This term we will be reading lots of fairytales and using this as a basis for our work on castles.

Literacy

We will be concetrating on the stories of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Pea and Jack and the Beanstalk. We will be writing menus, job lists, sequencing stories, speech bubbles and much much more.

From the 14th September, children will also be streamed into groups for Read Write Inc. Children will attend their Read Write Inc groups Monday to Thursday, Friday we will be writing creatively.

Numeracy

In Numeracy we will be forming numbers and counting objects upto 20. In Shape, Space and Measures, we will be measuring and comparing the size, length and weight of objects. To link with our topic we will be solving 'real life medieval' problems such as paying taxes.

Science

We will be sorting and naming materials and discussing their properties. We will also look at Birds of Prey that were used in castle life and this will also link to our work on the Red Kite.

ICT

We will be concentrating on basic skills such as logging onto the computer independently, developing mouse control skills such as clicking and dragging an object. We will be using a variety of programs such as Kid Pix4 and Google Earth.

History

What is a castle? What was castle life like? Name the parts of a castle? What happened inside the castle? These are some of the questions that will be answered across this term. We will also be learning about St. George and the Dragon and William the Conqueror.

Geography

We will be comparing the locations of castles and the physical features that support where a castle is situated. We will be designing our own fictional maps of a country as well as looking at the jobs in a castle.

Art

Will be painting Medieval portraits and making pasta frames. Weaving using simple frames. Stained galess windows and making a clay goblet.

Design and Technology

We will be making cardboard kinghts and princesses, designing our own coat of arms, constructing castles with construction kits, designing a penant flag, making simple swords and castle cakes.

As part of a homework project children will be asked to design and make a castle at home to bring in for a competition. We hope also to set up a market stall to sell our cakes, just like in real castle life.

Music

We will be listening to medieval music, naming instruments of the time and looking at high and low notes using bottles.

PE

We will be concentrating on balancing using large and small apparatus. Juggling with bean bags and balls like a castle jester. Learning social dances such as the Hokey Cokey and maybe even the Waltz (who knows?).

PSHE

Using SEAL we will be concentrating on changes that happen in our lives. We will be making a set of rules for our classroom and for our castle.

RE

Our RE topic is all about Belonging - to a family, class, school etc. We will look at baptisms and weddings.

Year One Day Trip

Finally we will be going on a visit to Raby Castle in Durham (pictured below), where we will be getting our own personal tour of the castle, dressing up as Lords and Ladies, eating in the servants hall, visiting the deer in the Deer garden and even having time to play in the children's play area. This is a very exciting trip and we are really lucky to get access to the castle...more information to follow when we are back to school.

Further details of Year One timetable will be available once we return to school.

Please ensure children bring their reading books EVERY day to school.

If you have any worries or concerns please do not hesitate to speak to me either before or after school. I hope this has given you a little taster of the exciting things that Year 1 will doing this term.

Mrs Inkster