Happy New Year!
We hope you have had a fantastic break and looking forward to seeing you all for an amazing Spring term.
Year 1 will be attending Forest School this term so it is really important that children have a warm coat, hat, gloves, waterproofs and wellies in school. 1R will attend Forest School on Monday afternoon and 1L will attend on Thursday afternoon. PE will be on Wednesday and all children need a PE kit in school. A PE kit should comprise of a white t-shirt, black shorts and either black pumps or trainers. During winter months, some children include black jersey jogging tracksuit. Please speak to a member of staff if you need any advice or help.
English
In the first half term, Year 1 will trial an English scheme called Ready, Steady, Write by Literacy Counts. They will be reading a vehicle text called Old Bear by Jane Hissey to retell a narrative story. The scheme provides children with daily opportunities to understand how sentences are constructed, including daily practise with: preparing a sentence orally and writing a sentence. They will learn to use basic grammar and improve their handwriting by forming letters correctly. They will practise their phonics skills to read and spell words which include Year 1 Common Exception Words.
Year 1 Common Exception Words
Practising Spellings at Home
Year 1 Spelling Rules
Reading
We will continue with our daily ‘Storytime’ Phonics lessons with a focus on securing Phase 4 words and blending skills including: words with adjacent consonants such as ‘pl’, ‘st’, ‘sp’. We will continue to provide some of our children with an additional daily Phonics intervention using ‘First Class Phonics’ to practise and overlearn key sounds which they will apply to their reading through blending words to decode. Children will continue to bring home a reading book that corresponds with the phonics work undertaken in school so they can practise sounding out and blending words with you. Children will also bring home a reading for enjoyment book which is a storybook of their choice and you share and enjoy the story together.
Phonics reading books are changed every Wednesday and we keep in school for Guided Reading sessions until Friday when they come home for practise with you. Please read as often as possible and sign the Reading Record Book twice per week.
Reading for enjoyment books are changed every Monday in 1R and every Tuesday in 1L.
Maths
The units we will be covering this term:
- Numbers to 20
- Addition and subtraction within 20
- Numbers to 50
- Introducing length and height
- Introducing capacity and mass
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/kids-activities/fun-maths-games-and-activities/
Science
The Science topics this term will be:
Types of Animals
Children will observe and recognise some simple characteristics of animals. They will learn that animals are similar to each other in some ways and different in other ways. They will begin to start grouping animals by the key features of their appearance. To support the work in this unit we will be visiting to Blackpool Zoo, where the children can experience live animals first hand. Children swill also have the opportunity to explore and observe animals at first hand in their school grounds. They will work towards creating a plan of a zoo environment incorporating different types of animals in their design. Working scientifically, children will have the opportunity of observing and classifying animals in the local environment and beyond. They will classify animals that are mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians or fish using simple observable features. They will record data, with help, in charts and tables and use these to answer questions.
Parts of Animals
Children will learn about their senses and how they use them to describe the world. Children will identify and name the basic external parts of the human body and recognise the functions of some body parts, including the sense organs. Children will describe and compare common animals, and will recognise and name a variety of animals and their body parts. They will construct and label a map of the human body and will draw comparisons between human and animal body parts. They will consider how to treat other people and living things with care and respect. At the end of the unit, children will create a song which compares the functions of various animals’ body parts. Investigative work in this unit focuses on exploring the senses, observing and communicating ideas about their own body parts and those of animals, and recording their ideas in diagrams.
Topic
We will be learning all about Dinosaurs this term! We will think about where ‘The Age of the Dinosaurs’ fits in with Our World History, using a timeline to sequence and order events. We will be learning what evidence humans have collected that Dinosaurs existed and what we know about them as a result. We will explore the life of Victorian fossil hunter Mary Anning and recognise the significant contribution she made to our understanding of creatures before humans. To familiarise ourselves with countries and continents we will ask Where have dinosaur fossils been found? Has the Earth always looked like this? We will compare Pangea and modern day Continents. In Art we will explore printing including fossil prints and drawings using Charcoal to explore spiral shapes. In DT we will create a 3D moving dinosaur picture that includes slider and lever mechanisms.
RE
During this term we will be thinking about the question ‘What makes some places special?’ We will be investigation places of worship and why they are an important part of different faiths. We will also be looking at Spring Celebrations including Chinese New Year and Easter. We will visit St. Mary’s church for an Easter service and parents/carers are welcome to join us.
Computing
The children will be following the ‘Teach Computing’ scheme of work. During the Spring term the children will learn about:
- Grouping Data and Labelling: counting, describing and grouping objects and using data to compare.
- Moving a Robot: Giving commands, direction command sequences. Planning a simple program.
PE
The children will be following the Primary PE Passport Curriculum and will be using an animal and dinosaur theme to inspire movement and dance to music. Children will use cross curricular links to Science and Topic to study the movement of a range of animals which will be choreographed and performed to music. The children will then learn how to play invasion games focusing on: blocking, bending our knees to dodge and move, finding a space to receive and throw a ball.
PE – 1R and 1L on Wednesday
Forest School – 1R Monday and 1L Thursday
PSHE
Our school follows a scheme called Jigsaw and this term our Year 1 children will complete the following units:
Dreams and Goals
Aspirations, how to achieve goals and understanding the emotions that go with this. Staying motivated when doing something challenging; Keep trying even when it is difficult; Working well with a partner or in a group; Having a positive attitude; Helping others to achieve their goals; Working hard to achieve their own dreams and goals.
Healthy Me
Being and keeping safe and healthy. Making a healthy choice; Rating a healthy, balanced diet; Being physically active; Keeping themselves and others safe; How to be a good friend and enjoy healthy friendships; Keeping calm and dealing with difficult situations.
Music
Using the familiar structure of our Charanga Music Scheme the children continue to build their experiences and skills to listen & appraise, play warm-up games and flexible skill games, improvise and compose.
Our Music in the first part of the Spring Term focuses on the song ‘In The Groove’ by Joanna Mangona – an easy-to-learn song that demonstrates different styles of music. In The Groove is a song that was specially written for classroom use to teach children about different styles of music. This is a very easy song to learn and has been arranged in six different styles; Blues, Baroque, Latin, Bhangra, Folk and Funk. Each week you will listen and learn a different style of In The Groove.
Homework
In Year 1 homework will be given out every Friday and expected back every Wednesday. Children will receive a phonics task based on what we’ve been learning in class and they will choose a piece from the Dinosaur homework menu.
Children are encouraged to be as creative as they wish and can choose how to present their homework so if they have published something using an iPad, tablet or computer please email it to us!
F.A.O. Miss. Richards or Miss .Lester year1@corrie.tameside.sch.uk
Don’t forget that your homework and reading are monitored as part of your Assertive Mentoring profile.
We monitor reading, homework and PE kits as part of our Assertive Mentoring Scheme.
On time by Wednesday – GREEN
Late by Friday – YELLOW
No homework or reading completed – RED
