Summer Term

Year One

Welcome to the summer term in Year One. Once again we have a busy time ahead of us covering a wide range of work in the different subject areas. This letter gives you a brief overview of what the children in Year One will be studying during the coming months.

Literacy.

• Developing reading comprehension skills through daily shared reading sessions & independent reading review times.
• Readingwith a growing confidence: using punctuation knowledge to develop pace and use of expression.
• Improving the spelling of key words in written work using vocabulary taken from the National Literacy Strategy word lists.
• Developing phonics knowledge further with the increased use of long vowel sounds such as ‘oo’ & ‘i-e’.
• Finding out that factual texts on similar themes may present information differently.
• Identifying a simple question in writing and learning to use question marks to formulate own questions.
• Reading poetry on a variety of themes and using it as a model for own poetic writing.

Numeracy.

• Numbers. Counting in odds & evens, counting further in steps of two, five & ten.
• Being able to say the number that is one or ten more (or less) than a given number to 30 and beyond.
• Comparing two familiar numbers, saying which is more or less, and giving a number that lies between them.
• Money. Recognising coins of different denominations, finding totals and giving change from values.
• Shape & measure. Comparing two, then more capacities using direct comparisons.
• Folding shapes to make them into symmetrical patterns.
• Using everyday language to describe position, direction and movement.
• Time. Reading the time on analogue clocks to half & quarter past an hour.
• Understanding and using the vocabulary related to capacity, weight & measure.

Science.

• Learning that materials have many features which can be described - “metals can be strong”
• Describing properties & comparing the differences between materials such as wood and plastic.
• Exploring different objects using the appropriate senses and making clear observations about what has been found out.
• Learning that materials are chosen for specific purposes, for example wool is used to make jumpers because it can make a warm, soft fabric.
• Suggesting how to test an idea about whether a fabric is suitable for a particular purpose.
• Knowing that some metals are magnetic and others are non-magnetic.

ICT (Computer technology)

• Learning how to give and follow clear & specific instructions in order to make things happen.
• Ordering and creating sequences of instructions, so that others can follow them, and predicting what will happen.
• Investigating how machines follow instructions and need to be switched on and off, and controlled.
• Learning to recognise the need for accuracy, definition, and common language to ensure that everyday appliances operate.

Geography.

• Learning how to carry out small-scale geographical investigations about traffic & parking in our local area.
• Making observations, recognising and describing the main ways in which parking is controlled in our school environment.
• Undertaking simple mapping tasks to make own plans.
• Recognising ways of how we are able to change the local environment.

History.

• Looking at similarities and differences between homes today and homes in the past.
• Recognising important features of buildings both inside and out.
• Exploring different household objects, learning how they are used and how they have changed the way we live our lives.
• Investigating stories about home life, enabling children to distinguish old from new.
• Learning about life at a time beyond living memory.

Art & Design.

• Investigating the different qualities of a variety of natural and made materials.
• Learning the skills for weaving by making a paper cut loom and creating a woven product.
• Gaining sensory experiences of materials and using their understanding of colour and texture to describe different materials.
• Learning about how textiles are used in their own and others’ lives.

Design & Technology.

• Developing their understanding of what building structures are used for – homes, shops, offices.  
• Making drawn observations of different types of building.
• Developing and modelling their ideas of buildings by creating static models from sheet and reclaimed materials and using construction kits.
• Gaining a basic understanding about structures and learning how they can be made stronger and more stable.

Music with Mrs Wright.

• Developing musical skills to recognise the different ways sounds are made & changed.
• Learning to name and play a variety of untuned percussion instruments supported by simple graphic notation.

Religious Education.

• Understanding that some people have books which are of special significance to them.
• To gain an understanding of why the Bible is special to Christians.
• To develop an understanding about why the Torah scroll is special to people of the Jewish faith.
• To gain an understanding of why the Qur’an is important to Islam.

Physical Education.

• Exploring basic gymnastic skills, actions and ideas with increasing understanding.
• Remembering & repeating simple skills or actions with increasing control and co-ordination.
• Learning how to choose and apply gymnastic skills and actions in sequence & in combination.
• Finding out about the importance to health of being active.
• Recognising and describe how their bodies feel during different activities.

As you can see the children will be kept busy throughout the summer term. In addition to the areas of learning listed above there will also special events and activities to look forward to including:

1. Jubilee Celebrations
2. May Day dancing
3. Sports Day
4. PTA Summer Fair
5. Swimming (weather permitting)
6. YearOne School trip to the British Museum in June

In the middle of June the children will be undertaking the new statutory Year One phonic assessment tests. The results will be processed and presented to you along with your child’s end of year report which will ready at the beginning of July.

Towards the end of term we will be holding an Open Evening when we invite you all to come in with your children and look through their work together. This evening also gives you the opportunity to walk next door to the Year Two classroom and greet Mrs Banbury.

If you have any questions about the subjects your child will be exploring this term please come in and see me after school when I will be able to talk to you.

Best wishes.

B. Horgan

Year One.