Year 1
We are committed to safeguarding; if you have any concerns about the well being of a child in school please contact a member of staff.
**PE DAYS FOR SUMMER 2**
PE days for Summer 2 will be Monday & Friday. The first PE lesson will be on Monday 1st June.
Monday - Sports Day Preparation for 2 weeks then Yoga
Friday - Real PE (Fitness): Ball chasing & Fieldwork
One half term to go!
*Please note: The key dates for the Summer 2 term and what we are learning have been updated below.*
We have lots of exciting things planned for this final half term including school trips, special visitors, sports day, transition week and another parent event. It’s set to be a busy and enjoyable end to the year!
Welcome Section
Hello Year 1,
Reading books
Children will receive their phonics book and library book every Tuesday and both must be returned the following Monday.
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The phonics book is for your child to show off their fluent reading to you.
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The library book is for you to share and enjoy together.
Please remember:
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The phonics book and reading record must be returned daily so your child can take part in their reading group.
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The library book, phonics book, and reading record must all be returned the following Monday.
Parents/carers should write the titles of their child’s books in the reading record:
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Phonics book title goes at the top of the page.
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Library book title goes at the bottom of the page.
Thank you for supporting your child’s reading journey!
The Year 1 Team
Your Year 1 team for the year will be:
Miss Thackray - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Mrs Hesketh - Alternate Wednesday PM, Thursday and Friday
Miss Richards - Class Teaching Assistant Mon-Fri AM and Mon-Thurs PM
Mr Sandford - Will teach the class on a Monday PM
We hope you enjoy reading our class page. Topic information will be updated ready for the start of each half term. The blog will be updated on a Friday and photographs will be updated after an event. We will update this page regularly with all of the learning and events that will be taking place.
Thank you,
All the Year 1 staff
Upcoming Events
Monday 1st June - First PE lesson
Monday 1st June - Dside (Internet Safety)
Monday 8th June - Phonic Screen Check Week
Monday 8th June - Launch of new books
Wednesday 10th June - Sports Day
Monday 15th June - Special Visitor
Monday 15th June - Assessment Week
Wednesday 17th June - Class Photos
Friday 19th June - Fun Run
Wednesday 24th June - Trip to Mrs Harrisons garden
Monday 29th June - Once upon a time workshop
Friday 3rd July - Great Fire of London workshop
Monday 6th July - Transition Week
Thursday 9th July - Parent Event. All the class (1 group) 2.00-3.00
Friday 17th July - Last day of Year 1
Homework
Homework will be live on a Thursday morning and the completion date will be stated as this can change. Please note that nothing will need to be 'handed in'. Children will complete a 'Writing Task' every Monday and information about the write is always set for homework so children can prepare.
If you need any help or support with homework please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team.
Instead of sending home a homework pack this year, we have added a dedicated phonics section to the school website. Here you can find a range of resources and select the ones that are most useful for you and your child.
Phonics and Early Reading (Parents menu tab)
Summer 2 Homework
Homework 25th June
Writing Task
For our writing task on Tuesday 30th June, the children will be writing all about themselves.
We think it is important that children have the opportunity to write freely, without too much guidance or structure. They can include anything they would like in their writing, such as their family, friends, pets, hobbies, favourite foods, favourite places, things they enjoy doing, or their hopes and dreams.
Please could you spend some time rehearsing a few sentences with your child beforehand. It is always interesting to see the ideas they come up with, especially when writing about themselves!
In Summer 2 the 5 key areas we will continue to look at are:
- Capital letters
- Finger spaces
- Full stops
- Writing on the line
- Letter size
The extra areas we will be looking at are:
- Adjectives
- Sentence starters
- Conjunctions (and, because, but, so)
- ! and ? sentences
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have learned some new sounds.
eigh (a) - eight
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words:
eight, straight, break, great, grey, prey
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
busy, beautiful, pretty, hour
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
This week we have looked at Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We have concentrated on making sure any letters with 'flicks' are on the line. We have also spoken about the size of capital letters and starting from the top.
Maths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 13th July.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Adding 10 (10+0, 10+1, 10+2, 10+3, 10+4, 10+5, 10+6, 10+7, 10+8, 10+9, 10+10, 0+10, 1+10, 2+10, 3+10, 4+10, 5+10, 6+10, 7+10, 8+10, 9+10,)
- Adding 2 (2+0, 2+1, 2+2, 2+3, 2+4, 2+5, 2+6, 2+7, 2+8, 2+9, 2+10, 0+2, 1+2, 3+2, 4+2, 5+2, 6+2, 7+2, 8+2, 9+2, 10+2)
EXTRA:
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
TTRS: Please note that Times Table Rockstars is now available to Year 1.
