Starlings 2023 - 2024

WELCOME TO YEAR ONE - STARLINGS

My name is Mrs Esling and I am the class teacher. 

Mrs. Westland is our teaching assistant and we are excited to be working together in Starlings class.  

Look what we will learn about in Year 1:

Year 1 Pupil voice

"Maths is my favourite, I really love doing challenges and using my brain"

PE with Mr. A is the best. I love doing team activities with him and cheering my friends on."

"I loved testing materials in Science and seeing which were absorbent and which were waterproof.  Building and testing a shelter for Paddington was a lot of fun"

Autumn Term 2023

Writing

This term we will be focusing on two beautiful texts to inspire our writing. The Storm Whale is a beautiful book written by Benji Davies. This wonderful story will support us in using our oracy skills to discuss our thoughts and ideas and develop our skills in writing and punctuating sentences appropriately. Nibbles the Book Monster by Emma Yarlett is a firm favourite that all children fall in love with.  The children will use their oracy skills to discuss what Nibbles might do in different fairy stories and ultimately write a diary entry from Nibbles' point of view.

Read Write Inc (RWI) and Reading

For RWI groups from Red to Orange, your child will bring home a storybook and a book bag book each Friday.  Yellow group and upwards will bring home an additional book bag book.  Your child will have read the storybook that week with their teacher and will be confident; bringing it home enables them to 'show off' their skills to you and boost their confidence.  The storybook(s) will be new and your child will need your support with this.  These books provide them with a variety of familiar, new and challenging texts to read.

 Please check your child’s diary to find out which group they are in, which sounds they have learnt that week and which books they have in their book bag.  Each time they move to a new group they will receive a RWI bookmark.  On this bookmark are the ‘red’ words practised in that group;    regular practice of these supports fluency and confidence in reading and writing. 

Each Friday, your child will also bring home a 'Bedtime' storybook of their choosing.   Bedtime storybooks are to be enjoyed with an adult. Reading TO the children ensures that they experience the magic of a story coming to life and have a purpose and love of reading.

Maths

In maths, we will be exploring the composition of numbers, comparing quantities and using our oracy skills to discuss maths challenges with our peers.  

History and Geography

During the Autumn Term, we will be exploring our class theme 'Explorers. We will be developing our inquiry skills by asking and answering historical questions about our local area of Lostock and how that differs from Northwich.  We will also be exploring how the invention of Steam trains and cars impacted where people could travel.

Science

In Science, we will be looking at the topic 'materials'.  We will be investigating objects and working out what material they are made from. We will also be exploring the school grounds to understand the changing of the 'seasons', why the seasons change and what clothes we should wear in different seasons.

RE

In RE, we will focus on the concepts of 'Baptism' and 'Incarnation'. In Autumn 1, we will work to answer the key question 'What does it mean to belong?' In Autumn 2, we will look at the key question 'What can we learn about Jesus from the Nativity story?'.

PE

Please note that PE for your child will be on a Wednesday and alternate Fridays during the Autumn Term. Your child should come to school dressed in their PE kit on this day. The first Friday session will be on 15th September and every other week after that.

 If you ever have any questions or concerns, then we are always here to help, Mrs. Esling x