Welcome to year 1/2

Our topic this term is:

World War 2

‘Our Hook’

World War 2 evacuation begins on Monday 6^th January – children and staff will arrive back in school after the Christmas break dressed in period costume and ready for evacuation!

 

 

English

We will read ‘Major Glad, Major Dizzy’ by Jan Oke.

Along with the children in our text, we will uncover the buried treasure hidden beneath the floorboards of an old London house.

Throughout the term, children will write a range of text types for different purposes, including; descriptions, letters, instructions and a diary entry (see weekly planning)

They will continue to practise and apply their basic skills of; capital letters, full stops, finger spaces and phonics as well as new vocabulary, grammar and punctuation taught.

 

Key Vocabulary

Blitz    peg doll    soldier      hero     sampler    carriage   empire    London   

 

Reading

Throughout this term, we will read ‘Naughty Amelia Jane’ by Enid Blyton and an Oxford Owl text ‘What Was it Like?’ by Roderick Hunt.

 

The children will make predictions and answer questions about events in each story. They will also distinguish between fact and fiction using the text to support their choices.

 

Through our class ‘word of the week’ and discussions, the children will continue to develop their understanding of new words, linking meanings to known vocabulary. 

Some children will also have opportunities to read independently and aloud during comprehension sessions.

They will also continue to read for pleasure and develop their love of books through class story time. Choosing books for ‘Our Top Picks’ basket to recommend to their peers.

 

Maths

Our focus for Spring will be addition and subtraction

Key Vocabulary

add    subtract    equal     more than     less than   digit    tens    ones    commutative

 

Class Maths

 

In Class Maths, we will be exploring Measure, children will compare, describe and solve practical problems for lengths, heights, mass, weight, capacity and volume. Some year 2 children will also explore money

Key Vocabulary - Year 1

heavy    light   long/tall    short   full   empty

 

Key Vocabulary – Year 2

metres     centimetres    grams    kilograms   degrees   litres    millilitres    thermometer   scale    volume     capacity

 

History

Children will learn about the events of World War 2 and how the war effected the lives at home, including the impact of rationing, evacuation and The Blitz. The children will take part in a whole school evacuation week, where there will make their own gas masks and begin to understand what life was like as an evacuee.

 

The children will have the opportunity to make a wartime recipe and try common foods from this time, which would have been rationed.

 

They will learn that Neville Chamberlain was prime minister at the beginning of the war and that Winston Churchill took over this role. We will look at him in more detail as a significant individual from the past.

 

Finally, the children will explore toys from the past and compare them with our toys today.

Key Vocabulary

The Allied Powers     The Axis Powers   rations   evacuee       The Blitz    spitfire    Winston Churchill  Neville Chamberlin    Adolf Hitler   gas mask    air raid shelter     bomb

 

 

Geography

The children will learn that the world’s countries were split into two opposing teams; ‘The Allied Powers’ and ‘The Axis Powers’. We will locate the main countries from each team on a world map (Great Britain, Russia, Poland, France, Germany, Italy and Japan)

 

We will also name and locate the world’s five oceans on a map using atlases and globes.

Finally, the children will immerse themselves as evacuees, imagining that they are travelling from their homes to a safe place in the United Kingdom. They will then plot their route using directional language and compass points.

 

Key Vocabulary

ocean    factory   farm   city   village   country   north   east   south   west    left   right    up    down

 

 

Science

The children will go on a walk around our school grounds to identify types of plants and trees. They will name them and sort trees into two categories, either evergreen or deciduous.

 

The children will also make and label their own plant and explain each parts function. Later in the term, we will plant cress seeds and monitor their growth. The children will keep a plant diary and begin to consider what a plant needs to grow healthily.

Key Vocabulary

evergreen      deciduous     seed     stem    leaf     flower    roots      petal     soil    sunlight     tree    trunk     branches     bud       nutrients     attracts

 

Music

Through weekly music lessons and assemblies with our specialist teacher and class sessions we will:

-learn a variety of songs to sing

-follow rhythms

-create their own rhythms using instruments

 

 

P.E.

The children will have Gymnastics every Tuesday afternoon with our specialist teacher and games on a Thursday morning.

In games sessions, children will work cooperatively in teams to practise different skills associated with simple games.

 

 

R.E.

In RE this half term we will be focusing on Judaism

Key Vocabulary

Torah   Shabbat  Synagogue  Judaism

 

 

Computing

The children will explore a range of applications and programmes, which will broaden their digital literacy and computing skills. The children will learn about coding and algorithms using apps such as Scratch Jr., Daisy the Dinosaur and Beet-Bot.

 

 

Design and Technology

Children will design and make a peg doll to link with our English and Topic sessions. The peg doll will be a new friend for Major Glad and Major Dizzy, the toy soldiers in our class text.

 

Art and Design

Over the term, the children will look closely at a picture of themselves dressed as an evacuee and use lines and shading to recreate it as a black and white photograph.

 

They will also create silhouettes to produce a ‘Blitz’ scene.

 

 

For more details on what we will be doing this half term and how it links to our curriculum, follow the link and download the Spring 1 Medium Term Plan.