Spring Meadow Infant and Nursery School
Year 1 Spring Newsletter 2008
Happy New Year and welcome back to the Spring Term in Year 1.
English
In the Literacy Hour the children will be reading and listening to traditional stories and rhymes from a range of cultures.
We will study non-fiction texts and use simple picture dictionaries.
ERR sessions will continue developing phonic, reading and spelling skills.
Ways to help literacy skills.
Please hear your child read regularly; we cannot stress enough the importance of this extra practice. Look at non-fiction books, their contents and indexes and discuss how to use them. Also look at dictionaries. What do we use them for? Discuss alphabetical order and how we use this to find our way around dictionaries.
Numeracy.
We will continue to follow the numeracy hour. The mathematical topics will change each fortnight and details can be found on our website. Topics will be covered with a mixture of practical and written work.
We shall be covering odd and even numbers. Point to odd and even numbers as you walk down the street. Learn all the pairs of numbers that make 10 off by heart (number bonds). Help your child with money by allowing them to play and make totals to 10p, 20p, 50p and £1 using a variety of coins. Only move onto higher amounts when your child is confident at the previous level.
Talk about the time. We have covered o’clock and half past and will be working on the same times on a digital clock.
Those children that are ready will be moving onto ¼ past and ¼ to. Recognise and name things that are 2D or 3D in shape.
Count in 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s forwards and backwards. This prepares your child for learning times tables and assists their calculation skills. Finding numbers that are 1 or 10 more / less than a given number. Doubling and halving of numbers up to10.
Science
In science we will be learning about how a ‘force’ can make things move. We will be investigating different forces and the effect they have on things.
We will also be looking at properties of materials and testing if they are suitable for the job they do e.g. are they waterproof?
History
The children will be looking at toys from the past and comparing them with those of today e.g. types of toys, what they are made from, etc. We will start to investigate how we can find out information about the past by using artefacts, books and people’s memories.
We will also be studying homes in the past and comparing them with those of today. The children will sequence pictures in chronological order to see how things in the home have developed. We will also be looking at different sources of information to find out about the past.
If anyone has any old household artefacts that we may borrow for a short time to show and discuss with the children please see your child’s teacher. We will be visiting Ely Museum on Thursday 24th January in connection with toys and Thursday 21st February in connection with homes - more details to follow.
Art
There will be an emphasis on painting this term.
We will be looking at the work of famous painters including Seurat, Monet and Van Gogh. This will be the inspiration for their own work exploring mark making in the style of these artists as well as Aboriginal art.
I.C.T.
In connection with our history topic on toys the children will be using digital cameras to take photos of their toys. The children will be learning how information is conveyed and presented in a variety of forms. We will use multi-media programmes and discuss how the programmes convey information. Word banks on the computer will be used to help the children convey information.
They will be using a variety of programmes to support learning from other curriculum area e.g. a data-handling programme to present information in graphs.
We will also be painting in different styles using a ‘paint’ program on the computer as a comparison with using paint, pastels and other art mediums.
Design and Technology
The children will be using sheet materials to make seasonal cards with moving parts. We shall also be learning about joining techniques for different materials.
Music
The children will be learning about pulse and rhythm in the first half of the term and pitch during the second.
Religious Education.
The children will be learning about the Christian faith, hearing stories from the Bible and looking at some of the church’s artefacts and traditions.
P.S.H.E.
We will be following units from the Cambridgeshire scheme of work. They are citizenship, understanding and practising democracy, and similarities and differences. Citizenship is a new unit and will cover rules, rights and responsibilities at home and at school. Practising democracy covers sharing ideas and respecting the ideas and opinions of others. Finally we shall look at the differences and similarities between young and old and gender issues.
P.E.
Dance - The children will be following a variety of dance units to develop dance skills in response to a variety of stimuli.
Games – (outdoors, weather permitting) This term we will be focusing on ball skills – throwing and aiming at a target using hands and feet, and using a bat to hit a ball in the air and to hit it after a bounce.
Gym – We will be focusing on balancing and travelling and incorporating these into a simple routine.
Please remember for gym and dance the children need shorts, T shirt and plimsolls or trainers. For games a tracksuit/jogging bottoms, sweatshirt and trainers are needed. All kit should be named.
Please also ensure, for safety reasons, that earrings are removed on P.E. days. Newly pierced ears should be covered with tape by parents before school.
Games will be outdoors on: Thursday for class 4, 5 and 6.
Gymnastics / dance will be in the hall on:
Tuesday and Friday for class 4.
Monday and Friday for class 5.
Tuesday and Friday for class 6.
Other Information
In Year 1 the children bring home a book they have chosen from
the school library. The books will be changed weekly on a Thursday for all the classes.
There will be two trainee teachers working in class 5 for part of this term.
The staff in Year1 appreciate the support you give your children with their reading. Please continue to talk to them about the things they have learnt in school. If you have any concerns we are always available to talk to. Thank you.
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