Elm Class 2023 - 2024

WELCOME TO ELM

Class teacher - Mrs S Ross

Learning Support Assistant - Mrs H Goricha

In Elm class, we build on the firm foundations that have been laid in Acorns and continue to help all the children grow, not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. The children grow in wisdom through always striving to make wise choices, reflecting our Christian values and through accessing a broad and balanced curriculum. In Elm we have many opportunities to shine whether it be in our day to day learning, performances, class trips or welcoming visitors to our class.

Our focus in English will be accurate letter formation, using our known phoneme and grapheme correspondence to spell words and reading back our sentences to make sure they make sense. We will also be thinking about making our sentences more interesting by adding describing words. Using the stunning book The Storm Whale, we will be writing our own story about friendship as well as writing poetry based around sea creatures.

Reading continues to play a fundamental part in all areas of the curriculum. In class we have access to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books which we are able to use, not only within our Guided Reading sessions, but also when appropriate in our curriculum lessons to support our learning. Throughout the year we engage in spotlight authors who have been chosen for their high-quality texts and will have to opportunity to listen to, read and learn more about these fantastic authors. Our current spotlight author is the amazing Emily Gravett. Having this literacy-rich environment will encourage a positive culture of reading within our class and continue to promote the children's enjoyment of reading.

Phonics is taught daily using our accredited Ready Steady Phonics scheme. We will learn to recognise the letters and know the sound they make, we will listen for these sounds in words and we will practise forming them correctly.

Tricky words:

Phase 3 Phase 3 Tricky Words Song Say Hello To - YouTube

Phase 4 Tricky Words Song Sight Words Song for said, have, like, come, some, what, when - YouTube

How to pronounce pure sounds Phonics: How to pronounce pure sounds | Oxford Owl - YouTube

In Maths we will be developing our understanding of number and place value up to 10 which includes learning our numbers bonds to 10. Following this, we will focus upon addition and subtraction to 10.

During our Science lessons we will be learning about animals including humans. Using our scientific enquiry skills we will identify and group animals into five main groups by considering their characteristics.

Our Religious Education focus will be on exploring Harvest and then the story of Christmas. Our PSHE lesson will explore the topics of relationships, diversity and sharing our world.

Through our Geography lessons, we will begin exploring how the Earth's surface was formed and how this lead to the creation of the continents and oceans of the world as we know it.

In Computing we will be focusing on E-safety, gaining an understanding of our personal information and why we should not share it. We will aslo have the oppportunity to carry out coding through the use of Bee-Bots.

In our creative subjects we will be painting, taking inspiration from Vale Royal Abbey while also exploring the life of Lord Edward and why our school was founded and this will form part of the whole school focus and display in the main building, designing and making our own sea creatures as well as listening and performing sea-themed songs.

PE will be on Tuesdays and Thurdays. Please can children come into school on these days already dressed in their PE kits.

Homework will be set each Friday and will be due in the following Thursday. Please ensure that your child reads at home at least 5 times per week. In Elm, we expect the children to continue to be reading aloud to someone at home and for this to be recorded in their Home-School contact book. If you would like any tips on how to support your child in reading you will find suggested strategies in the Home-School contact book.

Our door is always open, please come and see us with any concerns, no matter how small you feel they may be.

Mrs Ross