Welcome back to our second term in the Owls!

As the days get shorter, the weather colder and Christmas approaches there is much to look forward to!

A pantomime visit, a Christmas play, a special Christmas lunch and party as well as lots of other learning to do!

What a busy and exciting term it promises to be!

Our theme for this term is

Terrific Toys!

The question, How have toys changed since our Grandparents were young? will be the focus for our learning in History this term. We will take on the role of historical detectives and learn how we can use a variety of sources to find out how toys have changed over the last 80 years. Expect your Owl to come home full of questions about the toys you and their grandparents played with! We will talk about how to recognise if a toy is old or new, look for similarities between the toys played with today and in the past and introduce the idea of continuity and change. We will sort toys and learn how a timeline can help us order toys from oldest to newest.

In Science we will be thinking about everyday materials and investigating the question Why do materials matter? We will identify common everyday materials and learn to distinguish between an object and the material it is made from. Through our work we will begin to recognise and describe the properties of common everyday materials. To finish off our unit of learning, we will carry out a simple investigation to find the most suitable material for a particular job. Our learning will also complement our work in History as we look at how the materials used to make toys have changed through the years.

Our work on seasonal change will continue and we will observe and record the changes we see around us as we move from Autumn into Winter.

Our work in English will be inspired by the book ‘Rapunzel’ by Bethan Woollvin. This super, new version of this traditional tale tells the tale of a modern, daring and practical Rapunzel who is more than capable of saving herself! After immersing ourselves in the characterisation and investigating the features of the story we will go on to write our own versions of the tale. Throughout the unit we will consolidate our understanding of how to write a sentence and build on our knowledge of spelling conventions.

In Maths, we will be learning about addition and subtraction within 10. We will learn how to write number sentences and, using our understanding of part-whole models, solve problems by adding parts to find the whole as well as finding missing parts. Throughout this learning, we will be using a variety of practical apparatus to support our understanding. Later in the term, we will move on to learning about common 2D and 3D shapes.

In RE, our enquiry question is, Why does Christmas matter to Christians? This unit focuses on the Christmas story told in Luke’s Gospel where it is the shepherds who visit Jesus in the stable.

Our PSHE work this term will focus on Family and Relationships: Who is special to us?

In Term 2, our PE days will remain on a Monday and a Thursday. Please come to school wearing your PE kit on these days. Remember to make sure that you have warm clothing as whenever possible, lessons will take place outside.