Year 1 Class 19/20

Autumn 1 Week 8

This week in numeracy in Year 1 we have been learning how to subtract in different ways. We have used part-whole models, fingers, cubes, number lines and pictures to help us take away. We used our addition and subtraction facts to make skyscrapers full of different number sentences and have played some fun subtraction games.

In literacy this week we have been learning all about peas because we want to be ready in case the Evil Pea comes back! We have asked tricky questions about peas, found out lots of information about them and written about them in our groups. We also had a special tasting competition, where we tried lots of different foods made from peas and tried to describe them using exciting adjectives. We had a shock when Charlie's sugar snap pea opened to reveal a little caterpillar inside - thankfully he didn't eat it!

In RE we have been painting our works of art to celebrate our Bible stories using watercolour paints. Our work will be displayed on the big board outside our classroom - look out for it when you come back after the holiday!

We have also been thinking about how God has created us and how we are thankful for every part of our body - we thought about this in a meditation session during collective worship.

In Geography this week we have been learning about the 7 continents that make up the Earth. We used an atlas to find the continents and also learned a song about them. We then discovered which continents peas can grow in, and which continents aren't safe for them.

We hope everyone has a lovely half-term!

Autumn 1 Week 7

This week in numeracy in Year 1 we have been consolidating our knowledge of addition up to 10. The children have used concrete objects and part whole models to show addition and have begun to use the number line to add two numbers together. We have now begun subtraction and understanding what the subtraction symbol tells us to do.

In literacy this week we have been writing our superhero stories and sharing them with each other. The children have used the story of Supertato to help create the structure of their stories, but have all come up with their own original ideas. Miss Armitage has been very impressed by the punctuation used in some stories - as well as full stops and question marks, some children have also used commas and ellipses!

In RE we have been thinking about how to praise God for His creation of the world. We have looked at how different artists such as Michelangelo have created works of art as an act of worship. This week we have been planning our own works of art based around the three Bible stories we have been looking at in depth - the Creation, Adam and Eve, and Noah and the Ark. The children have thought carefully about who is in their story, what they are trying to tell with their picture, and whether there are any symbols in their work. We will be painting our beautiful works of art next week.

In history we have been focusing on the life of Nelson Mandela and learning about why he is a real-life superhero. The children were all very shocked when they learned why he went to prison, and we had an interesting debate about whether it is right to fight evil with violence. We enjoyed dancing and singing along to 'Free Nelson Mandela' in class. We also created artwork inspired by the bead-work of the Xhosa people Mandela belonged to.

We have had a very busy week - well done Year 1!

Autumn 1 Week 6

This week in numeracy in Year 1 we have been focusing on finding number bonds for numbers within 10. We learned how number bonds can make lots of different number sentences and how the equals sign doesn't always have to go at the end of a number sentence. The children enjoyed making houses for their fact families.

In literacy this week we have been planning our own superhero stories. Using the Supertato story map as our story skeleton, the children have been innovating parts of the story such as the characters and setting to make them their own.

In RE we have been continuing to use the story of Noah as our inspiration. The children all designed their own rainbows showing the virtues they think are the most important to act out in their lives. We talked about how Jesus shows how important these virtues are in the Gospels and how we need to make sure they are part of God's creation.

In science we have started to look at everyday materials and their properties. We used iPads to find all the different materials in our classroom and outdoor area, and the children loved working in pairs to use the iPad camera and read and find the different materials.

In PE we have been doing different balances and ways of moving around. Miss Armitage was very impressed by the forward rolls the children did on their mats and the sequences of balances they came up with.

Autumn 1 Week 5

In Year 1 this week we have had a wonderful 'Back to the Sixties' topic week and enjoyed making some Sixties-themed art.

This week in numeracy we have been focusing on partitioning numbers. The children chose their numbers, partitioned them on a part-whole model and used the language of 'whole number' and 'parts'. This understanding of how numbers can be partitioned will really help them in our topic of addition and subtraction within 10.

