Harworth Church of England Academy

Welcome to Little Owls (FS2)

Spring term

Below you will find information about our topics.

Spring Term 2024 

Communication and Language

We will be exploring a range of traditional tales, alternative traditional tales and other books about seasonal changes and growth. We will discuss key events and new vocabulary from the stories we share.

   The Three Little Pigs by Nick Sharratt

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Nick Sharratt

Jack and The Beanstalk by Nick Sharratt

Sam Plants a Sunflower by Kate Petty

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

  

We will also listen to stories linked to our Christian values of wisdom and faithfulness.

Listen to 'Sam Plants a Sunflower' by clicking on the following link

https://youtu.be/MpciGxqBYw0

Grandma Fantastic

"Grandma Fantastic, what's in your basket?"

Below are some of the words we have been exploring and what the children have said about the new vocabulary. 

 

 Holy

"It's something really special, like a church. "

"The Bible is a holy book. It's very special to Christians."

 

Disguise 

"Granny should wear a disguise so the wolf can't find her."

"Wearing a wig, hat and a mask would be a good disguise."

 

Courage

"When you are very brave."

"Courage means we can do it even when it is hard."

"Ms Clowes had courage when she started running."

 

Calm

"Calm is the green colour monster."

"I feel calm when I go to sleep."

'Calm is peace and quiet."

Nocturnal

"Nocturnal animals sleep in the day and they are awake at night."

"Nocturnal animals hunt at night."

"Owls and foxes are nocturnal."

 

Lots more suggested books for Foundation Stage children here:

Books for Reception children aged 4-5 | School Reading List

Search | BookTrust

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Children will learn how to show resilience when being challenged, recognise their achievements and reflect on their work. Children will learn to identify and control their emotions.

The children will gain knowledge and remember how to stay safe online.  

Our Christian value is wisdom and after half term it is faithfulness.

 

Our artist for the first half term is  

Sonia Delaunay

She was a French artist who expanded her practice to include textile, fashion, and set design. She co-founded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes.

Her work in modern design included the concepts of geometric abstraction, and the integration of furniture, fabrics, wall coverings, and clothing into her art practice.

 

“Colour is the skin of the world.”

After half term we will look at the work of

David Hockney

He is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century.

“I value my friends.”

 

We will be listening to 

Prokofiev - Peter and the wolf

“I like melody very much and I consider it the most important element in music.”

After half term we will be listening to

Brahms

“Straightaway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God.”

 

Children will also learn about musical stories and the four different groups of musical instruments used within an orchestra.

Understanding the world

We will explore the names of animals and plants in Antarctica, Ghana and the local area, understand the changes on the natural world during Winter, describing different types of weather and what they see, hear and feel whilst outside.

The children will explore events from the past, using chronology to make timelines of their own life and the life of Queen Elizabeth II.  

 

In R.E we will be learning about places that are special to Christians and Muslims and say why. The children will also gain knowledge and remember the importance of celebrations such as Chinese New Year. 

 

 

After half term:

We will learn the names of seasonal plants and the names of baby animals born during Spring, understand the changes on the natural world during Spring and describe what we see, hear and feel whilst outside.

We will gain knowledge and remember how to compare and contrast characters from stories such as Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel, and figures from the past such as Queen Elizabeth II, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria.

We will learn to draw information from simple maps and remember special times such as Easter and how it is celebrated.

 

Our inspirational scientists are: 

Chris Morgan – “What's good for bears is good for people and the planet.”

(wisdom)

 

Gregor Mendel – “I am convinced that it will not be long before the whole world acknowledges the results of my work.” 

(faithfullness)

Support at home...

Here are some useful websites if you would like to practise any skills at home.

www.phonicsplay.co.uk

 

www.topmarks.co.uk

 

www.ictgames.com

Literacy

Phonics

We use the Twinkl scheme to teach phonics. We will continue working on level/phase 3 and continue to learn more complex graphemes using two (digraph) or three (trigraph) letters.

Children will continue to learn how words can be broken down into individual sounds called phonemes, which can be represented in written English using letters or groups of letters called graphemes. Children will develop independence when segmenting words into phonemes for spelling. 

 

Reading

Children will continue to recognise letters/digraphs and identify their sounds.

We will share books on a daily basis, discussing the main events and characters. 

Children will bring home their phonics book and listening book. Please support your child with reading as often as you can. 

 

Writing

We will develop the formation of letters using correct orientation. Please see the document below showing the rhymes we use to support letter formation. We will work on tracing, copying and writing tricky words from memory. We will be learning to write short captions and sentences. 

 

Here are some great links to support your child with their phonics skills at home:

First Phonics (doorwayonline.org.uk) There are options to make it easier/more difficult. 

PhonicsPlay - Resources

Mathematics

We will identify, represent, count, compose, match, subitise and compare the numbers 0-10. We will explore different ways to represent number bonds to 10.

 

The children will gain knowledge and remember the language related to measuring capacity, mass, height and length.

 

We will be continue to learn counting rhymes and songs.

Physical development

In our P.E sessions we will be working on:

Gym skills - children will learn, develop and apply shapes and travel on the floor and apparatus through focused skill development, thematic warm-ups and games.

After half term:

Agility: React and response. Children will learn to react and quickly move forward to catch a ball.

Static balance: Children will explore different seated balances.

 

Our inspirational sportspeople are:

Max Whitlock – “My dream is to do a skill that nobody has ever done before.”

Miguel Indurain “My strength was that I am more balanced and calmer than most riders.”


Our amazing outdoor area gives us lots of opportunities to develop our gross motor skills.


We will develop our scissor skills and handwriting skills. Please continue to support your child by encouraging them to write at home. Tracing, colouring and cutting activities are all great ways to improve fine motor skills.

We have been busy...

We used our fine motor skills to make snowflakes. We know they have 6 points.
We used our fine motor skills to make snowflakes. We know they have 6 points.
We explored the composition of 5 using numicon.
We explored the composition of 5 using numicon.

Autumn 1

Spring 1

Summer 1

Autumn 2

Spring 2

Summer 2