To Year 1
with Mrs Faulkner, Mrs Long and Mrs Walker
Do we play with the same toys that our grandparents did?
Our main driver this term is History, with the enquiry ‘Do we play with the same toys as our grandparents did?’. During this enquiry, the children will enquire about present day toys. They will explore what they are made of, how they work and what makes them appealing. After this, the children will explore toys from the past and explore how they know this. Then they will need to use their skills of comparison to think about toys from the past that we still play with today and why? Also, they will explore what is the same and what is different about these toys. The line of enquiry will then widen to include games, stories and tv shows from the past and look into how these are the same and different. To conclude, the children will enquire 'Do I play in the same way as my grandparents did?' During this learning the children will take on the role of a historian and ask and answer lots of questions to develop their learning.
In English this term we will be enjoying lots of different stories based around our History theme of toys and some of our key texts will be ‘Kipper’s Toybox’, ‘Dogger’ and ‘Traction Man’. We will be making predictions about what might happen next in the stories. We will be using our phonics to spell words independently as we write labels and lists with a particular focus on correct letter formation. We will also use adjectives to write captions and sentences to describe the characters, concentrating on saying our sentence out loud before writing it down and punctuating accurately using capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. We will design and make our very own characters and learn about question marks as we write questions for some of the characters. Finally, we will practise sequencing and using lots of story language as we verbally retell the stories.
Phonics and Spelling
During Phonics this term, we will start by consolidating previous learning from Reception. Please refer to the weekly letters on Class Dojo where we will inform you of our current learning, so that you can reinforce this at home.
In Maths this term we will be covering five maths units. We will start off by looking at ‘Numbers within 10’ and during this unit we will be counting, reading and writing numbers to 10. We will be finding different ways to represent each of these numbers and using mathematical language to make comparisons between them. We will also be doubling and halving using these numbers. We will practise skip counting in 2s also. We will then move on to ‘Addition and subtraction within 10’, during which we will be representing and using our number bonds and reading, writing and solving equations. Our third Maths unit will be ‘Shapes and patterns’ and we will be identifying common 2D and 3D shapes and using the correct mathematical language to name and describe some of their properties. We will also explore language to describe position, direction and movement. After this we will explore ‘Numbers within 20’, counting, reading, writing the numbers correctly. We will double and halve numbers within 20 and compare them too. Our final Maths unit for the term will be ‘Addition and subtraction within 20’. We will represent and use our number bonds and solve one-step maths problems.
During Autumn 1 we will be covering the unit ‘Everyday materials’. We will be exploring different materials and using the correct scientific language to name them and describe their properties. We will also be comparing different materials and using our understanding to sort and group them in different ways.
During Autumn 2, our Science unit will be ‘Using our senses’. We will be learning the accurate names for our body parts before exploring which body part is responsible for which sense. We will then discover more about how each of our 5 senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch help us in everyday life.
PE this half term will be on Wednesdays and Fridays. Children should come to school dressed in their PE kit, which consists of – black jogging bottoms (not leggings), a plain white polo top or a plain white round neck t-shirt, a green school jumper or cardigan and trainers.
Reading books need to be brought to school every Wednesday please. Reading books will be changed then and children will bring 2 books home at a time on Fridays. Our expectation is that children read at least 3 times a week with an adult.
Reading records will be checked and those children who have read 3 times that week will receive a special Class Dojo point for reading. Please do jot down any reading at all that children are doing into their reading records so that we can reward their fantastic efforts.
Weekly letters and any materials needed for home learning will be put onto the class page/Dojo. The weekly letter will outline learning for the week ahead, suggest ways to help at home and also give you any messages for that week so please do go online and read it.
Websites to practise key skills at home:
Use the following links to practise these key Year 1 number skills:
- Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s up to 100
- Recognising odd and even numbers
- Finding 1 more and 1 less than a given number
- Partitioning 2 digit numbers into tens and ones
- Number bonds and facts to 10 and 20
- Finding doubles up to 10 and finding halves from 20
Use the following links to practise these key Year 1 reading and writing skills:
- Segmenting and blending all sounds
- Breaking longer words into syllables to read them
- Reading contracted words (I'm, don't, can't etc)
- Reading and spelling tricky words and common exception words
- Forming capital and lowercase letters correctly
- Writing sentences with capital letters, finger spaces and full stops
- Extending sentences using 'and' and other conjunctions (but, so, because, then, with)
- Developing sentences by adding adjectives and using different sentence openers
Other Learning Links:
Use the following links to practise knowledge and skills from other areas of the curriculum:
Activities to practise key skills at home:
Representing Numbers Maths Quick Maths
Phonics Common Exception Words SPaG
Daily Online Activities Maths and English Ideas Practical Ideas
KS1 Maths Games Year 1 Number Games
Resources from SEND Supported:
We work with a company called SEND Supported at school and they are releasing newsletters each week offering support and guidance to parents of children who many have additional needs in school. Please find below a link to these newsletters:
There are also lots of other resources and information available on their website. The 'Things to do Issue 2 - Resources' file has some lovely activities for all children regardless of whether they have additional needs or not. There are lots of great visual puzzles and games for children to play so please have a look if you can. There are also resources available now to support with developing children's memory skills in 'Thing to do Issue 3 - Resources.'