Birch Class

Year 1 and Year 2

Mrs Howes and Mrs Brewis

2023-24

Autumn Term

Welcome to Year 1/ Year 2 and our class page! Hopefully you will find our class page useful. On our class page we have details of our topics for this half term as well as other useful information about Year 1 and Year 2 and websites that we use to help our learning. We love to share what we learn in school every day via Facebook, so please head over to our school Facebook to see what we have been up to. Here's to a great half term!

Mrs Howes and Mrs Brewis

What will we be learning about this term?

English

Peace at last by Jill Murphy, Ravi's Roar by Tom Percival, Funny Bones by Alan Ahlberg, Pumpkin soup, Owl Babies - film unit.

Maths Y1

Place Value, Addition and Subtraction

Maths Y2

Place Value, Addition, Subtraction and Shape

God - What do Christians believe God is like?

Islam - Who are Muslims and what do they believe?

Science Y1

Animals including humans - My Body

Everyday materials - Everyday materials

Science Y2

Animals including humans - Growth and Survival

Exploring everyday materials - Everyday materials

Geography

What is my place like? What is my country like?

History

How can I find out about me? (I'm making History!)

Art

Yoyoi Kusama - collage, sculpture, painting

Structures (sliding pictures)

Forest School, Gymnastics

Games

PSHE/RSE

Jigsaw: Healthy Me

Computing

Digital literacy - Online Safety/Exploring Purple Mash

Information Technology - Creating Pictures

Music

Charanga: Hands, Feet, Heart and Ho Ho Ho!

Key information

Arrival and collection

Our arrival time each morning is between 8.45am and 9:00am and we leave at 3.10pm.

What to bring to school

Children should bring a bag to school each day. The children should bring in a water bottle which they will take home each day as well as their packed lunch (if they do not receive a school lunch). They can also bring in their own hand gel if they wish. They do not need any other equipment such as pencil cases, stationary etc as they will have everything they need at their own desk.

PE days

Our PE days are Thursday and Friday.

On these days, the children should come into school wearing their PE kit. They do not need to bring in their normal school uniform to get changed into, they will just stay in their PE kit all day. As the vast majority of our PE needs to take place outdoors, they should wear their normal PE t-shirt and a tracksuit/appropriate sports clothing that is suitable for all weather.

Homework

We have Core Homework (weekly) and Optional Topic Homework (half-termly). Please see a further explanation of our Homework approach this year in the letter below.

Birch Class Homework

Reading

Supporting your child with reading:

Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.
There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:
A reading practice book. This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently and will have already read this with an adult at school. This will be available via the online system and changed weekly.
A sharing book. Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.

Spelling/Phonics

Your child will learn and practise their spellings within their phonics sessions. Any additional work will be sent home to help your child to practice their phonetical skills.

Spelling practice 2x per week. Please see the attached list of words in our Birch Class Homework letter. These are the common exception words that children are expected to spell by the end of Key Stage 1. We teach spelling patterns in school across the year as well as these common exception words, however it would be beneficial for the children to practise spelling the words on the attached list at home across the year. The websites below are a great way to practise these words at home in a fun way.

www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/spookySpellings/index.html

www.ictgames.com/littleBirdSpelling

Maths

Number Bonds and Times tables (2x,5x,10x) practice 3x per week. Suggested websites and apps to help to practise times tables include:

www.ttrockstars.com

www.timestables.co.uk

www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button