St Michael's CE VA Primary School
Year 1 and Year 2
Welcome back!
We have had a great start back and everyone is very eager to
learn which is just what we need!
This booklet explains the things we will be learning this half term
and a few things you can do at home. If at any stage this half term
you want to come and chat, please do.
This is going to be an exciting term filled with lots of learning!
Mrs Townley and Sarah
Toys
Our main theme this term is Toys. We will be learning
about Old and New toys, how they have changed, what they
are made from and who were they designed for. If you have
any old toys at home that you are happy to share with us we
would love to see them.
In our class we now also have a toy shop, where we will have
an opportunity to gain more of an understanding of money and
how toys can be sorted and grouped.
In Science, we are learning about the way things move and the
forces involved. We are particularly looking at push and pull
and will be using lots of different toys to see how they move,
describing the forces they use.
Within our Art and Design we will be learning how to do
observation, how to make puppets and how to design and
create a toy for a particular purpose and client.
We will be experts in toys by the end of the term!
In Numeracy this half term we are learning about shapes, 2D
shapes and 3D shapes. We are exploring where they are
used in the real world and what makes each shape special.
So that you are aware of the shapes your child is learning and
the words we are using to describe them I have created a little
reference for you.
Use this to see what your child can remember about 2D
shapes or 3D shapes. Ask your child things like: What is the
name of the 2D shape that has 8 sides?, How many faces
does a cube have? Pick a shape and ask your child if they
can find something this shape at home.
Oval
Square Pentagon
Hexagon
Heptagon Octagon Oblong/Rectangle
2D Shapes- Flat Shapes
Circle
Semi
Circle Triangle
3D Shapes- Solid Shapes
Cube
Cylinder Cuboid
Cone Prism Square based
Pyramid
We have also
been looking at
shape patterns
and how shapes
can tessellate.
One or more
shapes that fit
together with no
gaps.
Triangular
based
Pyramid
Sphere
Vertex (corner)
When you talk about more than
one you say Vertices
edge
face
We will also continue to learn about the four
operations + - x ÷
In Literacy this half term we will be learning a lot. Firstly we
will learn about poetry, how and why some words rhyme. Next
we will learn about Instructions, how they are presented, how
to carry them out and how to write our own. Then we will learn
some stories and how they sometimes change in other
cultures and places around the world.
We now do guided reading twice a week in our class, this is
when we get together in small groups and develop our reading
skills. Each Wednesday we will continue to change your child's
reading book, on occasion when this is not possible they will
be changed on a Thursday. Please remember that you can reread the books we send home. In doing this your child may
see things they didn’t before, their confidence will develop
when tackling unfamiliar words, they can develop their use of
expression and you can develop their comprehension skills by
asking them questions about what they have read. You could
always have fun by trying to act it out or by turning into one of
the characters. The possibilities are endless!
Sometimes it is hard to know how to help your child with reading
and spelling. Here are some of the key ways we do it at school.
Blending
Blending is a vital skill for reading. The separate sounds
(phonemes) of the words are spoken aloud, in order, all
through the word, and are then merged together into the whole
word.
c-a-t = cat
Segmenting
Segmenting is a vital skill for spelling. The whole word
is spoken aloud, then broken up into separate sounds
(phonemes), in order, all through the word.
cat= c-a-t
Uh sound
Your child within phonics will be taught how to pronounce
the sounds correctly to make blending easier.
Top tip- leave out the ‘uh’ sound!
e.g. ‘ssss’ not ‘suh’ or ‘ffff’ not ‘fuh’ Ask your child to show you
how.
Segmenting and Blending
Play ‘I Spy’ with objects which have three sounds
(phonemes)
e.g. ‘I Spy a m-u-g’
‘I Spy a t-o-p’
‘I Spy a s-o-ck’
Some children will be using syllables to enable them to read
longer words
e.g . ant-e-lope
This half term in our phonics lessons we are learning lots of
new sounds. These sounds are grouped into sets. If you ask
your child what sounds they have looked at so far you will see
where they currently are.
Set 1- s a t p
Set 2- i n
m d
Set 3- g o c k
Set 4- ck e u r
Set 5- h b f (ff) l (ll) s (ss)
Set 6- j v w x
Set 7- y z (zz) qu
Set 8- ch sh th ng
Set 9- ai ee igh oa
Set 10- oo (moon) oo (book) ar ear
Set 11- ur ow oi ear
Set 12- er air ure
Sometimes your child may come home knowing a sound which
is not on this list, this sound will be from the advance code.
Something we will be learning about more in the summer term.
Below is a list of websites that you can use to help your child
with all areas of the curriculum.
•http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm
•http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/lookcover/lookco
ver.html
•http://ictgames.com
•http://bbc.co.uk/schools
•http://www.mathszone.co.uk/
•http://www.mathsisfun.com/index.htm
•http://www.crickweb.co.uk
•http://www.primarygames.com
•http://www.familylearning.org.uk
You don’t just have to use the computer, there are many things
at home that you can do to help your child.
Such as:
-Foam bath letters
-Magnetic letters
-Collect bottle tops and write letters on top
-Board games e.g. snakes and ladders, scrabble etc..
-Key word flash card
-Reading signs
-Playing I spy