1. Welcome to Sycamore Class Yr 1 and 2 Teacher: Miss Devonport Teaching Assistants: Mrs Lamoury, Mr Harrison

2. Sycamore Class Topic ‘All About Me’ This half-term we are learning all ourselves, including our feelings, our bodies, our senses and how we can take care of ourselves.. The knowledge, skills and understanding of each subject will be taught through the topics that we cover throughout the year.

3. Reading Children will be heard to read individually at least once a week. Books will normally be changed twice a week. Of course, reading does not stop with school books! We encourage you to take your children to the library, read with them in everyday situations such as the supermarket or the museum, and when passing road signs, instructions or posters. Any volunteers to hear readers would be more than welcome!

4. Reading: Questions to ask at home What does …. mean? What happened at the beginning / middle / end? What did the boy / girl / dog do? Which word told you that …? Describe … Why did…..? What does ….. think? Why is …. important? How does the layout help the reader? Why does the author use subheadings / bulletpoints / capital letters? Why is it easier to read information in this way? Reading: It’s not just about decoding the words! Please also ask your child some basic comprehension questions as you read with them. Some examples might include...

5. Guided Reading Each week your child will read with the teacher in a Guided Reading session. This involves teaching a particular reading technique such as finding information in a text, understanding the features of a text (such as an index or bullet points), comparing and contrasting texts, or giving an opinion.

6. Phonics At this stage of your child’s education, a great emphasis is placed on the learning of letters and sounds to help with spelling, reading and writing. Please check which phase your child is currently working within, and help them to learn the sounds for the current week. This is most effective when carried out for short periods every day. A list of groups and sounds is available on the school’s website. Spelling tests are carried out on Thursdays. Please make sure that your child’s test book is in their school bag. Corrections should be written out 3 times at home ready for the following week. Some children will receive phonics homework (phases 3ii and beyond). Please check your child’s phonics workbook each day.

7. YEAR 1 PHONICS SCREENING TEST The Year 1 phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. This will be carried out in the summer term. The words in this test are a mixture of real and pseudo words that include sounds from phases 3 – 5. The aim of the check is to identify the children who need extra help. These children will be given support to improve their phonic decoding skills. They will then be able to retake the check if deemed necessary when in year 2.

8. YEAR 2 SATS TESTS During the summer term, year 2 will take statutory tests in the following subjects: -Writing -Reading -Numeracy -Spelling Test scores will be used to inform a general ‘teacher assessment’ of the level that each child has achieved. Science levels will be based solely on teacher assessment.

9. Mental Maths All children in Sycamore Class will participate in daily mental maths sessions lasting 15 minutes. Please check which group your child is in, and help them to learn the objectives for each week at home. Details are on the school website. As assessment will be carried out at the end of each half term.

10. Homework Children should spend approximately 20 minutes each evening doing a mixture of reading, learning phonics rules and doing homework set by the teacher. Homework is sent out every week on a Wednesday in their file. Children will be expected to have completed and returned their homework by the following Monday. Homework will usually follow a 2 week rota of numeracy and literacy. It is important that children are supported when completing their homework, but it must still be their own work.

11. PE PE on TUESDAYS and WEDNESDAYS Please ensure that your child has ALL of the following which should be labelled with their name: Pumps that fit A white t-shirt Black shorts Black long pants

12. Any Questions? Please feel free to come and chat after the presentation.