Dear Year One Parents,
Welcome back, we do hope you are looking forward to
the year ahead in Year 1 Dunham and Tatton. Below is a brief outline of the areas of learning your child will cover in the Autumn term.
Literacy
This first term there will be a strong focus on listening, reading, writing and ‘Letters and Sounds.’ Letters and Sounds is a structured phonic development programme. Your child will be placed in an ability group (based on their individual phonic development) which will enable them to be taught through a variety of phonic activities by members of the Key Stage One staff.
Reading
As a parent, we encourage you to read with your child every day if possible. They will bring home a reading book which they will read to you. Try to talk about the book as much as possible, use the pictures, discuss the plot and character, and ask questions such as ‘What might happen next?’ etc. Upon completion please sign the reading record and we will change the book. There will also be guided reading sessions in class where your child will read in a small group with an adult. The emphasis here will be on developing reading skills through comprehension and peer learning.
Writing
We will continue to concentrate on correct letter formation which will progress to sentence writing and initial punctuation (which include capital letters and full stops.) Therefore we strongly encourage you to take an active part in your child’s homework to prepare them for this.
Numeracy
There will be a strong emphasis on correct number formation and sequential ordering of number. Children will be required to count, use, order, write and read numbers to 100 by the end of the year. There remains a strong emphasis on using mental strategies for addition and subtraction. Children will also cover simple measurement, shape, money, days of the week and simple data handling.
Topic Work
Our topic this Autumn term is ‘Houses and Homes’. The children will be covering a wide spectrum of cross curriculum activities, which will include Science, Art, Geography, History, PE, PSHE (Personal Social Health Education) RE and IT.
PE
The children will need PE kits on a Monday and Thursday which, subject to weather, will be done outside so children may need jogging bottoms and trainers (if the children are cold they will wear their Bollin jumpers). The PE kits will be left in school up until the week before half term and should be returned the first day back, fresh and clean. Please note: No football kits.
Homework
Your child will receive spellings every Monday which will then be tested the followed Monday. These are part of Letters and Sounds and will link with what they are learning in their groups. Please help your child to Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check these words.
After half term additional homework will be set every Wednesday and should be handed in the following Monday. It will consist of one piece of Literacy and one piece of Numeracy which will reflect what we have been learning about in class. Children have their own homework folder which they must take care of. Each piece of homework should last no longer than 10 minutes.
Please encourage your child to practise their reading books, spellings and writing regularly. Please ensure your child’s reading book is in their bag every day. The children will need to put their reading book and reading record (signed by a parent) in the box in the morning in order for it to be changed. Please check your child’s book bag daily for any school correspondences.
It’s great that you encourage your child and support them at home through reading, talking and having fun. The more encouragement given to your child during home sessions, the greater the advantage they will have in the classroom.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to come in at the end of the day to discuss them. We look forward to working with you and your child this year.
Many thanks
Miss Kirk & Mrs Tan & Mrs Bevan