Welcome to Year 1
This area contains helpful information and reminders. It will also be updated regularly throughout the year with photos and updates about what we get up to as part of our learning journey.
Year 1 Staff
Our class teacher is Mrs Blakey.
- listen to instructions
- be kind
- try their best
Our Learning
You can find our more about our learning by visiting the Curriculum section of our website.
You can see our long-term learning overview here: LTO
Our Topics
Autumn 1:
Science: We will be learning about the seasons and how the weather changes through the year.
History: We will be learning all about the Great Fire of London including how it started, why is spread so quickly and the impact it had on life today.
Art: Our first project is based on Durham miners. We will be exploring the medium of charcoal and using light and dark to produce our own mining picture.
Computing: We will be exploring computers and how they are used in the world. We will be practising how to log on to a computer and learning how to open a webpage and develop our mouse skills.
Music: We will be exploring pitch, pulse and rhythm in a range of music genres and sharing our opinions of different music.
PE
On Tuesday we have P.E. with Mr Storey and will be developing our sending and receiving skills.
On Wednesday we have PE with Mrs Blakey and Scott from Sports Cool and will be developing our rolling and bowling skills.
On Thursday we have dance led by a professional coach.
On Friday we are also learning how to ride a bike with Darren from Durham Schools Sports Partnership.
Autumn 2:
Science: We will be learning about the parts of the human body, our senses, groups of animals (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds) and what animals eat (carnivores, herbivores and omnivores).
Geography: We will be exploring weather patterns in the UK, learning what weather forecasts show, the dangers of weather and using key words to describe the weather. We will then be learning about hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Pole and developing our understanding of the human/physical geography of a cold area of the world in the context of the Arctic.
Art: In Art we will be exploring printing and pattern using a variety of objects including printing pads and stencils.
DT: In DT we will be working with textiles to design and create our own fabric faces.
Computing: In Computing we will be learning all about algorithms and how to create, follow and debug instructions.
Music: We will be developing our understanding and skills of pitch, pulse and rhythm as we learn and perform our Christmas Nativity songs.
PE
On Tuesday we have P.E. with Mr Storey and will be developing our movement and motor skills.
On Wednesday we have PE with Mrs Blakey and Scott from Sports Cool and will be developing our throwing and catching skills with small balls and beanbags.
Spring 1:
Science: We will be learning about plants. We will explore wild and garden plants, label the parts of a plant and carry out some plant investigations.
History: We will be learning about a significant person in our area – Grace Darling. We will find out who Grace was and why she was famous and consider what we have learnt from Grace’s example.
Art: In Art we will be exploring textiles. We will be practising weaving with different materials.
Computing: In Computing we will be exploring how to use a Beebot to give program a device and plan and follow instructions.
Music: We will be learning about some important musical vocabulary through our Under the Sea topic.
PE
On Tuesday we have P.E. with Mr Storey and will be developing our movement and kicking skills.
On Wednesday we have PE with Mrs Blakey and Scott from Sports Cool and will be developing our throwing and catching skills with large balls.
Spring 2:
Science: We will be continuing to learn about plants. We will find out the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees, label the parts of a tree and identify some common trees.
Geography: We will be learning about our local area by looking at maps and describing human and physical features of our local area.
DT: In DT we will be making a freestanding structure through designing and creating a suitable packed lunch for Pirate Paddy.
Computing: In Computing we will be exploring digital imagery. We will be taking searching for and editing photos and using them to create a photo collage.
Music: We will be learning about timbre and rhythmic patterns through our Fairy Tale topic.
Summer 1:
Science: We will be learning all about materials. We will be identifying and naming a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock and distinguishing between an object and the material from which it is made. We will learn how to describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials and compare and group together a variety of everyday materials.
History: We will be learning about how toys have changed within living memory. We will be looking at the toys our grandparents played with, what our parents played with and how they are different to the toys we play with today.
Art: We will be exploring drawing techniques and drawing with different mediums. We will also look at the work of some artists and how they used different drawing techniques.
Computing: In Computing we will have our first introduction to data. We will be presenting data in different ways and then collect record and sort data using branching databases.
Music: We will be learning about pitch and tempo through our Superhero topic.
PE
On Tuesday and Wednesday we have P.E. with Mr Storey and will be developing our gymnastics skills and playing striking and fielding games.
Knowledge Mats
We use knowledge mats to learn about our topics and the vocabulary and sticky knowledge we need to remember after this topic.
Autumn Knowledge Mats-
Science – Parts of Animals & Types of Animals
Computing – Algorithms Unplugged
Geography – Wonderful Weather
Spring Knowledge Mats-
Maths – Addition and Subtraction to 20
Maths – Number and Place Value to 50
Maths – length and height
Maths – weight and volume
Science – Plants
History – Grace Darling
Geography – Our School
Geography – Our Local Area
Music – Musical Vocabulary – Under The Sea
Music – Timbre And Rhythm – Fairytales
PSHE – Health And Wellbeing
Art – Textiles
DT – Pirate Paddy’s Lunch
Computing – Programming BeeBot
Computing – Digital Imagery
Summer Knowledge Mats-
Maths KO – Multiplication and Division
Maths KO – Fractions
Science KO – Materials
History KO – Toys
Music KO – Pitch And Tempo
PSHE KO – Citizenship
Art KO – Drawing
Computing KO – Introduction to Data
Homework
Children should be reading as regularly as possible throughout the week (at least 3 times) with an adult and ensure if is recorded in their reading records. Children will have a phonics book that will reflect their phonics level that they should be able to read fluently. They will also have a library book that is for ‘reading for pleasure’ that can be shared with their family at home.
Phonics sounds for each week will be shared so that children can practise spelling words containing their new sounds at home.
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