Welcome to Year 1

Class Teacher: Miss Whitley

TA's: Miss Sewell and Miss Culliford

SPRING 2

Welcome to our Year 1 class page!

We are now in Spring 2, and we are excited for another busy and fun half term ahead. This term we will continue building our confidence in reading, writing and maths, while also exploring new topics across the curriculum. The children will have lots of opportunities to learn through play, creativity and teamwork.

Spring is a lovely time of year in school as we begin to see signs of the season changing. Just like the world around us, our class will continue to grow, discover and try new things. We are very proud of all the hard work the children have been putting into their learning.

Please keep checking this page for updates, key information and photos of the wonderful things happening in our classroom. Thank you for your continued support – we are looking forward to a fantastic Spring 2 together!

R.E

Branch 4 - Desert to Garden

This half term in Spring 2, Year 1 will be exploring Branch 4: Desert to Garden. In this topic, the children will learn about the story of Easter and what it means to Christians. We will listen to and talk about key parts of the story, including Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Through discussion, storytelling and creative activities, the children will begin to understand how the sadness of Good Friday changes into the joy and hope of Easter Sunday. 

The children will also have opportunities to reflect on ideas of hope, new life and celebration. We are looking forward to exploring this special story together through art, drama and discussion.

Writing

In English this half term, we will be working with the story The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth by Ellie Hattie. The children will enjoy reading and exploring this fun and imaginative story while developing their early writing skills.

Our focus will be on building strong sentence writing. The children will practise using capital letters at the beginning of sentences, full stops at the end, and remembering to leave finger spaces between words. We will also be encouraging the children to say their sentences out loud before writing them to help them organise their ideas.

Through a range of activities including storytelling, drawing, drama and writing, the children will create their own sentences and simple pieces of writing inspired by the story. We are excited to see their confidence grow as they become more independent writers.

Reading

At our school, reading is at the heart of learning. We believe it is the key that unlocks so many opportunities. To help every child grow into a confident reader, we ask that each child reads at home for 10 minutes every night using their phonics book. A new one will be sent home every Friday. Can you sign your childs reading journal when they have read at home please.

Reading little and often makes a huge difference – whether that’s practising phonics, building fluency, or sharing a story for pleasure. Alongside this, children will continue daily phonics sessions in school and will also read regularly with an adult.

Tapestry

To support your child’s phonics learning at home, we regularly upload the sounds we have been learning in class to Tapestry. These videos and resources will help you see how we say each sound and how the children practise them in school.

You can access these on Tapestry, where you can watch the videos together and practise the sounds with your child. Regular practice at home helps the children to become more confident with recognising sounds and using them when reading and writing.

Maths

In Maths this half term, the children will be developing their understanding of addition and subtraction through word problems. They will practise reading simple problems and deciding which operation they need to use to find the answer.

We will also begin exploring the early concepts of multiplication and division. The children will learn this through practical activities such as grouping, sharing and using objects to help them understand these ideas.

Our focus will be on building confidence, explaining our thinking and using different strategies to solve problems.

Our aim is to grow confidence with numbers through hands-on activities, games and challenges.

Topic

In our wider curriculum this half term, we will be exploring Everyday Materials in Science. The children will learn to identify and name different materials such as wood, plastic, metal and glass. We will also investigate the properties of materials and think about why certain materials are used to make different objects.

In History, we will be learning about the lives of significant people, focusing on Mary Anning and David Attenborough. The children will discover who they were, why they are important and how they helped us learn more about the natural world.

P.E

Our P.E day will be Thursday afternoons. 

In P.E. this half term, the children will be developing their Net and Wall game skills. They will practise key skills such as throwing, catching, aiming and hitting a ball, as well as learning how to control and direct it.

Through a range of fun games and activities, the children will also develop teamwork, coordination and confidence while being active.

Forest School

Forest School will take place on Wednesday afternoons. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn outdoors, explore nature and build problem-solving and teamwork skills. As we go out in all weathers, please ensure children have suitable clothing – wellies and coats will be especially important during the colder months.

Snack

In Year 1, the children will receive free fruit each day. On Fridays we offer toast. This will be 20p each week.

Important Reminders:

All pieces of uniform are lablled clearly

Water bottles come to school each day

P.E kit needs to be in school every day

Websites to help with learning at home

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/5-7-years/letters-and-sounds

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/3-5-years/counting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zdjkjfr#z9cdh4j

If you need to speak with me, please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected]