St James’ CE Primary School Lower Darwen
Reception Class Curriculum Overview
2015 - 2016
Area of learning
focus:
What makes me special?
Why are there so many
leaves in the ground?
Why is it so cold in
Winter?
What happened once
upon a time?
Who can I ask for
help?
Are all minibeasts
scary?
Autumn 1st half
Autumn 2nd half
Spring 1st half
Spring 2nd half
Summer 1st half
Summer 2nd half
The learning challenge overview provides you with an insight into children’s learning. Each topic is subject to change as children bring in their own experiences and share their ideas, as is the
ethos of the EYFS. A lot of children’s learning experiences are through play and active involvement.
Focus/Drivers:
Who am I?
My family
What makes me special?
Autumn
Christmas
Festivals
Winter
Changes in materials
Animals and wildlife
Hook:
Who is in the box?
Family portraits and Baby
pictures – guess who.
Key Texts:
Nursery Rhyme books
Elmer
Owl Babies
The Rainbow Fish
Funny bones
The Gruffalo
What a wonderful world
Light Touch Texts:
Large Family books
I will Never eat a tomato
Avocado Baby
Nursery Rhymes
Film/Cartoons:
Charlie and Lola
Nina and the nurons
Come outside
Autumn Walk - Trip to
Witton Park
Packages from Queen
Elsa – Frozen toys
Key Texts:
Room on the Broom
Pumpkin Soup
The Little Red Hen
The Leaf Man
The First Christmas
Stick Man
Going on a Bear Hunt
Light Touch Texts:
Ferdie and the Falling
Leaves
Percy the Park Keeper
books
Hovis the Hedgehog
Santa needs a wee
Film/Cartoons:
Room on the Broom
Celebrations
Polar Express
Father Christmas
Home corner
Hospital/Baby Clinic
Visit from a baby
Make a book all about me
Cave/Percy’s Shed
Santa’s Grotto
Christmas Parties
What have we learnt about
Key Quality Texts:
Role Play &
Enhancements
Learning
The Gingerbread Man
Goldilocks and the Three
Bears
Little Red Riding Hood
Fairy Tale crime scene
People who help us
Superheroes
Looking after the
planet
A visit from a Baddie!!!
Key Texts:
The Snowman
Polar Bear and the Snow
Cloud
Lost and Found
One Snowy Night
Jack Frost
The Snow Queen
The Gruffalos Child
Light Touch Texts:
Frozen story books
Betty and the Yeti
One Winters Day
Film/Cartoons:
Lost and Found
The Gruffalos Child
Ice Age
The Snowman
Frozen
Key Texts:
The Gingerbread Man
Little Red Riding Hood
Goldilocks and the Three
Bears
The Three Billy Goats
Gruff
The Three Little Pigs
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Smartest Giant in
Town
Light Touch Texts:
The Ugly Duckling
Mr Wolfs Pancakes
The Enormous Turnip
Hansel and Gretal
The Magic Porridge Pot
Film/Cartoons:
Traditional Tales
Puss in Boots
Key Texts:
Superworm!
Nat Fantastic
Eliot the Midnight
Hero
Superboy
Supertato
Burglar Bill
The Jolly Postman
Light Touch Texts:
Flashing Fireengines
People who help us
series
Going to the dentist
Going to the Doctors
Film/Cartoons:
Doc McStuffins
Balamory
Lego Movie
Despicable Me
Frozen castle
Chinese Restaurant
Winter walk
Make up a Winter
Gingerbread Bakery
Three Bears Cottage
Giants Castle
World book day – dress
Fire/Police Station
Super Hero HQ
Visits from PWHU
What would you like
Gardens
Minibeasts
Habitats
Minibeast Zoo Lab
coming into school/Trip
to Brockholes
Key Texts:
The very Hungry
Caterpillar
The Bad Tempered
Ladybird
The Very Busy Spider
Aaaarghh Spider
Snail and the Whale
The Tiny Seed
Light Touch Texts:
The Crunching Munching
Caterpillar
The Teeny Weeny
Tadpole
Ten Wriggly wiggly
caterpillars
Norman the Snail with
the funny shell
Film/Cartoons:
Mr Blooms Garden
A Bugs Life
Garden
Minibeast Lab
Minibeast hunt on field
Build a Minibeast
Challenge Reflections
to show what makes me
special.
Make a class book about
us.
Display – Family portraits
gallery
Personal, Emotional
and Social
Development
These objectives will
be covered every day
and throughout each
topic.
ELG’S:
Making relationships: Children play co-operatively, taking turns with each other. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organize their activity. They
show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings and form positive relationships with adults and other children.
Self-confidence and self awareness: Children are confident to try new activities and say why they like some activities more than others. They are confident to
speak in a familiar group, will talk about their ideas, and will choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.
Managing feelings and behaviour: Children talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others behaviour, and its consequences and know
that some behaviour is unacceptable. They wok as part of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations,
and take changes of routine in their stride.
Communication and
Language
Listening to others.
Listening to stories,
rhymes and poems.
Joining in with repeated
parts in rhymes.
Respond to simple
instructions.
Role Play.
Speaking and Listening.
Taking turns in
conversation. Increasing
word level. Listening to and
sharing ideas with others.
Alliteration.
Using simple sentences.
Role Play.
Retell a past event.
Build up vocabulary.
Reflecting on own
experiences.
Rhymes and Songs.
Alliteration.
Retelling stories.
Role Play.
Responding to and
giving instructions.
Asking Questions –
What, Where, Who?
Using a range of
tenses.
Poetry.
Role Play.
Physical Development
Spatial Awareness
Self-help skills
Funky Fingers activities
Pencil control
Phase 1 phonics.
Learning to write our
name.
Mark making.
Nursery Rhymes.
