Welcome to Year 1/2

 

Learning in Year 1/2 

Autumn 1 – Magnificent Me

In Autumn 1, the children will learn through a vehicle called ‘Magnificent Me’. They will explore what makes them unique by learning about the human body, including the five senses, and investigating how they use these to explore the world around them. The children will also learn about different families, the important role pets can play within them, and compare toys from the past with those of today. Through Art, they will create their own self-portraits, and in DT they will design and make a moving book using a lever to celebrate themselves.

 

Autumn 2 – Who Lives in a Place Like This?

In Autumn 2, the children will learn through a vehicle called ‘Who Lives in a Place Like This?’. They will develop their geographical knowledge by exploring the school grounds, using aerial photographs and simple compass directions to describe locations. The children will learn about human and physical features, compare cities, towns and villages, and investigate the landmarks and characteristics of their local area. Through DT, they will explore different ways of joining materials before designing and building strong structures inspired by the story of The Three Little Pigs.

 

Spring 1 – What’s in the Forest?

In the Spring term, the children will learn through a vehicle called ‘What’s in the Forest?’. They will develop their geographical knowledge by learning about the four countries of the United Kingdom, the surrounding seas, and the physical and human features that make each country unique. Through History, the children will explore how Sherwood Forest has changed over time, learn about medieval villages, compare them with life today, and discover the legend of Robin Hood. They will also learn about significant historical people from the local area, including King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Through Art, the children will explore the work of David Hockney, experimenting with line and shape before creating their own paintings inspired by his landscapes.

Summer 1 – Glorious Gardens

In Summer 2, the children will learn through a vehicle called ‘Glorious Gardens’. They will explore the natural world by learning about gardens and the importance of plants within our environment. Through Art, the children will study the work of William Morris, exploring repeating patterns before creating their own floral prints inspired by his designs. As part of a community project, the children will plant and grow flowers to create hanging baskets for a local care home, helping them to understand the importance of caring for their local community.

 

Summer 2 – Waka Waka 

In Summer 2, the children will learn through a vehicle called ‘Waka Waka’. They will develop their geographical knowledge by exploring the human and physical features of Nairobi and comparing them with those of Mansfield. The children will also learn about the climate in Kenya and compare it with the climate in the UK, identifying similarities and differences. Through DT, they will develop their food preparation skills by designing, making and evaluating a healthy fruit salad.

 

English (Writing, Reading and Phonics)

In Key Stage 1, Phonics is taught daily in groups to provide children with strong foundations in the early reading skills they need to succeed. In our school, we use the Monster Phonics scheme.

Year 1

In Year 1, children will continue to build on their knowledge of phonics from EYFS. They will continue to learn new sounds, learn tricky words, spelling rules and how to sound out and blend to aid them with their reading and writing. At the end of Year 1, the children will complete a Phonics Screening Check. For more information about Monster Phonics, please visit our Phonics page. 

Year 2

In Year 2, the children will continue to work on the phonics they started in Year 1, aiming to read words by sight without having to sound them out. They will learn further spelling patterns and rules, and begin to apply those in their writing. They will look at the possessive apostrophe, homophones, and near-homophones and suffixes. For more information about Monster Phonics progression, please visit our Phonics page.

 

English

In English, children use high-quality texts to develop their vocabulary and transcription skills. Throughout the year, children follow our writing process of Engage, Discover and Transcribe to develop their foundational skills.

In our mixed Year 1/2 classes, Year 1 children apply their growing phonics knowledge to become increasingly independent readers, while Year 2 children build on these skills by developing their fluency and comprehension. All children enjoy exploring a wide range of stories, poetry and non-fiction and are encouraged to read regularly for both enjoyment and information.

Phonics, grammar, punctuation and spelling are taught progressively to meet the needs of each year group. Children develop confidence in writing accurate sentences through the use of adaptation. They continue to improve their transcriptional skills, while regular opportunities for speaking and listening help them explain their ideas, listen carefully to others and communicate with increasing confidence.

For more information on our English curriculum, visit our Curriculum page. 

Maths

In Key Stage 1, Maths sessions are taught daily in groups with plenty of hands-on activities.

Year 1

Year 1 children will count with objects and explore shapes and pattern. As they become confident at using numbers over 20, they will begin to explore more problem-based maths including, adding and subtracting. Number bonds will also be reinforced. They will learn to count forwards, backwards, in 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s, and they will double and halve. 

Year 1 children will also have opportunities to deepen their understanding of these new concepts by solving problems.

If you want to see how Year 1 at Sutton Road are taught to apply different calculation techniques in maths, click here to view video support guides. 

Year 2

Mathematics in Year 2 focuses on learning multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5, and 10 times tables. Children will also learn to add and subtract with two-digit and one-digit numbers.

In fractions, they will find ⅓, ¼, ½, and ¾ of a shape or a quantity of objects. They will study measures, including weight, capacity, and length, and they will learn to tell the time to five minutes. They will also study properties of 2D and 3D shapes, as well as a range of data-handling methods such as bar charts and pictograms.

Year 2 children are encouraged to use their knowledge of these new concepts to solve problems to deepen their understanding.

If you want to see how Year 2 at Sutton Road are taught to apply different calculation techniques in maths, click here to view video support guides. 

The Wider Curriculum

We teach our wider curriculum through a mix of discreet (stand-alone) sessions and those taught through the curriculum vehicle. For more information on our Curriculum Offer, please visit our Curriculum pages.

 

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