Class Teacher: Mrs Marshall

Teaching Partners:  Mrs Chilton

Learning Support Assistants: Mrs Thurman and Mrs Mulligan

 

Welcome to Year 1! 

Our class page has lots of useful information about the day to day running of Class 1 and about what we get up to in our busy, happy and exciting classroom and is your go-to place for all of the key information about our learning journey together this year. We are very excited for all the new learning adventures we have awaiting you in this final term.

Our Timetable - Summer Term

Please note that our PE day is on a Tuesday afternoon. Please come to school dressed in PE kit on these days. Earrings and other jewellery should be removed for PE and hair tied back where possible. As the weather warms up please ensure your child has a water bottle, sun cream and a sun hat each day.

Curriculum Overview

Summer Term 1:

• English: Writing short narratives based on Martha Maps It Out; non-fiction writing about bugs; stories including We’re Going to Find a Monster, Little Red and The Very Hungry Lion; exploring and performing poetry from Out and About.

• Maths: Multiplication and division; Fractions; Position and direction; Place value to 100; Money; Time.
• Science: Exploring how plants grow and what they need to survive.
• Geography: Learning about Shanghai.
• History: Learning about famous explorers.
• DT: Designing and making smoothies and dips using fruits and vegetables.
• Art: Creating artwork inspired by flora and fauna.
• Computing: Creating 3D designs from blueprints; introduction to programming; e-safety.
• Music: Exploring pitch.
• Physical Education: Preparing for cricket festival and Sports Day; developing coordination and teamwork.
• Religious Education: Exploring belonging to a faith community and caring for others and the world.
• Relationships, Health and Economic Education: HeartSmart focus on being true to ourselves; Milo’s Money – understanding wants and needs.

Summer Term 2:

• English: Developing writing skills across a range of purposes and texts.
• Maths: Consolidating number, calculation and problem-solving skills.
• Science: Continuing learning about plants and seasonal changes.
• Geography/History: Building understanding of the wider world and significant people.
• Art/DT: Continuing creative and practical design projects.
• Computing: Developing programming and digital skills.
• Music: Continuing musical exploration through singing and instruments.
• Physical Education: Preparing for and taking part in Sports Day.
• Religious Education: Exploring beliefs, values and communities.
• Relationships, Health and Economic Education: Developing understanding of choices, goals and money.

We love learning in a fun, interactive way and try to get outdoors as much as possible so please send your child with a warm waterproof coat and a change of footwear as the seasons change. 

Homework

Phonics: 

Each week ebooks and interactive games will be uploaded to your child’s Bug Club account. Playing these games and reading along with the read to me option will significantly improve your child’s fluency, recognition of high frequency words and will help to consolidate the sounds and spellings taught that week. Other homework or flashcards may be sent home to practise a concept or high frequency words the children have been learning that week.  

Maths: 

Involving your child in helping to pair socks, cut up fruit into equal pieces or to count out objects are easy practical ways to support your child with building confidence with number and counting. Playing board games with a dice is really beneficial in recognising numbers in different formations, (which is known as subitising.) Games such as snakes and ladders where they are required to go forwards and backwards helps them to be able to count reliably. Knowing one more and one less is a key concept which can easily be built into every day routines. Talking to your child about time (e.g we need to clean our teeth for two minutes – that’s how long it takes to sing happy birthday twice through) and referring to the time on the clock or on a watch when it is time to leave for school or to go to an after school club really helps to lay those important mathematical foundations. Top Marks is an excellent website which has a great resource bank of interactive games to practise key skills. I have also included a copy of the key concepts covered in maths in each year group below for reference. 

Reading:

Year 1 is a pivotal year for developing reading fluency as your child makes the transition from learning letter sounds to applying their phonics knowledge which will allow them to move from de-coding to reading fluently. To do this requires a vital partnership approach between home and school. We therefore ask that you aim to read with your child, ideally daily for a few minutes or at least three times a week and to record this activity in their reading diary.  