Rhyme and Alliteration.
Share a book.
Home Reading: Concepts
about print.
Pencil grip and control.
Travelling
Travelling using equipment
Spatial Awareness
Funky Fingers activities
Phase 2 phonics: blending
and segmenting.
Tricky words:
reading/writing.
Reading and writing sounds.
Learning to write simple
CVC words (using known
sounds).
Reading and writing simple
captions.
Rhyme and Alliteration.
Hand writing patterns.
Dance
Moving to music
Spatial Awareness
Funky Fingers Activities
Phase 2 phonics
(reinforce).
Introducing phase 3
phonics.
Writing sentences.
Simple punctuation.
Rhyme and Alliteration.
Handwriting
Guided Reading: use and
apply.
Gymnastics
Spatial Awareness
Funky Fingers
Activities
Phase 3 phonics:
reinforce all letters
sounds.
Blending and
segmenting using known
sounds.
Tricky words/HFW.
Writing sentences
using simple
punctuation.
Rhyme and Alliteration.
Guided reading and
Literacy
Autumn? present
artwork/photographs in
KS1 assembly
Have a Christmas Party
Display – All about Autumn
dance/music to show
what we have learnt
about Winter.
What do you like about
Winter?
Have a snowman party
Display – All about
Winter
as you favorite Fairy
Tale character. Why are
they your favourite?
Once upon a time display
– can you find all the
characters from the
stories.
to be when you grow
up?
Display – Make a when
I grow up display.
Following stories and retelling using pictures
and prompts.
Changing our voice for
the listener.
Re-telling stories
through continuous
provision.
Role Play.
Games
Ball Control
Spatial Awareness
Funky Fingers Activities
Phase 3 phonics – use
and apply in reading and
writing.
Becoming independent in
reading and writing.
Begin to talk about
characters in a story.
Begin to talk about the
beginning, middle and
end of a story.
Rhyme and Alliteration.
Thinking of ‘wow’ words.
garden in a show box.
How many minibeasts
can you name?
Trip to Brockholes
Display – Minibeast
garden
Extending word level.
Extending vocabulary
using a range of tenses.
Understanding and using
How? And Why?
Re-telling stories
through drama.
Role Play.
Games
Sports Day Preparation
Races
Spatial Awareness
Phase 4 phonics: using
and applying skills.
Secure independence in
reading and writing.
Writing a short story
and reading it to a
friend.
Thinking about how
different stories start.
Sharing ideas.
Rhyme and Alliteration.
Guided reading
RE
Mathematics
Reinforce numbers
and the number
system throughout.
Knowledge and
Understanding of
the World
Expressive Arts and
Design
Outdoor Learning
I am special
Special People
Recognise numerals 0-10.
Count reliably up to 10
everyday objects.
1-1 correspondence.
Say and use the number
names, in order, in
familiar contexts.
Sequencing the day.
How am I the same or
different than others?
What makes a family?
What can I do with my
body?
How have I changed?
Where do my family and I
live?
How do I look after my
pets?
Computing – Logging on
and off/Online Safety
Pencil grip and control.
Home reading.
Harvest
Christmas
Use language of time: 'o'
clock.
Use non-standard
measures.
Experience practical
capacity through
continuous provision.
Use everyday words to
describe position
Talk about, recognise and
recreate patterns.
Use language, such as
circle or bigger to describe
the shape and size of 2D
shapes.
Why do the leaves fall off
the trees?
Is it hot or cold in
Autumn?
What colours can I see in
Autumn?
Are all the leaves the same
shape?
Why do we celebrate
Christmas?
How does your family
celebrate?
Computing – Drag and drop
games/Drawing
Home reading
Guided reading
Stories Jesus Heard
Easter
Find one more or one
less than a number from
0-10.
Counting and ordering
numbers to twenty.
In practical activities
and discussion begin to
use the vocabulary
involved in adding
and subtracting.
Show an awareness of
money.
Use language such as
more or less, greater
or smaller, heavier or
lighter to compare
two numbers or
quantities.
Use language of time.
Prayer
Friendship
Begin to relate addition
to combining two groups
of objects and
subtracting to 'taking
away'.
Read, write and order
numbers from 0 to 20.
Counting in 2s, 5s and
10s.
Why does it rain/snow?
How can we melt the
ice?
Where did the snowman
go?
Where do the animals go
in Winter?
Which year is it in
China?
Why do we have
pancakes?
Computing – Word
processing
Why did the three
bears live in the
woods?
Why were they mean to
the Ugly duckling?
Why shouldn’t Red
Riding Hood talk to the
wolf?
How did Jack get his
beanstalk to grow?
How did they make a
Gingerbread man?
Computing – Talking
stories/Beebots
Special Places
Special Times
Use developing
mathematical ideas and
methods to solve
problems.
Talk about, recognise
and recreate patterns.
Use language, such as
circle or bigger to
describe the shape and
size of 2D and 3D
shapes.
What does Postman Pat
Why does a spider need
do?
a web?
When do we need
Where does a butterfly
Fireman Sam to help us? come from?
Why do we need
Why doesn’t a worm
doctors?
have legs?
Who looks after our
Can all minibeasts fly?
teeth?
Why does a snail have a
How can we look after
shell on its back?
ourselves?
Why does a ladybird
How can we look after
have spots?
the planet?
Computing – Simple
Computing –
Programming
Videos/combining
multimedia
ELG: Exploring and using media and materials – Children sing songs, make music and dance and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and
explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
ELG: Being imaginative – Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposed. They represent their own
ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories.
To develop fine and gross motor skills though use of the outdoor environment e.g. obstacle courses/planting. Challenge areas linking inside/outside with
enhancements, will provide opportunity for using and applying skills and extended independent learning. Open ended challenges to enable children to problem solve
independently.