Welcome to Year 1

Mrs Clarke, Miss Hirsi, Mrs Walker and Mrs Wareham.

Autumn 2

What is it like here?

This half term we will have a Geography focus as we ask 'What is it like here?'. During this Geography based theme, we will spend our Geography lessons looking at the local area of Binley Woods. The children will learn about physical and human features of the area. They will develop their map reading and map making skills by understanding what an aerial view is and using a key with symbols. The children will also learn how to follow a route during a walk in the local area, using key vocabulary.

English 

This half term we will be reading various texts including 'Beegu' by Alexis Deacon and 'Boundless Sky' by Amanda Addison. We will immerse the children in lots of book talk where we discuss the text. We will notice features of a narrative, discuss the types of language used, make predictions and inferences about the characters feelings and more. The children will learn to use capital letters for names of people and places. They will also build up to write a recount in the form of a letter or postcard about what it is like in Binley Woods, which links to our geography learning. We will continue to work on letter formation and sentence writing skills by using a capital letter, finger space and full stop.

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 three different Maths units. We will start off with ‘Shape and Pattern’ during which we will identify, describe, sort and classify both 2D and 3D shapes. We will also investigate repeating patterns and follow instructional and positional language. After this we will cover ‘Numbers to 20’ as we identify, represent, compare and order numbers to 20. We will explore doubling and halving and finding 1 more and 1 less. Our final maths unit for the half term will be ‘Addition and Subtraction within 20’. We will represent and explain addition and subtraction strategies including 'Make ten' and use known facts to add and subtract.

Science

In Science this half term our focus unit will be 'Everyday materials'. We will be exploring different materials and using correct scientific language to name them and describe their properties. We will also be comparing different materials and using our understanding to sort and group them in different ways. 

In addition to the above, we will begin to investigate the seasons and the changes we notice as we move through Autumn and into Winter.

RE

In RE this half term our focus religion will be Christianity and our theme will be 'Creation' and our key concept will be 'Incarnation'. We will explore the answer to this term's key question 'What gifts might Christians in my town have given Jesus if he had been born here rather than in Bethlehem?'  The children will consider what the meaning is behind giving and receiving gifts.  We will then read the Christmas story and find out what gifts the Baby Jesus had and the significance behind these gifts.  The children will then consider what gift they might give Jesus if he was born now. 

DT

We will be beginning a new unit based on Freestanding Structures. We will research, design and make model play equipment for our school. The children will investigate the designs of structures such as swings, benches and bridges.   They will then learn some joining techniques and ways of making structures stronger and more stable. They will then use this knowledge to design and make either a slide, climbing frame or swing. They will select from a range of materials to make their design.

PE

PE this half term will be on Wednesday and Friday. The focus of these lessons will be on Volleyball and Gymnastics. 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 will start with a Pictograms unit in which the children will understand that data can be represented in the form of a picture and they will contribute to make a class pictogram. We will then move onto a Lego Builders unit and the children will follow and create simple instructions on the computer.

PSHE

In PSHE this half term our unit will be 'Celebrating Difference’. We will begin by identifying similarities and differences between ourselves and others. We will then move on to recognising what bullying might look like and understanding what we can all do if we witness bullying happening, either to ourselves or to others. After this we will identify key ways to solve problems and make new friends. Towards the end of the unit we will learn that our differences make us special and unique and will practise giving and receiving compliments to celebrate our differences.

Reading

Reading books need to be brought to school to be changed on Wednesday 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 learning 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.'