Summer 2 

English-Year 1 have worked really hard to further develop their writing this half term. We started with a narrative: ‘Meerkat Mail,’ which the children innovated using our Talk for Writing toolkit to include a different character and setting. The children were particularly excited to see meerkats in real life at Yorkshire Wildlife Park! This then gave children the opportunity to research meerkats in more depth and to use the information to innovate a non-chronological report. Children were able to explore the key features and language used in non-chronological texts.

Mathematics-In this unit, children have developed their understanding of, and ability to manipulate, numbers to 100. They investigated patterns in 2-digit numbers, specifically 1 more and 1 less, and 10 more and 10 less, before moving on to partition numbers and identifying the place value of digits within a number.

Children then moved on to learning about time using ‘o’ clock and half-hour, measuring and comparing time. Children particularly enjoyed learning about money this half term; recognising coins, notes, and learning their value when counting.

Science-In this unit Children have learned that animals vary in many ways, having different structures such as, wings, tails and ears. They also have different skin coverings like scales, feathers, hair. These key features can be used to identify them. Animals eat certain things - some eat other animals, some eat plants, some eat both plants and animals. At the end of this unit, children were asked to show what they know and we were very impressed with their recall of the key vocabulary such as mammal, reptile, carnivore and herbivore. Children could also name the 5 senses.               

Art-This half term, our art focus has been painting and our key artist was Henri Rousseau. Children have learned to confidently use primary colours to mix other colours, match colours to objects/ideas, create a range of marks with a paintbrush, create texture using colour and different thicknesses of paint and work from direct observation and imagination. Their final piece of art really brought together all these practised skills and showcased them, taking inspiration from a selection of Rousseau’s jungle pieces.

Geography-In this unit, children have learned that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is made up of four countries. England and Wales united in 1284. Scotland became part of the union in 1707 and Northern Ireland in 1921. England, Wales and Scotland are known as Great Britain. Northern Ireland is part of the island of Ireland. The flag of the United Kingdom is called the Union Flag and is red, white and blue. When flown at sea, the flag is known as the Union Jack. The UK has a monarchy and a democratic government. The king is King Charles III and next in line to the throne is Prince William. We have also learned about individual cities within the UK, their capitals and landmarks.

Physical Education-In our Core Real PE lessons, we have been focusing on health and fitness skills to enable the children to use equipment appropriately, moving and landing safely, as well as explaining how their body feels before, during and after exercise. They have learned to start and stop quickly, the use of timing to get in the right position and the need for balance and control when collecting the ball.  The children have also developed their fundamental movement skill of static balance to hold the correct position and show control when changing balance or position. In Imoves lessons, we have focused on performing basic movements to music, building a simple themed dance focusing on Cheerdance drills.       

Music-In this unit, we have asked ‘How Does Music Teach Us About Looking After Our Planet?’ as an entry point for the broad Social Theme of ‘Music Is a Nature Lover and Guardian of the Earth’. This unit will also links well with our whole school transition learning about looking after our plant.

Religious Education -This unit has enabled children to examine some stories of Jesus. Christians believe he was the perfect expression of God; ‘The Christ’; Son of God; Saviour. The focus is on God as a source of power as revealed through the stories, actions and teachings of Jesus in Christian belief and Scripture. Children will learn about the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and its place in Christian prayer today. Opportunities have been provided to explore the use of prayer in empowering Christians and children have considered how we can be empowered to bring about change in their lives.

PSHE-This half term, the unit was ‘The World of Drugs’. Children have learned the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug taking. They have learned the concepts of basic first aid, for example dealing with common injuries, including head injuries. As we approach the summer holidays, we have also taken this opportunity to again revisit the importance of sun and water safety, as well as ways to keep safe whilst outside.

We wish our Year 1 children a very happy and safe summer and we look forward to seeing you continue your learning journey in Year 2!

Summer 1 

Year 1 have worked really hard to develop their writing this half term. We started with a narrative: The Tiger Who Came to Tea. The children loved diving into the world of Judith Kerr and exploring this ‘finding tale’. Moreover, they had lots of fun innovating their characters and eventually, changing the setting to an animal who came to school. During the writing process, children learnt about the action toolkit; adding action to their narrative. They particularly enjoyed the use of onomatopoeia.

In maths, children have consolidated their learning of counting in multiples of 2, 5 and 10. They have begun to understand how to make equal groups and arrays to help them problem solve. They also learnt how to share equally between groups. After that, children have learnt about halves and quarters of both shape and amounts. They should now understand how to double and halve a number. This is something that, if children are able to recall these facts automatically, will help to propel their maths learning in future year groups.

Our history unit was all about the Industrial Revolution. Children have begun to understand how life changed during the industrial revolution and how this impacts on our lives now. They have learnt about technological advances, the movement of people from farms to cities, workhouses and food and farming. They really enjoyed this unit and most children said they prefer how life is now rather than during the industrial revolution!

Computing has really captured the attention of the children this half term as we have been using the app ‘Scratch Jr’. They have made their own games/animations and loved exploring different characters, worlds and how to make things move in all sorts of different ways.

In D&T, children have learnt what sliders and levers are and how to make them. Crucially, they understood that a mechanism is when two or more parts join together to create movement.