Year 1

Today, Year 1 have been using drawing materials to make different lines and marks reflecting what they can hear in music (our focus music was Debussy’s ‘La Mer’). We learnt that there are many different ways of drawing lines, that they feel different to make, and that they look different. Next, we added plants and creatures to bring our artwork to life. Afterwards, we evaluated our art and the work of others using the language we had learnt. What super artists Year 1!

Today, Year 1 have been recognising and identifying a range of common garden and wildflower plants. We learnt that:

• Wildflowers have not been chosen by humans to grow in their garden.

• Most wildflowers have not been planted by humans.

• Garden plants have been chosen by humans to grow in their gardens.

Key enquiry questions you can ask your children at home to help with our Science knowledge:

What is the name of this plant?

• How can you describe the flower?

• How can you describe the smell?

• Which garden plant is tall with a very large yellow flower?

• Which wildflower has a white and yellow flower?

• Which wildflower has five yellow petals?

• Which wildflower has spiky leaves?

Today we had our first 'Ready to Read' session of the Summer Term. We are focussing lots on developing our knowledge of Alien Words in preparation for our upcoming Phonics Screening Check. It was wonderful to have so many parents, grandparents and siblings join us for our session today, developing a love of reading within our Year 1 Classroom.

Within our Vocabulary lesson today, our focus word was 'Huddle'. Can you ask your child at home what the word 'Huddle' means? When might they see huddling? Why might animals huddle? Take a look at the pictures of Year 1 forming a Huddle together!

As part of our World Book Day celebrations, Year 1 told the Tale of Peter Rabbit in our Friday Whole School Good Work Assembly. All of the adults in Year 1 are so proud of the children, they all performed amazingly and with confidence. What super stars you are Year 1!

Here are our Year 1 School Council representatives. These members have been elected by their peers, using a democratic process in line with our British Values. These children attend special meetings weekly and conduct roles around school. They represent the views of our Year 1 pupils. Congratulations on this special role during this academic year. We are very proud of you! 

Year 1 are exploring the place value of numbers up to 20. Today, we used the Rekenreks to make one group of 10 and then added ones to make our whole number. Year 1 have been representing numbers in a range of ways, including using the tens frames, Base 10 and place value charts. Below are some key questions you can ask your child at home to help them develop their knowledge:

Key questions
• How can you show me 17/18/19 in three different ways?
• How much more than 10 is 17/18/19?
• How can you write the numbers 17, 18 and 19?
• Can you see 17/18/19 anywhere at home?
• How many ones are there in 19?
• What is the same and what is different about 17, 18 and 19?

Help your child to structure their thinking with the following sentences:
• 17 has ____ ten and ____ ones.
• 18 has ____ ten and ____ones.
• 19 has ____ ten and ____ ones.

What super learning Year 1, well done! 

Mrs Gledhill

Year 1 are taking turns in taking home our special 'Snuggle Up and Read' story pack. With a delicious hot chocolate to enjoy and our cuddly reading pal Ember the Elephant, we are enjoying reading the magical Dear Father Christmas with our families at home! Each child has then wrote in our special travelling book what they enjoyed about the story as well as drawing their favourite parts. Here are some photos of our Snuggle Up and Read sessions. What a magical time of the year for our super Year 1 class!

Every Friday, we have our 'Ready to Read' sessions where we share special books with our families and read them together. As well as reading to our relatives our new Little Wandle books for the week, here are some of the other books we enjoyed sharing together. Thank you to all relatives who join us for this session and help us to continue growing each child's love of reading! 

The Year 1 children have developed their understanding of technology and how it can help them in their everyday lives. They have now become familiar with the different components of a computer by developing their keyboard and mouse skills. The children have explored why we have rules in school and how those rules help us, and then they applied this understanding to rules needed for using computer technology safely.

