Home Classes Welcome to year 1- ash and willow classes

Welcome to Year 1- Ash and Willow Classes

Teachers:

Mrs Downes

Teacher: Ash Class

Hello there! I started teaching in 2000 and have been lucky enough to teach in several different schools over the years, both London and East Sussex. I have a degree in Applied Biology and my favourite subject to teach is Science. I am married and have two wonderful (and sometimes not wonderful boys) aged 13 and 10. We enjoy spending time on walks, especially in woods and any place with water. I LOVE to read, especially curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea. I also LOVE cooking and sharing food with family and friends. My favourite food is anything Thai. I also LOVE anything whimsical and creative, so I have recently started to make fairy doors in my spare time.

Mrs Wilhelm

Teacher: Willow Class

TAs:

Miss Kinloch

TA:

Miss Howell

TA:

Miss Ball

TA:

In Year 1, we work hard to become good learners, ready to tackle the National Curriculum. We continue to have opportunities to play and engage in practical activities, whilst learning to read, write and apply number facts with increasing fluency, independence and confidence.

Our topics are all based around books, chosen to excite the children in cross curricular lessons and ignite a passion for reading.

TERM 1

Our Wonderful World

Our topic started with reading Elmer and making a year group display.

In RE we learnt the Christian creation story through drama, storytelling and songs. We linked our knowledge of the Christian creation story with our English writing to make booklets about God’s Creations.

We explored our school grounds in Outdoor Learning to find out about Autumn. We foraged for blackberries, apples and pears. We also tasted other autumn berries so that we could select the fruits for our own fruit crumble.

We enjoyed celebrating Harvest Festival and wrote prayers to say thank you.

In Science, we learnt about everyday materials and matched them and sorted them into groups.

In Art, we learnt about the painter Mondrian and named the primary colours and drew straight lines. Then we painted our own wonderful in the style of Mondrian.

Bright Lights Big City

Our topic started with reading ‘Topsy and Tim visit London’ by Jean Adamson. This book explores the main landmarks and attractions of London. We worked together to create a display of the story.

In Music, we read the story of The Billy Goats Gruff. We listened to and sung songs accompanying the story. These songs included ‘Trip trap’, ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘Watch out for the troll’. We interpreted the music through movement and found the pulse. Then we explored rhythms using phrases from the story and playing them on our claves.

In Science, our learning was about the seasons, seasonal changes and typical seasonal weather and events. We used scientific equipment such as a windsock, thermometer and water gauge to measure the weather. We generated scientific questions and from these, planned scientific enquires.

In Art, we learnt about collagraph printing, including how to develop a motif to make single and repeated prints. We created our own collagraphs using collage materials, rollers and ink.

Our religious focus in RE has been ‘Belonging to a faith community’. We visited our local church and learnt about what is means to belong to a Christian faith community. We learnt about Baptism and why it is important to most Christians and their faith.

As part of our topic on London, we learnt where and how the Great Fire of London started. We learnt that the Monument is a landmark to show where this historical event took place. We invited firefighter Ash to show and talk to us about his job. We asked him lots of questions to show the essential skills he uses for his job. We even got to try on his equipment!

School Days

Our topic started with reading ‘Whiffy Wilson: The wolf who wouldn’t go to school. This book explores the worries and misconceptions that children often have of starting a new school and how much joy they actually get out of attending. We worked together to create a display of the story.

In History we learnt about our school and how it has changed over time. We then compared it to how children in the Victorian era experienced school. Children learnt about Queen Victoria and the changes and advancements that happened during her reign. We made comparisons to our own lives today to those in the past.

In Music, we learnt new songs from BBC teach. The songs were based on sea, sun and sand. The children listened to music and words, focused on beats, temp and rhythm. They learnt a new song each week and then presented their work in a musical ensemble to parents.

In Science, our learning was about plants. Children discovered wild and garden plants by exploring the local environment. They identified and described the basic parts of plants and observed how they changed over time. In addition, children learnt about animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and invertebrates. They identified and described their common structures, diets, and how animals should be cared for.

In DT the children learnt about wheels, axles and chassis and how they work together to make a vehicle move. They then designed and built a model taxis.

Our religious focus in RE has been about Jewish people and how they live. Children learnt about the festival of Shabbat and the importance it holds to Jews. They listened and rein acted the story of David and Goliath. In addition, children learnt about Sukkot and why Jewish people build a Sukkah in memory of this. Linking to this, in DT they designed and made a Sukkah prototype.

We also enjoyed celebrating the coronation of King Charles III. We made party hats, listed to music and ate a picnic lunch in the playground as a whole school. It was really lovely seeing everyone dressed in red, white and blue together.