Year 1
Welcome to our Year 1 blog.
Friday 15th November
Hello!
This week has seen the children take part in our Remembrance Service and our Children in Need Day. The children have shown fantastic maturity for both events.
In our English this week, the children have been creating superb sentences about whales inspired by our story The Storm Whale. Within Maths, the children have been considering commutativity- the idea that 4 + 3 is the same as 3+4.
We are still looking for parent volunteers to assist with our trip to the aquarium on Friday 6th December. If you are able to help, please speak to your class teacher.
Have a great weekend.
Year 1 team
Friday 8th November
Hello!
Year 1 have had a fantastic return to learning after the half term break. Our new topic in History is focusing on toys from the 1960s and the changes that have happened since then. In Science, we will be continuing our Animals including humans topic by considering common animals and their features. You can find out more from our Curriculum Map, below, as well as the schemas for each unit, which are a great way to discuss your child’s learning in school.
In phonics, the children are now learning phase 5 sounds. These can be found on the phonics sheet your child brings home each week, but also under the home learning tab where we put ideas for learning you can try at home.
Next week, we will be having a special Remembrance assembly at 11am. We have discussed in class why people choose to wear poppies and what these symbols mean.
Have a fantastic weekend,
Year 1 Team
Friday 18th October
Despite the terrible weather, the children in Year 1 have been out and about a lot. We have looked at aerial photographs of the school and thought about how much more we can see from our perspective on the ground. We have also been on an Autumn senses walk- identifying the signs of Autumn and thinking about how things like acorns and fallen leaves feel.
In Writing, we have planned our own version of Dear Zoo. We will be writing to a Toy Shop and asking for a new toy- we really hope they send us something exciting! The children have also been focusing on their target letters to ensure that their letter formation is correct.
In PE, the children have been rehearsing their dance, which we hope to be able to show to adults after half-term.
Parents’ Evening is Tuesday and Thursday next week. Your child’s books will be laid out in the Learning Zone for you to have a look at prior to seeing your class teacher.
Have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Friday 11th October
What an amazing way to end the week! The children in Year 1 looked amazing in their costumes as robots, Numblocks and Rockstars. On the day, we all played Numbots and took part in exciting Maths lessons.
In Maths, we have looked at the terms more than, fewer than and the same. The children have been comparing different groups to see if they can work out which pile has more. In English, the children were shocked to discover that Mrs Slaven, Mr Fisher and Miss Ballam had also been writing to the zoo and had received some unexpected pets!
In Science, the children have been considering the seasons. In Year 1, there is not a discrete seasons topic, but instead the children will look at the seasons at the end of each Science unit to ensure that they can experience the weather, clothing and seasonal changes as they happen.
Have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Friday 4th October
Year 1 have had a great week and have explored a range of new activities in the Learning Zone. In our topic area, the children have been feeling autumnal items and thinking about our sense of touch. They have also improved their fine motor skills (which supports their writing) by threading beads onto pipe cleaners.
In Maths, we have looked at 1 more and 1 less for numbers up to 20. The children have practised this using physical apparatus and also with written questions. In English, the children have created their own versions of Stuck using their imagination to alter the story and choosing different objects that could get stuck and a new main character. Our new text will be Dear Zoo.
In phonics, the children have now recapped all of the phase 3 sounds and have started to learn our new phase 5 sounds. This week we have learnt: -ay (play), -oy (toy), -ou (cloud) and -ea (sea).
In RE, we have continued to think about different communities. We have thought about how Christians become part of their church communities through a christening.
Have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Friday 27th September
Year 1 have been brilliant this week! In the Learning Zone, the children have been using adjectives to describe objects, using number bonds to form ten and drawing maps of the local area.
In Maths, we have looked how numbers can be represented by objects, by a number and by a word. The children have practised writing the words and matching these to the number. In English, the children have planned their own versions of Stuck using their imagination to alter the story and choosing different objects that could get stuck.
The children in Year 1 visit the school library on a Monday. Your child will have brought a library book home this week and they can take out another book next Monday if this is returned. Your child's phonics reading book will be changed on a Wednesday.
This half-term, the whole school is focusing on our school value of kindness and what that looks like in action.
In RE, we are focusing on our communities- both religious such as a faith or belief and non-religious such as a club or a school.
Have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Friday 20th September
Year 1 have had a superb week. Lots of adults from around school have told the children how grown-up they have become and what great role models they are for the school.
In the Learning Zone, the children have been creating labels for images, identifying common animals, sorting objects and counting objects to ten.
In Maths, we have continued to focus on our 1:1 correspondence and counting items within a group. We have also looked at how we can explain how we know an answer in wrong. Lots of children are now accessing Numbots using their login, which can be found within their Reading record. Please do let us know if you are unable to access this. In English, the children have created sentences using because to explain their favourite part of the story Stuck.