Your child will be given a decodable book which contains the sounds that your child knows so that they can access this book independently and a reading for pleasure book. Books will be changed on a weekly basis by Mrs Chilton and as the year progresses pupils will be taught how to change their own colour coded books. Please note that children are encouraged to read these books at least three times before being changed. Re-reading a text will enable your child to practise reading fluently with expression and automaticity which can only be done once they are familiar with the text. We actively encourage pupils to choose library books that interest them both in school and at home and to read as widely as possible, in order to broaden their vocabulary and to build up a store of amazing ideas to use in their own writing. (Please can we ask that books are stored separately to water bottles to avoid leakage.) 

Pupils can earn their Reading Fluency Passport by completing a half termly reading challenge at home designed to involve parents and carers in your child’s reading journey and promote a Love of Reading at home as well as at school. We would encourage you to make your passport into a celebration of reading with photographs, book reviews, evidence of trips to the library, and photos of all the wonderful places you have enjoyed reading a book. We would love to share videos of you completing your reading challenges. 

Key Stage One: 

Autumn 1: Share a favourite picture book and enjoy taking it in turns to tell the story.  

Autumn 2: Reading with expression. Try changing your voice to match the characters in your book and bring your story to life by changing your volume and delivery. Traditional tales work well such as The Three Little Pigs or Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson 

Spring 1: Paired Reading: Visit your local library and enjoy new books together. 

Spring 2: Family Sing along -Join in with action rhymes or nursery rhymes.  

Summer 1: Pick a poem and perfect your phrasing. Decide which words to emphasise, where will you change the volume of your voice and where you can add actions, costumes, puppets or props. Send in a video of your performance or take your Chance to Shine. 

Summer 2: Beat the clock: Practise reading phrases to improve your sight vocabulary and fluency. 

 

The following links offer guidance on age appropriate books to read with your child. 

Top 100 lists here: https://www.thereaderteacher.com 

 Top 50 lists here: https://www.booksfortopics.com/ages/) 

Key Dates

Parent-Teacher Meetings:

We offer these termly, dates are included on our weekly newsletters.  

Communication 

 You can contact Mrs Marshall via the contact form (see right panel at the top of the page) or via school office (office@archbishopcranmer.notts.sch.uk or schooladmin@archbishopcranmer.notts.sch.uk). 

Please note our open door policy and do not hesitate to contact myself, Mrs Marshall, with any questions or queries – however big or small. I will respond to any emails and am available at the end of each school day if you would rather talk face to face.

Throughout the academic year new information, key dates and resources to support your child's learning journey are added to our class page so please visit us regularly, and follow our Instagram feed to see what we are up to. 

Useful information:

• Our PE lessons will continue to take place on Tuesday afternoon where pupils will take place in a carousel of activities. We would ask that all pupils come to school in their P.E. kits on this day. Our PE will take place outside whenever possible so please ensure that your child has suitable clothing for the changing weather. We also want to utilise our wonderful outdoor area as much as possible so if you are able to make sure your child has a pair of wellingtons and a waterproof coat and/ trousers so that we can go outside all year round. As the weather can still be very hot in September please make sure your child is sun safe by applying sun cream and sending them to school with a refillable water bottle. Please ensure all clothing and footwear is clearly named as it is much easier to return items to their rightful owner at the end of the day. 
• Please may we remind parents to discourage children from bringing toys or personal belongings into class - they can get lost or broken and act as a distraction during valuable learning time.
• Chance to Shine: we love to celebrate your child's talents and achievements by giving them the opportunity to talk about what they have been up to in class. Please refer to the Chance to Shine Timetable to see which dates have been allocated to your child. Please feel free to upload photographs or video clips of your child's latest achievements, new skills, sporting prowess or hobbies on Class Dojo so we can showcase their achievements and adventures and celebrate with them.
• Come and join us: We love to share our learning journey with you and the children love to welcome visitors into our classroom and so if you are a parents or grandparent who can spare an hour or two to help with reading or to share memories of your school days then please contact Mrs Marshall who would love to hear from you.
• As always if you have any queries or concerns I am always available at the end of the school day or feel free to drop me an email or give me a ring.