Welcome

A huge, warm welcome to year 1! 

The adults in year 1 are:

Holly Class: Mrs Upson (class teacher) and Mrs Laundon (teaching assistant)

Alder Class: Miss Fox (class teacher), Miss Usher and Mrs Whittle (teaching assistants)

Miss Crawford and Miss Myers also work across both classes to help with teacher release. 

Homework

Spellings will be sent home on a Friday and should be practised throughout the week (at least 3 times a week), ready for a spelling test the following Friday - your child's current test will be stapled to their new spellings, so you have a comprehensive understanding of which words need further practise.

Reading - please ensure to read with your child at least 3 times a week.

This half term, we are focusing on our 2x and 10x tables - please practise these times-table at home with your child. Here are some times-tables games you may wish to play (just select 'x' and then 2x or 10x tables):

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/times-tables/coconut-multiples

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/mental-maths-train

Children will have a times table test on a Friday and this result will again, be stapled to their new spelling sheet.

Below, are some optional homework challenges you may wish to complete with your children.

Reminders

All children need a named water bottle in school.

Children in Year 1 are offered fruit every day, if you would like your child to bring in a snack for playtime please can it be healthy- fruit, cereal bar, crackers etc. No sweets, chocolate or nuts.

If you would like your child to have milk, please contact the school office.

Please also help us by naming all of your child's belongings to help us encourage your child to be independent. 

Main reading books are now sent home via our Big Cat e-platform, Children will be able to take home a 'Reading for Pleasure' book whenever they choose. Please ensure that those books come back to school and we would encourage them to change these regularly. Guided reading will happen 3 times a week and reading diaries are no longer being sent home in year 1.

PE days: (Please send you child to school dressed in full, school, PE kit)

Holly: Friday and Tuesday

Alder: Friday and Tuesday

Finally, we would also like your child to have a pair of wellies to keep in school, particularly as it gets muddier outside! 

This Term's Learning

We are Fit Kids!

In Summer 1 topic is called 'Fit Kids!' We will be focussing heavily on ways to keep ourselves fit and healthy. This includes our minds and bodies. Children will be immersed in many exciting activities, including planning a healthy picnic for us to enjoy :) 

Last week's learning (1.5.23)

Last week in English, we concluded our learning about the Enormous Turnip. Children wrote their own versions of the story, changing the main characters and the vegetable in the story. We focussed on punctuation, capital letters, using the connectives 'because' and 'and' to extend our sentences and making sure our sentences make sense! We are so proud of how well the children did with their writing.

In maths last week, children started learning about equal groups and adding multiple equal groups. This is the first stage in looking at multiplication as repeated addition. This will continue next week.

In phonics we revised some phase 5 phonemes, in preparation for the phonics screening test.

This week's learning (9.5.23)

This week in English, we are starting to look at non-fiction texts and in particular, leaflets. Children will be looking at the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts, with some children being able to explain why a text is classed as fiction or non-fiction, we will be teaching children all about the features of leaflets and also looking at the difference between fact and opinion. 

In maths this week, we are contuining to look at adding multiple, equal groups and introducing this concept of 'repeated addition' as multiplication. Children will be adding multiple groups of 5. 

In phonics this week we will be revising phase 5 phonemes and starting to work towards the phonics screening test:

How to help at home

If you would like to support your child's learning at home this week, we would encourage you to practise writing full sentences - starting with a capital letter, finishing with a full stop, correct letter formation and writing sitting on the lines (If you have no lined paper, please speak to a teacher and we can help you with this!) Have a look at some non-fiction texts and ask your children to explain WHY it is a non-fiction text.

In maths, you could practise counting multiple equal groups using practical resources that children can manipulate e.g. finding the total of 4 groups of 5 pieces of pasta, then practise writing the number sentence like this:

5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20.

Here are some good games your child might enjoy playing:

The array (scootle.edu.au)

Games for Kids on Arrays Online - SplashLearn 

If your child does enjoy any of this learning at home, please do let us know! We love to hear about anything they have been up to!

Please note!!! You may be thinking that your child's spellings seem 'easy'.... this is because they are in line with our current phonic's teaching and we are revising phase 5 phonemes ready for our phonic screening test in June. It is really important that we revisit these phonemes and your children get plenty of exposure to them.

Reading Book - Big Cat

We have worked out how to unassign all old reading books. So each Friday, the previous week's book, will disappear and your child's new reading book should be the only book that is available. If you have any questions about this, please speak to your class teacher.

A typical day in Year 1

In our busy learning actives we teach in a play-based style where children access a range of activities which support the Early Years and Year 1 curriculum.