Tuesday, 29th February 2014 Dear Parents, With our Lets Pretend topic ending with a fantastic performance,

we are now looking forward to a new unit of work: Patterns! Here are our plans for your childrens learning for IPC, Mathematics and Literacy for the first half of Term 3. In Literacy we continue our phonics programme. The children will revise the sounds learned so far, including sh, ch, th and oo. We shall introduce the ng sound and the r-controlled vowels: ar, or, er, ir, ur . Each week we will use a story as the focus for the development of reading and writing skills. The children will continue their progress within the graded reading scheme. In Mathematics the children will continue to learn about the language involved in the processes of addition and will be introduced to subtraction. They will continue to have practical experiences of both of these operations as well as recording them as simple sums. They will also learn number patterns such as counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. We will also teach them about symmetrical shapes and repeating shapes and patterns. Our IPC theme is Patterns. This unit of work is taken from the International Primary Curriculum for young children who are being taught outside of their home country and the learning goals are grouped into four categories known as strands. In strand one Independence and Interdependence we explore patterns from a variety of cultures and this will help the children begin to understand diversity. In strand two Communicating we look at patterns in words especially rhyme and rhythm and enjoy lots of activities about a patchwork elephant called Elmer. The children will learn how to design and make all kinds of patterns using paint, fabric, beads and pegs. In strand three Exploring the children will look for patterns in the environment when we take them on a pattern walk, as well as learning about animal patterns. In strand four Healthy Living the children will learn how to make choices and express their own preference as well as how to work together with a partner to copy and complete patterns. We continue to be mindful of our core outcomes Communication, Responsibility, Independence and International Mindedness in all our activities. We also work towards our Personal Goals: Communication, Co-operation, Resilience, Respect, Adaptability, Morality, Enquiry and Thoughtfulness, during our learning and play activities. As always we welcome suggestions and support during this topic. We will begin the topic on Thursday, 1st May with a Pattern Day. Please send your child to school wearing patterned clothes spots, stripes, checks, flowers even tartan! Best wishes, Jacqueline and Shirley