We will do most of our writing through our topics.

The children will be writing in a variety of genres. There is a strong expectation that all children will use a capital letter to start and then finish their ‘sensible’ sentence with a full stop. Each sentence should have clear finger spaces to denote each individual word.

This term the children will be exposed to using the vocabulary nouns and Proper nouns and using the conjunction ‘and’ to extend their sentences.

In addition to this we have been and will be discussing the use of adjectives to add interest and to further describe, making the experience better for the reader.

Talk about our topics. Any additional research will make them knowledgeable, confident and better writers!

When writing at home, encourage your child to use the Monkfrith script using lead out strokes.
It would be wonderful if they could read what they have written back to you to ensure it makes sense and includes a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop. Please remind children to write on the line.

Encourage children to bring in and share their home learning with the teacher and hopefully the class.

End of Year 1 Writing Targets

Children will participate in a ‘guided reading’ session each week with the class teacher.  They will be heard reading individually and in a group by the class teacher and by another adult.  

Discuss vocabulary – even if your child has read it fluently, they do not necessarily understand what it means.

Reading for at least 5 – 10 minutes each day makes a huge difference!  Reading material can take the form of packets, magazines, signs and of course fiction, non-fiction and poetry books.  READ pictures too!

Remember to keep reading to your child, as it should be an enjoyable experience – get cosy with a nice blanket!

Talk about new and interesting vocabulary that they come across and make sure they understand the meaning.

We follow the Supersonic Phonic Friends phonics scheme.

There will be daily phonics lessons with the inclusion of handwriting.

Find sounds that we have learnt in words in books, praise when they see sounds in menus and in signs.

Encourage your child to point use their robot arms or sound buttons when thinking about words.

When spelling – always encourage your child to break down words and listen out for the sounds in the words – especially the end sounds.

There is a spelling list of words that your child should be familiar with by the end of year 1 on the school website.  It is located under ‘parent zone’-> ‘home learning’.

We begin the year by revisiting and revising all of the Supersonic Phonic Friends Basics 3 sounds and tricky words that have taught in Reception.

Then we will move onto Basics 4 which teaches children to be able to hear more than 3 sounds in a word. They will continue to embed their mastery of the Basics 1 and 2 spellings for sounds in words and progress to 4, 5 and 6 sounds in a word. They will be supported by Magic Mack and Jazzy Jack who will help them hear the tricky adjacent consonants that are challenging to hear in words of more than 3 sounds. Children will also learn new tricky words with Tess and read nonsense words with Nan.

After half term we begin to teach ‘The Higher Levels of Phonics – Choose to Use Spellings’ which teaches children the concept that there are more than one spelling for a sound that they can hear in a word. With the help of Choose to Use Suze, they will find out all about ‘sounds the same but looks different’ and cool and not so cool choose to use spelling rules for up to 85 spellings for the 44 sounds of the English Language.

Here is a link to the sounds taught

Basics 2 and 3 Alliteration and Actions

Basics 3 – Spelling-Alliteration-and-Rhymes

The-Higher-Levels-5-Spelling-Alliteration-and-Rhymes-1.pdf

We start the Spring term with an exciting topic called Splendid Skies in which we will be learning about the different types of weather and looking for signs of the seasons and discussing seasonal changes.

We’ll study TV weather reports and create our own weather report, keep a weather diary and learn about the life and work of Sir Francis Beaufort.

Please talk about the topics and encourage your child to do additional research to help improve their knowledge and contribute more in class.

In Spring 2 our topic is called Bright Lights, Big City in which we will be exploring London, including its history, namely “The Great Fire’, and famous landmarks, as well as thinking about England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales (We’ll be finding out about capital cities, main rivers and national emblems).

Our book focus for this topic is ‘Katie in London’. We will also be reading and listening to many other exciting stories about London.

If you have any other books/stories that focus on London, please send them in so your child can read it or share with another child / whole class.

If you can, take your child to visit the different landmarks and museums of London and talk to them about what / who is there, hopefully they can come back and share their new knowledge with the class.

Encourage your child to read the door numbers on your walk home – can they identify odd and even?

On the walk home count a specific car type/colour.

When shopping, encourage your child to look at the weights and prices of items.

Go to the park. Collect and count and sort natural items. Can you sort the items you found in more than 1 way ?

What 2D shapes can you spot all around you? How many sides does it have? How many vertices does it have?

Create models with junk modelling discussing the 3D shapes they’ve chosen using the language faces, vertices and edges.

Some helpful & fun websites you can use:

http://www.topmarks.co.uk

End of Year 1 Maths Targets.

We follow the Barnet Syllabus for Religious Education (RE).

Our topic this term is Beliefs. Within this we will be exploring the need for rules and knowing right from wrong.

Our PE lessons are currently integrated into our daily activities in the form of yoga, gross motor and movement breaks.

The children will also be participating in weekly PE lessons in the hall.

Please make sure that all kits are in school every day and that each item is clearly labelled. 

PE kits will be sent home at half term and at the end of term for washing.

Please check labels are clearly marked before returning to school.

Please check plimsoles still fit.