Year 1

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Meet the Staff

Class Teacher: Emma Venketchellum

Teaching Assistant: Louise Morgan

Year 1 Term 2

Stories and Toys

Year 1 Term 2 curriculum overview

Stories and toys

Welcome to our Term 2 learning. Traction Man and Stick Man will provide the starting points for our English work, while our history topic asks how toys and play have changed over time. Children will have opportunities to talk, investigate, make and perform, developing the confidence to explain their ideas and listen to others.

In mathematics, we will deepen our understanding of addition and subtraction within 10, explore numbers to 20 and use the language of position. Our science learning continues with Animals Including Humans and our observations of the seasons.

English

As we share Traction Man and Stick Man, we will look closely at what characters say and do. Children will discuss how a character might be feeling, point to clues in the words or illustrations, and explain their predictions. We will compare ideas and recognise that a thoughtful answer needs a reason.

Our main writing outcomes are a character description and a retelling of a scene. A description will help the reader imagine both what a character looks like and what they are like. For a retelling, children will select the important events and put them in a clear order. Oral rehearsal, role play and simple story maps are ways to prepare these ideas before writing.

We will practise saying a sentence aloud, writing it and rereading it to check that it makes sense. Children will work on clear letter formation, spaces between words, capital letters and full stops. We will encourage precise word choices rather than adding lots of describing words.

Key vocabulary: character, setting, event, description, retell, sequence, predict, sentence.

Phonics and word reading

Our Phase 5 work will consolidate familiar sounds and introduce or revisit alternative ways to read and spell them. The planned spellings include ir, ie, ue, ew and aw; alternative pronunciations of u, o, i, a and e; and the split digraphs a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e and e-e. A grapheme is a letter or group of letters representing a sound. In a split digraph, the two letters are separated by another letter, as in a-e in make.

Children will blend sounds to read unfamiliar words and separate spoken words into sounds when spelling. Our planned tricky words are oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called and asked. We will look closely at the less familiar parts of these spellings and practise using the words in sentences.

At home: When sharing a story, ask “What makes you think that?” or “Which part helped you work it out?” For word reading, encourage your child to use the sounds they have been taught and then reread the sentence.

Mathematics and science

Mathematics

Our calculation work remains within 10 while we build a separate understanding of numbers to 20. Children will use objects and pictures alongside spoken explanations and written recording, so that they understand what a calculation represents.

Addition and subtraction within 10

We will explore how a whole can be split into parts and how those parts can be recombined. For example, eight counters might be arranged as five and three, then six and two. Children will explain what changed and what stayed the same. This supports number bonds: knowing the pairs that make a total.

Subtraction will include taking some away and comparing two amounts. If one toy has seven blocks and another has five, children can line up the blocks to find the difference. We will also explore missing parts, such as finding how many more counters are needed to make ten. Questions such as “Can you show it another way?” will help children move beyond giving an answer.

Numbers to 20

Children will count, read, represent and order numbers to 20. We will explore teen numbers as one group of ten and some more ones: fourteen, for example, can be shown as ten and four. Comparing two representations will help children see that the amount stays the same when objects are rearranged. We will identify one more and one less and explain where a number belongs in a sequence.

Position

We will describe where objects are and where someone stands in an order. Children will use words such as behind, between, beside, above and below, alongside first, second and third. Giving a partner instructions to position a toy will help us notice why precise language matters.

Key vocabulary: part, whole, total, add, subtract, difference, equal, ten, ones, before, after, between.

Science

In Animals Including Humans, we will build on earlier learning by naming and comparing familiar animals and their body features. We will compare animals that eat other animals (carnivores), plants (herbivores) or both (omnivores). We will also connect human body parts with the senses.

Our seasonal observations continue as autumn moves towards winter. Children will notice weather and daylight changes, describe observations and compare them over time. We will distinguish something we have observed from an idea that needs checking.

Key vocabulary: mammal, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, senses, observe, compare, autumn, winter.

At home: Use ten buttons to hide part of a collection: “You can see six. How many are hidden? How do you know?” On the journey to school, compare the weather or daylight with an earlier day.

