Year 1

Welcome to Year 1

Mrs Ndisi, Mrs Walker, Mrs Good

We hope you have had a lovely, relaxing 6 weeks of sunshine and rest and we welcome you into the new school year as the children begin their first half term of exciting learning in Year One.

Toys Through Time

 Our theme this half term is called “Toys through time”. During this theme, we will spend our History lessons thinking about the toys we used to play with as toddlers and comparing them with the toys we play with now. We will also discover which toys our parents, grandparents and even great grandparents used to play with. In our Geography lessons we will explore the types of toys that children play with in different countries around the world and comparing them with the toys we play with in the UK. Through our Art lessons, we will learn about famous artist Andy Warhol and create our own versions of his colourful prints using images of toys.
 

Core Skills

In Core Skills this half term, the whole school will be focussing on ‘Learning with others’. In Year One we will be trying particularly hard to complete learning quietly when needed and to independently put things away when we are finished.

English

In English this half term we will be enjoying lots of different stories based around our theme of toys and these will include ‘Old Bear’, ‘Kipper’s Toybox’, ‘Traction Man’, ‘Dogger’ and ‘Lost In The Toy Museum’. We will be making predictions about what might happen next in these stories and discussing the events within them. We will be using our phonics to spell words independently as we write labels with a particular focus on correct letter formation. We will also write captions and sentences to describe the characters and settings from the stories we share, concentrating on saying our sentence out loud before writing it down and punctuating accurately using capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. We will verbally retell and then act out some of our stories before having a go at writing our very own.

Phonics and Spelling

In Phonics and Spelling sessions this half term we will begin by consolidating learning of Phase 3 and Phase 4 sounds before moving on to explore the Phase 5 sounds. We will generally cover 3 new sounds per week and will spend lots of time shared reading and writing words with these sounds in. We will then be trying to apply our new phonic knowledge into our independent writing. Alongside the Phase 5 sounds, we will also be learning how to read and spell the Phase 5 tricky words whilst continuously revising the tricky words of Phases 2 - 4 too.

Maths

In Maths this half term we will be covering three maths units. We will start off by looking at ‘Numbers within 10’ and during this unit we will be counting, reading and writing numbers to 10. We will be finding different ways to represent each of these numbers and using mathematical language to make comparisons between them. We will also be doubling and halving using these numbers. We will practise skip counting in 2s also. We will then move on to ‘Addition and subtraction within 10’, during which we will be representing and using our number bonds and reading, writing and solving equations. Our third Maths unit will be ‘Shapes and patterns’ and we will be identifying common 2D and 3D shapes and using the correct mathematical language to name and describe some of their properties. We will also explore language to describe position, direction and movement

Science

In Science this half term we will be covering the unit “Everyday materials”. We will be exploring lots of different materials and using the correct scientific language to name them and describe their properties. We will be distinguishing between objects and the materials they are made from and investigating how the properties of a material make it suitable for a particular object. We will also be comparing different materials and using our understanding to sort and group them in different ways.

P.E. and Forest School
PE this half term will be on Mondays and Forest School will be on Thursdays. Forest School kit required includes wellies, socks, joggers, a tshirt, a hooded jacket or jumper, a hat and a pair of gloves. All of these need to be named and in a separate named bag to PE kits please. Please can we ask that all children have all of the necessary kit in school on these days to ensure they do not miss out on important learning.

Show and Tell

Show and Tell will be on Friday afternoons and the children will take it in turns each week. We will write which group’s turn it is on the weekly letter every week. Please could we remind everyone that Show and Tell is a speaking and listening exercise and if children choose to bring something in then it needs to be linked to an area of our learning and they should be ready to talk about their item and answer one or two questions about it too. Achievements from outside of school, such as dancing, football, gymnastics awards are always welcome!

Reading

Reading books will be changed once a week and children will bring 2 books home at a time. Our expectation is that children read at least 3 times a week with an adult and use the reading questions and activity grid to extend their reading experiences.

Reading records will be checked once a week and those children who have read 3 times will receive a star sticker on their bookmark (stays at school). As the number of star stickers builds up to 3, children will receive a round sticker to come home with. Once their bookmark is full, children will receive a certificate.

Please do jot down any reading that children are doing into their reading records so that we can reward their efforts. We do ask that children always have their reading books and reading record in their book bags to make the most of all reading opportunities at school.

Home Learning

Weekly letters and weekly homework will be sent home on a Friday. Homework will be collected back in and reviewed on a Wednesday and will be as follows:

Maths – Schofield and Sims book – 2 pages

Reading – 3 times a week with an adult along with discussion using question bookmarks sent home. Optional extra is the completion of a chosen activity from the grid sent home.

Spellings – Daily practice using the look, say, cover, write, check method.

Thank you for your support

If you have any questions about any of the information above or about your child’s learning and progress I am always happy to chat at the end of the day. If this isn’t possible then please do make an appointment with the office and I’d be glad to speak with you another time.