poem called 'The pizza tree' and will write about the pizza cat, describe the location using expanded noun phrases and continue to use 'and' in our sentences to make them longer.
Our phonics focus is:
Adjacent consonants s p in spun, s t in star, s w in swim, t r in trot, t w in tweet and read words with -ing endings. We will also be revising common exception words: when, out, what.
In maths this week:
Year 1s will be continuing to partition numbers 6-10 in a systematic way, identify a missing part when the whole is partitioned into two parts and explain that addends can be represented in any order. This is called the commutative law e.g. 5 + 4 = 9 and 4 + 5 = 9.
Year 2s will be adding and subtracting multiples of 10 using the STEM sentence: I know _ + _ = _ so _ tens + _ tens = _ tens to help us. e.g. I know 6 + 2 = 8 so 6 tens + 2 tens = 8 tens.
The Numbots Awards are continuing. The winners on Friday 5th January were:
1st Mason
2nd Rufus
3rd Poppy
Week beginning 1st January 2024
Welcome back Turtles!
We hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year at home and are ready for a fun new year back to school! We can't wait to hear about your celebrations.
This week in literacy we will be reading a familiar story 'The Three Little Pigs' and writing about the cheeky wolf and what he gets up to, picking one of the houses to describe using adjectives and changing the ending of the story; the wolf catches the pigs! What will he do?!
We will be working on writing independently and remembering those all important finger spaces, capital letters and full stops.
Our phonics focus is:
Adjacent consonants s m in smell, s n in snug, reading words with the -ed ending and revising common exception words: one, little.
In maths this week Year 1s will be looking at odd and even numbers and using equipment to partition the odd and even numbers to 10. Year 2s will continue to look at multiples of ten; adding and subtracting 10 and estimating where the multiples of 10 go on a number line.
We are continuing the 'Mastering Number' scheme which focuses on subitising and basic number facts.
Week beginning 4th December
The festive season is upon us! We have a very busy and fun week ahead.
Year 1's will continue to practise their Nativity before performing in front of the whole school on Thursday and in front of parents and carers on Friday.
Year 2's will continue to practise songs, poems, musical instruments and readings for their Christingle before our church service next week.
As part of our 'Super learning' week we will address any misconceptions picked up from our assessments last week.
In maths we will also be consolidating multiples of 10 and continuing our fluency skills in our 'mastering number' sessions.
We will be writing The Christmas story and we have lots of Christmas/winter themed challenges in Turtle Cove.
We are also having a whole day dedicated to DT. Year 1's will be making space buggies and learning about how vehicles move. We will create our own vehicle with working wheels and axles. Year 2's will be making moving sea monsters with a lever mechanism.
The Numbots Awards are continuing. The winners on Friday 1st December were:
1st Ezmae
2nd Mason
3rd Poppy
Week beginning 27th November
This week is assessment week:
We are taking this opportunity to asses prior learning to ensure all children have understood the learning we have completed. This will help us to plan and re teach any aspects that are not understood fully in the following week.
Our phonics focus:
We are still working on reading and writing words that contain adjacent consonants.
This week they are:
s t in list, c t in fact, p t in kept, x t in next and revising common exception words: some and come.
Please continue to encourage your child to spend time practising their number skills on Numbots.
The Numbots Awards are continuing. The winners on Friday 24th November were:
1st Mason
2nd Poppy
3rd Woody
Year 1s will be continuing to practise their Nativity performance and Year 2s will be practising words and songs for our Christingle service.
Week beginning 20th November
This week in literacy we will be reading 'Litterbug Doug' and talking about the importance of keeping our planet clean and the importance of recycling. The children will explore the characters in the story and invent a machine to make it super easy to pick up rubbish. We will be focusing on sentence structure and making sure we have finger spaces in our writing.
Our phonics focus is:
Adjacent consonants n t in sent, s k desk, revising previous adjacent consonants and common exception word: some.
In maths this week we are counting in multiples of ten, investigating the place value of tens and ones and noticing patterns within the multiples. We are continuing the 'Mastering Number' scheme which focuses on subitising and basic number facts.
Please encourage your child to spend time practising their number skills on Numbots. The Numbots Awards are continuing. The winners on Friday 17th November were:
1st Ezmae
2nd Poppy
3rd Mason
Week beginning 13th November
*Friday 17th November - Non School Uniform Day for Children in Need*
This week in literacy we will be exploring different poems, rhyming words and trying to complete our quest of using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops consistently in our writing. The children are becoming so confident at writing sentences independently - so a big well done to them all!
Our focus in phonics is:
Revisiting phase 4; reading and writing words with adjacent consonants.
l t in tilt, m p in ramp, n d in land, n k in bank and common exception words: have, like, so, do.
In maths this week we will be cementing our knowledge of teen numbers and applying the addition and subtraction skills we have learnt. We will do this using part part whole models, tens frames, rekenreks and bar models, as well as exposing the children to other ways in which this can be represented pictorially.
Week beginning 6th November
The first week back was a brilliant one! Children have settled back into the school routine and did some fantastic learning. They loved their first session of cricket and this will continue on Thursday.
Please remember we have Inset day on Tuesday this week :)
This week in literacy we will be looking at the picture book 'Oi Frog!'. We will explore rhyming words and use the character 'frog' as our main focus for writing. We will be writing sentences about the frog's character, give him a new location and use our imaginations to turn the frog into something else! We will still be focussing on sentence structure, remembering a full stop and capital letter and also adding in an adjective and the word 'and' to join our ideas together.
