Reading

Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word.

With this in mind, in our class we have a daily reading session, after lunch, where the children enjoy listening to adults telling them a story. 

Our class book for the start of this term is The Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith.

Max is a hedgehog who lives with his family in a nice little home, but it’s on the wrong side of the road from the Park where there’s a beautiful lily pond and plenty of juicy slugs, worms and snails!

The busy road is dangerous but Max is determined to make his way across. If humans can do it, why can’t hedgehogs?

His first attempt ends in a nasty bump on the head and, when Max tries to speak, he realises his words are all mixed up. He is no longer a hedgehog but a hodge-heg!

Still determined to fulfil his mission, Max discovers the best way to cross the road – with the help of the lollipop lady and some careful detective work . . .

If your child enjoys us reading  The Hodgeheg, Dick King-Smith wrote a sequel called King Max The Last. Why not see if you can find a copy and read it together with your child. 

Traction Man

We have finished reading The Hodgeheg and now moved on to a fiction book called Traction Man by Mini Grey. 

With an action outfit for every occasion, Traction Man patrols the house. Whether he is saving toys (in latex space suit and Perspex helmet, teamed with Rocket Boots); searching the sink for the lost wreck of the sieve (in sub-aqua suit, fluorescent flippers and infra-red mask) or rescuing damsels in distress (in jungle pants, camouflage vest and a bandanna), Traction Man is never less than stylishly turned out and expertly accessorised. He is the last word in heroic fashion flair - until, that is, the day that he is presented with an all-in-one knitted green romper suit and matching bonnet by his owner's granny. Can Traction Man overcome the humiliation of his desperately dowdy new look and rediscover the action hero within or will the burden of the knitted green monstrosity be too great?

Bug Buzz 

For the last two weeks we have been reading Bug Buzz!,  which is a non-fiction book all about different types of insects! The children have been so engaged! We have found out about an animal that has six legs, armour, and can look around without turning its head! We have discover ed the weird and wonderful things that make insects so amazing. 

We have began to learn about how non-fiction books are set up. We have used the index to decide which pages we would like to read, we have used the glossary to find out what some of the technical words mean and even tried to use the index! 

What non-fiction books do you have at home?

Mad About Minibeasts

Come into the garden for lots of rhyming minibeast fun in this colourful read-aloud picture book! Little ones will love joining in with all the noisy sound words and looking at the colourful pictures, as they discover all sorts of minibeasts. From slithery snails and buzzing bees, to wriggly worms and munching caterpillars! Each page introduces a different animal, with a short read-aloud rhyme. 

Our first look into poetry this year! 

Minibeast Poems - Free Oxford Reading Tree Online Ebooks

We have a class log in which I will send out through parent hub! 

Minibeasts Reading Fun and Facts
Oxford Owls e-library has lots of books that can help us with our minibeast topic.

The books vary in difficulty. The higher the number after title the more complex the reading. Children could try to read a book or enjoy sharing the book with an older brother or sister. With support, the children could enjoy all the books and use the information to build a fact file about a minibeast. Some of the ebooks have an audio so the children can listen to each page being read to them.

Minibeast Poems Level 7-8 A selection of poems including… The Wuzzy Wasps of Wasperton, Fly and Spider in the Bath. AUDIO
Bug Buzz Level 7 Be an insect fact detective. AUDIO.
The Web - Project X: CODE / Oxford Level 3 Adventure time in the micro world of minibeasts. AUDIO and two play activities.
Big Bad Bug Level 1+ Biff, Chip and Kipper go on a minibeast hunt. Dad has a big bug. AUDIO 

Our last whole class reading text for this term was PUMPKIN SOUP.

The Cat and the Squirrel come to blows with the Duck in arguing about who will perform what duty in preparing their pumpkin soup. Included at the end is a delicious recipe for pumpkin soup. A fantastic tale about friendship, unity and forgiveness!