This Week in Dexter Class

This week, we will be learning the sounds g, o, c and k and will learn to sight read the tricky and high frequency words on, not, go, can, and no. We will focus on forming each of these letters correctly as we combine them with the sounds we have already learned to form simple words. Each day, your child will continue to come home with a sheet to consolidate their learning, and we are grateful for your support in also encouraging your children to read daily and practising the formation of words using their phonics pots (please see the video example on Tapestry).

In RE, we will be thinking about the different groups we are members of, such as Rainbows, dance and sporting groups. We will also learn about some of the major world faith groups to which people belong and will be introduced the characters from each faith who will, throughout the year, help teach the children about their different beliefs.

In Maths, we will be developing our 1:1 correspondence counting and practising our subitising skills.

Subitising is the ability to look at a small number of objects and instantly recognise how many objects there are without needing to count them. Our brains can only easily subitise numbers up to five — this is called perceptual subitising. Anything above five is called conceptual subitising. This is because the numbers start to relate to a larger quantity of things and identifying ‘how many’ without counting becomes more difficult. For example, to subitise six, we’d need to subitise three and three; four and two; or five and one. Only then could we combine the number pairs together to arrive at an answer of six.

Subitising is important for children’s mathematical development for many reasons: it helps children to understand what numbers mean or how many ‘things’ a number refers to; it helps learners with pattern recognition; and it helps children to not over-rely on counting.

Subitising is a maths strategy that is more efficient when dealing with smaller numbers. It is an hugely important skill to develop in early mathematics as helps children to see how numbers are made up, and therefore aids the development of number sense.

We will continue to familiarise the children with the routines and expectations of the school day, and this week, the children will be staying for lunch. If your child would like a school dinner, please could we ask that you look at the menu options together before school, so that your child knows what they want to order at the start of the day? Children are, of course, also welcome to bring a packed lunch. We will be on standby to help anyone who needs it during lunch break. The children will sit in an assigned seat, so that they can also be helped by the older children on their table. We will finish our school day at 1.30pm.