Welcome to Year 1/2

The topic for this term is...

'Welcome to my Home'

Our wow starter!

On Monday 6^th September, the children will take part in an Australian themed day! They will visit our man-made beach, play Australian sports, listen to Aboriginal didgeridoo music and make their very own rain sticks!

English

• Planning will be linked to end of year expectations and the National Curriculum.
• All lessons will focus on reading (either word reading or comprehension) or writing composition and transcription.
• We will continue to emphases children’s enjoyment and understanding of language to support their reading and writing as well as opportunities to develop their wider skills in spoken language.
• Through composition, we will look at structure and purpose as well as teaching of vocabulary, punctuation and grammar skills.
• Handwriting will be taught discretely.
• Phonics or spellings will also be taught discretely using RWI and RWI Spellings.

Autumn 1 - 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea' by Judith Kerr

The children will meet a little girl called Sophie and her family. One day, something amazing happens. A tiger knocks on the door and asks to come for afternoon tea!

Autumn 2 – ‘Dasher’ by Matt Tavares

Dasher, a young doe has a dream! Along the way she meets Santa who helps to make those dreams come true!

 

The children will enjoy stories chosen from class reading corners. They will also listen to a variety of books read by adults, providing exposure to quality texts and developing a love of reading.  

Maths

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the 4 operations, including with practical resources [for example, concrete objects and measuring tools].

By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.

Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

Our focus for Autumn will be Number and Place Value

     

Class Maths

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass and capacity/volume.

In Class Maths, we will be learning about Measures. This will include length/height, weight/volume and temperature.

     

History

Pupils will be taught about:

• significant historical events, people and places in their own locality
• changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life

Skills:

• Observe evidence to ask questions and find answers to questions about the past
• Use simple vocabulary relating the passing of time such as ‘before’, ‘after’, ‘past’, ‘present’, ‘then’ and ‘now’
• Ask questions such as: What was it like for people? What happened?  How long ago?
• Describe historical events
• Describe significant people from the past
• Label time lines with words or phrases such as: past, present, older and newer
• Use words and phrases such as: a long time ago, recently, when my parents were children., years, decades and centuries to describe the passing of time

The children will explore the different types of homes people live in today, learning key vocabulary and identifying features. They will find out what homes were like in the Medieval, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian periods and consider what we can learn about life in the past.

They will also learn about changes in Ellesmere Port; including the Rivacre baths, the Boat Museum and the introduction of the canals to connect the rivers Severn, Mersey and Dee. Through this, they will also learn about the life and achievements of Thomas Telford.  

 

Key Vocabulary:

semi-detached, terrace, bungalow, flat, caravan, detached, roof, chimney, door, driveway, garage, window, Medieval, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, modern, period/era, canal, Thomas Telford, changes, museum

Geography

Pupils will be taught to:

• use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key
• use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment
• identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom
• use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key human features: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, shop

Fieldwork:

• Use basic observational skills
• Draw simple features
• Create plans and draw simple features in their familiar environment
• Add labels onto a sketch map, map or photograph of features

Map Skills:

• Use a simple picture map to move around the school
• Use relative vocabulary such as bigger, smaller, like, dislike
• Use directional language such as near and far, up and down, left and right, forwards and backwards
• Draw basic maps, including appropriate symbols and pictures to represent places or features
• Use photographs and maps to identify features
• Use basic geographical vocabulary

Skills

• Ask and answer geographical questions

 

Children will talk about where they live and their home. They will learn about different types of houses and learn that Ellesmere Port is a town.

They will explore their classroom environment making a list of the objects they can see. They will learn that an aerial view is an image taken from above. In small groups, children will create a ‘messy map’ of the classroom, thinking carefully about the size, shape and position of objects in relation to one another.

Children will also explore the school grounds and our local area and record their observations. They will look at aerial maps of the school and Ellesmere Port and label human and physical features using key vocabulary. 

Finally, children will use what they have learnt to draw an aerial map with a key.

Key Vocabulary:

maps, key, symbol, aerial view, observe, record, landmark, human geography, physical geography, near, far, local area, Autumn, Spring, Summer, Winter, seasons, weather 

Science 

Animals including humans

• notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults
• identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which of the body is associated with each sense 
• find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air) 
• describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene 
• identify, name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals
• describe and compare the structure of a variety of common animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including pets)
• identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores

Autumn 1:

The children will step back in time and use photos to explore how adults in our school have changed from being babies!

They will draw life size drawings of themselves and use basic labelling skills to show various body parts.

We explore the 5 senses more closely; through taste tests, hearing experiments and a senses scavenger hunt! We will conclude the unit by finding out what is important in a healthy lifestyle and design a healthy lunchbox.

