Maths with vegetables
In maths, the children have been learning to use the language ‘equal to, more than, less than, fewer and greater than‘ to compare objects.
I know that 5 is less than 7 and 7 is greater than 5.
In our first lesson, the children struggled a little with this concept. So, today, we used some real life objects to help us to compare.
Try this one at home with your child. It may help to draw pictures.
Mrs Freeman has 7 apples in one hand. 
She has fewer apples in the other hand. How many apples could Mrs Freeman have in her other hand?
Our first PE lesson
The children really enjoyed their first PE lesson.
PE is on a Wednesday. Remember to send your child to school in their PE kit. We will try to be outside when possible, so please make sure they have warm clothes and trainers.
Year 1 learning
We have been very impressed with how Year 1 have started the school year even with all the new routines and procedures in place. Thank you for supporting your child at home especially with the fantastic homework we have received.
Here’s a summary of our learning so far.
In maths, we have been learning about numbers to 10 including counting, ordering, counting forwards/backwards and one more/less. Topmarks has some good maths based games to try at home.
We have also had a big emphasis on supporting the children with their number formation and presentation in their new maths books. We start our numbers at the top.
To help at home, count forwards and backwards with your child. Give your child a number (initially up to 20) and see if they can tell you the number one more/one less.
In reading, we have a weekly fluency text. Here is this week’s text.
In class, we read the text every day to develop the children’s fluency. This involves lots of teacher modelling of reading taking account of the punctuation and using expression. On Friday, we answer questions about the text.
Remember, reading books can be changed on a Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you for your patience as the children learn this new routine. We visit the library on Mondays. The children have all had the chance to use Lexia at school. They are becoming quicker at logging on so any practice they can get at home will help with this.
To help at home, read with your child everyday. This can be their book from school or any other book or text you have at home. Asking questions about the text will help with their understanding.
In writing, our learning has been based around what makes a sentence.
- Capital letter at the start
- Full stop (or other punctuation) at the end
- Finger spaces between words
- Does it make sense?
Capital letters have been our initial focus – how we form them and when do we use them. See if your child can remember when we need to use a capital letter. These alphabet videos are a good reminder too.
Another aspect of english we are developing is the children’s oracy. A particular focus we are working on is answering in full sentences.
After carrying out some egg related experiments, we are now learning about living things in science.
Topic learning began with lots of learning about the text After the Fall and for the next three weeks, this will be based on Here we are by Oliver Jeffers.
Well done to all of Year 1 who are working so hard! Keep it up!
PE in the sunshine
In PE today, Year One were learning how to move at different speeds.
We enjoyed moving like different animals, moving at different speeds and moving on the spot. The children could explain how to sprint and jog and they described how their bodies felt whilst doing these activities.
I feel out of breath when I run fast.
My legs get tired.
My heart is beating fast.
I feel very hot.
Running fast is hard work.
Our new class novel…
“I predict it will take place on a farm because all those animals could be found there,” said Moh.
Sami predicted that the boy would go on an adventure and meet the animals along the way.
Sometimes it’s nice to read the reviews of a book but it’s also important to come to your own conclusion. The last review is quite poignant, though!
“The artwork is confusing but I like it,” said Tasha.
Felix mused, “I wonder why the Fox seems to be the only one coloured in?”
Watch this space!
Living and Learning: 8Rs for learning
For the last two weeks, in our Living and Learning lessons, Year 1 have been getting to know the 8Rs for learning (responsible, risk taking, resilience, resourceful, ready, responsive, remember and reflect). These are eight characteristics to promote good learning behaviour and of course, these are referred to throughout the year across all subjects. The parent’s guide to the 8Rs can help to reinforce this at home.
The children were given different scenarios and they had to match them up to the correct 8R or complete the missing R in a sentence. Ask your child if they can remember the answers.
Saavi has her white board and pen on her table for phonics.
Evie changes her number 2 after Mrs Taylor asks her to check her numbers.
Nate puts his hand up to answer a question even though he is not sure if it is right.
Talha uses the hundred square to check his number formation.
Grace _______________ her spellings because she had been practising them at home.
Austen took __________________ for his belongings because he put them all back in his pencil case.
Erica was _______________ as she kept trying until she could write the letter y in handwriting.
Rico ________________ on his maths learning and tries to put one number in one box in his book.
Resilience has been one of the themes of the After the Fall book we have been learning about in our topic lessons. We thought about what messages we might send to Humpty Dumpty as he tried to climb back up the wall again.
Don’t look down.
Keep going up.
Always keep going.
You can do it.
Don’t give up.
We’ve got you.
Take a risk.
Be resilient.
We’ve been talking about the 8Rs across other lessons and here are some more examples of Year 1 using the 8Rs.
Being resourceful in maths
Being responsive by checking number formation
With such a great start to the year, we are sure Year 1 will continue to use the 8Rs across all areas of their learning.
Foraging for Homework
On Friday, the children were asked to get creative for their homework. Having read an autumnal poem in class, they then had to spot some signs of Autumn whilst out and about.
Mrs Freeman and Mrs Taylor have both enjoyed some leaf crunching walks this weekend.
We have already received some great examples of super learning in the outdoors. So far, we have seen crafts, pictures, models, colour mixing and some impressive writing!
We look forward to seeing more throughout the week.
Don’t forget that homework can be emailed to us and is celebrated in class every Thursday.
jackiefreeman@spherefederation.org
carolinetaylor@spherefederation.org
Well done, Year 1!
The first few weeks
The children are settling really well and it’s lovely to see how happy and engaged they are in the classroom.
During the next few weeks your child will be getting to know new routines, rules and making new friends. We will be doing on-going assessments of the children to make sure we are providing the right learning opportunities for each child.
Please let us know about those ‘wow moments’ that happen at home.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
Reading
Your child will start to bring a reading book home shortly. They will need a bookbag which they will need to bring to school everyday.
The first books we will send don’t contain any words but are intended to introduce your child to holding a book, turning pages and discussing the pictures. Please encourage your child to predict events and retell the story.
When we begin learning letters and their sounds your child will bring home letters to learn and words to read. We will then send phonetically decodable reading books home.
I will be posting a presentation explaining how we teach early reading and writing soon.
PE
We will begin PE this week. Your child will need to come to school in their PE kit every Wednesday.
Maths
We are learning about the number one and the ‘oneness of one’. The children will be thinking about one as an amount and quantity, and that first means position one and once means one time.
Phonics
This week we are learning to identify the initial sound in words. We will also introduce the children to ‘blending’ by saying the sounds in a word individually. For example, c-a-t. The children will then blend the sounds together to say cat.
Art: watercolour paint
This afternoon, we’ve been painting British garden birds with watercolour paint. The concentration was impressive and the artwork was excellent!
Planning an experiment
After the Fall inspired us to make paper aeroplanes and find out which is the best.
In groups, we planned a science experiment with a different variable – challenge your child to define this!
Today, we made and tested our aeroplanes!
Ask your child to explain how we ensured it was a fair test!
