Click here to visit the Y1 learning journey! Thank you to everyone who attended the Y1 information evening in July. The PowerPoint slides from the evening are available at the bottom of this page and contain lots of useful information about starting Y1. Staff in Y1 Welcome to Y1! Our class teachers are Miss Farrell (Australia class) and Miss Hague and Miss Murphy (Madagascar class). Both Y1 classes are situated in Base 4 in the Infant department. We also have our wonderful teaching assistants: Mrs Swain (Monday - Thursday), Mrs Black (Monday - Friday) and Mrs Atkinson (afternoons). We are very lucky to also have Mrs Wells teach Outdoor Learning! Mrs Wells will cover Miss Farrell's PPA time on Thursday afternoons in Australia class, during which time both Y1 classes will experience Outdoor Learning.    Miss Farrell Miss Hague Miss Murphy Australia Class Teacher Madagascar Class Teacher Madagascar Class Teacher  Mrs Wells Outdoor Learning / Y1F PPA teacher  Mrs Atkinson Mrs Swain Mrs Black Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant Topics During the year we will be working around six main topic themes. These topics will cover all areas of the curriculum and will develop your child’s key skills. The topics cover the new national curriculum areas of learning and ensure comprehensive coverage for Y1. Find out more about our exciting topics below... Autumn Term 1 – Staying Alive During this half term children will be captured by the wonderful story of Florence Nightingale and will act as historians to discover more about her amazing influence on nursing. We will embed this learning with a trip to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet to meet Florence and immerse ourselves in hospital life! Children will also learn more about the human body and how to identify, compare, name and draw the parts of the body that helps us move. We will be using our English Superheroes to help us learn about 'Nova' Nouns, 'Viper' Verbs and 'Admiral' Adjective and how these are needed to make a sentence. To embed this learning, we will look at the story of Hansel and Gretel, and use drama to bring this traditional tale to life! Autumn Term 2 - One Giant Leap! During this half term the children will be learning about human's historic moon landing! The children will be history detectives exploring historical sources to help them generate questions. We are very lucky to also be getting a visit from The History Van to learn more about the mystery person that first stepped foot on the moon! We will also look at the influence of a modern day astronaut - Tim Peake and get to meet a real astronaut trainer from Sheffield! In English we will also look at some wonderful books linked to space and the moon, such as Man on the Moon by Simon Bartram and write instructions on how to make an Astronaut's breakfast! This term we will also be looking for signs of Autumn, particularly during our visit to Ecclesall Woods during which our little learners will be encouraged to use their senses to explore Autumnal changes. They will also be thinking about hibernation and migration, with a focus on hedgehogs. We might even be lucky enough to get a visit from a real vet to help us with our learning! Spring Term 1 - I Spy The focus this half term is geography! In English the children will have two focused texts; 'The magic paintbrush' - a story set in China, and 'Handa's surprise' - set in Africa. As part of their topic work they will be learning about the different continents and oceans, then focusing on Kenya to compare and contrast it to the UK. As part of this learning children are encouraged to use maps,
atlases, aerial views and pictures. The science learning is linked to carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, and in art they are taught how to draw and paint animals using thin and thick brushes, tints, tones and shades. We will also be thinking about Winter and if we're lucky we may be able to explore ice and snow! Spring Term 2 - Superheroes This term is all about being a real life superhero! We will think actively about our core values; kindness, creativity, resourcefulness and resilience. The children will be introduced to 'Eliot the midnight superhero' and they will write their very own superhero story! The children will have lots of creative 'superhero' learning in the continuous provision and they will also create their own superhero city scapes. We will be geographers, looking closely at the United Kingdom and our locality using aerial photographs, and developing our orienteering skills with lots of opportunities for outdoor learning. The term ends with a superhero day! Keep your eyes open for a request for volunteers as the day is very busy with lots of fun activities. Summer Term 1 - Grow Grow Grow The children will be learning how to grow their own dinosaur by reading about the exploits of Albie, who accidentally grew a dinosaur habitat in his garden! The children will also be science detectives, thinking about signs of spring and using the outside provision to learn about common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees. We will be exploring Ecclesall woods to support this learning so there will be another opportunity for parent and carer volunteers to join us! Finally, the children will be dissecting a flowering plant to enable them to identify and describe the basic structure of a common plant. Summer Term 2 - A Carnival of Animals This term we will be identifying and comparing lots of different animals including fish, birds, amphibians, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates including our own pets. In English we will be using the Charlie and Lola text, 'We do promise honestly to look after your dog!' The children will be encouraged to think about how to care for a pet. We will study and question the structure of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Their habitats will also be investigated including the rain forest, ocean, desert and many more. If we're lucky, we may even get a visit from Zoo lab allowing us to handle real life animals!  