Any questions please ask a member of the Y1 team.
Homework 18th June
Writing Task
As part of our writing assessment, the children will be answering our Science Enquiry Question 'What changes happen during the four seasons?'. We have had 12 lessons to prepare for this question across the year (3 for each season).
Please discuss the four seasons with your child, focusing on the following key areas for each season:
- Human events (celebrations, holidays, activities)
- Animal events (changes in animal behaviour and life cycles)
- Plant events (changes in trees, flowers, and plants)
- Weather events (typical weather conditions)
Example – Spring
- Human event: Easter
- Animal event: Baby animals are born
- Plant event: Trees grow new leaves and blossom; flowers begin to bloom
- Weather event: The weather can be sunny, rainy, or cloudy
Encourage your child to think about and discuss what happens in each of these areas during spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have learned some new sounds.
ch (c) - echo
ch (sh) - chef
ze (z) - freeze
Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words:
chemist, echo, stomach, chef, parachute, Christmas
freeze, breeze, sneeze, squeeze, snooze, bronze
small, always, amazing, paper, later
celebrate, astronaut, adventure, creature, feature, successful, triumphant, shrieking, whispering, gigantic
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
laugh, eye, once, because, different
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
The children shriek as they chase each other through school!
- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Due to Assessment Week, we did not focus on a specific handwriting skill this week. However, it would be very beneficial for children to continue practising correct letter formation, size, and orientation at home.
Developing these skills now will help build a strong foundation for handwriting, as children will begin learning joined handwriting in Year 2 once they are consistently forming letters correctly and sizing them appropriately. Thank you for your continued support in helping your child develop confidence and accuracy in their writing.
Maths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 13th July.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Adding 10 (10+0, 10+1, 10+2, 10+3, 10+4, 10+5, 10+6, 10+7, 10+8, 10+9, 10+10, 0+10, 1+10, 2+10, 3+10, 4+10, 5+10, 6+10, 7+10, 8+10, 9+10,)
- Adding 2 (2+0, 2+1, 2+2, 2+3, 2+4, 2+5, 2+6, 2+7, 2+8, 2+9, 2+10, 0+2, 1+2, 3+2, 4+2, 5+2, 6+2, 7+2, 8+2, 9+2, 10+2)
EXTRA:
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
TTRS: Please note that Times Table Rockstars is now available to Year 1.
Any questions please ask a member of the Y1 team.
Homework 11th June (W/C 15th June is Assessment Week)
Phonics Screen
All the children completed the phonic screen check this week. We were very proud of their attitude and application. Well done Year 1!
Writing Task
As part of our writing assessment, the children will be retelling the story of The Three Little Pigs on Monday 15th June. This is one of our core books, and we have used it for our previous 2 assessment points in October and February. This time the children will be changing the pigs to a different animal. Please can you discuss this with your child.
To support them during the assessment, children will have sequencing pictures.
At school, we use the Fairytale Classics version by Mara Alperin and Ag Jatkowska, but please don’t worry if you have a different version at home — the important thing is that your child is familiar and confident with the story.
In Summer 2 the 5 key areas we will continue to look at are:
- Capital letters
- Finger spaces
- Full stops
- Writing on the line
- Letter size
The extra areas we will be looking at are:
- Adjectives
- Sentence starters
- Conjunctions (and, because, but, so)
- ! and ? sentences
Ideas for changes:
Character:
- Jack could be renamed (e.g. Jake), the giant could be replaced (ogre, dragon, friendly giant, robot giant), the mother could have a different role (older sister, grandparent, Jack could have a friend who goes with him up the beanstalk.
Object Changes
- Magic beans could become: magic seeds, magic peas, magic crystals
- The beanstalk could grow from something else (a plant pot, a garden, a cloud seed)
Setting Changes
- Instead of a castle in the sky: a cloud castle, a treehouse kingdom, a sky island a space castle
- Jack’s home could be a farm, city flat, or seaside cottage
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have learned some new sounds.
ear (ur) - learn
wr (r) - wrist
st (s) - whistle
sc (s) - science
Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words:
learn, early, earth, search, heard, rehearsal
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
any, many, two, friend
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
I heard the children whispering about wasps.
