Welcome to the Year 1 Class Page
Here, you can follow our learning journey throughout the year, both in and out of the classroom. We are looking forward to a busy and exciting year!
Autumn Term 1 2024
Our topic this half-term is 'Into the Woods', where we will be looking at seasonal changes and weather patterns, in Science, and map reading in Geography. In English, our main text is 'The Gruffalo' by Julia Donaldson.
Below, you can find our Year 1 Autumn Newsletter, Yearly Curriculum Overview and a list of useful dates for the autumn term.
Our First Week in Year 1
During our first week, we spent some time getting to know our new teacher, teaching assistants and our new classroom.
We thought about the ways we could ensure that our classroom always stays happy and safe. The children drew some of their ideas, which included playing nicely, being kind and listening carefully.
Next, we discussed the different types of behaviour we might see and decided whether they would be acceptable or unacceptable at school. We all understand that, to have a happy and safe classroom, we need to behave responsibly.
We also talked about how everybody in Beech Class is different. We look different, we like different things and that is what makes us all unique. Even with our many differences, we can all get along and have fun. We really enjoyed making our faces out of paper plates, helping us to celebrate our differences!
We have enjoyed getting to know our new classroom and exploring, and playing with, the different equipment.
Olympic Maths Investigation Day
We had lots of fun working on some Olympic Maths games in Beech Class. We did the 'Straw Javelin' and 'Cotton Bud Archery', which were both based on real olympic events! The children had to show skill in these events but they also had to add up their points to see who had won.
A very important part of the Olympics is when the athletes proudly display their country's flags. Beech Class worked on a simple investigation, where they had to study the flags of ten nations and collect information about the colours and shapes they could see. They presented this in a simple block graph.
Art - Colour Mixing
In Art this half-term, Beech Class are learning to mix colours using paint. We named the primary colours and discussed how we can use them to mix secondary colours. We concentrated on mixing different shades of orange, using red and yellow, and used the colours to make marks on large pieces of paper.
Computing - Using Technology Purposefully
In Computing this half-term, Beech Class have been learning how to use technology purposefully. We began by learning how to log in using the laptops. Next, we located the mouse and used it to click on the different icons and we also practised finding different letters and symbols on the keyboard. Finally, we played a fun, pizza making game which helped us to use some of the keys we had located in the lesson.
Autumn Term 2 2024
Our topic this half-term is 'Superheroes', where we will be learning about real-life heroes, Florence Nightingale and Grace Darling, in History. We will also be making some puppets using textiles in our Design Technology lessons.
Our main text, in English, is 'The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man' by Michael Chabon.
Maths Week 2024 - The Crystal Maze
During our first week back to school, Beech Class had lots of fun working on different mathematical problems and challenges based on 'The Crystal Maze'. There were three challenges (a physical, a skill and a mystery) in four zones: The Forest Zone, The Shop Zone, The Classroom Zone and The Farm Zone.
One of the challenges, in the 'Forest Zone', was to use 2D shapes to make forest animals. The children had to choose their shapes for the different body parts carefully and stick them together. We discussed why certain shapes were more suited to certain animals and the children used lots of great mathematical vocabulary to describe their creations.