Mrs Holdsworth - Class Teacher

Our Key Stage 1 topics this year are:

• The Great Fire of London
• Remarkable People
• The Animal Kingdom
• The Great Outdoors

Our P.E. Days are Wednesday and Friday. On P.E. days, children need to come to School wearing their P.E. Kit. Please ensure that any earrings are removed and long hair is tied back. Thank you!

Reading Books

Your child will bring home two reading books on a Monday, that they will keep for the week. This is will allow the children to delve deeper into books and stories to promote their comprehension skills as well as continue to develop decoding skills. The children will also have access to their group reading book through an online platform. 

Below are strategies as to how to support your child at home with their developing reading skills.

• The whole book. Before beginning to read a new book, look at the front cover, back cover and pictures. Ask them if they know what the book is going to be about. What does the blurb tell you?
• New words. If they are stuck on a word support them with reading it rather than telling them. Encourage them to sound it out. Is it a tricky word? Look at the first sound and the picture, to see if it gives a clue.
• Dig deeper into the story Ask your child questions about the story you've just read. Make the experience interactive by asking questions about the story, the pictures and what they think of the characters. Where is the story set? What do they think is going to happen next in the story? Why? These sort of questions develop help the children understand what they are reading.
• Once is not enough. Encourage your child to re-read favourite books and poems. Re-reading helps children read more quickly and accurately.
• One more time with feeling. When your child has sounded out an unfamiliar word, have him or her re-read that sentence. Often children are so busy figuring out a word they lose the meaning of what they've just read.

Your child's books have been selected to the match their reading ability and the phonics phase they are currently working on in class. If your child prefers to read a book or magazine you have at home, that is also OK! Please record any reading they do in their reading diary.