Welcome to Year 1

Autumn 1 Term 2024

Areas of study for Year 1*

 

Topic Title: Down on the Farm

Key Question: Why are farms important?

English (Reading and Writing)

As the children adjust to joining Key-stage one we focus on embedding the knowledge and skills they have gained from the EYFS.  We begin by concentrating on letter formation and using their phonetic knowledge to segment words for writing.  The children will write labels, lists and short captions relating to their five senses and body parts.  We then move on to our topic for the half term which is all about farming and why it is so important to us.  Children will write real life narratives including animal facts and questions to ask a visiting farmer.  We will also focus on stories set on farms and we will sequence and retell these stories.  We will focus on using a capital letter appropriately and a full stop at the end of each sentence.  The children will also learn the skill of rhyming and have fun with rhyming poetry all about farm animals.

Maths

In maths, we revisit the key aspects of number and place value ensuring the children have a solid foundation to build on.  We use concrete objects such as stones, counters, multilink, tens frames and numicon to ensure children have a deep understanding of number up to the value of 10.  We introduce formal written methods of calculations beginning with addition.  This is delivered in a very child centred way involving lots of practical activities and games and working in small groups of up to 6 children at a time.

Science

Our science learning for this half term is centred around animals (including humans).  Children will learn the names of common farm animals and their young as well as learn how to group them according to different characteristics.  They learn an array of new scientific vocabulary linked to animals’ diets and life cycles. Our visit from a farmer will help to bring this whole unit to life and gives the children real experiences to attach their scientific knowledge to.

History

We will make comparisons between the life of a farmer in the past and how farming has developed with the introduction of machinery. We will also look at the way we buy and store our food now and how people would have bought and stored their food in the past.

Geography

The children will study the physical and human geographical features of the countryside. They will look at simple maps of farms and the UK. They will be introduced to a key, how to read a simple map and will go on to create their own farm maps.
When the children focus on food sources, they will look at world maps and atlases to locate which continent some of the foods we eat have travelled from.

Art

This half-term the children will begin to explore the use of colour within the world of art. They will build upon their knowledge of primary colours and how they can be mixed to create secondary colours. 
They will look at the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo and use this to create their own vegetable inspired pictures. 

Design Technology (DT)

As the children learn about food and farming, they will taste vegetables and select which ones they would like to use to make and create their very own vegetable soup!

Music

As the children learn all about harvest time, they will learn songs, which they will perform to parents in a wonderful Church Harvest Festival.

Religious Education (RE)

The children will have the opportunity to explore three of the world religions over the year.
In term one the children will discuss significant celebrations not only in their own lives but those of Christians and Hindus. They will explore the overarching question of ‘Why are religious celebrations important to some people but not to others?’. The children will look at special celebrations in their own lives and why they are important for them. As the term progresses they will discuss ‘welcoming into faith’ ceremonies and compare those of Christianity and Hinduism. During this half term the children will begin to understand the significance of two celebrations including Harvest festival and Diwali. During Diwali the children will learn the story of Rama and Sita. The children will also take part in a Harvest Festival at the local church.

Physical Education (PE)

In PE, the children will develop their skills both indoors and outdoors. 
In outdoor PE they will learn how to travel and move when taking part in a variety of outdoor games.
In indoor PE the children will be being gymnasts, learning and developing their skills of travel and forming shapes on the floor and using low and large apparatus.

Computing

The children will learn a new skill of programming a computer to follow their instructions.  In year one, we use ‘Beebots’ which allow the children to experiment with direction and distance in a simple manner.  Children will use the Beebots to follow given routes, plan their own routes and de-bug (problem solve) in a range of scenarios such as classroom floor plans and simple maps of Farmer Duck’s farm.  These skills are the foundation blocks of the children learning to code.

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)

During PSHE this term, the children will be understanding about a variety of relationships. They will explore relationships with their family as well as their friends. They will begin to understand what is a safe relationship and how to keep safe themselves.
 

* * To teach phonics in Key Stage 1, we use the Twinkl Phonics scheme and Rhino readers. These are organised systematically and carefully matched to the child’s phonic stage, to ensure that all of our children develop the skills they need to become fluent and confident readers.

**To teach reading in Key Stage 1, the children learn the sounds they need to decode words and read texts that are linked closely to their phonic knowledge. Alongside daily phonics sessions, the children participate in guided reading sessions to focus on their comprehension skills. They are encouraged to become reading VIPERS and focus on the key objectives of Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Sequencing. We read the children a wide selection of engaging and entertaining real books to inspire in them a love of reading and develop their language and understanding.

*If you require additional information relating to our school curriculum, please ask at the school office or the class teacher.

TopTips

• Read, read and read!
• Share books with your children- you read to them, they read to y
• Discuss books and stories — characters, events, endings etc.
• Make suggestions for a different ending, new character etc
• Join the local library & encourage your child to choose their books— this helps to develop preferences etc.
• Don’t forget rhymes and poems!
• Encourage your child to write shopping lists, notes, postcards, diaries.
• Encourage correct letter formation — this will help with cursive writing later.
• Play I spy using phonic/sounds- don’t forget endings!
• Practise reading and spelling keywords.
• Have fun!