Year 1 - Ash
Welcome to Year 1 - Ash Class
Teacher - Mrs Griggs
LSA - Miss Garside
Ash class is a nurturing and creative year 1 environment which immerses children in their learning and promotes diversity and inclusion. The school rules of 'be safe, be ready, be respectful' are threaded through the school day so that children learn to value each other, help each other to be resilient and become independent in their learning. The children are challenged and supported to develop a growth mindset, with endless opportunities to show off their best selves. Children in year one love to learn, love to read and love to create. Look out for regular photos and updates on Dojo. You can also message me on Dojo at any time, and I will respond at my earliest convenience.
Things to remember:
| Daily | Reading books should be brought into school daily please. Children will also take home a 'reading for pleasure' book. Please read with your child at home. |
| Daily | Water bottle - filled with water only. |
Wednesday | Homework to be returned on Wednesday. |
| Thursday | PE every Tuesday. Please remember to remove any earrings. PE kits - please label PE kits as they will be left at school and returned home at the end of every half term. |
| Friday | Homework to be sent home. New spellings and spellings book to be sent home. New reading book to be sent home. New 'reading for pleasure' book to be sent home. This is often a book for the adults at home to read to your child. |
Spring in Ash Class
As we swing into 2026, we have a term full of treats planned for the children. We will be developing our design and technology skills with something special to bring home, and we will be happy historians as we visit Colchester Castle. We are excited to blossom this Spring term and delve into our learning. Let's take a look at the fun the children will be having.
Reading/Phonics/Spellings:
All children will read daily. As part of our reading curriculum we follow 'Little Wandle'. The children have daily phonics session and guided reading sessions every morning. The children are grouped based on their phonic ability.
Spellings are given every Friday for children to practise at home.
You may wish support your child with learning to spell common exception words.
English
There is a friendly alien on the loose in the school! Children describe the alien before writing letters of advice. The teacher also explains that the alien is learning English and speaks in words which are close in sound to the English words. Children have to work out which words the alien could mean and write an alien dictionary. Children make sock puppets of their own alien and write reports on these before writing their own narrative based on the story shape of Beegu.
Children will receive a letter with a cuddly toy octopus from Leo, the main character, asking them for advice. They will explore and discuss how everyone is different and how it is important to be considerate and respectful to how individuals feel. They will celebrate the uniqueness of individuals, discuss the importance of inclusion and indirectly explore some of the considerations around autism. They will then go on a journey with Leo to investigate and learn all they can about octopuses. They will learn a range of skills building towards writing a fact file exhibiting all they have learned. This will be published as a brochure for the London Aquarium.
The children discover a bear having a picnic. They talk about their own special toy and create labels. But then the bear is left behind and the story, The Sea Saw by Tom Percival is shared. The children give advice in the form of commands to the sea (who plans to help the bear to return to Sofia) before helping Sofia make wanted posters that use statements, questions and commands. To support sequencing of events, the children learn to spell the days of the week and include these in a diary entry. Words prefixed with un- are investigated
and the use of ‘and’ is explored so that the children can write a letter in role as Sofia thanking the sea for returning her bear. Children then plan and write their own narrative.
Children explore the themes and ideas in the story, such as dreams, desires and how to keep the earth a nice place to call home. They create a variety of written outcomes including reports, setting descriptions, letters, instructions, retellings, simile sentences about their dreams, and eventually a class pamphlet about how to look after the planet – all to help the man in the story.
Maths
We will be teaching maths though White Rose Maths. This is a research-based scheme of learning, consistent with the aims and objectives of the National Curriculum, that is designed to support a mastery approach to teaching and learning. This term will focus on place value and measurement.
Science
The children will develop their knowledge of part of the body and which senses they relate to. This interactive topic includes taste tests, sensory delights and awesome aromas.
Geography
Oceans, continents and the UK
We will be learning all about the oceans and continents of the world before focusing on the countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom.
History
Celtic history
The Children will have lots of fun investigating the Celts, looking for evidence in the local area of past times, building forts and becoming warriors
Children will explore significant people in history including Captain AmyJohnson, Captain Cook and Sir Francis Drake.
Art
Children will be exploring patterns and collages, creating their own stunning masterpieces.
Computing
Children will learn the basics of digital music.
How can I help my child in year 1?
Talking, listening and reading:
We encourage parents to read with their children daily. Local libraries are a fun environment for children to explore books and foster a real love of reading. Comprehension is an important part of reading. This can be developed through asking questions such as 'What do you predict will happen next?' and 'How do you think the character might be feeling?'. This will help bring the book to life!
Please support your children with their homework. Mrs Griggs will be on hand to guide you where necessary.
Writing
Encourage your child to write at home. They may wish to keep a diary, or help with shopping lists.
You can support you child with games on the Letter-join website.
Letter-join whole school handwriting scheme
Maths:
Please practise counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. This can be a fun game on the way to school, in the supermarket or wherever you can squeeze it in!
NumBots is an online game and playing little and often will significantly improve your child’s recall and understanding of number bonds and addition and subtraction facts. These are critical foundations in maths so we are excited by the impact NumBots will have.
Children will also have fun with music, religious education, PSHE and design technology.
Children in year 1 have a real love for learning. Ask them about some of these projects! Children have bounced into school this term full of enthusiasm for learning and they are very excited to share their learning journeys with you.
KS1 and EYFS children are invited to Festival club with Mrs Griggs on a Tuesday after school. This is a fantastic opportunity for children to explore festivals from around the world. Please contact the school office if you wish to sign your child up.