Year 1

In the summer term, as part of our geography learning, we will be answering the question, ‘Where is better - Felixstowe beach or Ipswich?’. To begin with, we will look at the human (manmade) and physical (natural) features of Felixstowe. We will then move on to name and locate the seven continents https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzqdDdxr9VI and five oceans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6BE4VcYngQ - here are the links to some helpful songs we listen to. Following on from this the children will then learn which countries make up the United Kingdom and which seas and oceans surround the UK. As part of our RE learning, we will be looking at the Jewish Sabbath and why Christians pray and worship God. In PSHE we will look at the ‘Wider World’ and our part to play in it considering how we can help the environment. Within computing, we will be building on our word processing skills and use paint to insert objects, redo and undo as well as selecting our brush type and colour. 

In DT, we will be constructing windmills and making moving story books (recapping mechanisms including axles and sliders).  As part of art, we will be looking at craft and design. In this unit we will be learning to tie knots and weave materials. In science, we will continue to look at plants but focusing on trees and recognising and naming some different trees. We will be learning the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees. Then we will move onto everyday materials and understand what objects are made from as well as what the best materials object should be made out of. 

In Maths this term, we are building on our knowledge from what we have learnt so far in Year 1 by learning about place value to 100, addition and subtractions as well as money. We will learn about multiplication and division and will be counting in tens, fives and twos. When we look at fractions, we will be finding half and quarter of shapes, objects and a quantity (number). We will also be looking at time and reading clocks for o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to. 

Number skills will focus on strategies that continue the children's understanding of smaller numbers within 10 and just above, such as number neighbours (spot the difference), 7 tree and 9 square, 10 and a bit and strategy selections.

During phonics sessions, we will continue our learning on all phase 5 sounds and alternative pronunciations. We will do lots of growing the code where the children will have the opportunity to practise and review all of the different pronunciations that they have learnt. Our learning of tricky words will continue- the children know so many now! We will also be applying phonics skills in sentence writing during lessons. Reading is so very important to us in Year 1 and we will continue to work hard in our reading lessons.  The children will continue to develop their decoding, fluency and understanding of the phonetically decodable books we read in class whilst also sharing lovely stories, poems, nonfiction books and the books the children bring in from home - this has been so lovely! We will continue to talk about books and authors and encourage a love of reading and books. 

During English, we will use a range of texts including The Storm whale, The last wolf and a range of instructions to support instruction writing.  The children will continue to consolidate their use of capital letters, full stops and finger spaces in their independent writing.We will be there working on the children developing fluent and consistent handwriting. It’s so important that those basic skills are embedded in Year 1, ready for Year 2 and beyond! 

In the spring term, as part of our history learning, we will be answering the question ‘Would you rather play with toys from the past or toys from now?’. To begin with, we will compare the toys the children played with when they were babies and toddlers with the toys they play with now before going on to explore how toys have changed throughout history (as the children say ‘from a very long time ago!’). As part of our RE learning, we will continue to study Christianity; we will be answering the question ‘What are the best symbols of Jesus’ death and resurrection at Easter?’. In DT, we will be constructing a vehicle looking closely at wheels, axles and axle holders. As part of art, the children will be looking at mixing colours to make different shades and making a giant spider model! Our computing will ensure the children know how to use the internet safely and how to be information protectors. They will also begin coding using Discovery Education. In science, we will take time to consolidate our learning from last term about ‘animals including humans’ by continuing to look at animal diets using the terms carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. We will  also continue to look at how animals are classified as reptiles, mammals, fish, amphibians, birds and minibeasts. We then move onto looking at plants, their structure and understanding key words such as deciduous and evergreen. 

In Maths this term, we are building on our knowledge from last term, working with numbers up to 20. We will learn methods to help us with addition and subtraction up to 20, which will then help us when we move up to numbers to 50 towards the end of the term. We also look at length and height, comparing and measuring using centimetres. At the end of the term, we will learn about mass and capacity, using words such as heavier and lighter, empty and full. 

Number skills will focus on strategies that the children can use to help them understand smaller numbers within 10, such as doubles and near doubles, odd and even numbers and understanding the number zero.

As part of phonics, we will be continuing to learn and consolidate our Phase 5 digraphs whilst also learning alternative pronunciations before continuing to ‘grow the code’. As we did in the autumn term, in reading, the children will continue to develop their decoding, fluency and understanding of the phonetically decodable books we read in class whilst also sharing lovely stories, poems, nonfiction books and the books the children bring in from home - this has been so lovely! We will continue to talk about books and authors and encourage a love of reading.

During English, we will use a range of texts including The Elves and the Shoemaker, Hansel and Gretel and George and the Dragon. The children will continue to consolidate their use of capital letters, full stops and finger spaces in their independent writing. We will have a really big push on handwriting this term so the children develop fluent and consistent handwriting. It’s so important that those basic skills are embedded in Year 1, ready for Year 2 and beyond!