Phonics
In phonics we have been focusing on consolidating our phase 4 sounds such as ai, ng, oo and oa and introducing phase 5 split digraph sounds. We have been working hard to segment and blend, which has helped us with our daily reading. We have been practising our precursive handwriting and sounding out our words phonetically to help with our writing across all areas of learning.
English
During this half term in Year 1, we have been reading the books ‘The Dark’. Our story is based on a young boy who befriends the Dark, and we started our topic by looking at what the Dark is and what we might see in the Dark. This linked in with our science topic where we discussed what animals we might see at night. The class had lots of fun researching nocturnal animals. We used lots of role play to understand the character’s thoughts and feelings and created story boards to re-tell the story. We have continued to compose pieces of writing on character descriptions, setting descriptions and poems. We have focused so much on our rhyming these past few weeks, developing our vocabulary, grammar and punctuation.
Maths
In our Maths learning this half term, Little Marvels have been working extremely hard in ordering, adding and subtracting numbers up to 10. We have really focused on forming numbers correctly also. In our arithmetic learning, we have been using concrete and pictorial manipulatives to calculate addition stories. We have been learning composition and understanding what numbers we can add together to create another number.
Science
This half term, Little Marvels have been learning about animals all over the world. We have learned about the different animal groups and how we can classify animals based on their features. We focused heavily on the structures and features of animals and why they have those features. We started looking at the human body and its functions. Linking to our English we discussed a range of nocturnal animals and created fact files on Barn Owls.
History and Geography
During our history lessons, we have been learning about the London Frost Fairs that took place on the river Thames. We had lots of discussion about funfairs and Christmas markets and how we enjoy visiting them. We were amazed at how the fair took place on a river. We looked at important people of History such as Queen Catherine and King Charles who attended the fairs. We started thinking about why the River Thames does not hold Frost Fairs, in present day. In our geography learning, we took flight across the continents to discuss how the weather affects our lives. We also experienced snowfall during this term which helped us understand how the weather can change our routines.
DT
In our DT lessons, we have been learning about how to plait string, we have been learning how to wrap string around a wooden stick, intertwine objects together using a loom technique. We have been creating looms using string and discussing the colours, patterns and formation.
Computing
We have been learning about what the internet is and how to keep safe on the internet.
PE
RE and PSHCE
In Little Marvels we have been continuing to learn about the religion of Christianity, our focal point has been friendship and how Jesus showed friendship to those around him. We spoke about our own friendships and how much impact they have on our daily life. In our PSHCE lessons we have been discussing how to stay safe inside and outside school. With a focus on our personal space, routines and online safety.
Music
This half term The Little Marvels have been studying rhythm. To help us create a rhythmic pattern we tapped our tambourines, triangles and claves. We tapped to a 4/4 rhythm grid, using symbols for the different percussion. We counted in 4’s and tapped on either 1 and 3 or 2 and 4. We then made it tricky and increased the tempo. Next we played the glockenspiels to create a pitch pattern. Finally, we studied long and short sounds. We listened for the sound stopping to decided if it was long or short – Miss Medhi loved the gong!!