WOW what another fantastic few weeks Year 1 have had!! The Y1 team have been blown away by their attitude and progress. We have had a particular focus on cursive writing and the children seem to really be picking it up. They have been working so hard and we could not be prouder! In maths we have finished place value and have now moved onto addition and subtraction. Again, the Y1 team have been impressed by the attitude towards maths, especially answering tricky word problems! The class have especially enjoyed learning their number bonds to 10 and learning the rhymes to go with each pair such as '9 and 1 going on a run'.
In phonics, we are working our way through the set 2 sounds. Once we have completed the set 2 sounds we will go through them again just to make sure the sounds are embedded before we move onto set 3. We have also been concentrating on our superhero spellings from Reception and hopefully will be able to move onto the Y1 one tricky word spellings after half term. The progress in big writes has also been brilliant! Year 1 seem to be gaining confidence all the time and I can't wait for them to show their books off to you during the parent event on the 23rd October.
In topic, we have learned lots about animals! We have found out about the different animal groups and their characteristics. We also looked at what animals eat and whether they are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. The class looked at the structures of animals and how they can be similar and different. For example, some animals have trunks, claws, antlers etc. This week we are looking at animal habitats and why they are suited to live there. For example, why a polar bear lives in the arctic not the desert. Next week, we are going to look at the artist Picasso and produce some artwork similar to his style. We are also going to be looking at the signs of autumn and write about this. Alongside of this learning we have also been learning our Harvest Song. Again, the attitude towards learning this has been amazing. We have been a bit brave this year as the song is acapella but the children have enjoyed this. A big thank you to Mrs Meek who wrote the words for the song!
Welcome to Year One
A very, very warm welcome to Key Stage One! I hope you enjoy reading our class page, where topic information will be updated ready for the start of each half-term and latest news will be updated fortnightly on a Monday. As always, there will be lots of photographs uploaded after all the exciting activities and events we get up to!
The Year One staff team consists of Miss Thackray, Mrs Naylor, Mrs Crabtree, Mrs Shaw, Mrs Meek, Mrs Stubbs and Mrs Lowe. Mrs Naylor will support the class every morning, Mrs Crabtree will support on a Wednesday afternoon and Mrs Shaw will support Thursday and Friday afternoons. Mrs Meek will teach Year 1 on a Monday afternoon when Miss Thackray is out of class. Mrs Stubbs will support on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning and Mrs Lowe will support on a Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday.
We are really looking forward to our time in year 1 this year, and hope that you are too!
Miss Thackray and the Year 1 Team
Upcoming Events
23.10.19 - Parent Event (PM)
04.11.19 - Training Day
12.11.19 - Author visit from Hilary Robinson
14.11.19 - Parents Evening (4.30 - 7.30pm)
21.11.19 - Parents Evening (3.30 - 6.30pm)
10.12.19 - Christmas Performance (2.00 - 3.00pm)
12.12.19 - Christmas Performance (10.00 - 11.00am)
13.02.20 - Parent Event (PM)
22.05.20 - Parent Event (PM)
Latest News
Year 1 have had a brilliant start and the Year 1 team have been so pleased with how they have settled. They have been introduced to their first topic 'Paws, Claws and Whiskers' which be animal based. Please see the topic and science section below which has more information on what we will be learning about this half term.
We try to run the first full term of Year 1 as similar to Reception as possible and ensure children have access to continuous provision throughout a day. A typical day consists of: children completing some handwriting during the register, assembly, maths, play time, phonics/english, lunch, topic, play time, story and home. The regular routine helps children to know what is coming next and feel more comfortable/confident in their environment.
A big step from reception is children being responsible for handing in their reading books/homework logs. Children are given several reminders during registration about handing books in from all the adults. I have been very impressed with how mature and responsible the children have been with this!
We have also begun cursive handwriting which is a bit of a change from reception. Please do not worry (parents or children) about cursive writing as we have only just begun and it is something that is practiced throughout the school. Children will be given lots of help and support with this. Again, I have been impressed with their maturity and attitude towards trying cursive :).
Well done on a fantastic 2 weeks Year 1!!
Important Information
Homework Expectations
Learning Logs will be given out on Friday indicating skills to be practised. Learning logs need to be back in school the following Wednesday. Some homework will be over longer periods to enable research and the date for completion will be indicated on the log. In Year 1 the children have a session to share homework with classmates and staff. Pupils get the opportunity to see each other’s learning and discuss findings. This enables the children to really engage with homework by sharing good ideas and information. All homework is related to what’s going on in the current curriculum and supports their classroom learning. All homework is read by Miss Thackray and initialled.
Children need to read daily and discuss their reading. At the bottom of the page I have added a document with a list of possible questions you can ask your child when you are reading with them. Your support with reading is greatly appreciated and really enhances learning.
