Year 1 Curriculum Newsletter: Spring Term 2012

We wish you all a Happy New Year. This term, our topics are Weather and Investigating Materials. We are also focusing on the ‘Year of Communication’ as a school, and Year One’s target this term is to develop the language of social etiquette (please, thank you, excuse me, sorry etc). Please could you help us by reinforcing this at home.

Literacy – This subject follows the Primary Framework for Literacy. This term, we will be looking at information books, reading and writing stories with repeating patterns, and looking at stories from other cultures. A large proportion of the term will be dedicated to Traditional and Fairy Tales. Now that the children are more confident with their writing, we will be expecting them to punctuate sentences correctly within their work. For some, this may mean a full stop at the end of a simple sentence and for others, adding capital letters and full stops to two or three sentences.

Numeracy – This subject also follows the national guidelines. We will be solving problems in the context of numbers, recalling all pairs of numbers with a total of 10 and the corresponding subtraction facts, adding and subtracting amounts mentally and creating and using pictograms to answer questions.

Science – This term, children will be learning about Materials. We will be naming and describing the properties of different materials as well as investigating their uses. In the second half of term, we will be learning about Forces.

ICT –This term, the children will be labelling and classifying using a range of programs on the computer. This will be linked to the topic of materials. In the second half of the term the focus will be on using programs to control objects and robots. If you have any remote controlled toys at home then please let us know after the half term holidays.

Design and Technology – Design and Technology will focus upon developing the children’s knowledge of Materials and their suitability for a purpose. The children will be applying their learning about Forces to make a model of a playground.

Art – In the first half of the term, we will be using a variety of materials to make collages. The children will have opportunities to experiment with tools and techniques and apply these to a range of materials.

Geography – In the first half of the term the children will be finding out about weather and climates. They will be comparing the weather in different countries and learning about seasonal changes.

RE – In the first half of term the children will be thinking about, and discussing, the topic of Belonging. This will include belonging to a family, class, school and the wider community. They will also learn about how Christians and Muslims welcome a new baby into their families and communities. In the second half of term the children will be finding out about Mothering Sunday, Lent and Easter.

PE – We have PE lessons twice weekly. This half term the children will be focusing on gym and dance. In gym, we will focus upon travelling and balancing on different body parts. We will be encouraging the children to improve their sequences through evaluation. In dance we will be responding to rhythm and learning dances relating to the weather and the book Handa’s Surprise. After half term the focus will be on practising dances for our Year 1 production and practising throwing, catching and aiming skills in games.

Music – Music will be based upon ‘pitch’ for the first half of the term and for the second half, ‘pulse and rhythm’. The children will be responding to songs with different actions and accompanying their music with instruments.

Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship (PSHEC) – This term the children will be learning about Citizenship and focusing on developing their knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of learning: empathy, managing feelings and social skills.

Homework – Homework across Key Stage 1 will follow the Homework Policy. We will continue to send home spellings for a test each week and will be sending home some reading comprehension practice. Other homework may be Literacy, Numeracy or topic based.

Reading –Please continue to read with your child each day. Encourage your child to ‘walk through’ the text before reading i.e. taking time to predict what it is about, using the pictures to gain clues about the characters and pointing out any potentially tricky words.  Please also take time to ask them questions about the text to ensure that they are reading for meaning and not simply decoding. This will help them to develop comprehension skills which we are now beginning to work on in class. Children have a range of opportunities to read within class and take part in Guided Reading sessions with a teacher or teaching assistant.

General Information

Home/school link book - We continue to value any comments you are able to make on your child’s progress, both in reading and other areas. Whilst we endeavour to do so, please appreciate that it is not always possible to look in their books every day. With this in mind, more urgent matters should be passed on for the teacher’s attention by telephone, letter, via the school secretary or through the message book at the gate.

Parental help – Any help in the classroom is very much appreciated, even if you are only able to help for a few hours. We are particularly keen to have parents in who are willing to hear readers. Please ensure that you are CRB checked.

Please could you ensure that ALL school uniform, PE kit, coats, hats, gloves and scarves are clearly named in a permanent pen or sewn in label.

We are available after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please feel free to make an appointment to discuss your child’s work and progress.

Mrs Roberts, Mrs Lea and Mrs Smith