Year 1

Welcome to Year 1

Year 1 is a fun and exciting year and we are looking forward to working with you!

Below is some key information you will find useful. You will find some website links and some general information about each term so you can see what we are up to!

Year 1 Team

Class 1A – Mrs Thompson (Monday and Tuesday)

Mrs Main (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

Class 1B – Miss Bradley

Teaching Assistants – Mrs Gaskin and Mrs Chisholm

Midday Supervisor – Mrs Wragg

If you have any issues please contact us via ‘Class Dojo’ we are more than happy to help.

Useful Information

  • PE dayThursday morning 2 sessions will be taught on this day. Please ensure that your child’s PE kit is in school ready for the PE session on a Thursday. Please ensure every piece of the PE kit is named.
  • Reading diaries should be in school every day. Please ensure that you sign the reading record every time your child reads. Books are changed weekly on a Friday. If your child’s book is not in school it will not be changed. There is an information sheets about the Read, Write Inc books stuck in the front of your child’s reading diary. You should hear your child read at least 3 times each week.

If you have any problems or questions, please contact us via Class Dojo. We are more than happy to help!

Homework

On a weekly basis we expect the children to complete the following:

Reading – to read at least 3 times a week

Maths – play some games on numbots

Phonics – dot and dash then read the real and alien words (sheet provided weekly)

Curriculum

Summer Term

This term, our English theme is based on the Whatever Next by Jill Murphy.

We will also be spending some time looking at the book The Little Ships: A Story of the Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk to celebrate VE Day.

Below are some of our other learning themes and key questions:

  • Maths: Numbers to 40, Addition and Subtraction Word Problems, Multiplication
  • History: The First Moon Landing
  • Geography: Our Local Area and Hot and Cold Places
  • Art: Printing Andy Warhol
  • RE: Where do People Worship
  • Music: Charanga – Your Imagination
  • PE: Gymnastics and Athletics
  • Computing: Laptops – Digital Writing

If you would like additional information about Curriculum coverage please refer to the Curriculum Roadmaps that are uploaded onto Class Dojo.

Dates for your Diary

Thursday 1st May 2025 – Walk to the Park

Monday 5th May 2025 – Bank Holiday

Tuesday 6th May 2025 – Walk to the Church

Thursday 8th May 2025 – VE Day

Tuesday 20th May 2025 – Sports Day

Friday 23rd May 2025 – Last Day of Term

Website Links

Numbots – A fantastic resource to develop addition and subtraction facts. Your child’s username and password is in their reading diary.

Phonics Play – A super website to practice reading words

Hit the Button – A great resource to speed number bonds to 10

Subject Information

Common exception words are important because they are just that – common. They are words that appear frequently in texts that help readers understand what they are reading.

Below is a list of words that children should be able to read and spell by the end of Year 1.

Year 1 Common Exception Words [PDF]

We love reading in Year 1

We cover a range of genres including: stories, non fiction books and poetry. In the classroom we will provide opportunities for children to read for pleasure.

In Year 1 we use the RWI Phonics Programme, they will be provided with a Storybook and a ‘Book Bag Book’ each week. The Storybook will have been read at least four times already whilst in school so, the children will be desperate to show off their fluency and expression! The ‘Book Bag Book’ will be based on the Storybook that has been read in school. It will contain many of the words and sounds that the children have been learning in school but, this book will not have been read by the children yet.

Did you know that reading for just ten minutes a day can have a huge impact on reading progress and will expose the children to new words, build their vocabulary and help to develop reading fluency, especially in terms of pace? If you need any support with reading at home or need some top tips when hearing your children read, there is some great information in the middle of the reading diaries. Alternatively, we are so happy to help so please ask a member of the team.

Does your child read lots of books from home as well as their school books? We’d love to know about them so please, feel free to record this in their diaries too!

In the Summer term all children will undertake the phonics screening check. This is a government requirement to ensure children are making expected progress in phonics. This is NOTHING to worry about.

The Phonics Screening Check contains 40 words that are a mixture of real and pseudo – words. Children will know these as alien words and they assess whether your child can decode. Children will be exposed to this every day in their phonics sessions and the classroom.

The check will be carried out by your child’s class teacher.

Do I need to do anything to help prepare my child for the check?

The best thing you can do is read regularly with your child.

Later on in the school year we will send home examples of real and alien words for you to practice with your children.