Welcome to Year 1! 

We can not wait to begin our learning journey with you and see all the fantastic ways that you will blossom this year! 

Meet the Team 

2024-25

Key Information 

PE Uniform days Summer 1:

Please send your child to school wearing the appropriate PE kit on PE days (please take into consideration the weather).

Tuesday - Outdoor

Wednesday - Indoor

Supporting your child at home

Reading

The most important thing you can do with your child is listen to them read and find the time to share books together. Below you can find the video links to all of the sounds covered in the rocket phonics books. As a guide, your child should be on yellow books in the Autumn term and green or orange books by the end of the summer term. Please also find a document with the common exception words below.

An introduction to phonics and the alphabetic code - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyGQY_GHtoQ 

Pink A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX7dmuB4fNg&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=1

Pink B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_HW2_Y5OEE&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=2

Red A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xIkatg0YIA&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=3

Red B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZrP6Z-Kahw&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=4

Yellow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf0pWl_Joj8&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=5 

Blue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuPUrPNrhOg&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuPUrPNrhOg&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=7

Green

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJKxyNkr9MM&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox31Y7HX9D0&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=9

Orange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bL3C8EGuk0&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bL3C8EGuk0&list=PLkCyTyvoxZztJbDs1Sp3-9MoywMKBhhwp&index=11

Maths

In year 1 we really embed the basics to become confident in all areas of maths. We are beginning to use Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs) to ensure your child has speedy recall of essential maths facts. Your child should know them quickly as they will help them in all areas of maths. Please find the KIRFs for year 1 below with some helpful hints. In the Autumn term we are focussing on knowing our numbers to 10, their value and how to write them in numerals and words.

Summer 2- Knights of Old Basford!

Week 2

This week has been a bit different for Year 1 this week with the INSET day on Wednesday and the phonics screening test being undertaken this week. Miss Marrow and Mrs Priddy are super impressed with the children's reading with lots of the children passing with flying colours, all of the hard work this year has paid off. 

We also launched our new topic with a hook day on Tuesday; Knights of Old Basford. The children designed and made their own castles using sponges and white paint. In the afternoon they designed and painted a shield on cardboard. We learned what shields were used for. It was a great day, which saw the children's creativity really run wild. 

Phonics- /ce/ like in /fence/ and /ch/ like in /school/. 

Maths- One more and one less for numbers 50-100. 

Literacy- Launching our new story- Kassim and the dragon.

Week 1- Shakespeare Week 

Welcome back to Year 1 for our last half term together! The children have been joining in with our whole-school Shakespeare week. They have been learning the play The Tempest. The children had the opportunity to take part in a workshop with Martha for the Royal Shakespeare Company where she taught them how to do freeze-frames from The Tempest and lots of warm up games. The children loved chanting words from The Tempest and letting their imagination run wild. In the classroom we wrote magical spells, wrote a storm poem and designed our own island. 

It was fantastic and their are definitely some budding actors among us!

Key Dates:

Monday 2nd June- Back to school 

Monday 2nd June- Friday 6th June- Shakespeare Week 

Friday 6th June 3pm- Shakespeare Showcase for Parents in the classroom

Monday 9th - Friday 13th June- Year 1 Phonics Screening Week

Wednesday 11th June- INSET Day 

Wednesday 2nd July- Move up day! (Meet your new class teacher)

Thursday 3rd July- Summer Fair 3.20-4.30pm 

Friday 4th July - FS + KS1 Sports Day afternoon. 

Monday 7th July- Disco 4.30pm-5.30pm

Wednesday 16th July- Whole School Science Day

Friday 18th July- Year 1 PROUD Assembly 2.45pm 

Monday 21st July- Pupil reports sent home 

Thursday 24th July- Last day of Year 1

Friday 25th July- INSET Day School is CLOSED to all pupils. 

Summer 1- Grow your own 

Key Dates:

Tuesday 22nd April- Back to school 

Monday 5th May-Bank Holiday

Thursday 8th May- VE Day Celebrations (wear red, white and blue)

Monday 19th May-  OPAL Play morning 

Friday 23rd May- Cultural Diversity Day (open to parents in the afternoon)

Friday 23rd May- Last Day of Term- School closes for pupils at 3.20pm 

Week 5

Our final week of Summer 1 has been filled with plants, painting and post-topic questions! This half-term the children have been nurturing their own bean plant and updating a bean diary. This week has been the final effort of them taking care of their plant and taking it home. Lots of the children have been very responsible with watering their plant and caring for it. We have learned lots of new words like sprouting and the different parts of the plant and their function. 

We have also been showing off everything that we have learned in topic this half-term by completing our double page spread. The children cut and stick key images and write down everything that they have learned pertaining to these images. I am so proud of the work that has been produced. 

Phonics- Practicing the /ee/ sound family. 

Literacy- Jack and the Beanstalk 

Maths- Halves and quarters. 

