Welcome to Year 1
In year 1 our primary focus is on reading. We share lots of stories in class and we retell, sequence and predict what might happen next in our Composition lessons.
By the end of year 1 your child is expected to be reading at turquoise level (phase 5), therefore we encourage you to read as much as possible with your child at home. This makes up your child’s home-learning. We read in small groups during school time to develop decoding skills initially and then comprehension skills as the year progresses.
In June, your child will take part in the government Phonic Screening test. This will test your child’s phonic ability, e.g. the ability to decode and read real and nonsense words. The pass mark for in previous years was 32 out of 40. We teach daily phonics lessons from 8.50-9.30 so please ensure your child is punctual as this is valuable teaching time. Reading regularly at home and encouraging your child to ‘sound-out’ decodable words, e.g. d-o-g, f-r-o-g, t-r-ai-n, p-ea–ch will help to support them. (Please see letter mats for the graphemes.) We also send home our daily ‘Time to Read’ sheets which will show what we have covered in Phonics that day. Reading through the ‘Time to Read’ side of this sheet will further help your child to become a fluent reader.
In mathematics, we focus on the four calculations by completing practical activities. We will also cover: shape, time, money, measures and fractions throughout the year. To help your child at home, you could practise counting in steps of 2, 5 and 10 using the TTRockstar website later in the year for times tables. By the end of Year 1, your child is expected to read and write numbers from 0-100.
Throughout the year we look at a range of different topics, including: Marvellous Me, The UK, Toys, Let’s Grow, Coasts and The Great Fire of London. Please see our topic map for more information on these.
This year P.E will be taught on Monday or Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Please ensure your child brings the correct PE kit on a Monday (white t-shirt, black shorts/joggers and suitable footwear) so that it is in school ready for their lessons throughout the week. Please label all your child’s belongings to help minimise lost kit.
If you have any queries, please see a member of the Year 1 team.Â