The children in Year 1 visit the school library on a Monday. Your child will have brought a library book home this week and they can take out another book next Monday if this is returned. Your child's phonics reading book will be changed on a Wednesday.
In Geography, we are focusing on our local area. This week, the children explored how maps can be used to show the landscape in a 2d form. The children considered the symbols that are used and the places that can be found around school.
Have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Please find below the presentation from the Year 1 Reading presentation.
Friday 13th September
Hello!
Our brand new Learning Zone opened up for our Year 1 children this week! There are lots of exciting opportunities for children to work alongside some of the adults in our setting and to work independently. We used measuring scales to help us compare mass, counted to 10 with 1:1 correspondence, practised forming our letters correctly and talked about the seasons and weather.
We started our first English unit this week, focusing on the book “Stuck” by Oliver Jeffers. On Monday, we were amazed to find some objects stuck in a tree in our outside area. We thought carefully about how the items got there and how we would be able to get them down. We also made our own predictions about what might happen in the story and created a story map.
In our Maths sessions we worked together to sort objects. We needed to sort the objects by colour, shape and size, thinking of a "sorting rule" each time. In our Mastering Number sessions we revised number bonds to 5, practised subitising (knowing the amount without needing to count) and used stem sentences including “5 is made with ___ and ___, ___ and ___ make 5” to help us.
In our Geography sessions we went on a walk around the school grounds to identify human and physical features. We then sorted a range of pictures into two groups. In our science lessons, we were able to be real scientists! We identified and labelled different parts of the body and thought about how our body parts can help us to move in different ways.
Well done to our Year 1 superstars for completing their first full week!
Your child will be bringing home a phonics reading book on Thursdays for a week, and will be borrowing a library book on Mondays for a week- please can you ensure that these books are returned on these days. If you would like to carry out some home learning, please find a page of ideas below.
We hope you all have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Friday 6th September
Hello!
Year 1 have had a superb return to school. They have impressed all of the Year 1 team with how well they have approached their learning and how sensible they have been in their new classes. We will endeavour to update you with the learning that your child has taken part in using this blog each Friday.
Next week, your child will take part in their first Forest School sessions on Wednesday. They will need waterproof shoes and a waterproof coat (both named please) for these activities and these will be stored in the covered area outside Shrews.
Our PE days for this half-term will be Monday and Wednesday. Children can now come into school wearing their PE kit and stay in it all day. Please find the PE expectations here: https://www.stleonards.devon.sch.uk/parents/uniform
Please find below (under the Learning Web tab) our Learning Web for this half-term. This will show you what your child will be learning in each subject and can be a useful starting point for discussing what they have learnt at school. In Geography, we will be focusing on where we live.
On Monday 16th September at 3.30pm, there will be a reading meeting for parents/carers in the Studio. This will explain how we will teach phonics and reading this year, as well as how you can best support your child. There will also be a crèche available for any children attending.
Have a great weekend,
Year 1 Team
w.b. 3.6.24
Welcome back to the final term of the year. We have so much to look forward to this term, including a trip (more info to come) and our Sports Day.
Next week we will be conducting the Phonics Screening Check (PSC), a statutory assessment in which children show what they have learnt and retained before they move onto Year 2. More information came home in a handout before half term; please ask your class teacher for more information if you did not receive it.
This term much of our learning is linked. In Science, we continue our unit on plants, looking at how they can grow from bulbs or seeds. Children will learn to name a variety of different trees and identify whether they are deciduous or evergreen. Our Geography unit runs alongside this and looks at 'Where Does Our Food Come From?'. We will be taking a trip to a local organic farm to enrich this learning.
In English, we will spend the first few weeks looking at the book 'Sunflower to Seed', before writing our own version about the lifecycle of a different plant. Children will examine the differences between non-fiction and fiction and have a go at drawing and labelling their own diagrams to sit alongside their writing.
In Maths, we are looking at halves and quarters. Please encourage the use of this language with your child at home.
In RE, the children are beginning a unit where they will look at the questions, 'How should we care for others and the world? Why does it matter?'
In DT, children will design and make their own smoothie in our brand new cookery suite. We can't wait to see them all dressed up in our St Leonard's aprons!
w.b. 22.4.24
English – we are reading ‘What do you do with a tail like this?’ The animals inside the book have extraordinary features which they use to protect themselves, hunt their prey or camouflage themselves in their habitats. The book has inspired us to write interesting questions that include ‘What and How’ with a question mark at the end. We’ve been choosing interesting verbs to describe the way the animals move and are using them in our sentences to make them more interesting.
Maths – we are coming to the end of our learning on Measure. We have been comparing measurements using the words greater and less than to describe volume, length and mass and developing our knowledge words to describe a measure and using those words in stem sentences to explain measurements.
