Welcome To Term 4 – Year 1
Let’s put on our coats, pop up our brollies and investigate the weather!
Our topic this term is the Science-based ‘Splendid Skies’. Year 1 will be exploring the great outdoors to find out about different types of weather and to look for signs of the seasons. We will study weather reports, make weather symbols and learn about the life and work of Sir Francis Beaufort.
Creative opportunities will allow us to explore weather in works of art, make season trees and create seasonal music! We will be composing weather poems and writing postcards describing the weather in different places. Our thinking skills will come in handy when we experiment with thermometers and compasses, and investigate the effects of the Sun, comparing weather around the world.
Ideas to support your child’s learning at home:
Weather is wonderful! Why not go for a walk and observe the weather? Take photographs and make notes of interesting observations. Alternatively, study a weather app together to see how symbols are used to show the weather over the coming days. You could also fly a kite in the park on different days to find out which conditions are best for kite flying!
PE Day
Merlins and Sparrows have their PE day on a Wednesday. Children are expected to wear a white round neck t-shirt, black shorts or joggers and black trainers or plimsolls. During the Winter months of PE, school cardigans and jumpers can be worn over the top of the t-shirt.
Year 1 Expectations
We expect children to read their Collins Big Cat book every day at home and fill in their reading record. We also send home a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ book that adults can read to the children.
Your child is given a spelling list each Friday as homework which links to the Little Wandle phonics scheme that we follow in the school. We expect children to practise these daily at home and the children do a spelling test every following Friday. All of these books (Big Cat books, reading record, ‘Reading for Pleasure’ book and spelling book) are due in and collected on a Thursday then new homework and books are given out on a Friday.
Maths homework will be set once a week on the Freckle online learning platform. Phonics homework will be sent home every Friday and needs to be completed and returned the following week.
So far this term, we’ve been thinking about which clothes we would pack in a suitcase for different seasons and trips. We have learnt about extreme weather such as tornadoes, blizzards, droughts and hurricanes, and look forward to exploring floods in our English text ‘Pattan’s Pumpkin’ by Chitra Soundar.
This week, we discussed a range of weather art by famous artists before creating watercolour paintings of our favourite type of weather. We had so much fun! Check out some of our amazing work!
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