Reception Curriculum Overview

Autumn 1 - Ourselves

WOW! Factor: A 'sense'ational fun day (dress for mess).

Fantastic Finish: An autumn walk in the school grounds with parents.

Books: 

• Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School
• Funny Bones
• Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle (Talk for writing)
• 5 Minutes Peace

We will be finding out about ourselves and our families and getting to know each other. We will discuss our senses and how we use them.

Unit 1 Topic Plan

Autumn 2 - Traditional Stories

WOW! Factor: Dress up as a favourite character from a book.

Fantastic Finish:  Christmas Performance.

Books:

• Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
• The Gingerbread Man (Talk for Writing)
• Little Red Riding Hood
• The Three Little Pigs

In this unit we will look at different versions of traditional tales and we learn some sign language to help us tell the stories aloud. The children also follow instructions to make a Gingerbread Man and a jam sandwich.

Unit 2 Topic Plan

Spring 1 - Seasons

WOW! Factor:  A seasons themed 'dress for mess' day.

Fantastic Finish: Valentines Tea Party

Books: 

• We're Going on a Bear Hunt (Talk for Writing)
• After the Storm
• Stick Man
• Little Rabbit Foo Foo

In this unit, we start by thinking about the season of Winter. We then start to talk about the signs of Spring and learn about all the seasons through stories, songs and first hand experiences. We look at a non-fiction text about bears too and learn about the features of non-fiction books.

Unit 3 Topic Plan

Spring 2 - Growing

WOW! Factor: Planting different seeds to grow 

Fantastic Finish: Spring Bonnet Parade

Books: 

• The Enormous Turnip (Talk for Writing)
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Jasper’s Beanstalk
• Oliver's Vegetables

The children learn about seeds and plant growth through practical experiences and lovely stories. They look at non-fiction instructional texts about planting/growing seeds. They learn about the need for a balanced diet. 

Unit 4 Topic Plan

Summer 1 - Wild About Animals

WOW! Factor: Trip to Woodside Farm

Fantastic Finish: Animal themed dress up and fun day – concert finale for parents

Books:

• The Gruffalo
• Farmyard Hullabaloo
• Elmer
• The Great Pet Sale. 

In this unit, we learn about the different animals and their habitats. We will write a recount of our trip to the farm and do some further work on non-fiction texts including revising labels and captions.

Unit 5 Topic Plan

Summer 2 - Fantasyland

WOW! Factor: Walk to local library

Fantastic Finish: Graduation Ceremony

Books: 

• Whatever Next!
• How to Catch a Star
• The Cat in the Hat
• Zog

In this unit we explore lots of different themes such as space, prince and princesses, dragons, aliens and we learn about different story settings. As always we try to make links to the children's current interests. We will have a look at some examples of journalistic writing and revise instructional texts.

Unit 6 Topic Plan