Welcome to our class page! My name is Miss Samuel and I am the class teacher based in Avocets full time. We also have Mrs White who covers my teacher time out of class (Tuesdays from 10am).

On this page, I will outline what our Autumn Term 1 curriculum looks like. If you have any questions about this or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me; my door is always open. Otherwise, please email: admin@starcross-primary.devon.sch.uk

Key information
·       PE days are Monday and Thursday. Please come in wearing your PE kit.
·       Spelling homework is set on a Friday via Spelling Frame, to be completed by the next thursday
·       TTRS is to be completed at least three times a week as well as reading at least 4-5 times a week

Here is a weekly timetable for Avocets. This term our topic is ‘All About Me’

WCR – Whole Class Reading

Reading

Our Whole Class Reading focus on a Monday and Friday will be ‘Impossible Creatures’ by Katherine Rundell. A spellbinding adventure that weaves friendship, courage, and the wonders of mythical beasts as Christopher and Mal journey into the Archipelago of Improbable Creatures. Our WCR sessions are supported by the Ashely Booth reading scheme and this term, Tuesday-Thursday, we will be looking at texts exploring Disney song lyrics, Great openings, poetry, planets and Black History.

English

In English this term, our text is called ‘Underwater World which is a focus on setting description. Our key objectives will be to:

• Use expanded noun phrases to add description
• Link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time e.g. later, place e.g. nearby and number e.g. secondly or tense choices e.g. he had seen her before.
• Plan writing by identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing
• Draft and write by using devices to build cohesion within and across sentences and paragraphs e.g. then, after that, this, firstly
• Evaluate and edit by assessing the effectiveness of writing

Maths

This half term in Maths, our focus will be place value and addition and subtraction. We use the White Rose Maths scheme for Maths lessons, as well as daily flashbacks to ensure that previous learning is embedded. We also have a times table focus every afternoon to improve our fluency.

Science

Our Science unit ‘Earth and Space will explore our solar system. We will learn about what makes up our solar system and study each of the planets in detail. We will explore the Earth as a planet, model how the solar system works, and understand how planets move around the Sun. We will also investigate how day and night happen on Earth, describing, planning, carrying out, and evaluating our own investigation. Alongside this, we will look at the movement of the Moon, explore how ideas about the solar system have changed over time, and find out how space travel has taught us more about the universe.

Art

In Art, we will be focusing on abstract art inspired by Peter Thorpe. We will be exploring his techniques and creating our own abstract art inspired by the galaxy and solar system.

PE

Lapwings PE days are: Monday and Thursday. This half terms focus will be gymnastics and we have a coach joining us to teach cricket on a Thursday.

French

In French this half term, our focus is French phonics and understanding how to pronounce sounds and perfect our accents.

RW

In RW this half term, we will be exploring the key question ‘What does it mean if Christinas believe God is holy and loving?’

Computing

We are now using a programme called ‘Purple Mash’ to teach computing as well as enhance other subjects. This term our focus will be online safety.

PSHE

In PSHE, we use the scheme Jigsaw. This half term, we will be looking at Being me in my world.’ This will explore being a class team, rights and responsibilities, democracy and rewards and consequences.

Music

In Music, our focus will be the sea shanty ‘What shall we do with the drunken sailor?’.