Our literacy this week has been focused around the 'Janet and John' books which were used in schools in the 1960s to help teach children to read. We read through one ourselves and discussed how it would help children who were just learning to read. We each created our own book, complete with a simple storyline, book cover and illustrations. The children have worked very hard on them and they are lovely to see!

In RE we have been discussing the story of Noah and the flood, and the wonderful promise God made to Noah. We made our own rainbow to signify God's covenant, and talked about the virtues we need to keep God's world as beautiful as when He created it. The children loved singing 'The Animals Went in Two by Two' as a link to our story.

In science we focused on the Moon Landing and how humans walked on the moon for the first time in history in 1969. We designed our own rockets using pencils for the body, adding fins and nose cones. We had a competition on the playground and found that the rockets that went the furthest were the ones with the least paper weighing them down - well done Charlie for having the most aerodynamic rocket!

We have also been creating a lot of art this week, taking part in making a mosaic to commemorate our school's 50th birthday at Manor Square, doing some tie-dye, and creating a showpiece in the style of Yayoi Kusama, a Sixties pop artist who has created beautiful 'infinity rooms'.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this week so special and made the Sixties come alive for the children!

Autumn 1 Week 4

This week in Year 1 we have come to the end of our first numeracy topic of place value within 10. The children completed 'special maths' to see how much they have learned since the beginning of September and we had a whole class celebration for all the progress we have made!

In literacy we have been extending sentences to make them more exciting and to encourage our audience to read on. We have worked on using Captain Capital, Full Stop Hero and Super Finger Space in our sentences and discussed why they make reading back our writing so much easier.

In RE we have been discussing the story of Adam and Eve and how God gave them the right to choose what to do. The children made posters to show ways to make the right choice and obey God, and which choices disobey God and how to avoid them. Miss Armitage was very impressed by the teamwork showed by all the groups to produce amazing posters.

In science we have been learning about human body parts and had a competition to see who could name the most parts of the body and write them down. Thank you to Alex for bringing in his human body jigsaw which helped show the human body in more depth.

Thank you so much to all the parents who attended the Curriculum Evening, and to all those who inquired about more information. We will be uploading this onto the school website for any parents who could not attend

Autumn 1 Week 3

We have been very busy and done some amazing work this week in Year 1!

In numeracy we have been comparing numbers to 10 in different ways, including finding one more or one less and having a class-wide competition to see who had the greatest number. We have also been introduced to the greater than and less than crocodiles and we know that the crocodile always eats the greatest number!

In literacy we have been detectives and checked Miss Armitage's writing for full stops and capital letters. We even wrote our own sentences including exclamation marks and full stops.

In history we have been looking at real life superheroes and this week we focused on Grace Darling and her rescue of 9 shipwrecked people in Northumberland.

In RE this week we have made our own illustrations of the Creation Story and focused on recalling the events of each day.

Autumn 1 Week 2

In Year 1 this week we have been solidifying our knowledge of place value to 10 and using mathematical language such as greater, less than and equal to. We used our knowledge of place value by estimating which cuisenaire rods matched numbers to 10.

In literacy this week we have begun to plan our own superhero stories using 'Supertato' for inspiration. We have been learning to recite the story by heart to help our recall.

In RE this week we have begun our topic 'God's Great Plan' and will be focusing on the story of Creation and of Noah's ark.

We loved learning about Edward Jenner as a real-life superhero in history and even made a class video of what we learned!

Autumn Week 1

In Year 1 this week we have been settling into our new classroom and sharing the story of Supertato. We have made superhero masks and passports for our secret identities.

In Geography we have been looking at maps and satellite photos of Otley. We found landmarks such as St Josephs and the River Wharfe on the satellite photos, and then used our knowledge to plot journeys around town on the maps. We were surprised at how small our school looks on a map!

In collective worship this week we have been reflecting on what makes us special, and have written some beautiful prayers thanking God for our gifts.

Miss Armitage and Mrs Walsh have been so impressed at Year 1's independence and hard work this week!