Today, we conducted some super investigations into melting and freezing. We explored how ice is a solid and water is a liquid then discussed the similarities and differences between ice and water. We then predicted which method will melt the ice the quickest, salt, a hairdryer or warm water. We observed what happened in order to make conclusions. Next, we explored what happens to chocolate when it is heated up. Afterwards, we made yummy buns from our melted chocolate. Miss Plant was so impressed with our use of scientific vocabulary. Well done Year 1!

Year 1 have been exploring a range of different everyday materials in our new Science topic. This week, we have been exploring the properties of rock. We gathered a range of different rocks and investigated their similarities and differences. We used our focus vocabulary in the picture above, to describe their differences and sort the rocks into groups. Within our lesson, we gathered the following knowledge:

Factual knowledge
• There are different types of rocks.
• Rocks come in different shapes, sizes and textures.
• Rocks can also be used to build things such as walls or buildings.

Some wonderful investigations Year 1, well done!

War Memorial Visit - Monday 20th November 

Our History assessment question for this half-term is:

Why do we remember soldiers like Walter Tull on Remembrance Day?

Our first line of enquiry is

Why do we have Remembrance Day?

On Monday 20^th November, Year 1 continued our History learning on Remembrance. Today we began by looking closely at photographs of a variety of war memorials. We discussed the different features we could see and shared these as a class. Afterwards, we made paper poppies as we know that we wear poppies to remember the soldiers who gave their lives so we can live in peace. The children know we wear poppies because these were the flowers that grew on the battlefields when the war was over. We then walked to Holbeck Cemetery. It was a long walk for our little legs but we were such super stars. When we arrived, we saw the war memorial and discussed the features we could see. We laid our paper poppies and observed a minutes silence to remember the soldiers. Finally, we went on a poppy hunt and saw lots of beautifully crocheted poppies hung around the cemetery.

Year 1, you were amazing today. You were so knowledgeable and respectful. Well done!

Our Science Focus Question this half term is: What material would be best to make a boat and why?

Today, Year 1 have begun exploring a range of everyday materials, considering their properties. We recognise that we have a variety of materials around us, including wood, plastic, glass and metal. We considered why these materials are chosen for different objects based on their property features e.g. Wood is used for tables because it is hard and cannot be bent easily. We then explored a range of different everyday objects into groups and recognised that some objects could be in more than one group (e.g. Our classroom chairs have metal legs and a plastic seat). Super Scientific exploration Year 1!

Road Safety - Pedestrian Training

On Monday 13th November, Year 1 took part in Pedestrian Training. The children discussed the different vehicles which use the roads and some key words - kerb, pavement and road. The children then found out about how we can keep safe using the principles of The Green Cross Code - Stop, Look, Listen and Think! We also discussed the importance of using a booster seat and wearing a seat belt. The children saw what happened to teddy when he forgot his seatbelt, he fell out of his seat! The children listened extremely well during this important session. Well done Year 1!

Year one have been exploring how we can paint using computers. We explored a range of tools used for digital painting and used them to create different shapes and lines and we then used these tools to create our own digital pictures.

Our focus RE question this half term is: What does the rainbow represent?

We have been exploring the story of Noah's Ark and reflecting on why God sent a rainbow at the end of the story. We recognise that:

"God sent a rainbow in the sky to serve as a sign of his promise that he would never flood the Earth again."

As a class, we then discussed how the rainbow reminds us of God's forgiveness, truthfulness and however great the trials are that we endure, that God will remain faithful and good. We have displayed our beautiful rainbows in our Year 1 classroom so we remember God's special promise to His world. 

In Maths, Year 1 are learning how to make fact families involving numbers. In order to do this, we have created our own part-whole models in order to establish different components of our fact families. We practically made each value before discussing the + and = symbol.

We rehearsed saying what information our part-whole models show using the STEM sentences below:
_____ is a part.

_____ is a part.

_____ is the whole.

_____ plus ____ is equal to ____

_____ + _____ = _____.

Take a look at some of our super learning in the pictures above. Mrs Coldman and myself are so proud of everybody in Year 1 with their super enthusiasm for our Maths curriculum. Well done Year 1!