Autumn 2:

• The children will explore the outdoor school environment to see what wildlife they can find and discover a variety of habitats.
• The children will play an ‘animal categories’ game to categorise animals into certain groups.
• We will learn a herbivore, carnivore and omnivore song to help us learn animals that fall into these categories.
• We will investigate the 5 main animal groups in more depth and display our findings.
• The children will explore animals as pets and understand the basic needs for looking after one. 

Key Vocabulary:

baby, adult, offspring, human body, senses, hearing, taste, sight, touch, smell, water, air, food, exercise, healthy eating, hygiene, animal groups, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, carnivores, omnivores, herbivores  

Music

Pupils will be taught to:

• use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
• play tuned and untuned instruments musically
• listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
• experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music

Skills

• Take part in singing, accurately following the melody
• Follow instructions on how or when to sing or play an instrument
• Play tuned and unturned instruments musically
• Make and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music (e.g. pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure)
• Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs
• Recognise and explore how sounds can be combined and used expressively
• Create a mixture of different sounds (long/short, loud/quiet, high/low)
• Choose and sequence sounds to create an effect
• Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high quality live and recorded music

Autumn 1

Children will take part in Music lessons delivered by a specialist teacher every Friday.

Autumn 2

Music will be delivered in class. The children will explore pitch in terms of ‘high’ and ‘low’. They will listen to the song ‘Take You Home’ and discuss how it makes them feel and which instruments they can hear. They will then use body percussion to represent parts of the song for example, crashing waves and then progress to choosing suitable instruments. Children will have opportunities to perform.

P.E

Pupils will be taught to:

• master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities
• participate in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending
• perform dances using simple movement patterns

Skills:

• Participate in team games
• Develop tactics
• Master basic movements, including running, throwing and catching as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination and begin to apply these in a range of activities
• Move with careful control and coordination
• Understand the importance of physical activity in order to lead a healthy, active lifestyle

Dance

Children will take part in Dance lessons delivered by a specialist teacher every Thursday.

Games

Children will take part in the competitive sport of Australian Rules Football applying coordination, agility and basic movement skills with a specific focus on throwing and catching.

Religious Education

Christianity

• Explain how Christians view the creation of the world and try to take care for it
• Evaluate what it means to Christians to belong to a church
• Talk about how Christians might use symbols in a church building and begin to suggest reasons why
• Identify key aspects of the Christmas story and explain why Jesus was good news for Christians

Children will begin their unit by learning that Christians believe the world was created by God and explore the creation story. 

They will learn that the church is a Christian place of worship where a community of people are brought together. They will be able to locate and name key features of a Christian church. Children will consider the communities they are a part of (school, football club, family etc) and where their special place is.

Finally, the children will explore the Christmas story through role-play, stories and writing tasks. They will develop an understanding of why and how Christians celebrate this.

Key Vocabulary:

Christianity, Christians, Faith/Religion, Jesus, God, Mary, Joseph, wise men, Angel Gabriel, creation, world, church, candle, light, cross, stained glass window, statue, Bible

Art and Design

Pupils will be taught:

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• to use drawing and painting to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
• to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• Learn about the work of an artist

Skills:

• Respond to ideas and starting points
• Explore ideas and collect visual information
• Explore different methods and materials as ideas develop
• Draw lines of different sizes and thickness
• Colour neatly following the lines
• Mix primary colours to make secondary
• Use a combination of materials that are cut, torn and glued
• Sort and arrange materials
• Mix materials to create texture
• Use a combination of shapes
• Use rolled up paper, straws, paper, card as materials.
• Use techniques such as cutting
• Join materials using glue
• Describe the work of notable artists and use some ideas studied to create pieces 

Autumn 1

Children will begin their art unit by exploring colour, line and shape. They will also learn about primary and secondary colours and create a colour chart. They will create an abstract self-portrait in the style of Pablo Picasso.

Autumn 2

Children will photograph their observations and share these with their pen pals in Australia. Using their observations, children will create a view from their window using natural objects.

Design and Technology 

• use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
• understand where food comes from

Skills:

• Cut, peel or grate ingredients safely and hygienically.
• Assemble or cook ingredients.

Children will explore different food groups and learn how to translate these into healthy, balanced sandwiches. Their taste buds will tingle as they taste and test a variety of sandwich fillings and types of bread. They will then design, make, eat and evaluate their own healthy sandwich snack!

Key Vocabulary:

prepare, diet, healthy, food, ingredients, utensils, cooking, hygiene, spread, cut, grate, chop, slice, make, evaluate

RSE

Relationships

Our focus for the Autumn Term will be Relationships. Through weekly assemblies and class discussions, children will learn about families and people who care for us, caring friendships and respectful relationships.

Children will also take part in weekly My Happy Mind and wellbeing sessions to encourage positive mental health, resilience, and wellbeing.

Citizenship and British Values will be addressed through cross curricular links, assemblies, Rivacre Dinosaurs and stand-alone sessions on topics such as General Elections and topical/historical events.