This term in Chestnut class, the children will be exploring the theme "Journeys". Throughout our theme, the children will be learning what a journey is and what a journey might look like.

We will be closely linking our theme to our literacy core text "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". 

Throughout this text, the children will be focusing on character descriptions, retelling and sequencing the story using props and identifying problems and solutions. The children will be learning to identify the characters and use different voices to represent the characters.  They will also start to use character props, story maps, repeated phrases and key parts of the story to help them retell the story. The children will also be learning new vocabulary and the definitions for these words to enhance their language development. We will also be writing sentences based on the story content. The children will be using the sounds they are learning to support their sentence writing. 

Throughout the Autumn term, we will be learning 2 core rhymes: "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around" and "10 In The Bed". We will be learning these rhymes throughout our literacy sessions and whole class reading. A copy of each of these rhymes can be found by clicking on the rhyme tabs on this page.

In our Phonics sessions we will be continuing to learn the Initial Code. Throughout our sessions, the children will be learning to identify and recognise sounds and learning the correct formations of these. We will also be learning to segment and blend CVC words, using the sounds we know. 

Unit 1 – s, a, t, i, m

Unit 2 – p, n, o

Unit 3 – b, g, h, c

Unit 4 – d, e, f, v

In Maths, the children will be continuing to develop their subitising, comparison and compositions skills to continue to develop their mathematical thinking. First, the children will be deepening their understanding of counting, learning to count to find out how many there is altogether. We will then be focusing on comparing amounts, looking closely at comparing sets of objects and matching these without any being left over. After that, the children will be exploring  the compositions of numbers up to 10. We will be exploring the concepts of "whole" and "parts" as we start to learn how to add amounts together to find the total.

In Understanding of the World, the children will be learning what a journey is and what these journeys might look like. Firstly, the children will be identifying what a journey is and who might go on a journey. Next, the children will be learning how people travelled on journeys in the past. We will be identifying different modes of transport through these sessions. We will also be learning about how transport has developed and what transport we use today. The children will discuss the journeys that they go on around our local area. Finally, the children will be learning about a journey to the South Pole, made by the explorer Ernest Shackleton.

You will find, on the Journeys Knowledge Organiser which can be downloaded from the tab on the right hand side, some of the key facts and vocabulary that the children will be learning.

The recommended reads this term link to our theme of “Journeys”. 

In RE, our big question is “Why do Christians perform nativity plays at Christmas?”. The children will be learning about how Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and why Jesus is special to Christians. The children will also be learning about the Nativity story and exploring how Christian churches celebrate this.

In Art this term the children will be learning about, and exploring, different types of line work. The children will be using oil pastels, pens, paint and crayons to represent different types of lines. They will be using their line work to explore Turner’s "The Fighting Temeraire", including the story of the ship represented in this piece of work. The children will be using watercolours and different thickness of paint brushes to create the effect of the sea. Finally, the children will be using oil pastels to create their interpretation of the ship and adding this to their final pieces.

In Design Technology, the children will be learning how to make vehicles by joining the materials together. First, the children will be investigating and researching  the different types of vehicle there are and what materials could be used to build a vehicle. They will then design their vehicles and  label their designs. After this, the children will use cardboard, dowel and wheels to build their vehicles. Finally, the children will use their vehicles and evaluate these. We will be thinking about how well our vehicles worked, if we wanted to change or add anything to our vehicles and which parts of the vehicles we made. 

Home Learning

Each Friday, the children will be visiting the library. The children will be choosing a new library book to borrow for a week. You will find ideas on how to support your child’s storytelling and comprehension skills in your child’s reading packets. 

To help support the children’s maths learning at home, the children will bring home a maths bag every Thursday. The maths bags provide your children with opportunities to develop their counting, sorting, matching and comparison skills. Please could you return your maths bag the following Thursday. 

Your child has a homework book, which includes a range of challenges linked to our class learning. You can complete these challenges in any order you wish and can add photos and comments in to here. Please can these be returned every Monday. 

Please upload any photos and comments from learning at home onto your child’s Tapestry learning journal.