Welcome to Hazel Class

PE DAYS Spring 1 – Tuesday and Thursday

Forest School – No Forest School this term!

Class Teacher: Miss Ashworth

Class Teaching Assistants: Miss Crowther, Miss Ross, Mrs Sanderson and Mrs Greenwood

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break and enjoyed some well-deserved rest with family and friends. Hazel Class is ready for an exciting start to the new term, packed with engaging activities and learning opportunities to look forward to!

English

This half term, we’ll be creating our own short stories by imagining a brand-new adventure for a character. Afterwards, the children will move on to exploring explanation texts and writing their own, linked to our history topic for this term.

Guided Reading

In Year 1, children take part in small-group guided reading sessions. Groups are based on phonics knowledge, helping each child build confidence and fluency with texts that match their learning stage.

In Year 2, children continue to develop their comprehension and vocabulary skills. Phonics support remains in place for those who need it, and as children become more confident readers, they begin to move into larger group or whole-class reading sessions. Across the year, we’ll explore a range of texts linked to our weekly phonics focus.

The children will develop skills by answering questions following our VIPER skills which are:

VIPERS stands for 

Vocabulary 

Inference 

Prediction 

Explanation 

Retrieval

Sequence or Summarise 

Maths

In Maths this half-term, both Year 1 and Year 2 will be diving into a range of exciting and practical topics.

In Year 1 this half-term, the children will continue exploring 2D and 3D shapes—spotting them in everyday life and enjoying activities to sort and describe them. They will then move on to learning about numbers up to 20, building on their counting and place value skills.

In Year 2, the focus will be on addition and subtraction, using number lines, practical resources, and mental strategies to solve problems in different ways. These skills will provide a strong foundation for the rest of the year. Later in the term, we’ll turn our attention to the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.

Multiplication is a pivotal part of Maths education and underpins so many aspects of the curriculum through school. It would be so beneficial if at home, children could be practising times tables. The primary focus should be on 2s, 5s and 10s for Year 1 and 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s for Year 2. TT Rockstars is a great way for children to practice their times tables. The children will have a TT Rockstars login in the front of their reading record. 

Your child will now also be able to access NumBots.  NumBots is an online learning platform that we’re using to support your child’s understanding of number bonds and to help their addition and subtraction skills. These are the essential building blocks for higher-level maths concepts, so we are excited by the impact that NumBots will have on your child’s learning. The TTRockstars login code, which is in the front of your child’s reading record book will also give you access to Numbots.

Science

This half term, both Year 1 and Year 2 will be exploring the topic Everyday Materials in science. Children will learn to identify and name a variety of materials such as wood, metal, plastic, glass, and fabric, and describe their physical properties using words like hard, soft, shiny, dull, smooth, and rough. They will investigate why certain materials are chosen for specific purposes, thinking about their suitability and how they can be changed by actions such as bending, twisting, stretching, or squashing. Through hands-on activities and simple experiments, the children will develop their skills in observing closely, comparing materials, and recording their findings.

Readers

Reading books will be changed twice per week. Books will be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays each week. If your child finishes their book early, they are welcome to read their library book, re-read their current book or use bug club.

Get caught up in a book...

In Hazel Class, we understand the importance of reading and expect children to read for at least 10/15 minutes each night. It is important that we instil the skill of sustained reading into our children rather than just reading a few pages a night. This will encourage a love for reading as well as helping with fluency and expression. Record books will be checked and we will also encourage a love of reading through choosing books from our reading corner and school library. Bug Club is also available if you want to read further books with your child at home.

Our class library day is Monday when children may select a book to take home from the library. Please return to school the following Monday and then your child can choose a new book.

P.E

Our P.E. lessons this half-term will be on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Please could you ensure that children come to school wearing the correct P.E. kits on the day of their session. 

Spellers

Weekly spellings will be on Edshed every Friday. Your child has their own Edshed login attached to the inside of their reading record book. We encourage you to look at these spellings at home with your child. However, we will not complete a test during school. Instead, we will assess the children through spelling games and activities on the spellings for that week throughout the week. If you would like a paper copy of the weekly spellings, then please let me know, and I can sort this for you.

New spellings will be added to Spelling Shed on Monday 15th September and they will be updated every week from then on. Each week's spellings will be linked to the phonics focus for that week, reinforcing the sounds and patterns covered in class.

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/login?redirect_uri=%2Fen-gb%2Fgroups%2F2602998

Forest School

No Forest School this half-term!

Snack 

If you would like your child to have a snack, please pay for this on parent pay at the beginning of the term.

Notices

If you have any questions or concerns, my door is always open.

Thank you for the support.

Miss Ashworth