The wrapping paper on the box makes it look cool.
Listen to the wind whistle through the castle.
The gigantic caterpillar was a blue colour.
- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Please continue to practise handwriting at home. We will be practising this daily in school, with a focus on keeping letters on the line and ensuring consistent letter size. The handwriting rhymes can be found in the phonics section of the school website. When forming capital letters and numbers, we are placing particular emphasis on starting at the top.
This week we have focussed on days of the week.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Maths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 13th July.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Adding 10 (10+0, 10+1, 10+2, 10+3, 10+4, 10+5, 10+6, 10+7, 10+8, 10+9, 10+10, 0+10, 1+10, 2+10, 3+10, 4+10, 5+10, 6+10, 7+10, 8+10, 9+10,)
- Adding 2 (2+0, 2+1, 2+2, 2+3, 2+4, 2+5, 2+6, 2+7, 2+8, 2+9, 2+10, 0+2, 1+2, 3+2, 4+2, 5+2, 6+2, 7+2, 8+2, 9+2, 10+2)
EXTRA:
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
TTRS: Please note that Times Table Rockstars is now available to Year 1.
Any questions please ask a member of the Y1 team.
Homework 4th June
Phonics Screen (w/c 8th June)
The Phonics Screening Check will take place during the week commencing 8th June. To help your child feel confident and prepared, the most effective support is to continue reading together every day, revisiting the phonics sounds we have been learning in class, and practising reading words containing these sounds. Even a few minutes of regular practice can make a big difference.
Before half term I emailed some past papers home so that the children can become familiar with the format of the check in a relaxed and supportive way.
If you have any questions or would like any further guidance, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of the team.
Writing Task
For the writing task on Monday 8th June, the children will be retelling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk but they need change one aspect of the story (some ideas are below). Please read the story with your child (if possible) and encourage them to talk through the main events in their own words. In class, we will also read the story together, and the children will have access to a word mat and sequencing pictures to support them with their writing.
In Summer 2 the 5 key areas we will continue to look at are:
- Capital letters
- Finger spaces
- Full stops
- Writing on the line
- Letter size
The extra areas we will be looking at are:
- Adjectives
- Sentence starters
- Conjunctions (and, because, but, so)
- ! and ? sentences
Ideas for changes:
Character:
- Jack could be renamed (e.g. Jake), the giant could be replaced (ogre, dragon, friendly giant, robot giant), the mother could have a different role (older sister, grandparent, Jack could have a friend who goes with him up the beanstalk.
Object Changes
- Magic beans could become: magic seeds, magic peas, magic crystals
- The beanstalk could grow from something else (a plant pot, a garden, a cloud seed)
Setting Changes
- Instead of a castle in the sky: a cloud castle, a treehouse kingdom, a sky island a space castle
- Jack’s home could be a farm, city flat, or seaside cottage
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have learned some new sounds.
Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words:
ball, wall, tall, call, small, all
crododile, celebrate, difficult, animal
salt, squash, swap, wasp, watch
pear, tear, bear, wear, swear, there, where
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
who, whole, people, thought
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Please continue to practise handwriting at home. We will be practising this daily in school, with a focus on keeping letters on the line and ensuring consistent letter size. The handwriting rhymes can be found in the phonics section of the school website. When forming capital letters and numbers, we are placing particular emphasis on starting at the top.
This week we have focussed on the lower case letters:
a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z
Maths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 13th July.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Adding 10 (10+0, 10+1, 10+2, 10+3, 10+4, 10+5, 10+6, 10+7, 10+8, 10+9, 10+10, 0+10, 1+10, 2+10, 3+10, 4+10, 5+10, 6+10, 7+10, 8+10, 9+10,)
- Adding 2 (2+0, 2+1, 2+2, 2+3, 2+4, 2+5, 2+6, 2+7, 2+8, 2+9, 2+10, 0+2, 1+2, 3+2, 4+2, 5+2, 6+2, 7+2, 8+2, 9+2, 10+2)
EXTRA:
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
TTRS: Please note that Times Table Rockstars is now available to Year 1.
Any questions please ask a member of the Y1 team.
Homework 21st May
Phonics Screen (w/c 8th June)
The Phonics Screening Check will take place during the week commencing 8th June. To help your child feel confident and prepared, the most effective support is to continue reading together every day, revisiting the phonics sounds we have been learning in class, and practising reading words containing these sounds. Even a few minutes of regular practice can make a big difference.
