Welcome to Year 1
Our Class Teacher is Miss Thorpe
Our Curriculum
History
This half term, History is our driver subject as we explore toys from the past and compare them with toys we have today. The children will look closely at different toy artefacts, describing their main features and thinking about who might have owned them in the past. They will develop their understanding of time by confidently using the words old and new and learning how toys have changed over time.
Year 1 will recognise toys from the past and present and talk about similarities and differences between the toys they play with today and the toys their parents and grandparents played with. They will compare their favourite toy as a baby with their favourite toy now and explain how they know whether a toy is old or new. The children will also learn simple ways to find out about the past, such as asking questions, looking at pictures, and handling artefacts. By the end of the topic, they will be able to explain how toys have changed since their grandparents were children and confidently talk about toys from different times.
Our Key Enquiry Questions:
1. What were our grandparent's toys like?
2. How do we know what toys were like in the past?
3. How have toys changed over the years? Why?
4. Are these toys old or new?
5. How can we tell these toys are old?
Science
This term in Science, Year 1 will explore the exciting topic of Everyday Materials. The children will begin by learning to identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock and how to tell the difference between an object and the material it is made from. As part of their learning, they will describe the simple physical properties of these materials, such as whether they are hard or soft, shiny or dull, rough or smooth. The children will also practice grouping different materials and comparing them. They will start to think carefully about which materials are most suitable for different purposes, such as building a house. Through hands-on investigations, Year 1 will test materials, make observations, and begin to explain why some materials are better than others for certain jobs.
English
Our class text in our Pathways to Write unit this half term is: ‘Meesha Makes Friends.’
This half term, Year 1’s focus text is Meesha Makes Friends by Tom Percival. In this unit, the children will be developing their early writing skills by learning to:
- Combine words to make simple sentences
- Leave spaces between words
- Use capital letters and full stops to punctuate sentences
- Use capital letters for names of people and for the personal pronoun ‘I’
- The children will build up their skills through exploring the story, practicing writing short sentences, and talking about the characters and events.
Our class novel is The Three Little Pigs, a traditional tale that follows three pigs as they build their houses and try to stay safe from the Big Bad Wolf. Through reading this story, the children will explore how characters make choices and solve problems. They will discuss the events in the story, predict what might happen next, and consider why the pigs’ different choices lead to different outcomes. This will also support their own writing by helping them understand story structure, including a beginning, middle, and end, and inspire them to create their own imaginative stories.
PSHE
Our topic this half term is My Healthy Self: How can we look after our emotions?
In Year 1, children will learn to recognise and name a range of emotions and identify the facial expressions and body clues that can show how someone is feeling. They will explore how people can experience different emotions in the same situation and understand that feelings can change and vary in strength. Children will consider what helps them to feel calm, relaxed or excited, and why rest and enjoyable activities are important for their wellbeing. They will also explore what might make themselves or others feel worried, annoyed or upset, and think about ways they can look after their emotions and feel better. Finally, children will learn how to talk about their feelings and identify trusted adults who can support them when their emotions feel difficult.
Our focus SDG for the term is: SDG3 Good Health and Well-being.
Year 1 will learn about Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), which is all about staying healthy and looking after our well-being. The children will explore simple ways to keep themselves and others healthy, such as eating well, washing hands, being active, and getting enough rest. They will also think about how being kind, caring, and helping others can make people feel happy and safe.
Our focus Children's Rights Article for the term is: Article 27
Year 1 will learn about Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article explains that every child has the right to a safe place to live and enough food, clothing, and care to grow up healthy. The children will explore what it means to have these rights and why it is important that all children have their basic needs met. They will also think about how having these things helps them feel safe, cared for, and able to learn and play.
Our PE days for this half term are: Mondays and Thursdays. If there are any changes, I will inform you with plenty of notice.
Homework will be handed out on a Friday and should be completed and returned by the following Thursday.
Please find our Curriculum map below for more information.
Please make sure to check Seesaw for regular updates about our learning, homework and announcements.