Happy New Year Year 1!
This half term is a really exciting time for the children as they enter the next phase of their learning. While they will still have some opportunity to explore and move around the classroom, they will be spending more time sitting in their table groups to complete their learning. We will continue to support your child through this transitional phase with engaging and explorational activities to ensure they continue to enjoy their learning and reach their full potential.
For our Topic work this half term, our history-based topic is called Toys! In this topic, children will learn about popular toys through 20th century and eary 21st century. Children will investigate materials used to make toys and make comparisons between toys today and from the past. They will be encouraged to ask questions at home to find out about their families favourite toys through the decades. They will be encouraged to develop their oracy skills by sharing their findings with the class and asking questions to strengthen their understanding.
We will continue learning key concepts in English and Maths. In English, we will share lots of books with the children, developing their oracy skills and learning how to answer what, why, when, where and how questions. Our key text is Toys in Space and the children will be writing a story narrative as well as creating their own story character. We will also explore lots of non-fiction (information books) to discover information about toys in the past, including Victorian toys.
In maths, the work in Year 1 is crucial for your children to develop number sense and support number fluency in later years. We will continue to strengthening their understanding of numbers 1 -20. They will develop a strong understanding of number bonds and fact families to support adding and subtracting within 20. They will use lots of concrete resources and have lots of opportunity to explore using maths cubes, counters, beads, counting sticks, tens frames, number lines and part whole models. We will also continue practicing our days of the week, months of the year and counting to 100.
In terms of supporting your child at home, reading is a crucial part of your child's learning so please make sure that you read daily with them and ensure they learn their spellings and complete their maths homework.
Year 1 have a P.E lesson on Wednesday afternoon, so please make sure your child has the correct PE kit and ensure all items are labelled with your child’s name.
Please also make sure your child has a water bottle in school each day so they can stay hydrated! We have a water fountain in school where children have access fresh water.
If you need to speak to us regarding any issues, our door is always open.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs Sargent, Mrs Burke & Mrs Owen
Homework
Spelling Homework - Your child's weekly spellings will be given out every Friday. Please support them to practice at home as much as possible. Spelling books to be returned to school by Thursday. Children will be tested (with the support they need) every Friday.
Maths Homework - children have one piece of maths homework per week. The homework will cover the learning from the previous week. It is not intended to challenge them at this stage but to help them develop the habit of completing weekly homework and consolidate the learning they have completed in class. This is given out on Friday and to be returned to school by Wednesday.
Reading & Phonics- Please read with your child daily. Phonics reading books need to be read 3 times before we will change them to help children increase their fluency. Children may also choose a book from our class library to enjoy at home.
PE
Our PE day is Wednesday Please have full PE kit - white top, black shorts and black pumps.