Literacy

New Sounds

New words

Name writing.  One of our most recent  targets  is to write our full names.  We have been practising this in our play contexts.  Please help your child write his/her first and last name this week.  The children have been trying to ensure that:

• Their letters are of the correct size e.g. capital letters should be taller, the letter a is the same size as the letter e etc
• Their letters are correctly formed.  Remember the letters a, o, g, d, q are caterpillar c letters.  This means that we start the letter by writing a curly c.  Your child should be able to explain this further.
• They have a finger space between their first name and their surname.
• The correct letters stretch to the sky, dig underground or stay in the grass.  For example, the letters l, b and d stretch to the sky.   The letter e stays in the grass and the letter y digs underground.  Again, your child should be able to explain this further.

Initially, your child may need to copy his/her full name.  Gradually, this support could be withdrawn so that your child is able to confidently write his/her name independently.

Numeracy

Please ensure you have completed last weeks 3D shape homework – this is explained on a previous blog post.  Several children have not yet completed it.  Thank you.

New sounds and new words – these will be issued on Tuesday.

Reading – please see reading diaries.

Maths

Circles – use the numberlines and sums that were sent home to try and solve the sums on the whiteboards (these were sent home in the book bags a number of weeks ago).  Try cutting up the sums and scattering them on a table.  Get your child to choose a sum. These are missing number sums.  They are tricky for us to work out but we enjoy the challenge.  If the sum is 6+_ = 10 we place a finger on 6 and count how many steps it takes to get to 10. 1 step would take us to 7, 2 steps to 8 and so on.  In time, this skill will enable us to work out the sum mentally by picturing the numberline in our minds. Your child would then write the completed sum on their mini whiteboard.  Your child was given a whiteboard pen in the story sacks that were recently sent home. Please encourage correct number formation.  We are trying to remember that all numbers, with the exception of 5, start at the top. You could also try playing the websites from last week.  You can keep the numberlines at home for future maths homework.

Triangles – rainbow number writing.  Using a range of coloured pencils, pens, paints or crayons please help your child to form all numbers from 0 to 10 correctly.  They should then trace over each number they write with five different colours.   This is called rainbow writing – we do this in school to help with number and letter formation.  Please encourage your child to start all letters at the top, with the exception of number 5. Number 1 is just a straight line and for number five we draw the ‘neck’ and ‘big tummy’ first and then draw the ‘hat.’

Please sign the reading diary to acknowledge that the homework has been done.  Thank you.