Welcome to Beech Class – Years 1 & 2
Teacher: Mrs Hallmark & Mrs Blencowe
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Dennett
Welcome to the Autumn Term 2026
Topic: Bright Lights, Big City
In the Bright Lights, Big City project, your child will learn the story of a local landmark. They will learn about the countries that make up the United Kingdom, including their location, capital cities and some of their physical and human features. They will have the opportunity to do map work, using compasses and positional and directional language to plan routes around London. They will research the cause and impact of the Great Fire of London and look at some famous London landmarks. They will learn about other capital cities around the world, including Kuala Lumpur, and compare how they are similar and different to London.
Companion Projects:
Science: Seasonal changes.
Art: Mix It.
DT: Cut, Stick and Join.
Our PE days are Monday and Friday. On these days, children should wear PE kits to school, with long hair tied back and earrings removed if possible.
There is some useful information on this webpage about phonics and the particular scheme that we use, Essential Letters and Sounds, including grapheme information sheets and how the sounds should be pronounced. The grapheme sheets may be useful if your child is writing at home.
Here is a video of how to pronounce the Phase 5 sounds.
We’re looking forward to an exciting term!
Homework and Home Learning
Remember to regularly listen to your child read their school reading book: Ideally at least 3 times a week. Read aloud to your child and listen to them read to foster a love for reading and build their vocabulary and imagination. Encourage more independent reading by letting your child choose books they find interesting, and engage with them by discussing the books, asking questions to check comprehension and make predictions, and making reading a fun, active experience.
Spellings and home learning are sent home on Fridays each week in folders, and the spellings are posted on ClassDojo, too.
Links to other websites:
Click here for the Paintz website
Click here for the Hit the Button website
Click here for the DJ cows wordsearch (you can choose your own phonemes)