This Term

Below you will find information about what the classes in KS1 are learning about this term.

Autumn 2022

English

Much of our English work this term will link with our Theme work. At the start of the term the children will be consolidating learning from last year. Year 1 children will focus on writing labels and captions to help them understand the difference between a word and a sentence. Year 2 children will consolidate the sentence writing skills they learned last year, using capital letters, full stops and simple conjunctions. The English lessons for all the children will follow the Talk 4 Writing approach. The first texts that the children will learn this term are the rhyme ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’ and the story ‘Monkey See, Monkey Do!’. Later in the term the children will learn the traditional tale ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and learn about instructions. The children will continue with daily phonics sessions and spelling skills. Children in Year One will consolidate the vowel and consonant digraphs that they learned in Reception and then move onto reading and writing larger words that uses these letters and sounds, including words with adjacent consonants and some new vowel digraphs. The Year Two children will also be consolidating their learning from the end of Year 1 to ensure they have remembered all the different vowel digraphs and the alternative sounds that different letters can make.

Maths

The children will learn more about number concepts including counting in different steps, ordering numbers, writing calculations using the correct symbols and recalling simple number facts. Year 1 children will learn to count to 100 and read and write numbers accurately from 1 to 20. Year 2 children will learn more about the place value of numbers in 2 digit numbers and then add and subtract 2 digit numbers from single digit numbers and multiples of tens. Year 2 will recognise odd and even numbers and begin to understand multiplication as repeated addition. Year 1 children will start to learn about the calculations of multiplication and division using objects. All children will work on simple fractions, Year 1 will recognise half of shapes and small amounts of objects whereas Year 2 will recognise the written form of some simple fractions as well as begin to recognise the fraction of a given number or amount. All children will also work on comparing and measuring length, with Year 2 children working using centimetres and metres. The children will also work using the vocabulary of telling the time and learn more about 2D shapes.

Theme (cross curricular work - including Science)

Our theme for the first half term is “Why did London Bridge nearly fall down?” In this cross-curricular unit the children will learn about London and famous landmarks as well as why a capital city is important. They will compare some of the features and landmarks of London to those in Leeds. The children will then find out about The Great Fire of London. They will learn some key historical facts about this significant event, learn about life in 1666 as well understand how we know historical events really happened. The children will make model houses and use art techniques to create pictures of the fire. They will find out about Sir Christopher Wren, who helped to re-design and re-build London as well as learn how things changed after the Great Fire.

After half term our theme will be “Would I like to live in a Castle?” This will include a lot of Science based learning about materials. The children will recognise and describe the properties of materials as well as do simple investigations about materials. Much of this work will link to looking at castles and why materials are used for different purposes.

In addition to this theme work the children will also have Art lessons in the first half term which will help the children learn more about drawing and self portraits. They will also learn about the work of artists and use some of their techniques and styles in their own work. After half term the children will study Geography where the children will learn key Geographical facts about the UK and the different world continents and oceans.

Please see our Theme Work page for more detail about this term's Theme work.

PE in KS1 follows the ‘Real PE’ scheme of work in which children learn essential skills, movements and attitudes to go on to succeed in PE, sports and life. During the first half term the children will be working on a balance based unit and a co-ordination with equipment unit. The balance based unit will teach children the skills need to complete a seated, static balance as well as a learning how to balance and then transition into different movements. The equipment unit will teach children how to be confident handling, sending and receiving equipment in different ways and then how to respond and react with agility. Where possible lessons at the start of the term will take place outside so please ensure your child has suitable outside PE kit in school.

Music

The children will continue to learn and sing a range of songs linked to curriculum areas. As part of this work the children will listen and respond to different pieces of music. Later in the term the children will learn songs, actions and dances to perform as part of our Christmas Show.

The children will learn about why we care about people and how caring for others is an essential value to many faiths, including Christianity and Islam. Later in the term the children will also consolidate their understanding of why Christian's celebrate Christmas and the importance of the time leading up to Christmas – advent.

Life Curriculum

The children spend several sessions during their first weeks learning about new rules and routines for their new classroom. Each week the children will also discuss a ‘thought for the week’ with their teacher and class. These thoughts link closely to Personal, Social and Health learning. During the first half term the children will learn more about what it means to be a good friend. They will learn how to identify other people’s feelings, deal with disagreements and how to make friends. Later in the term the children will learn about healthy lifestyles, including understanding how eating, exercise, rest and our emotions can all affect our health.

Computing

Computing is often cross curricular and includes working on English and Maths skills using the computers but the start of the term computing lessons will focus on ensuring children have the grasp of basic skills for logging onto the school computers, finding and opening programs as well as inputting and saving simple text. Later in the term the children will have lessons on how to use control devices such as simple floor robots and programs with controllable objects. They will input instructions to make things happen as well as predict an outcome before they try out instructions.