Year 1

Mrs Rogers

Mrs Pollard

Miss Littlemore

Hello and welcome to Year 1. Our class teachers are Mrs Rogers, Mrs Menzies and Mrs Bell.

What are the three topics and why we are teaching these?

In Year 1, our three key topics are ‘The Great Fire of London’, ‘Laughton’ and ‘Dinosaurs’.

Autumn Term-Dinosaurs:

In this topic, we go on a Jurassic adventure. The journey begins the school’s history through the ages learning as we travel through time building on each year groups learning as we go. We learn about the different diets of both humans and dinosaurs, identifying herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. We learn about the famous fossil finder, Mary Anning and the Geography related to the findings. We enjoy recreating the sizes of Dinosaurs and comparing this to other more familiar animals.

Spring Term – The Great Fire of London:

In our Great Fire of London topic we learn about a significant event in British history. This builds on the children’s previous learning, in our Foundation Stage, about ‘People who help us’, learning about early Firefighters in England. This topic also sets the stage for the children to learn about the Royal Family and the capital city of London in Year 2. We use practical, fun activities to understand how different life was for people who lived in this period of time and how this event changed things for the future. We learn about buildings and the materials that they are made of and link this to our Science materials learning.

Summer Term-Laughton:

Our Laughton topic aims to teach the children about the local area and the place where they live. This builds on the knowledge that the children have from their ‘Ourselves’ topic in our Foundation Stage. We learn about the landscape around us and the physical features of the area. The children learn vocabulary related to villages, towns and cities and locate Laughton and the nearest cities on a map. This prepares the children for their future comparisons of Laughton and a coastal area.

What are our mini-topics and why are we teaching these?

In Year 1, our mini-topics are separated into three parts and are taught at the end of each main topic. They include:

Autumn Term 1-Life Skills:

I can zip up my coat (revisited) I can tie my shoe laces / fasten my shoes I can turn my own clothes inside out I can sharpen a pencil I can tell people how I feel

During this mini-topic we promote independence for the children and give them the skills that are important to their life at this stage. We learn to fasten our own coats and practise turning our clothes the right way around to enable them to dress themselves. The children learn to put on their own shoes and fasten them independently. Through PSHE lessons we identify different feelings and emotions, putting a name to how we feel and learning how to express these appropriately.

Spring Term Country: Russia

This mini topic teaches the children about a country with a completely different culture to ours. This builds on the learning about Laughton and the local area, comparing the two locations. We learn about traditions, climate and democracy. The children will look at the work of famous Russian artists.

Summer Term Global Issue: Endangered Species

This mini-topic teaches the children about the real world and issues that we create as a human race. We learn about critically endangered animals around the world, their locations and habitats. This topic allows the children to become more aware of the effects of our lives on nature and the whole around us. We learn about deforestation, hunting and pollution.

What are you trying to achieve in your year group?

In Year 1, we aim to bring together the skills that we have learnt throughout our school careers so far. We are passionate about creating a life-long love of learning and feel that Year 1 is a key place to embed this. In Year 1, we promote reading for pleasure and provide stimulating, engaging texts, relating to the topics. We aim to use them in practical ways to learn more about the world and our place in it. In addition to this, it is hoped that we understand the difference between right and wrong knowing that our decisions can have an influence beyond ourselves. Furthermore, it is important that we understand the terms; respect, reflection and resilience and that we are able to put these skills in to practice.