In this lesson, Year 1 carried out simple fieldwork within our school grounds, observing its main features and using simple charts to collect data about: key sites (e.g. school office, hall); things that they can spy / spot around the school, including their locations; their favourite part of the school grounds. We discussed the difference between physical and human features in our school.

Year 1 have been exploring the collage artwork of Kurt Schwitters. Today, we explored the nature within our own school environment to create our own collages. We enjoyed exploring the different textures and colours of the items we found. Mrs Gledhill was so impressed with how we described the way in which we put different colours and types of leaves together. Take a look at our beautiful artwork in the pictures.

Year 1 have been developing their knowledge of a number line and how it is used. We recapped counting from zero to 10 forwards when labelling a number line and can also practise counting backwards when we read from right to left. We can clearly see that 1 more is the next number to the right on the number line, while 1 less is the previous number. We then explored different ways to represent each number on the number line, using objects from nature outdoors and also our class manipulatives. Well done Year 1!

In Maths, Year 1 have been using a range of manipulatives to compare values. Using our focus words of, "more than", "less than" and "equal to", we compared values and described how we sorted the numbers. We then progressed our knowledge through the use of the symbols < , > and = . Take a look at some of our super Maths work today in the pictures above. Well done Year 1!

This half term, Year 1 are learning all about 'Our Local Area'. Today, we were using photographs and maps to identify key features of Beeston. We observed different features of maps and discussed what they are used for with various examples. Using Digimaps, we studied the Geography of Beeston then identified different symbols which represented key human and physical features. Super Geography work Year 1!

In RE, during Autumn 1 2023, we have been thinking about how God created the world and everybody in it. We recognised that God made us all unique and special because of all of our different characteristics. We know that God loves us all for being exactly as we are - he loves us to pieces! We met our new St Anthony's Bears, Anthony and Antonia who remind us how special we are. We can have a hug to think about how much God cherishes each of us in Year 1. 

  Hello Year 1 

We are so excited to begin our journey together this year and learn so much more about your interests, passions and talents. This year, we will embark on a journey of discovery together across a range of exciting, immersive topics. To start with, we will be learning all about the The Human Body and the Local Area in which we live.

Our first core texts we shall explore will be:

The Gruffalo and Owl Babies
 
The majority of class updates will be posted onto the Google Classroom platform. This includes things such as copies of letters and announcements/reminders. Below, we have posted some useful information to begin the year with:
 
*Mrs Coldman teaches us Monday - Wednesday and Mrs Gledhill teaches us Wednesday - Friday.

*Read every night at home, focussing on your understanding of the text. Remember to aim for quality over quantity of pages read. All books sent home will be in line with our Little Wandle Phonics scheme.
*PE will take place every Tuesday and Wednesday for Year 1. Please come to school in your PE kit on this day. (Please note that PE will not take place on Tuesday 5th September with it being our first day back. PE will begin for Year 1 on Wednesday 6th September, so please come in your PE kit on this day).
*Come into school everyday, excited and ready to learn!
*Our meet the teacher meeting will take place on Thursday 7th September 3.15 - 3.45pm with Mrs Gledhill.
*Half termly newsletters (including any key dates) and spellings can be found via the Year 1 class page. 

*Mrs Hennigan and Mrs Cecil will also be supporting your children in Year 1 to achieve their very best.

We know that we will have a year filled with exploration, discovery, imagination and wonder! 

Keep scrolling down the Year 1 page to meet the team and also explore our wonderful learning environment.
Take care and we cannot wait to see you all soon,
 
The Year 1 Team

Year 1 thoroughly enjoyed completing in sports day last week. They did so well and loved cheering on their team mates! 

This half term Year 1 have created working windmills! The children were fantastic at creating their 3D structures using different nets to form the shapes. They listened well to their instructions and as you can see have made some lovely windmills! 

D-Side Visit.

Year 1 recently had a visit from D-Side Dave! D-Side Dave taught Year 1 all about the body and what foods are healthy or unhealthy and why. The children had lots of fun showing off their knowledge of healthy and unhealthy foods at the end of the session! 

