Curriculum Outline

Reception Term 3
Welcome to Reception! We are very pleased to welcome
you and your child to the new term. This document aims to
provide an indication of the areas of the curriculum that
it is expected the children in Reception will be studying
this term.

Dear Parents,
I would like to welcome everybody back to this exciting new school term. We have
had a great second term in Reception. All of the children are growing in independence
and have made good progress, particularly in their phonics, language, communication
and social skills.
This letter will give you a brief overview of what the children will be learning in
Term 3, as well as providing some important information such as dates for events,
which will allow you to begin to plan your schedule for the next few months.
Throughout this next term we will cover four topics:
(1) Dinosaurs
(2) Space
(3) Fantasy and Fiction
(4) Growing Up
Through these topics the children will develop a variety of different skills in all seven
areas of learning according to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. There is
nothing that makes a topic more realistic than real life experiences, so we are
planning some school trips this term, which we are really looking forward to. More
information on this will follow on the blog during the term.
We are very lucky to have specialist teachers in our school who offer lessons in
specialist subjects. We shall continue to have Physical Education taught by
Mr Cardoso; Music with Miss Ramos, and Portuguese with Ms Mendes and Ms Claudia.
_______.
Please have a look at the descriptions below for some examples of the opportunities
and activities that will be available this term.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

We complete daily challenges in Reception that link to all areas of the curriculum. This term, we will
be particularly focusing on promoting responsibility and independence. The children will be
encouraged to complete all challenges available in the classroom to a high standard and to always
strive to do the best that they can. In Reception, we pride ourselves in being kind to one another.
Throughout this term, kindness will be an important theme as we continue to think about the
responsibilities that we have to help keep Reception a happy and safe place to learn and play. We will
continue to learn to play cooperatively, solve conflicts and manage our own feelings and behavior as
well as understand how our behavior impacts other people. This will often be taught through circle
time sessions where we will also explore a range of themes, for example: Why should I say sorry?,
How do my friends feel when someone is unkind to them?, What can I do to help others?

Physical Development
The children will continue to practise basic hygiene and will be supported to continue to keep
themselves healthy, for example, by making healthy food choices during snack times and lunchtimes.
The children will brush their teeth independently after lunch and will be supported to dress
themselves and use the toilet independently.
Children will be continuing to develop their fine motor control to enable them to hold mark making
equipment effectively for drawing and writing. They will also be supported to use tools and
equipment, such as scissors and larger scale climbing apparatus, competently and safely.

Communication and Language

We have a language-rich environment in Reception and the children will be continuing to learn new
vocabulary and developing their sentence structures to become confident and effective
communicators. This term, there will be a particular focus on developing our understanding, listening
and attention skills by completing challenges around the classroom to a high standard. Each day,
children will be expected to complete the challenges that are linked to the different areas of the
curriculum. The children will also be supported to develop their language for learning and explain the
activities they have completed; for example, I learned to add two numbers together by using cubes
and counting them altogether. We will also be learning to retell more stories and use actions to
support with remembering key vocabulary.
Literacy
The children will have phonics lessons every day where they will be developing their knowledge of
letters and sounds. They will begin by recapping the sounds that they already know and applying this
knowledge by identifying initial, middle and end sounds in words and blending two or more sounds
together for reading and attempting to spell more complex words. When the children have developed
a secure knowledge of letters and sounds, they will receive sight words. These are a list of the most
common words in the English language, some of which can be sounded out e.g. mum and some of
which are called tricky words as they cannot be sounded out phonetically e.g. the and said.
We will continue to focus on letter formations this term. The children will be learning how to form
letters correctly and match sounds to letter shapes to give them the freedom to use the sounds
that know in their writing. During this term, the children will be exploring fact and fiction books and
will begin to look at how stories are structured. At the end of the term, they will even write their
very own short stories.
Maths
The children will be recapping their knowledge of simple 2D shapes and will consolidate their learning
on 3D shapes. They will have access to a range of puzzles, games and adult- focused activities, which
will support them to create and continue patterns and sort objects by shape, size or colour.
The children will be learning to confidently count to 20 and beyond and use their knowledge of
numbers to complete simple addition and subtraction number sentences. The children will also be
exploring halving and doubling numbers to 10 and then 20.

Understanding the World

Dinosaurs: This topic will provide the children with the opportunity to develop their concept of the
past. They will have the opportunity to learn the names of different dinosaurs and learn about how
dinosaurs lived and moved and what they liked to eat.
Space: This topic will provide the children with opportunities to learn about outer space. The
children will learn about the sun, moon, stars and planets and will also learn about people who have
visited outer space. The children will also have some fun with aliens too!
Growing Up This topic will serve as a transition topic before the children move up to Year 1. The
children will be supported to reflect upon their successes at school and what they would like to
improve. They will also be thinking about their hobbies and interests and what they would like to be
when they grow up.
Expressive Arts and Design
The children will be learning a range of songs both for fun and to aid them with their learning,
including phonics, maths and topic songs, as well as some familiar nursery rhymes. They will be
learning to create representations of people and objects; complete observational drawings using
pencils; using particular colours for a purpose and using recyclable materials and modeling clay to
create models. We will continue to support their design and planning skills, so that they learn to
construct with a purpose, focusing on the process of making rather than just the end product.
They will also be continuing to develop their imaginative skills through role-play and storytelling.
SPECIALIST LESSONS
Portuguese
During term two, Reception children will explore three different topics within Portuguese
lessons: Seasons of the year, Food around the world and Storytelling. For PFL (Portuguese
as a Foreign Language) children, we will be focusing on basic vocabulary and language skills
to enhance communication in Portuguese. For Brazilian children and foreigners who speak
Portuguese, they will cover objectives taken from the Brazilian National Curriculum (MEC),
which includes exploring more sophisticated vocabulary and encourages children to
participate in discussions, which will involve expressing ideas and opinions related to the topic.
More details on their weekly topics can be found in our Portuguese Blog:
http://portuguesewl.weebly.com/
Physical Education
Cooperative Games, Gymnastics and Dance
The children will have their cooperative and competitive skills developed through races, relays,
games and competitions. They will be able start working with others and will be encouraged to solve
game problems as a group. In Gymnastics and Dance,children investigate transference of weight with
balances, explore basic dance and gymnastic actions on the floor and using apparatus. They copy or
create, remember and repeat, short movement phrases of like linked actions, e.g. two jumps, or two
rolls. The children focus on increasing their range of basic gymnastic skills.
Music
The children will be learning about loud and quiet sounds. They will learn how to control their vocal
sounds and percussion instruments. They will also continue to add percussion instruments to
different kinds of music and add movements to each kind of song as well.

I am sure that we will have a very productive and positive few months and the whole
Reception team are very much looking forward to our third and final term in Reception!

Here are some important dates for your diary:

April
10th-Science Day
21st-Tiradentes Holiday
27th -Whole Schools Sports Week
May
22th - Non-Uniform Day Idols Day
30th - Move up morning
31st - Festa Junina
June
04th Corpus Christi Holiday
13th Festa Junina
19th EYFS Mini Graduation
23th Last Day of Term (Early finish)
24th Speech Day
I would like to thank you in advance for your continued support, and for your time
and effort in supporting the children in all areas of their learning. It has been
lovely watching all of the children grow in independence and make progress through
your work at home with them and through the variety of activities offered in
Reception.
Please feel free to contact me by email with any comments or questions you may
have. If you would like to meet with me then simply email me to schedule a meeting.
Yours sincerely,
Miss. Lily Cox and Miss. Carly Harvey