Year 1

Pupils

Teacher – Ms Younge

Teaching Assistant – Mrs Singh, Miss Austen

Spring Term 2024:

Wow! It’s been another crazy busy half term in year 1! We can’t believe it’s February already.

In literacy/history we are definitely starting to become authors and historians now. We all came back after Christmas and wrote a thank you letter for gifts that we had received. This was fun as we were able to share our experiences with the rest of the class. We then started to read and about Florence Nightingale after a mysterious box had appeared in the classroom. The box was full of historic artefacts linked to nursing in the Crimea.

On investigation, we discovered that it belonged to a Nurse from the Victorian times called Florence Nightingale. This then inspired us to research and find out more about her. Miss Austen dressed up and we wrote some questions to ask her as she pretended to be the nurse.

We then explored and compared fiction and non-fiction books and had a go at writing our own non-fiction fact file.

In our reading we are still practising phonics daily and most of the class are where we should be, learning phase 5 alternative pronunciations. We also continue to take part in a daily reading lesson.

In maths we have started to look at numbers to 20 – addition and subtraction. This has been a bit tricky as most of us struggle to remember all four fact families. We will continue to practise this weekly.

In science we have had a go at being scientists ourselves and explored the changes in the weather and what causes the light to fade. We have also explored signs of winter.

In computing we have been learning about how to keep ourselves safe on the internet. This is really important as we are a generation growing up with lots of access to online.

In Design and Technology we completed our Snow globes and designed and made a fruit kebab. (These were delicious!)

Phonic Screening Check

The phonics screening check is taken individually by all children in Year 1 in England usually in June. It is designed to give teachers and parents information on how your child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill.

The check consists of 40 words and non-words that your child will be asked to read one-on-one with a teacher. Non-words (or nonsense words, or alien words) are a collection of letters that will follow phonics rules your child has been taught, but don’t mean anything – your child will need to read these with the correct sounds to show that they understand the phonics rules behind them.

The 40 words and non-words are divided into two sections – one with simple word structures of three or four letters, and one with more complex word structures of five or six letters. The teacher administering the check with your child will give them a few practice words to read first – including some non-words – so they understand more about what they have to do. Each of the non-words is presented with a picture of a monster / alien, as if the word were their name (and so your child doesn’t think the word is a mistake because it doesn’t make sense!).

There is more information for parents on the Oxford Owl Website.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/at-school/assessment-at-primary-school/phonics-screening-check/

Helpful Links

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm

https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html

https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/poopDeck/index.html

Helpful Documents

phonics screen practise 1

phonics screen practise 2

phonics screen practise 3

phonics check 2012