Welcome to Key Stage 1!
(Years 1 & 2)
Year 1 (& Reception) - Conkers Class Years 1 & 2 - Poplar Class Year 2 - Elm Class
Spring 2 – Planet Earth
A warm welcome back to school for the second half of Spring Term for our Key Stage 1 Classes: Conkers, Poplar and Elm. We are ready and raring to immerse ourselves in our learning this term. Our new school theme is ‘Planet Earth' which is driven through our geography and science curriculum.
We cannot wait to dive into our new class novel 'Dear Greenpeace'. A little girl called Emily is worried that the whale living in her pond is unhappy, so she writes to Greenpeace, who, though offering the best of advice, insists that it is impossible for a whale to live in a pond. Undeterred, Emily continues to seek the best course of action for her beloved whale, finally setting him free. the children will then enjoy the story of 'The Big Blue Whale' by Nicola Davies and they will find out more about the blue whale.
As scientists, we will be learning about plants. The children will be looking at what plants need to survive and suitable temperatures for growth for different plants. The children will then be comparing seeds and bulbs and observing the process of growing
In our artwork we will be focusing on the work of Andy Goldsworthy. We will be discussing how he creates sculptures using natural materials. We will experiment using clay to create 3D models and looking at how we can create texture in out models. We will then design a sculpture which represents our class tree.
Our spotlight author this term is Michael Morpurgo. We will enjoy reading together.
This half-term, one of our ‘50 Things to do before leaving Thorpe’ is to go on a visit the seaside. Further information about the school trip will be sent out later this term.
Remember to look out for photographs on our ‘KS1 Class Page’ where we will share our learning with you and please read our curriculum newsletter letter below for more information about our exciting learning!
We are looking forward to sharing our phonics learning with our Year 1 Parents on Wednesday 6th March 9am.
Autumn Term 2 - Boom, Bang & Bash!
A warm welcome back to school for an exciting 2nd half of our Autumn Term for our Key Stage 1 Classes: Conkers, Poplar and Elm. We are ready and raring to immerse ourselves in our learning this term. Our new school theme is 'Boom, Bang & Bash!' which is driven through our history study about the Great Fire of London.
We cannot wait to dive into our new class novel, 'Vlad and the Great Fire of London' by Kate Cunningham. The story is told by Vlad the flea and his friend Boxtn the rat, who get caught up in the fire in Pudding Lane.
As historians, we will learn about the Great Fire of London. We will find out where the fire started and how it started. The children will then discover the reason why it spread so quickly. The children will use various sources to help them understand the event and how it has impacted Britain today.
In our Design Technology we will be developing our skills in mechanisms. We will be designing and making a vehicle to put out a fire.
As scientists, we will learn about materials. The children will learn that different objects are made from different materials and use words to describe their properties. They will also investigate materials and find out which is the best material for a given purpose.
As computer whiz kids in our Computing ‘creating media-digital photography’ unit, we will learn how to take a good photograph and how light can improve the image. We consider our online safety to be very important and will consider what the difference is between things that are imaginary, ‘made up’ or ‘make believe’ and things that are ‘true’ or ‘real’. We will know that some information they find online may not be true.
Our spotlight author this term is Judith Kerr. We have lots of books by her in our reading area this half term. The children will enjoy listening to the entertaining adventures of Mog the Cat.
This half-term, one of our ‘50 Things to do before leaving Thorpe’ is to take part in a performance. We will look forward to sharing our Christmas production with you in December.
Remember to look out for photographs on our ‘KS1 Class Page’ where we will share our learning with you and please read our curriculum newsletter letter below for more information about our exciting learning!
As you can see, we will be incredibly busy and are looking forward to performing our Christmas production!
Autumn 1 Divide and Conquer!
We are extremely excited to immerse ourselves into our new school theme ‘Divide & Conquer!’ where we will be immersed in our history, exploring three different Queens of England. We will find out about the lives of Queen Elizabeth 2nd, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth 1st. We will find out their similarities and differences as well as their legacies.
We absolutely love reading and listening to stories in KS1 and cannot wait to enjoy reading the Traditional Tale of Jack and the Beanstalk and Snow White as well as some alternative versions of Jack and the Beanstalk in Year 2.
Our spotlight author this term is Babbette Cole.We have books by her in our reading areas this half term. The children will enjoy Prince Cinders and Princess Smartypants.
In Computing, we will be exploring computing systems and know there are different types of IT and computing devices. We will look at how IT and commuting devices can support them at school as well as at home. We will know their are rules for using IT and computing devices. Keeping safe online is something that we take very seriously at Thorpe continually learn about. This half term we will be focusing on
As young artists, we will study the art work of Paul Klee, in particular his piece of art ‘The Castle and the Sun’. We will explore colour and how to mix secondary colours from the three primary colours. We will be using different tools to create different effects in their artwork. We will also be creating our own artwork using printing methods
We have lots of fun activities and experiences to look forward to - remember to look out for photographs on our ‘KS1 Class Page’ where we will share our learning with you and please read our curriculum newsletter letter below for more information about our exciting learning!
We cannot wait to immerse ourselves this half term and learn lots of new and exciting things! So…let’s ‘Divide & Conquer!’