Year 1
Assalamu’alaikum and welcome!

بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
Assalamu’alaikum and welcome TO AUTUMN 2!
I hope you have all had a refreshing break. I am looking forward to the new learning and exciting experiences we will share this half term!
Ustadha Shah
WHAT WE ARE LEARNING THIS TERM
ENGLISH
This half-term we will be diving into the fabulous world of poetry. We will explore ‘The
Puffin Book of Fantastic Poems’ in order to familiarise ourselves with rhyme and rhythm. By
the end of this unit, we will have responded to, read, written and performed our own poems.
“The Lonely Beast” by Chris Judge is a heartwarming and beautifully illustrated children’s book that follows the adventures of a friendly and affable monster named The Lonely Beast. This lovable creature embarks on a quest to find friends and discovers a vibrant world filled with different animals, each unique in its own way. Through its journey, The Lonely Beast teaches children important lessons about acceptance, diversity, and the value of friendship. This unit will facilitate opportunities for creative writing; where the children will create their own imaginative stories featuring unique characters and settings. The book also allows children to practice descriptive writing and the opportunity to engage in character analysis by examining the way in which the beast changes throughout the story.
Phonics
This term, the children will revisit and consolidate Phases 2 and 3 of the ELS Scheme. We will then work on introducing Phase 4 to the children, along with learning to write and spell any common exception words. The children will be encouraged to independently write words and sentences using the phonic sounds they have been taught. It will be beneficial if this can be encouraged at home too.
READING
The children will have guided reading sessions every day. They will all have the opportunity to participate in 1:1 reading sessions once a week. The children will also be provided with a reading book each week, please read with them daily and leave a comment in their reading journals. Ensure your child brings their reading book and reading journal into school every day. Please make use of BugClub at home; this is an excellent tool the children can use in order to develop their phonic knowledge and reading fluency.
MATHS
In Maths Year 1 will be familiarising themselves with numbers 1-10. They will be taught how to write numbers, order them, compare numbers and work on our knowledge of number bonds within 10. Year 1 will then be introduced to the concept of addition. We will look at various addition strategies, such as counting on and adding using a numberline. The children will work to complete number sentences, solve picture problems and create addition stories.
SCIENCE
In Science this half term, Year 1 will be learning about ‘Changing Seasons’. We will become familiar with their scientific names of the four seasons and the type of weather associated with each
season. We will explore the impact of weather and temperature on seasonal change.
Geography
In Geography, we will be enhancing our knowledge of the UK. We will learn about the 4
countries (Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales) which make up the UK, and
identify and locate them on a map. We will also be exploring UK cities and their capitals.
ART
This half term, Year 1 will be exploring colours. They will learn about the primary colours, secondary colours and colour mixing. The children will have the opportunity to experiment with shade and tone. they will also explore the artists Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandisky and create artwork in the style of Mondrian and Kandinsky.





If there is anything else you would like to see on our class page feel free to let me know.
Jazakamullahu khairan
Year 1 Staff
Assalamu ‘alaikum, my name is Ustadha Shah. I am looking forward to continuing my journey with Year One this year inshaAllah. If you have any concerns please feel free to contact me.
Ustadha Gani is an excellent TA who worked with Year 1 last year. She will be continuing to support the children settle in and to develop into young learners.
Ustadha Enriques is a learning support assistant and helps individual children with their learning.
Reminders
PE takes place every Thursday. Please ensure your child is in correct PE kit.
Homework will consist of English, Maths and Spelling. It will be sent out on Thursday and collected on Tuesday.
Your child will also be sent home a reading book each week. Do encourage the children to read the book more than once. As they are beginning readers they may need to read the same book more than once to understand what the text is about. Do ask them about what they are reading, as it will help them in their reading comprehension.
You can find further information on Google Classroom.
What can you do to Help?
- Encourage the children to become more independent.
- Please label all items of clothing and book bags.
- Make sure that you check that the children have taken their homework and that they return it.
- Involve your child in real world maths by talking about how much something costs or how many you have. The children will benefit from it in class.
- Please provide your child with a water bottle.
- Please ensure the children start the day with a healthy breakfast.
Latest Year 1 News
PINT-SIZED POETS AND THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW IT
In the words of our lovely Year 1 child - “Poems are made up of words that look a bit crazy on the page and sound a bit crazy too when they are put together!” In English, Year 1 have been exploring the wonderful world of poetry! As we have come to the end of our...
ZONING IN ON THE ZONES
Children in Year 1 have been exploring their emotions recently and the different ways of expressing themselves. We have been learning about the Zones of Regulation - a tool which helps with emotional regulation. It is vital that we equip our young children with...
EXPLORING IDENTITY, IGNITING CREATIVITY AND INSPIRING CURIOSITY
Year 1 have been exploring their identity this week. When asked the question: What makes you, you? The children shared their fantastic ideas. AM: My family MK: My thoughts RS: What I look like MB: My hobbies AI: My favourite things YB: My religion We...