We would like to begin by offering a warm welcome to Year 1, the first step into your child’s journey of Key Stage 1!
Our aim at the beginning of Year 1 is to give the children a happy and successful transition from their Early Years learning into Key Stage One. Teacher led learning time gradually builds so that the children smoothly transition from past experiences of small group teacher led learning in Early years, to whole class teaching by the end of Year 1. We feel that it is important for Year 1 children to continue to enjoy time for independent learning, exploration and play.
Learning in Year 1 is always very practical and lots of fun. We not only continue to learn about the world around us but we enjoy topics such as Animal Magic, If you go down to the woods today, Wonders of the World and Inventors and Explorers. We will enjoy making use of our fabulous outside classroom, as well as exploring and investigating in our school garden. By working practically we can bring our topics and learning to life! Many subjects have links to our topics so we might be reading and writing about dinosaurs in English but also measuring dinosaur footprints in Maths and creating our own imaginary dinosaurs in Art. It really gives our learning depth and meaning.
By the end of the year the children can do lots of new things in all the subjects we cover. Here are some examples…
In Maths we learn to count, read, write and order numbers to 100. We learn to use a range of mental calculations including counting on and back, understanding odd and even, doubling and halving. We estimate and measure weight, length and capacity. We use lots of practical equipment to help us with our learning.
We cover English curriculum objectives through; phonics, handwriting, lessons linked to our topic, guided reading, grammar and we share stories every day. We use the ‘Talk for Writing’ initiative to get our imaginations soaring and learn how to write as practically as possible. We use role-play, actions and pictures to support our writing.
In Computing we use computers and iPads. We also use a programme called Purple Mash. We learn how to collect data, make graphs, draw and create word documents, we even learn about algorithms (which is actually easier than it sounds). We enjoy using the iPads for research and use the most up to date apps to help us learn.
Year 1 is such an exciting year bursting with wonderful topics, experiences, opportunities and trips! Together, we are going to continue to grow into curious, confident independent learners with wild imaginations and the drive to question, explore and investigate. We cannot wait for our journey to begin…
If you ever have any questions about life in Year 1, please do not hesitate to catch us for a chat in the playground or to make an appointment in the office for us to meet at a later date.
