Welcome to Year 1

Mrs Clarke, Mrs Walker and Mrs Wareham.

Spring 2

Journey to the Sea.

This half term we will have a Geography focus with ‘Journey to the sea’. We will start off by exploring rivers, learning about their features and the journey they take towards the sea. This will lead us towards the coast and we’ll spend the rest of the unit concentrating on the geography of coastal areas. We will identify the physical and human features of seaside towns and will learn and use lots of new vocabulary. We will use maps and aerial views to make comparisons with the geographical features of our local area, as learnt about during Autumn term. We will also use maps to name and locate the seas and coastal towns of the UK before using compass directions to describe their locations. We will explore the advantages and disadvantages of living in a coastal town before considering the impacts of pollution in seaside areas and understanding the importance of taking care of our environment.

English 

In English this half term we will be reading various texts including ‘The Journey’ by Neil Griffiths and Scott Mann, ‘Once upon a raindrop’ by James Carter, ‘Dear Greenpeace’ by Simon James and many others too. We will notice features of each text and discuss the types of language used. The children will complete both guided and independent writing tasks including recounts, acrostic poems and simple narratives. We will continue to work on letter formation and the core sentence writing skills e.g. using a capital letter, finger space, full stop and our phonics to help us spell.

Our daily Little Wandle phonics sessions and 3 reading sessions a week continue to underpin all of our English learning.

Maths

In Maths this half term we will be covering two different Maths units. We will start off with ‘Numbers to 50’ as we represent, sequence and compare 2 digit numbers within 50.  We will  practise counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and investigate number patterns.  The children will also compare and order numbers using place value and a number line.  We will then move onto addition and subtraction within 20.  We will be comparing sets using the vocabulary more, fewer and difference and will compare two sets and find the difference. 

Science

In Science this half term our focus unit will be ‘Using our senses’. We will learn about the 5 senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and link these senses to particular parts of our bodies. Throughout the unit there will be an emphasis on using first-hand experiences as we use our senses to explore the world around us. We will be using our scientific enquiry skills of, identifying and classifying, communicating learning, organising results and looking for simple patterns.

In addition to the above, we will continue to investigate the seasons and the changes we notice as we move out of Winter and through Spring.

RE

In RE this half term, we are continuing our learning to explore the question “Where do people turn for guidance in life?” They learn that people are guided in different ways, including through thinking carefully about right and wrong, shared values such as kindness and fairness, and religious beliefs. Children are introduced to non‑religious worldviews like Humanism, as well as religious traditions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism, learning about sacred texts such as the Bible, Qur’an, Torah and Guru Granth Sahib. The unit also explores shared ideas like the Golden Rule and beliefs about angels as guides or messengers. 

Art

In Art this half term our focus will be on ‘Painting’. Our focus artist will be David Hockney and we will be exploring key characteristics of his work before trying to replicate his style in our very own pieces.

PE

PE this half term will be on Wednesday and Friday. The focus of these lessons will be on Fitness and Hockey. On both Wednesday and Friday, children should come to school dressed in their PE kit which consists of – plain black bottoms, a plain white polo top or a plain white round neck t-shirt, their green school jumper or cardigan and trainers. 

Computing

In Computing this half term we are learning about simple algorithms and algorithmic thinking.  We will be following and creating simple instructions.  We will also be  sequencing algorithms that require a correct order and will be checking for any errors.   

PSHE

In PSHE this half term our unit will be ‘Healthy Me’. We will begin by understanding what it means to be healthy or unhealthy. We will then identify some ways to keep ourselves healthy and recognise how we can make healthy lifestyle choices. Next, we’ll move on to considering hygiene and health by learning how germs can cause disease and illness. Building on from this we will explore medicine safety, acknowledging that medicines can help us when we’re poorly but must be used safely. Finally, we will think specifically about road safety and how we can ensure we’re being safe when near or when crossing roads.

Reading

Reading books need to be brought to school to be changed on Thursday please. Children will bring home their Little Wandle book, a phonics reading book and a library sharing book.

Our expectation is that children read at least 3 times a week with an adult. Reading records will be checked every week. Please do jot down any reading at all that children are doing into their reading records so that we can reward their fantastic efforts.

Home learning

Home learning books will be sent home on Friday to be returned to school on Wednesday and will have a focus on Maths, handwriting and spellings.

Websites to practise key skills at home:

Maths Links:

Use the following links to practise these key Year 1 number skills:

- Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s up to 100

- Recognising odd and even numbers

- Finding 1 more and 1 less than a given number

- Partitioning 2 digit numbers into tens and ones

- Number bonds and facts to 10 and 20

- Finding doubles up to 10 and finding halves from 20

English Links:

Use the following links to practise these key Year 1 reading and writing skills:

- Segmenting and blending all sounds

- Breaking longer words into syllables to read them

- Reading contracted words (I'm, don't, can't etc)

- Reading and spelling tricky words and common exception words

- Forming capital and lowercase letters correctly

- Writing sentences with capital letters, finger spaces and full stops

- Extending sentences using 'and' and other conjunctions (but, so, because, then, with)

- Developing sentences by adding adjectives and using different sentence openers

Other Learning Links:

Use the following links to practise knowledge and skills from other areas of the curriculum:

Activities to practise key skills at home:

                     Representing Numbers                 Maths                        Quick Maths

                                              Phonics              Common Exception Words               SPaG

                     Daily Online Activities         Maths and English Ideas          Practical Ideas

                                   KS1 Maths Games                     Year 1 Number Games

Resources from SEND Supported:

We work with a company called SEND Supported at school and they are releasing newsletters each week offering support and guidance to parents of children who many have additional needs in school. Please find below a link to these newsletters:

There are also lots of other resources and information available on their website. The 'Things to do Issue 2 - Resources' file has some lovely activities for all children regardless of whether they have additional needs or not. There are lots of great visual puzzles and games for children to play so please have a look if you can. There are also resources available now to support with developing children's memory skills in 'Thing to do Issue 3 - Resources.'