Week 4

A jam packed week of learning in Year 1 has taken place this week. We have been practicing typing sentences (digital writing) on the computers and our jumping and hopping skills in PE. 

In our topic lessons we have been learning about the different parts of a plant and tree and labelling them with their function. We even did some gorgeous leaf rubbing art and sunflower pastel art inspired by Vincent Van Gogh. 

Phonics- We have been revisiting split-digraphs. 

Literacy- We have been learning and acting out our new story of Jack and the Beanstalk. 

Maths- We have been practicing our doubles and halving. 

Week 3 

Despite only being 4 days long, this week has been jam packed with learning. 

On Thursday, the children enjoyed VE day celebrations with a music filled picnic on the field complete with scones! The children looked AMAZING in their red, white and blue or 1940's style clothes.

In topic, the children have been looking at the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees and observing the bean seeds that they planted start to sprout. 

In phonics the children have learned the - /g/ sound like in giraffe. 

In literacy the children have been writing a set of instructions on how to plant a magic bean seed. 

In maths the children have been exploring equal and unequal groups. 

Week 2

Another super week of learning in Year 1! This week we started by doing a plant hunt! This used our map reading and orienteering skills to locate different types of plants in school. The children had great fun. On Tuesday, the children were invited to a special science show where they learned all about exploding food and the digestive system. On Thursday, we continued learning about our new science topic by the children planting their own bean seeds. 

Literacy- We have been learning the /ea/ sound like in bread and the /se/ sound like in house. 

Maths- We have been counting up in 2's, 5's and 10's. 

A BIG special, well done to Flora in class 3 who won the science competition which was run across school! Well done for going above and beyond and trying your best in science. We are very PROUD! 

Week 1 

Welcome back to school! To kick off our final term together and launch our new topic 'Grow your own', the children had a fantastic time making a fruit salad and painting and collaging sunflowers in the style of Vincent Van Gogh. The teachers were impressed with how the children listened to the 'bridge' hold when chopping up the fruit and did this on their own chopping board. 

In maths we have been looking at capacity and in phonics a new /c/ sound like in /city/. 

Literacy has been a particular highlight this week with the children beginning to learn how to write instructions. The children needed to describe to Miss Marrow and Mr Harper how to make a jam sandwich. Safe to say it got very messy when the children missed out some key details... like where to spread the jam! It was a great lesson, resulting in a lovely set of instructions written. 

Spring 2- Around the World!

Week 6

Week 5

Week 4

This week we flew all the way to Italy! We learned about their different human features (The Colosseum, The Leaning Tower of Pisa and The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore). We also learned about compasses and what they do!

Week 3

This week we travelled to Antarctica! We learned about the North and South Pole and found out some fun facts about penguins!

Week 2

Week 1 

Welcome back for Spring 2! We hope that you have had a lovely break! 

We kicked off our week by launching our new topic 'Around the world'. 

Spring 1- A Toy Story 

Key Dates:

Monday 6th January- First day back at school.

Wednesday 22nd January- Year 1 Workshop 9am

Friday 7th February- SEND Coffee Morning 9am  

Friday 14th February- Last Day of the Half-Term 

Week 6

Week 5 

We finished this week with our DT Day! The children have designed and then independently made a moving toy dog. The children took great care planning, colouring, cutting and fixing their dog to be able to make it move. It was great fun!

Week 4 

This week in Year 1 we have been learning about the past tense in literacy, one more and one less numbers to 20 in maths and comparing and contrasting old and new toys. 

We have also had pupils on recognition this week for bringing in their creative homeworks. Well done!

Week 3 

Another fantastic week in Year 1. The children have been doing lots of independent learning this week. The children independently wrote out the story of Dogger. We were impressed with number of children that were just 'having a go' at using their phonics knowledge to segment to write words. 

In computing, the children used a map to practice moving their BeeBot forwards and backwards and seeing where it ended up. 

In maths, the children have been growing in confidence with their ordering and comparison of numbers between 11 and 20. 

Week 2 

Another busy week in Year 1, delving further into our new topic of toys. This week the children explored old toys in history. It was a great opportunity for the children to handle old toys and play with them. We looked at flickbooks, marbles, Jacob's ladder, wooden yoyo, rag dolls and Russian dolls. The children then did a sorting activity of old and new toys. 

In computing, class 3 and 4 have started using the Beebots and pretend to program each other to me. 

We have been learning new numbers in maths. We have explored representations of 11-20 and how these numbers are formed with tens and ones. 

Week 1

Welcome back for Spring Term in Year 1! 

We are so excited to have all the children back for our second term together and hope that you all had a fantastic winter break. We have loved hearing about all the exciting things that you got up to over our break from school.

The children have thrown themselves back into their learning with the introduction of our new topic- A Toy Story. To launch our new topic we had a toy day on Monday where the children brought in their favourite toy and shared why this toy was their favourite. We then did observational drawings of our favourite toy and went on a toy hunt when Jigsaw Jack went missing! 