You should have received some past papers via email.
If you have any questions or would like any further guidance, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of the team.
Writing Task
For the writing task on Monday 1st June, the children will be retelling the story of The Ugly Duckling. Please read the story with your child (if possible) and encourage them to talk through the main events in their own words. In class, we will also read the story together, and the children will have access to a word mat and sequencing pictures to support them with their writing.
In Summer 2 the 5 key areas we will continue to look at are:
- Capital letters
- Finger spaces
- Full stops
- Writing on the line
- Letter size
The extra areas we will be looking at are:
- Adjectives
- Sentence starters
- Conjunctions (and, because, but, so)
- ! and ? sentences
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have learned some new sounds.
Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words:
catch, fetch, kitchen, itchy, match, patch
picture, future, adventure, nature, creature, feature
calm, palm, half, calf, almond
father, branching, nasty, mask, craft
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
because, eye, once, our
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Please continue to practise handwriting at home. We will be practising this daily in school, with a focus on keeping letters on the line and ensuring consistent letter size. The handwriting rhymes can be found in the phonics section of the school website. When forming capital letters and numbers, we are placing particular emphasis on starting at the top.
This week we have focussed on numbers and starting from the top.
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
TTRS: Please note that Times Table Rockstars is now available to Year 1.
Any questions please ask a member of the Y1 team.
Homework 6th May
Writing Task
For the writing task on Monday 11th May, the children will be retelling the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Please read the story with your child (if possible) and encourage them to talk through the main events in their own words. In class, we will also read the story together, and the children will have access to a word mat and sequencing pictures to support them with their writing.
In Summer 1 the 5 key areas we will continue to look at are:
- Capital letters
- Finger spaces
- Full stops
- Writing on the line
- Letter size
The extra areas we will be looking at are:
- Adjectives
- Sentence starters
- Conjunctions (and, because, but, so)
- ! and ? sentences
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have had a grow the code week and recapped some of our key sounds.
ou/ui (soup/fruit)
ee grow the code - ea, e, e-e, ie, ey, y
s grow the code - ss, c, se, ce
z grow the code - zz, s, se
oa grow the code - ow, oe, ou, o-e, o, oa
Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words:
youth, group, soup
fruit, juice, bruiseReading longer words (chunk up if need to) - amazing, successful, musical, triumphant, sweeping, shrieking, whispering, gigantic
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
We recapped - water, want, could, people
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
The blue fruit had a bruise.
These sheep have sharp teeth and little feet.
Each time the mouse visits, it eats a chunk of cheese.
The wind groans through the old windows.
The silly puppy jumps in the puddle.
- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Please continue to practise handwriting at home. We will be practising this daily in school, with a focus on keeping letters on the line and ensuring consistent letter size. The handwriting rhymes can be found in the phonics section of the school website. When forming capital letters and numbers, we are placing particular emphasis on starting at the top.
This week we have focussed on tall letters:
b, d, h, k, l, t
Please can you practice these tall letters in the following words:
bed, hat, hill, till, but, kid
Maths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 18th May.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Number bonds to 10 (0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5, 6+4, 7+3, 8+2, 9+1, 10+0)
- Doubles (0+0, 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, 6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9, 10+10, 11+11, 12+12)
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
TTRS: Please note that Times Table Rockstars is now available to Year 1.
Any questions please ask a member of the Y1 team.
Homework 30th April 2026
Writing Task
There will be no writing task next week due to the Bank Holiday.
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have introduced 4 new sounds. Please can you recap these with your child.
o-e, o & ou (making the u sound)
se (making z)
se & ce (making s)
ey
Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words: (this week our focus has been introducing four phase 5 digraphs)
done, brother, mother, nothing, son, won, touch, young, above
please, cheese, choose, noise, tease, praise
purse, horse, mouse, dance, fence, choice
money, donkey, monkey, valley, key, honey
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
thought
through
friend
work
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
I am gentle when I touch the young puppy.- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Please continue to practise handwriting at home. We will be practising this daily in school, with a focus on keeping letters on the line and ensuring consistent letter size. The handwriting rhymes can be found in the phonics section of the school website. When forming capital letters and numbers, we are placing particular emphasis on starting at the top.
