Spring Term 4

St. Ursula’s
E-ACT Academy

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a new term. This is a letter to inform you of the area of learning we will be covering this half term. Over the next 5 weeks those of us in Julia Donaldson Class will be following a unit of work on a theme that focuses on ‘The senses’. During this unit we will be focusing on Geography, Art, ICT, Science, Technology and International Studies.

In Art, we’ll be finding out:
• About different artists and how their work appeals to our senses
• How colour, pattern and shape can be used to appeal to the senses
• How we can create our own art to show what we have learnt about the senses

In Music, we’ll be finding out:
• How we can create and remember a sequence of sounds
• How composers have used music to represent characters and places
• How we can create our own music to represent a character

In Science, we’ll be finding out:
• About our senses and how we use them
• Finding out what happens when we are deprived of our senses
• How sound travels and how our senses of taste and smell are connected
• About the sensory qualities of different materials

In International, we’ll be finding out:
• How we experience and remember places through our sense of smell, taste, touch,
hearing and sight

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:
• How to make a fruit salad by exploring taste, colour and texture
• About optical illusions and how we can fool the senses

In Literacy we will be looking at stories with fantasy settings. The children can retell a story in their own words using some story language, write their own ending for a class story and relate feelings and emotions in the story to their own experience. The children will also be able to use appropriate vocabulary to describe the setting as part of their own story writing. In addition to Literacy, the children will also have a 30 minute phonics lesson every day.





In Numeracy we will begin the term by looking at 3 dimensional shapes. The children will be learning to use the common names of 3D shapes as well as describing their familiar features. We will also be focusing on counting on and back in 10s from any number up to 100. We will be adding two multiples of 10 by counting on in 10s and continuously rehearsing the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. We will then look at subtracting 1 digit numbers from any 2 digit number.

As well as weekly spelling tests the children will also be working at their mental arithmetic and times tables every Friday.  Children will be given weekly maths homework every Wednesday which will be due in the following Monday.  Occasional topic homework will also be given out to further the children’s learning.  Don’t forget to log in to Bug Club so that your child can read a range of interactive books at home which will also help develop their ICT skills. Reading for 5 to 10 minutes every evening is very beneficial and will really support their phonetic development.

I already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with
your child the work they have done as the term progresses and let them teach you. If you have the chance to further their interest in the ideas of this theme please take it – your enthusiasm and interest is most important.

By the end of the term, I hope your child has achieved all of the learning outcomes and had an enjoyable time in the classroom. I hope you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments about the work your child has done, please get in touch.

Yours Faithfully,





Miss Oatway
Year 1 Class Teacher