Our Learning
Genre focus: poetry
We will be learning to understand, memorise and perform poetry.
Language skills: identifying nouns, adjectives and verbs and the effect of good choices; using _ing suffixes for verbs; punctuation to end the three types of sentences ( . ! ? ) and using a comma to separate more than multiple nouns.
Phonics: consolidation of phase 3-5 phonemes as "sound families" for each of the vowels. Reading and writing Y1 and 2 spellings and high frequency words.
Number: working towards mastery of numbers up to 100 by: filling in missing numbers on 100 squares; comparing numbers using < and > symbols; ordering 2-digit numbers from smallest to largest; adding 10 and subtracting 10 from any number up to 100. Children will also learn to skip count to 30 in 3s and learn the inverse of operations for numbers up to 20.
Our learning is centred around studying birds and Christmas.
Science: continuing to study raptors - British birds of prey (hawks, eagles and falcons) by focusing on their Intelligently-designed anatomy for their particular hunting techniques and diet: hooked beaks, talons, eyes and feathers.
Nature journalling continues across the half term by observing and recording seasonal signs (seasonal plants/evergreen, changes in weather and environment) during November and December.
Art: continued study on artist John James Audubon and his work on birds - focusing on birds of prey. Children will learn observational drawing skills, sketching anatomy of birds studied in detail.
History: consolidating and building on last year's learning of history of the last >70 years (family history and English monarachy) by looking further back to the last 122 years and the monarchs who reigned before Queen Elizabeth II in that time. Children will explore toys from the past during their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents lives and in that last 100+ years.
Music: selection of classical music relating to the history focus on toys from the past: Toy Symphony - Mozart; Russian Dance and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker - Tchaikovsky
PE:
We will be learning about Advent and Christmas by exploring the key events and prophecies of the Old Testament before the birth of Jesus Christ. We will have a class Jesse Tree by adding ornaments to the tree that reflect the biblical story we have studied.
We will also learn about St. Andrew and St. Nicholas on their saint days.
Memory verses:
- Galatians 3:29
- John 1:29
-
Isaiah 9:6
Prayer: Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who gave us the way of salvation through the Messiah Yeshua, blessed be He. Amen
What we are reading this half term:
Fiction:
Some Homes in the Green Forest from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
The Eagle and the Crow (Children’s Book of Virtues) by William J Bennett
A Fisherman Robbed from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
Peter Sees Two Terrible Feathered Hunters from The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
The Nutcracker ( Story Orchestra version)
The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard
The Toymaker by Martin Waddell
Legend Of The Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Non-fiction:
Bald Eagle (The Magnificent Book of Birds) by Tom Jackson
Feathers – Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart
The Advent Storybook by Laura Richie
Poetry:
My Boy Jack by Rudyard Kipling
The Eagle by Alfred Lord Tennyson
A Wise Old Owl (Anonymous)
Twelve Days of Christmas by Jan Brett
Cold poem from Snow in the Garden: A First Book of Christmas by Shirley Hughes
Useful Information
PE day: every Monday
Home learning wallets (including reading books) due in: every Monday
Library books due in: every Friday
Tuesday 28th November: coffee morning with headteachers @9 a.m.
Saturday 2nd December: Christmas in the Village - Gornal Together event. The winner of the poster competition will have a special invitation to join the VIPs to switch the Christmas lights on.
Thursday 7th December: School Christmas Service @9 a.m. and Awards Assembly with students being awarded virtue and milestone certificates.
Tuesday 12th December: whole school experience - visit from The Falconry Centre.
Wednesday 13th December: School Christmas lunch for children and staff.
Thursday 14th December: Christmas performances @9 a.m. Children must be collected by 12 p.m. on this day.
Friday 15th December: INSET day for staff (school CLOSED to students)
Please see the main Parent Portal page for any school closure dates
- Please ensure all uniform is clearly labelled with your child's name.
- PE pumps and horticulture kits need to be kept at school at all times.
