Term 2 The Great Fire of London

Term 2

Welcome Back!

We hope that you have all had a lovely half term following the fantastic start to the year that the children have made. Hopefully you have all managed to rest, relax and recharge ready for a busy term ahead!

The Great Fire of London

Wow, Term 2 already! This term, our topic will be based around 'The Great Fire of London'. We absolutely love this topic and we are excited to share it with you as we explore a huge historical event from 1666. As part of this topic we will be exploring the events that unfolded during the tragic fire and creating a timeline of the events, exploring the life and significance of Samuel Pepys and his diary, understanding how the great fire came to be and ways we are kept safe these days as well as creating observational drawings of typical Tudor houses. We will be inspired in our literacy work to create our own diaries, write setting descriptions and in remembrance of bonfire night we will be exploring the gunpowder plot and creating some firework poetry. What a busy term ahead!

Homework Tasks and Expectations:

Please also read the latest newsletter for further details of home work tasks starting this term

Reading

Please continue to read with your children as much as possible. We recommend short daily reading opportunities and regularly rereading familiar books. We do expect children re-reading the same book three times per week to help to build fluency and develop sight reading skills. It is also important to remember to ask simple questions as you go as this will help children's comprehension. These could be about what has just happened, how a character is feeling, why they choose to do something or what might happen next. It is also important to discuss new vocabulary with children.

Phonics

If your child finds phonics difficult, it is really important that they regularly recap the learnt phonemes from their phonic sessions in school (these will be shared on a regular basis). This helps children overlearn the phonemes and supports them in recognising the phoneme as graphemes which not only supports fluency in reading but is really important for writing too.

Useful Websites & Apps

Websites for additional learning opportunities:

Below is a list of useful websites that can support you and your family during this time:

Espresso Education

username: student5731

password: paulton

Websites that offer interactive games:

Websites for Reading Support:

Oxford Owls (Online Reading Books)

Children have individual log ins and passwords

Useful Youtube Channels:

Apps:

These are useful apps that we have used in school which we encourage you to use as required at home. Some of these are free but will need you to make an account whilst others are paid apps.

Teach your monster to read
Hairy Letters
Scratch Junior
Tux Paint
Beebot

If you discover something really useful that you think others might enjoy, please share with us so that we can share the links and information with our school community. Thank you for your continued support.