Understanding our world

History

Our enquiry into the history of toys will help children understand that people had childhoods before they were born. We will compare toys used by children today with toys from parents’ and grandparents’ childhoods, looking for both change and continuity.

Children will examine clues such as materials, moving parts and how a toy is used. They will begin to ask questions about an object: Who might have played with it? How did it work? What can we find out from a photograph or someone’s memory? We will be careful to distinguish a clue from a conclusion: a toy made of wood is not necessarily old.

We will use words such as past, present, older and newer to describe comparisons, and practise explaining a similarity or difference in a complete sentence. The planned teddy bears’ party will provide a familiar context for talking about favourite toys and how people play together.

Key vocabulary: past, present, before, after, older, newer, similar, different, evidence.

At home: Ask a family member about a favourite childhood toy. What did they do with it? Does your child have anything similar? A conversation or photograph is enough; there is no need to buy or bring in an old toy.

Religious education

Our Christianity unit focuses on the birth of Jesus and Christmas. We will hear and discuss the Nativity story, identify its main characters and events, and explore why this story matters to Christians.

Children will consider how a celebration can express a belief, as well as being a time for families to come together. They will have opportunities to talk about celebrations that are important in their own lives, recognising that families have different beliefs and traditions. Listening respectfully and asking thoughtful questions will be central to our discussions.

Key vocabulary: Christian, Jesus, Nativity, Christmas, belief, celebration, tradition.

Computing

Children will create an eBook using text and photographs. We will think about what a reader needs to know, choose an order for the pages and match an image with a relevant sentence or caption. Learning to review the page is as important as adding something to it: does the picture help, and is the text clear?

Children will practise the practical steps involved in adding, selecting and editing content, with support as needed. We will also talk about asking permission before taking or using someone’s photograph. Possible content could draw on a toy description or another piece of class learning.

Key vocabulary: eBook, page, photograph, text, caption, select, edit.

At home: Look at a page in a favourite book together. How do the words and picture work together? What would be harder to understand if one were missing?

Creating and working together

Design and technology

Our cooking and nutrition project is to make Christmas tree cookies. Children will think about the intended product, follow a sequence of instructions and explore how ingredients change as they are combined and prepared. Handling ingredients and shaping dough will develop practical skills and control.

We will discuss handwashing, clean surfaces and the careful use of equipment. Children will describe the finished product and evaluate it against what they intended to make. For example, did the shape remain recognisable, and what might they change another time?

Key vocabulary: ingredient, recipe, measure, mix, roll, shape, bake, evaluate.

Music

We will use our voices expressively through songs and chants. Children will listen to a starting cue, join in together and explore how clear words and changes in expression help communicate a song. Repeating short sections will help us improve our performance. Our plans include preparation for a Christmas carol concert.

Key vocabulary: voice, chant, rhythm, listen, expression, perform.

Personal social and health education

Our Dreams and Goals topic will help children identify something they want to get better at and recognise manageable steps towards it. We will discuss what it feels like when something is difficult and what we can do next: practise, try a different approach or ask for help.

Working with a partner will give us opportunities to encourage one another and notice specific progress. This connects with our school values of respect, confidence and excellence: listening to others, having a go and taking care with our work.

Key vocabulary: goal, practise, challenge, effort, progress, encourage.

Physical education

Games will focus on finding and using space. Children will practise looking around as they move, changing direction, stopping with control and choosing a space where they can take part effectively. They will follow simple rules, respond to signals and work with others. We will talk about how moving thoughtfully helps everyone participate.

Key vocabulary: space, direction, control, stop, signal, rule, teamwork.

Supporting learning at home

Short, regular conversations and practice can connect school learning with everyday life. Enjoy stories together, revisit the reading and phonics shared by school, count and compare small collections, and use positional language during play. Let your child explain how they know something, even when the answer seems obvious to an adult.

You can discuss these ideas in your home language as well as English. Familiar objects, family memories and library books are useful resources; these suggestions do not require additional purchases.

Useful questions include “What have you noticed?”, “Can you show me?”, “What could you try next?” and “What are you pleased with?”

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