Our focus in phonics is:
Revisiting phase 4; reading and writing words with adjacent consonants.
'f t' in rift, 'l d' in gild, 'l f' in shelf, 'l k' in hulk, 'l p' in kelp.
In maths we are continuing to explore subtraction using part whole and bar models and use strategies to find the answer efficiently.
Week beginning 30th October
Welcome back to school! We hope you have had a fantastic half term!
In literacy this week we are introducing a new quest to inspire the children's writing. We will be meeting some new characters such as Professor Klunk, Noodle and Titch, Brain and Greap! These characters will help us remember the importance of full stops and capital letters as well as giving us purpose for our writing.
Our focus in phonics is:
ure, er and common exception word 'her'.
In maths this week we are moving on to subtraction. We will be using concrete objects to help with our learning before moving on to pictorial representations.
We will also be starting cricket this week until the end of the term. We cannot wait for the children to learn and explore new skills. They will love it!
Week beginning 16th October
We have such a busy and exciting week ahead for our final week of term. On Tuesday the author M.P. Robertson will be visiting us and reading one of his stories. We will get the opportunity to ask him any questions we have and we will also be taking part in a fantastic drawing workshop with him! On Friday it is our first Play morning of this academic year- please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for a whole morning of fun outdoors!
In literacy this week we will be watching one of the classic episodes of 'Wacky Races'. We will be designing and writing about a new vehicle to enter the race and we will be thinking about what you get if you win first place and what happens if you come last. The children's imaginations have really shone this term and it is so lovely to see their drawings inspire lots of fantastic, independent writing. I'm sure you loved looking at their work during parents meeting.
Our vocab words this week are:
ACCELERATE BRAKING HAZARD STEERING CHUCKLE DEMOLISH OVERTAKE TRANSPORT
Ask us what the actions are for each word and see if we can remember the meanings of the words.
In phonics our focus is:
ow, oi, ear and common exception words are, my.
In maths we are moving on to addition with teen numbers using practical equipment and recording the sums in our books with the correct layout.
Week beginning 9th October
We are so looking forward to meeting you this week for our first parent's meetings. It will be our pleasure to share how well your children have settled in to their new school year.
In literacy this week we are reading the classic 'Hansel and Gretel'. We will be looking at the characters, in particular, the witch and using our imaginations to decide what she has in her cauldron and what would happen if her pet spider bit the teacher. We wonder what it will turn the teacher into?!
Our vocab words this week are:
CONFECTIONARY WICKED DOUBLE SCARY CAULDRON SWISH PIERCING INNOCENT
Ask us what the actions are for each word and see if we can remember the meanings of the words.
In phonics our focus is:
oo, ar, or, ur and common exception words they, all.
In maths we are solving addition problems using a range of manipulatives and representations and recording number sentences in our maths books.
Week beginning 2nd October
We are over half way in this term and the children are surprising us everyday with their learning and confidence!
In literacy this week we are reading 'The Hairy Toe' by Daniel Postgate, where an old lady finds a hairy toe! We will be making up a character who is missing this toe and helping the old woman build something to trap the monster!
Our vocab words this week are:
WINDY FURRY ANCIENT FEARFUL UNDERCOVER CREEP DISTANT SWIRLING
Ask us what the actions are for each word and see if we can remember the meanings of the words.
In phonics our focus is:
ai, ee, igh, oe and common exception words was, you.
In maths we are moving on to addition within 10 and consolidating our learning from the past few weeks.
Week beginning 25th September
After another brilliant week we are all set and ready for more learning!
In literacy this week we are watching the classic Pink Panther. We can't wait to see the children's reactions to this cartoon. Pink Panther will be used to inspire us with our writing. We will be focusing on writing sentences about his character, setting and using our imaginations to come up with a new friend for Pink Panther, who also has a colour in his name and inventing a machine to help clean up all his mess! They have been fantastic at remembering our vocab so far. This week our words are:
CLUMSY SPLODGE COMICAL ACTIVE OBLIVIOUS REVEAL FURIOUS STAMP
In phonics our focus is:
Digraphs- ch, sh, th, ng and common exception words he, she.
In maths we are consolidating numbers to 20, specifically looking at greater than, less than and equals as well as solving missing number problems. We will continue to use our STEM sentence to describe the place value of these numbers e.g.
The whole is 16. 10 is a part. 6 is a part.
Week beginning 18th September
Swimming starts on Wednesday 20th September. Please send your child with a towel, swimming costume and goggles in a bag, such as a rucksack, they can carry to the pool.
In Literacy we will be looking at the traditional tale of 'Goldilocks and the three bears' and using this familiar story to help children use their imaginations about how the bears can find Goldilocks and what could happen when they do! We are focusing on children sounding out words and independently write them so they can show us what they know.
In Phonics we will be recapping Phase 3 graphemes and phonemes as well as common exception words.
This week our focus is: y z zz qu we be
In Maths we will be continuing to focus on representing numbers to 20 using concrete equipment and moving on to pictorial representations. We are using language such as 16 has 1 ten and 6 ones to ensure children are secure with place value before we move on to higher numbers.
Week beginning 11th September
We've had a great first full week. The children have settled into their new routines extremely well and have loved accessing Turtle Cove to further their learning. You may have heard them talking about their 'learning around the room' and what they have been up to in their learning challenges.
Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.
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