Year One are following their RE lessons based on our scheme, The Way, The Truth and The Life. We are currently in the season of Lent. We held a special act of collective worship on Ash Wednesday as Lent began. We have made our own Lenten promises and created our own Lenten display in our Year One classroom. We continue to journey together during Lent, towards Easter. We are focussing upon our focus virtue of Charity. 

Year 1 were so excited to develop their archery skills this week with a special enhanced workshop of learning from an Archery Teacher from Premier Sport (supplementing our PE wider offer through the Well Schools Partnership). All children had a great time improving their technique in order to aim at a target. What fabulous learning and progress Year 1!

During Spring 1 2023, we have been learning all about Antarctica through our Geographical learning and through reading lots of information texts about Antarctica and the features that make it a unique place. After researching the different types of animals that live in Antarctica, the children created some wonderful non-chronological reports. The Year One children wrote clear sentences, starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop. The children have produced some beautiful writing in line with our expectations for Year One and I am extremely proud of them all. Well done Year 1!

This half term in Music we have been learning how to play steady beat. We played a steady beat using body percussion whilst we listened to music. We then accompanied a song by playing a steady beat on different types of instruments. The children used there fantastic listening skills to identify changes in the tempo of the music. Well done Year 1!

On Wednesday 11th January 2023, St Anthony's led a Stepping Up to Reading Family Learning Session for our Year One class. We were absolutely delighted that 21 of our parents attended! The children worked with their parent to learn top tips for reading and writing. Our parents were so impressed by how we teach reading, and observed Mrs Goodwin modelling the reading process with a Year One pupil. I know our children left so eager to read to thier parents, and for parents to record all their reading in their home school yellow reading book. The children are doing so well on their journey of reading in partnership with our incredible parents. Keep up the good work everyone. Huge thanks to Miss Taylor, Mrs Goodwin and Miss Leonard who led our meeting. Thank you to our parents for making time to attend. God bless you all. 

In PSHE this half term the children have learnt all about how to keep themselves safe.  This week we looked a lot of pictures and the children sorted them into safe and unsafe whilst also explaining their decision.  Some children thought that some of the pictures could be safe and unsafe as we needed a little more information - to help solve this problem they were introduced to Venn diagrams. It was wonderful to hear how much the children have remembered. Well done Year 1

This week (5.12.22) we are beginning to learn about 3d shapes. The children will be learning to name cubes, cuboids, spheres, cylinders, pyramids and triangular prisms. They will also be describing the faces of these shapes using the words curved and flat.   Can you find any of these shapes in your home? Please reply to Santa's challenge on Google Classroom and keep an eye out here for your photographs to appear!

We are also starting to think about the number 20.  Can you see the number 20 anywhere on your journey to school? Can you think of any numbers that when added together make 20?

On Tuesday 15th November 2022, Leeds City Council Road Safety Team visited Year One. We listened carefully how to keep safe on the roads, for example by finding safe places to cross and holding an adults hand on the pavement. We began to think about where and when it is safe to cross roads and how we need an adult to support us. We also remembered our learning from last year including how to keep safe in a car by wearing our seatbelts and using a booster seat or child seat. We are going to keep very safe and use all our new learning from today! 

Our Year One class were very excited to be able to take part in a wider curriculum opportunity for PE. They each took part in a very exciting Judo session where they listened carefully and learnt lots of new skills working with their partners. I am so proud of our Year One children. I know some of our children have been interested in finding our more about Judo with some children joining after school provision locally. Great news everyone! 

As part of Black History Month, Year One have been focussing upon the lives of inspirational black people. They have studied the artist Alma Thomas (inspiring their beautiful artwork), listened and reflected upon the inspirational message of Rosa Parks and considered the influence and life as well as the music of Stevie Wonder.

Our Year One class have been using the sense of sight, smell, touch and taste when investigating pumpkins. They really enjoyed observing, describing what they could see and being Scientists! Well done Year One!