History – our trip to the museum was terrific. The children did incredibly well to walk all the way the way to the RAMM and then back again after being fuelled by their picnic lunches. Thank you to all the parent helpers who joined us. The children enjoyed searching for historical artefacts and learning all about how animals and humans have evolved over time in Devon and more widely.On Friday, we look forward to seeing all the children in their World Book Day costumes and visiting our new library. A brilliant end to a great week!
w.b. 11.3.24
English – we continuing our new unit on fairytales. We are reading the traditional fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood and this week we are creating a story map to plan out own version of the story which we will write as well. We have been extending our writing with adjectives to add detail and interest to our stories and we will be looking at the story of Goldilocks next using adjectives in our learning.
Maths – We have come to the end of our learning on Place Value within 50. Last week we were using number lines to help us to find ‘one more’ and ‘one less’. Our new unit will be on Length and Height and using rulers for measuring.
History – We have carried on our unit on history makers. Last week we learnt a about Mary Seacole’s life and why her life was significant. This week we will learn about how and why Greta Thunberg might make history and we will compare and contrast the achievements of 3 significant people.
w.b. 19.2.24
Since returning after half term we have really enjoyed our new learning!
English – we have begun our new unit on fairytales. We started by reading some traditional fairytales. We read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood. Then we created a story map to help us to learn the structure of the story using actions to help us. We have then began looking at the structure of a sentence and wrote some sentences about Little Red Riding Hood using a ‘who', a 'what' and a 'where’.
Maths – We are coming to the end of our learning on addition and subtraction. This week we have been using number lines to help us to solve missing number problems. We have also been using 1 fact to help us to write 4 facts (number families). If you would like to have a go at practising this at home have a go at this top marks game.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/number-facts/number-fact-families
History – This term we are looking at answering the question, 'Who is the greatest history maker?'. We will look at the lives of three significant individuals (Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Seacole & Greta Thunberg) before comparing them and deciding who we think has had the biggest impact on history. We will also consider how we would like to be remembered. This week we learnt a new key word ‘significant’ and learned that this means important.
w.b. 22.1.24
This week in Year 1 we have been reading the book Dear Zoo. We really enjoyed reading the story and watching videos of some of the teachers in the school trying to guess the pets that they have been sent. We thought that Mr Fisher was sent a giraffe; he told us it was far too tall and kept eating the neighbours trees! We thought that Miss Ballam was sent a scary spider and that Mrs Slaven was sent a tiger that kept running away! In the coming weeks, we are going to be writing our own stories to Hamley's, the toy shop. We will turn them into proper books and go and read them to the younger children in Early Years.
In Maths, we have been looking at numbers to 20. We have been looking at teen numbers especially - working out how many tens and ones are in the numbers. We have been using stem sentences to help us. For example:
13 has 1 ten and 3 ones.
18 has 1 ten and 8 ones.
We have also been making some wonderful abstract art pictures in art using lines, shapes and colours. We have been inspired by the work of Beatriz Milhaze.
In Geography we have been recapping the 7 continents of the world as well as learning about the North and South Pole and the Equator!
w.b. 11.12.23
English
We have been reading the book ‘How to wash a Wooly Mammoth’. We made a class story map and learnt some actions to help us remember the different steps. We have also planned our own version of how to wash a different animal and have written our own instructions!
Maths
This week we have finished our addition and subtraction unit and have now begun looking at our new learning on shape. We have started by naming 3D shapes and looking at different ways to group them.
Wider Curriculum
In History we have enjoyed learning about different toys from the past and comparing them with toys today. We really enjoyed looking at some toys that our grown ups had in the 1960’s. We learnt that older toys were often made from wood or tin and newer toys are often electronic and have screens.
In DT we have loved designing and making our own pop up Christmas cards using levers to bring home to our families!
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wb. 6.11.23
This week the children have been doing lots of exciting learning
English 
We have started reading a new poetry book called Zim, Zam, Zoom written by James Carter. We have looked at some of the poems from the book and talked about the parts we liked, the parts we didn't like and looked for any patterns. We then used a story map of the poem Zim Zam Zoom and came up with some actions to learn it off by heart - we then performed these to the rest of the class!
In Maths, we have been learning all about fact families. We have been using part whole models to help us write 4 different number sentences. This was tricky at first but we kept on going!
In Art, the children have loved designing and making their own print tile based on the great fire of London. We made our own fire backgrounds sing shaving foam and ink, we then made our own printing tile of a tudor house and used printing ink to make our pictures. We are going to make a display of our amazing artwork at school. They all look wonderful!
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Schema are used to present the key knowledge for each unit to the children in a simple way. Each lesson we recap the parts of the schema that we have covered. Schema can be a great way to discuss your child's learning at home.
Science schema- Autumn 1-Ourselves
Science schema- Autumn 2- Animals
RE schema- Autumn 1- Community
Art schema- Autumn 1- Sketch books
DT schema- Autumn 2- Sliders and levers
Here you can find useful websites to support your child: