Reception English: Autumn – Christmas & Winter, Unit 1 Active Learning

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Unit 1: Winter greetings
Activity 1: Christmas cards CORE/ Eng focus LAU, S, R: Detailed discussion about traditions
Links to C&TC Activity 1
Aims: To listen attentively and respond to what they hear with You will need: A selection of

AUTUMN Christmas & Winter Traditions: Unit 1, Active Learning

relevant questions, comments and actions (LAU1.1). Christmas cards, Midwinter
To express ideas and feelings about their experiences using full festivals Teacher notes (see
sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses (S2.3). resources)
To use phonic knowledge to decode words (R9.1-3).
Pedagogy: Large group
Preparation: See note in Active Learning on the Unit plan.
What to do:
Before teaching these activities, share and discuss winter celebrations, e.g. personal (birthdays, etc.), communal
(e.g. Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Eid, Winter Solstice and Christmas – see websites below). Can children explain
what they and their family do during the festive season? Recognise that not all families celebrate Christmas,
instead enjoying other festivals or ceremonies.
 Discuss the features that many of these traditions above share, e.g. time with family and
friends, bright lights, lovely food, games and fun!
 Talk about some of the things that are unique to Christmas.
 Focus on the tradition of sending Christmas cards. Have you ever received a Christmas card?
Have you ever sent one?
 Show, read and discuss some of the common greetings that are used inside and outside the
cards.
 Ask children how it feels when they receive a card. Is it exciting opening it? Do you try to read
the messages or just look at the pictures?
Support Give the children a selection of Christmas cards to look at and discuss what they see.
Segment and blend a few common words with the children.
Challenge Do all families do the same things over the Christmas period? How might they differ?
Outcome(s):
I can discuss my experiences of seasonal events and Christmas using the correct tense.
I can begin to talk about and read some messages on Christmas cards.

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Unit 1: Winter greetings

AUTUMN Christmas & Winter: Unit 1, Active Learning

Activity 2: The Jolly Christmas Postman. Eng focus C, S: Links to C&TC Activity 2
Aims: To use and understand recently introduced vocabulary You will need: The Jolly
during discussions about stories (C8.3). Christmas Postman by Alan
To offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of Ahlberg
recently introduced vocabulary from stories (S2.2).
Pedagogy: Large group
Preparation: If possible before this session read The Jolly Christmas Postman
What to do:
 Re-read The Jolly Christmas Postman and talk about what the children liked about the story.
 Look at the envelopes and Baby Bear’s card in detail; explore the wording and the layout.
 Focus on the word spacing and use of capital letters to start sentences and for names. Highlight
some of these together, after giving children time to spot some for themselves.
Support Give plenty of thinking time for children to initiate discussions about the story and to
decide what they want to say and how they will say it.
Challenge Can you think of a rule that we can share as a class for when to use capital letters?
Outcome(s):
I can listen and help to read a story, then talk about what I liked about it.
I can talk about some of the features of language and punctuation.

© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted by individual users. active-learning_winter-xmas_R001GL1
Reception English: Autumn – Christmas & Winter, Unit 1 Active Learning

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Unit 1: Winter greetings
Activity 3: Sending cards Eng focus S: Links to C&TC Activity 2 & 3
Aims: To express ideas and feelings about their experiences using full You will need: Pre-

AUTUMN Christmas & Winter Traditions: Unit 1, Active Learning

sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses; To offer stamped and
explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently addressed envelopes*
introduced vocabulary from stories (S2.2, 3).
Pedagogy: Large group
Preparation: *Arrange for parents/carers to provide stamped and pre-addressed envelopes so children can
post cards written in the follow-up C&TC task.
What to do:
 Explain that we have seen and talked about lots of different Christmas cards, but how do we
send a card?
 Give children some discussion time to talk about what they know about sending a card. Then
discuss together things like putting the card in an envelope, writing an address to the recipient,
putting a stamp on it etc. Then where do you put the card for to be sent?
 What happens to cards after they are posted? Discuss how they are collected and sorted and
taken to the address on the envelope.
 Tell children that we will be posting our own cards this week! Who could we send them to?
What greeting might we use? Discuss their ideas together.
Support Encourage and model conversation conventions e.g. turn-taking, waiting until someone else
has finished, listening to others etc.
Challenge What kinds of things do we say/write in Christmas cards? What if you haven’t seen that
person for a while?
Outcome(s): I can explain what I know about Christmas cards, speaking in full sentence and using
the correct tense.
I can hold a conversation with a friend and a group; taking turns, listening well and speaking clearly.

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Unit 1: Winter greetings
Activity 4: Family traditions S, W: Links to C&TC Activity
Aims: To participate in discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently You will need: Large

AUTUMN Christmas & Winter: Unit 1, Active Learning

introduced vocabulary; To express ideas and feelings about their piece of paper/flip
experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future chart, pen
tenses (S2.1,3).
To use phonic knowledge to write words that match their spoken sounds
(W10.1-3).
Pedagogy: Large group
Preparation: Have a flip chart ready for recording.
What to do:
 Remind children about the different family traditions, discussed in Activity 1.
 Begin by telling the children about your own family traditions. Who do you see? Where do you
go? What sort of food do you eat? Do you receive/give any presents? Do you have any
traditions?
 Model and emphasise using full sentences, correct tense, clear sentences etc.
 Ask some confident children to share their experiences of Christmas with the rest of the group.
 As they talk, record some of their traditions, modelling writing words with the children’s help.
Support Decide on some key vocabulary for them to include and just two things they will focus on
and talk about during their discussion.
Challenge What does your family do during the winter festive season? How is this different to mine?
Outcome(s): I can discuss my family traditions using full sentences.
I can begin to write simple words using my phonic knowledge.

© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted by individual users. active-learning_winter-xmas_R001GL1