This week we have focussed on:
X & x
Y & y
Z & z
Maths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 18th May.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Number bonds to 10 (0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5, 6+4, 7+3, 8+2, 9+1, 10+0)
- Doubles (0+0, 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, 6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9, 10+10, 11+11, 12+12)
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
Any questions about homework please ask a member of the Year 1 team.
Homework 23rd April 2026
Writing Task
For the writing task on Monday 27th April, the children will be retelling the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Please read the story with your child (if possible) and encourage them to talk through the main events in their own words. In class, we will also read the story together, and the children will have access to a word mat and sequencing pictures to support them with their writing.
In Summer 1 the 5 key areas we will continue to look at are:
- Capital letters
- Finger spaces
- Full stops
- Writing on the line
- Letter size
The extra areas we will be looking at are:
- Adjectives
- Sentence starters
- Conjunctions (and, because, but, so)
- ! and ? sentences
Phonics
Repeated practice of spelling helps children move their new learning into long-term memory. In Year 1 especially, it’s important to find time to practise and embed spelling outside of phonics lessons. Please keep sessions short and fun!
Graphemes:
This week we have introduced 4 new sounds. Please can you recap these with your child.
le (apple)Ask your child to:
- Say the grapheme
- Can they tell you the rhyme for the grapheme
Decodable words: (this week our focus has been introducing four phase 5 digraphs)
apple, gentle, beetle, sparkle, puddle, bubbletotal, equal, final, metal, petal, pedal
face, space, ice, success, mice, nice
give, have, live, solve, leave
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Add the sound buttons (dots and dashes).
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling it.
Tricky words:
school, call, different
Ask your child to:
- Read the words.
- Circle the tricky part.
- Write the words.
- Remember to sound out and segment each word before spelling, thinking carefully about the tricky bit.
Additional dictation:
I can see a giant, white beetle swimming in the puddle.- Challenge your child to apply their phonic knowledge in short dictated sentences.
- Model and check the correct spelling of the sentence together.
Handwriting
Please continue to practise handwriting at home. We will be practising this daily in school, with a focus on keeping letters on the line and ensuring consistent letter size. The handwriting rhymes can be found in the phonics section of the school website. When forming capital letters and numbers, we are placing particular emphasis on starting at the top.
This week we have focussed on:
T & tMaths Number Fact Task
Each half term, we will have a number fact focus, which will form part of the weekly homework.
Number facts are calculations that children should be able to recall instantly, without working them out — in other words, they need to learn them by heart.
To help your child succeed, here are some top tips:
- Practise little and often (for example, while walking to school or during a car journey).
- You do not need to practise all the facts at once — focus on a few at a time.
- Make flashcards for quick, fun practice.
- Use practical resources to help (such as small objects for counting).
The children will be assessed on these facts during the week commencing 18th May.
The number facts to learn this half term are:
- Number bonds to 10 (0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5, 6+4, 7+3, 8+2, 9+1, 10+0)
- Doubles (0+0, 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, 6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9, 10+10, 11+11, 12+12)
- If you are confident your child knows their number bonds to and within 10 with automatic recall including subtraction facts then please move onto number bonds to 20
- If your child is now confident with number bonds to 20 (including subtraction facts) please move onto adding 10 to numbers within 100.
Numbots - 🏆 Certificates will be handed out every Friday.
CHALLENGE SECTION: Please can you complete as much of the challenge section as possible as this fills each child's heatmap. Any part of the challenge section will help support with filling in the heatmap. Thank you!
Any questions about homework please ask a member of the Year 1 team.
Reading
Children will receive their phonics book and library book every Tuesday and returned the following Monday
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The phonics book is for your child to practise and show you their fluent reading.
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The library book is for you to share and enjoy together at home.
Please remember:
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The phonics book and reading record must be returned daily so your child can take part in their reading group.
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The library book, phonics book, and reading record should all be returned the following Monday.
Parents/carers should record the titles of both books in the reading record each week:
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Phonics book title at the top of the page.
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Library book title at the bottom of the page.
Thank you for your continued support with reading at home.
Tricky Words
In Little Wandle, children learn tricky words within their phonics phases. When teaching these, we explain to the children which part of the word is tricky and how to remember it.
We will keep you updated through homework on:
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Which tricky words we are learning in school.
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Which words need to be practised at home.
At the moment, we are revisiting Phase 2, 3 and 4 tricky words. We will then begin Phase 5 tricky words during the next half term
Please remember that these can be found on the phonics section of the website.
https://www.collinghamschool.com/phonics-early-reading/
Thank you for practising these at home — it really helps to build your child’s reading confidence.