AUTUMN 2- The Night Adventure 

Week 7 

What a fabulous, fun, festive last week at school before the break! The children kicked off the week with the Achievement Assembly and we shared the children's successes and all the reasons that we are so proud of them. Then we have been doing festive instruction writing to make hot chocolate and describing winter scenes. On Thursday, it was our Christmas party and we played lots of different party games and watched the Cbeebies Pantomime with our party food. It was a lovely time! 

From all the year 1 team we wish you a safe and happy break and we look forward to seeing you back in school in the new year! 

Week 6

This week has been a week full of creative homework submissions! Lots of the children have taken part in the homework to make or create something that would make Plop (our owl from the story) enjoy the dark. We have had everything from a handmade telescope, lanterns, a story for plop, night time scenes and a bed for Plop. The teachers have been so impressed with the children's creativity and dedication. 

Children then used their developing speaking and listening skills to present their homework to their class mates and answer questions. It was lovely to see and the year 1 team are so proud of them. 

Week 5

The children have been getting in the festive spirit at school this week. They have been cutting out Santa Claus and decorating baubles. We have also had some beautiful Christmas jumpers worn to school!

In Literacy, the children have started a new topic of instruction writing. To launch our topic the children drunk hot chocolate in preparation to write instructions on how to make hot chocolate.

In science, the children learned about nocturnal and diurnal animals and have had to categorise them. 

Week 4 

Week 1 

The children have had a fantastic first week back topped off by a visit from 4 different birds. The children had the opportunity to meet Casper the 8 month old barn owl, Diego the 5 year old white faced owl, Maverick the falcon and Henretta the 22 year old Hawk eagle. The children asked some fantastic question to ask our handler Alice and they all had the opportunity to stroke the birds. It was a great experience and will feed into some awesome writing in literacy. 

AUTUMN 1- Super Me!

Key Dates:

Tuesday 3rd September 2.45pm- Meet the Teacher event 

Tuesday 1st October 3.30pm onwards- Pupil Review Meeting 

Thursday 3rd October 3.30pm onwards- Pupil Review Meeting

Thursday 17th October- Show Racism the Red Card Event 

Thursday 17th October- Last day of half-term. 

Friday 18th October- INSET Day (school closed to all pupils) 

Week 5

Another week completed in Year 1 with lots of fantastic learning completed. The children have been busy in maths learning about comparing amounts using the words 'greater than' and 'less than'. The children have been pretending to be crocodiles to gobble up the biggest number using the correct symbols < >. We are so proud of their independence and ability to listen on the carpet and then complete work at the table independently. 

In Literacy, the children have been innovating the story from Superworm to Superbee. They have been coming up with some fantastic adjectives and ideas. Well done year 1. 

In the afternoons, we have been doing lots of science work comparing different materials and typing our names on the laptop. 

Week 4 

Wow the teachers can not believe that we are on Week 4 already! 

We have been super busy working on our science topic. This week we went outside to make a worm world and explore how worms survive in the soil. We then used our senses to explore different materials. 

In our morning work, the children have been practicing their digraphs, building unifix Super worms, practicing number formation and building patterns using lollipop sticks. 

Week 3 

The children have had a busy week in Year 1! We kicked off the week with a parent reading workshop, which was very well attended! Thank you for the support, positive response and engagement. 

We have started handwriting this week, the children have been learning all about long-legged giraffe letters like l,i,t,u,j,y. They have been practicing how they hold their pencil, how they sit when writing and tilting the paper when writing. 

In Literacy this week we have been fixing sentences and writing our own to caption pictures for Superworm.

In maths the children have been working together to match various representations to 10. 

On Tuesday, the children were treated to a silent disco! The children had so much fun listening to the music and dancing with their friends. 

Week 2 

Another super successful week in Year 1! The children are beginning to get to grips with the busy timetable of year 1 and all the new lessons. We launched our brand new topic on Monday 'Super Me' with the children making superhero masks, learning all about super heros and thinking about our pre-topic questions. 

In Literacy this week we have introduced our new story Superworm and began describing what we can see on the front cover and drawing text maps. 

The children were incredibly excited on Thursday when we had our first science lesson and looked at the model skeleton. The children drew around their bodies and labelled the different parts that they could see. 

Week 1 

What a super week our new Year 1s have had! They have settled into their new classrooms and new routines well. Teachers have commented on how smartly all the children have been walking to assembly everyday. Well done! 

We have had a jam packed week of learning around our whole school book- You Can by Alexandra Strick. The children have been learning that they can do and be anything that they want to be. We have done art work, PSHE, PE, written in our new phonics books, made a friendship  agreement and designed their own dream world. 

We couldn't be any prouder of the children and just know that we are going to have a fantastic year full of learning together.