Dear Parents and Children,

Welcome to the summer term in Year 1! I hope that you have had a lovely Easter break and enjoyed a few chocolate eggs.

The summer term is my favourite term, as we start looking at our new topic ‘The Seaside’. Although we can’t be together at the moment, we can still try and do some fun activities related to it. Next week was supposed to be our class trip to Souter Lighthouse. This would link with our literacy text, ‘The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch’. Listen to the story (click here), then see if you can answer my quiz questions (click here).

Writing Opportunities

• Write a recipe for something that might go into Mr Grinling’s lunch.
• Write a set of instructions that will teach someone how to make a delicious sandwich for Mr Grinling’s lunch.

Reading

It is really important that that you keep reading. You have access to Oxford Reading Buddy, where you will find a range of eBooks. Don’t forget to take the quiz when you have read the book a few times. I will be able then be able to see how your reading is progressing, and possibly move you up a stage. This website can be difficult to access, as it is in such high demand at the moment. I am finding Firefox is the best browser for this site currently.

Grammar, Punctuation & Spellings

I have allocated more games and quizzes on Active Learn and SPaG.com for you to complete. You also have your grammar book which was sent home in your home learning pack.  The summer term spellings are now on the class page, and you can test your knowledge of them on Spelling Shed.

Phonics

This term we would have been having a big push on phonics, concluding with the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check (normally in June). The Government have said that this check will not go ahead this academic year. We are waiting for information on what will happen in regards to this, and will inform you when we know. Until then it is still important to keep practising, especially those tricky alien words. A great website, that the children have used in class, is Phonics Play, with a focus on phase 5 phonics.

There are links to other phonics games on the Year 1 page.

Maths

Our Maths objectives for this half term are:

• Addition and subtraction within 50
• Capacity and volume
• Time
• Money

Each week I will be adding a few tasks to complete on My Maths, well done to those who have completed tasks set so far! There are also activities on Active Learn, as well as Times Table Rock Stars. I will also update the maths section of the year 1 page with any other websites that are useful.

Science

Plants is our topic for science this term, which would normally involve us going outside to investigate the different plants we have in our area. This can be difficult for some to do safely at the moment, but here are a few ideas of what you can do from your home.

• Think about what season it is. Look out of a window, what clues are there to tell us which season it is now? Which season is your favourite? Why?
• Look for the biggest and smallest plant you can see through your window, or in your garden or home. What is the same about them? What is different? What if there were no plants? Which things in your home would be missing if there were no plants? Don’t forget to check the fridge!

There are also links to this topic under the science section on the year 1 page.

History – Seaside Holidays in the Past

During this topic we will investigate what we like about seaside holidays today, before taking a look at seaside holidays in the past. We will look back to Victorian seaside holidays, why they became popular and how holidays have changed since.  First make a list of all the things you enjoy doing at the seaside. Then watch the following videos:

• BBC Magic Grandad – The Promenade
• BBC Magic Grandad – The Beach
• BBC Magic Grandad – Entertainment

Activities

• Write a postcard home, written over 100 years ago, describing a seaside holiday.
• Children discuss the reasons they might have for going on a seaside holiday NOW and THEN. Think of the different reasons why people might have gone 100 years ago.
• Look at the list you first made of things that you like doing at the seaside. Could children 100 years ago do these things?
• Try completing these Interactive Activities.

There are lots of links for other subjects on the main year 1 page. It is important that you keep trying to do a little bit of work each day. Until we see each other again, please remember to look after each other, be kind and keep smiling.

Take care,

Mrs McVittie

To celebrate World Book Day this year, the children were asked to bring in some clues for one of their favourite books. The rest of the class then had to guess the book they were describing.

There were lots of creative ideas, well done Year 1 for all your wonderful efforts!

 

As part of Year 1’s D.T. topic of Houses, we had a visit from Technology Tom. Tom showed us just how strong card and paper can be when it is folded or rolled. We even tried out these ideas by building some very tall structures.

We then set to work in groups creating our own structures, which would house the Three Little Pigs. We thought carefully about our designs to make sure they were wolf proof!

Here are some images from the day.

Today Year 1 have had a visit from Lori, who is part of South Tyneside’s Road Safety team. She spoke to the children about how to stay safe when walking on the pavement, and how to cross a road safely. Lori explained that there are four important things to do before crossing a road.

Stop

Look

Listen

Think

The children were also told about other ways of crossing the road including using a pedestrian crossing, lolly pop person and a zebra crossing.