Welcome to Year 1
Miss Crabtree and Miss Farley would like to welcome you back to Year 1 after your Christmas break. We hope you had wonderful family time, plenty of festive treats and are now ready for all of the exciting learning we have planned for this term. We cannot wait to see you all and get started with our learning- we have lots of amazing lessons planned with a few surprises coming up too! We also wanted to say that we are so impressed with the progress the children are continuing to make in our Phonics lessons. Please continue to read with your child every night, it supports their learning in class and has a huge impact on their learning.
Phonics
We are following the RWI scheme, which is having a fantastic impact on children’s progress. On top of their English lesson each day, they all take part in a full RWI lesson. Children are placed in small groups specific to their needs and ability, this allows them to apply their phonic skills on a daily basis and review sounds repeatedly every day. Children are also supported throughout the day and are given opportunities to take part in 1-1 phonic tutoring sessions, which enables them to work specifically on areas that they need to focus on.
Children are continually assessed during daily RWI lessons and so they are able to move on as soon as they are ready to do so. We also complete phonic assessments following the RWI format to track their progress and also prepare children for the end of year phonic screening. In order for children to feel confident when completing the phonic screening in July we complete regular screenings using past papers so they are familiar with layout and how the test is conducted.
We really appreciate your continued support as reading and practising phonics at home has a significant impact on your child’s progress. Ruth Miskin offers a variety of phonic videos online that you are able to watch at home:
English
This half term, we will be exploring fantasy world stories and our learning will be focused around the book ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. The children will begin by exploring the characters in the story through drama activities alongside their basic skills and sentence work. We will continue to visit magic story world and meet new characters and solve different dilemmas along the way! The children will also be exploring a selection of stories with familiar settings, before creating their own story.
Maths
During this half term we will be concentrating on number. We will be focusing on teen numbers and the place value of numbers up to 20. We will also be recapping odd and even numbers and will then begin to look at our 2, 5 and 10 times tables. We will apply our number understanding in a real-life context and develop our problem solving.
Geography
This half term children will be exploring and developing Mapping Skills. We will learn and name the five oceans and seven continents. The children will explore the Galapagos Islands and compare it to their local area and will also develop their understanding of directional vocabulary.
Science
During Science this half term we will be looking at Seasonal Change and the weather. We will identify different types of weather; our different seasons and what months fall in each season. We will also learn about how different animals and ourselves adapt depending on the season.
Art
We will be looking at 3D modelling. We will begin by exploring work and techniques by the artist James DeRosso. Children will then design and make their own Wild Thing out of clay.
Computing
During computing this half term, we will be exploring coding, digital communications and the web. We will learn how to help Max to get to the island.
Music
We will be exploring the topic ‘In the Groove’ in music and will be completing a variety of practical activities. We will find the beat, pulse and learn new songs to sing together.
R.E/PSHE
During R.E. this term we will be exploring different religions special books.
Throughout PHSE we will be following the scheme Jigsaw and discussing and sharing our Dreams and Goals.
Some important information for Year 1 parents/carers:
- Home Reader books will be given out every Friday and should be returned to school each Thursday to be changed. Children should read daily at home.
- We will be using school P.E kits this year so you do not need to send one to school with your child.
Year 1 Geography Knowledge Organiser
Year 1 Science Knowledge Organiser