Continuous Provision and Challenges In Y1 we have a variety of areas of continuous provision which children can access when they are not doing their focused table learning . These enable children to develop independent learning and social skills as well as creativity. There is also an outdoor area available for children to further their independent learning. The use of continuous provision in Y1 also aids the smooth transition from reception. Harry, Oscar and Douglas challenges are differentiated and relate to outcomes in the Y1 national curriculum and link with current topics. Children can opt to do these when not learning at the tables with their class teacher. If they complete a challenge they get to move their picture along the rainbow. If they complete all 6 challenges they will move onto the Pot of Gold and receive a certificate. Here are the areas where we can complete our challenges:
Our Timetable In Y1 a usual day will be as follows: 8.35: Doors open, children settle on the carpet - we encourage pupils in Y1 to enter the classroom independently 8.45: Doors close, registration and lunch options Guided reading Maths or English Phonics Playtime Maths or English Lunch time Assembly Topic/PE/GUS Story time 3.10: Home time *Please note this is an example timetable and frequently differs due to current topics or special activities. We will often do double maths or English in a morning especially in the Autumn term when the children are still settling into this busy day!* PE Y1's usual PE sessions are usually on Monday PM and Thursday PM. All children need indoor and outdoor kits as we try to use areas inside and out as much as possible. If you are unsure of specific kit please don't hesitate to speak to a member of staff. We also have the opportunity to take part in football coaching from Sheffield FC, and dance lessons by Gemini dance group.
Reading in Y1 - information for parents/carers In Y1 teachers hear children read weekly during a group guided reading session. Some pupils, who need an extra boost, may read 1:1 with a teaching assistant more frequently. We encourage children to read (and be read to) at home as much as possible (this includes books from home/the library too!) so they can develop a love of reading. Children can change their school reading book by placing it in the designated box in the classroom on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Children will be assessed (benchmarked) in reading at regular points of the school year. If you think that your child need to be moved up or down a book band, please speak to your child’s class teacher. We ask kindly that parents/carers do not move children up or down reading bands without speaking to a member of teaching staff first. Communication Both Y1 classes are located in the Y1 base in the main infant building. If you have a message for your child's class teacher please write it in your child's communication book and hand it in to a member of staff at the beginning of the school day. If you would like to speak to your child's class teacher please do so at the end of the day when we operate an open door policy. There will be a teaching assistant on the door of each classroom every morning who will be available for you to speak to before school if required. Phonics - information for parents/carers In Y1 children have a daily 20 minute phonics session. We will set a small amount of weekly homework to support the children's phonics learning, normally handed out on a Friday afternoon. These may include spellings, phonemes to practise and / or words to read. If you think that you have missed a piece of homework please speak to a TA in the morning or your child's class teacher after school. In June, your child will take part in the annual Phonics Screening Check. This is a short, statutory check for all Y1 pupils. They will do this 1:1 with their teacher and read a variety of real and alien words to test their decoding skills. Please see some examples of this below:     As we get nearer to the time of this Screening Check you will receive plenty of practise resources from your child's class teacher. There are also a variety of free phonics activities to support your child's learning in phonics at http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ . Please speak to Miss Godfrey (Leader of KS1) if you would like more information about this. If you need support with the pronunciation of the sounds (phonemes), the Jolly Phonics videos and the actions they teach are what the children are familiar with from school - Phase 3 sounds Phase 5 sounds - Geraldine the giraffe videos which we use in school: |
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