Curriculum this half term
Topic
The first topic 'Paws, Claws and Whiskers' will be mainly science driven. Please see the science section for more information. In design technology children will have the opportunity to make and paint their own clay animal. In art, children will be producing a piece of work to symbolise autumn. This will be then displayed in the classroom. In music, we will be learning a song ready for the Harvest performance. In geography, we will be looking at how to use a globe and atlas. This will help us to identify which parts of the world some common animals live in.
English
In English, we will be concentrating on writing sentences using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. We will also be focusing on writing on the line with our letters the right way round. We will have a 'Big Write' every Thursday morning where we will look a bit closer at these areas.
In addition, we will begin to look at the cursive script. This is something we will concentrate on all year and lots of support will be given to both children and parents to help with this process. Year 1 will practise letters every morning for 10 minutes during registration to help them become familiar with the letters.
In phonics, we will look at the set 1 and set 2 sounds. The set 1 sounds are: sh, th, ch, qu, ng and nk. The set 2 sounds are: ay, ee, igh, ow, oo (poo at the zoo), ar, air, ir, or, oo (look at a book), ou and oy.
We will have a phonics lesson 3 days a week and within this session we will also look at the Year 1 high frequency and common exception words. On a Thursday we will do our Big Write and on a Friday we will have a grammar lesson or an activity linked to a book we are reading in class. In Autumn, during our grammar lessons we will be learning: 'What is a noun?' and 'What is a verb?'.
Some of the books we will be looking at in Autumn 1 will be: Handa's Surprise, The tiger who came to tea, The very hungry caterpillar, We're going on a bear hunt, Bad tempered ladybird and Owl babies.
I think children learn a lot by having stories read to them and I will try and read a story every day. The more children read or/and are read to the greater their vocabulary and imagination becomes. This really helps with their creativity when it comes to their own writing. Now children are becoming more confident with their reading it is important they have the opportunity to choose their own books. The school reading books are brilliant at helping children develop/embed their phonic skills and recognise tricky words but they might not necessarily be about a topic which is interesting for your child. I really want to encourage a love for reading and hopefully by children having more ownership of what they are reading will only promote this love.
Some ideas of authors to look at are:
Roald Dahl
Jacqueline Wilson
David Walliams
J.K Rowling
Julia Donaldson
Anthony Browne
Dav Pilkey
There are links at the bottom of the page to any English support I think could be helpful. If you require any more information/support please do not hesitate to ask a member of the Year One Team.
Maths
In Maths, we will have a particular focus for each week starting from September 3rd:
Week 1 - Place Value - count to 20 (or appropriate), forwards and backwards, beginning with 0 or 1, or from any given number
Week 2 - Place Value - count, read and write numbers to 20 (or appropriate) in numerals
Week 3 - Place Value - given a number to 20 (or appropriate), identify 1 more and 1 less
Week 4 - Addition and Subtraction - read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving +, - and equals = signs
Week 5 - Addition and Subtraction - represent and use number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20
Week 6 - Addition and Subtraction - add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20, including 0
Week 7 - 2D Shape - recognise, name and describe common 2D shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon and octagon)
Week 8 - 3D Shape - recognise, name and describe common 3D shapes (sphere, cone, cube, cuboid, square based pyramid, triangular prism and cylinder)
Science
In science, children will be identifying and naming a variety of common animals including, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, insects and mammals. We will also be identifying and naming a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. Year 1 will be describing and comparing the structure of a variety of common animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, insects and mammals including pets). Finally, we will look at the habitats of some common animals from around the world.
We will also observe seasonal changes as we move from summer to autumn. This will include describing the weather associated with autumn and discussing how day length varies.
Computing
In Computing we learn how to use technology safely and respectfully, keep personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about material on the internet or other online technologies. Year 1 will begin to understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions.
R.E.
During R.E. in Autumn 1 our theme will be God. Our key question will be 'What do Christians believe God is like?'. Children will learn that Christians believe in God, and that they find out about God in the Bible. We will learn that Christians believe God is loving, kind, fair and forgiving. Year 1 will learn that Christians worship God and try to live in ways that please him. We will then look at some stories that show these Christian beliefs.
P.E.
Our P.E. days for Autumn 1 will be Tuesday and Friday.
Please ensure that children are wearing their School PE kit - plain white t-shirt, black shorts, trainers (which children can fasten/tie themselves), tracksuit bottoms and top. Please can long hair be tied up and earrings either removed or covered with a plaster.
Spanish
Year 1 will be introduced to Spanish this half term on a Tuesday afternoon.
PHSE/British Values
Our RESPECT code, as ever, will underpin all our learning, and the children will be encouraged to continue to add to a RESPECT code display and write a post-it when they see a child portraying aspects of our RESPECT code and help to choose the children who will be selected for our leaf assembly. We will be discussing lots about our locality and discussing what it means to be British, recapping our British values.
Our PHSE focus will be 'physical health and well-being'. Specifically children will learn about food that is associated with special times. Year 1 will learn about active playground games from around the world and will get chance to practise some of them with Mrs Meek. We will also learn about keeping safe in the sun.