Core Books and Poems
This year we will continue looking at 5 core books and poems as well as revisiting books read in reception. This will continue throughout the year with the aim of the children having a deep understanding of these core books and poems. We will refer to these books as their 'special books' and they will have access to them during provision time. Everyday we will look at one of the books and poems. Please note that this year we have changed 2 of our core books to 'The Tiger who Came to Tea' and 'What happened to you?'.
Year 1 Core Books:
The Tiger who Came to Tea (Judith Kerr), Snail and the Whale (Julia Donaldson), The Selfish Crocodile (Faustin Charles), What Happened to you? (James Catchpole), Jack and the Beanstalk
Reception Core Books:
Peace at Last (Jill Murphy), Superworm (Julia Donaldson), The Lion Inside (Rachel Bright), And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson), The Three Little Pigs
Year 1 Core Poems:
Nursery Rhyme - 10 green bottles, Michael Rosen - Do I know you?, Nonsense - On the Ning Nang Nong, Alliterative - Tim the Terrifying Tiger, RESPECT Code - Kind Hearts are the Gardens
Reception Core Poems:
Nursery Rhyme - Polly Put the Kettle on, Michael Rosen - Lunchtime, Nonsense - Hey Diddle Diddle, Alliterative - Peter Piper, RESPECT Code - Look After Your Friends
Letter and Number Formation
This year, to support children with letter formation, we will be using the Little Wandle letter formation rhymes. These are available in the phonics section of the school website.
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Children will practise handwriting for the first ten minutes of every day, focusing on both letter and number formation.
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Once the children have learned the rhymes for lowercase letters, we will move on to capital letters.
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To support at home, you can download the letter formation sheets from the phonics section of the website.
Phonics and Early Reading (Parents menu tab)
Thank you for practising at home — it makes a big difference in helping children develop neat, confident handwriting.
Our learning in Summer 2
Phonics - We will be continuing with Phase 5 learning new sounds and tricky words
Handwriting - We will be continuing to focus on letter size and the correct start point for each letter
Writing - We will be embedding our new grammar learning (suffixes) and looking at how we can make our sentences more interesting. This will include ! and ?, sentence starters, adjectives and conjunctions.
Reading - Our reading focus will be inference and prediction
Maths - Our maths topics this half term will be time, length, height, weight, volume, position and direction. We will continue to embed our basic skills focusses of: number bonds to and within 20, one more/less to 100, doubles/halves, counting in 2s, 5s and 10s
Science - Our topic this half term is seasons. We will look at the changes between spring and summer. We will look at when summer is, what the weather is like in summer and what events happen in summer.
R.E. - Our focus this half term is Sacred Places. Our enquiry question will be 'What makes some places sacred to believers?'. We will specifically look at Christianity and Judaism to answer this question.
History - Our history focus this half term will be Events Beyond Living Memory (The Great Fire of London) and Local History (The Great Fire of Wetherby). Our enquiry question will be 'What changed because of the Great Fire of London?'.
Geography - Our geogrpahy focus this half term will be Physical and Human: The Weather. Our enquiry question will be 'How does the weather vary through the seasons in the United Kingdom?'.
Computing - Our focus this half term will be Creating Media with a focus of 'Digital Imagery'.
P.E. - Our PE focus on a Monday will be Sports Day preparation and then Yoga. On a Friday it will be ball chasing & fieldwork.
PSHE - Our topic this half term will be 'Careers, Financial capability and economic well-being ' with a particular focus on money. We will learn about where money comes from and making choices when spending money, saving money and how to keep it safe and we will learn about the different jobs people do.
Art - Our Art focus this half term will be Painting. Our enquiry question will be 'How can we explore colour using a variety of mark making tools?'.
Music - Our music focus will be 'Let’s perform together'. Our enquiry question will be 'How does music teach us about looking after the planet?'.
French - In French we will be look at games and songs.
British Values - We will recap the 4 British Values (individual liberty, democracy, rule of law, mutual respect & tolerance). We will do this through stories.
Worship - Monday: Whole school worship with focus for the week shared. Tuesday: Newsday Tuesday (in classrooms). Wednesday: Whole school worship. Thursday: Biq Question Thursday (in classrooms). Friday: Whole school worship.
Summer 1 Blogs
Week 4:
English Support
Questions for Reading with Children