Reception - Year 1 Summer 2 Curriculum Information

In the second part of the summer term, we will be reading books linked to our English lessons, our class reading times and our Science big question.

In Science our big question is ‘Which materials would you choose to make a house?’ As we introduce our new learning ‘Materials and Magnets’ we will begin with our science story ‘The Three Little Pigs.’ The pigs decide to leave home and make a home of their own. They all use different materials to build a house. The pigs have to work together showing ‘teamwork’ to outwit the big bad wolf. Teamwork is one of our school values, we like the pigs work together in our learning and play. The pigs build their homes out of straw, sticks and bricks. Which material will be the strongest? Are there any other materials that we could use to build a house?

In English we continue the adventures of the Three Little Pigs in a book called ‘Pigs Might Fly!’ by Jonathan Emmett. All our favourite characters are back! The big bad wolf is still trying to catch the pigs. The Three pigs enter the “Pie in the Sky” Air Race. Will they make it to the end of the race? Or will the big, bad wolf catch up with them! The pigs are full of self-belief and perseverance, more of our school values. This book is funny and full of action, leaving us wanting want to read it again and again!  

The next book is ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Peter is always getting into mischief! He makes his way into Mr McGregor’s garden and somehow escapes and gets back home. This book will bring out the adventurer in us all, inspiring creativity and ideas that we can use in our writing. We also have our Sports Day this half term and just like Peter Rabbit we will be running in different races.  

We also have the ‘Travelling Toy box’ filled with toys and books from the past. This follows on from our museum session last term. We can continue to explore toys and share stories. The toys are made from different materials, this links with our science learning. We will find out the materials the toys are made out of and describe their properties.  

In History our big question is ‘Who makes decisions about our country?’ We will refer to prior learning about parliament and continue to find out about parliament today, our Prime Minister and elections.

Finally, our class book is ‘The Fox and the Ghost King’ by Michael Morpurgo. This book will capture our heart. The characters are foxes who are football fans with dreams of playing football. Their football team is always losing. However, one day everything changes! The ghost of a king is found, and wishes come true!

Another term of exciting books to look forward to!

Reception – Year 1 Summer 1 Curriculum Information

In the first part of the summer term we have many exciting books to read linked to our English lessons, class reading times, Science and Geography big questions.

In Science our big question is ‘Are all leaves the same?’ We are learning about ‘Plants’ and how they grow. We will label the parts of a plant or tree and explore different types of leaves on plants and trees. Our science story is a book called ‘A Seed in Need’ by Sam Godwin. In this detailed, colourful picture book a ladybird and a snail follow the life cycle of a sunflower seed.  

In English we are reading a book called ‘Handa’s Surprise’ by      Eileen Browne. This book makes links with our geography and science. With the Kenyan background and fruits from a variety of trees. The book is about friendship, one of our school values. Handa takes her friend a basket of magnificent fruits. Along the way animals are sneaking around taking them out of her basket. As Handa arrives at the neighbouring village to give her friends the fruits she has a surprise! What will she find?

The next book ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ again has links to science. As this story unfolds, we learn about the amazing life cycle of a caterpillar. Out of the tiny egg hatches a caterpillar, it munches and crunches its way through many delicious foods, some of which grow on trees. Finally, it transforms into a magical butterfly!  

In another book ‘Nature’s Tiny Miracle: The Bee – journey of a bee from plant to plant’ by Patricia Hegarty we can peek through a hole in the book's front cover to see a bee buzzing inside a flower. This book inspires curiosity, another of our school values. As you turn each page and peek through the hole it takes you on a journey of a bee through woodlands and flowers…We see how the bee helps the pollination of plants.

We continue our theme of growing in the book ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’ This links to our science lessons on plants. In class we are planting seeds to grow cress, bean plants (like in Jack and the Beanstalk) and sunflowers. As we look after our plants we will show responsibility, another school value, as we look after our plants.

In May we have a ‘Travelling Toybox’ in school from the learning library. First-hand experiences with so much to enjoy and explore. As a class we will work as a team, another school value, sharing new learning,

Also, in May we are going on a trip to the zoo, a memorable learning day as a class! This trip will make links with our geography leaning. Seeing animals that originate from some of the countries we are learning about. Animals from different climates, many we will be seeing for the first time!

Our class book is ‘Totto – The wizard of Oz’ by Michael Morpurgo. This tells the story of the Wizard of Oz with a twist as it’s told by Dorothy’s dog Totto! Totto and Dorothy are desperate to get home from the land of Oz after a twister, meeting remarkable characters along the way.

Our final book is ‘One Day on our Blue Planet – in the Artic’. We spend the day with a penguin chick getting to know all about the Artic. This book has some geography links as we find about what Penguins and their families eat? Finding out about how many brothers and sisters she has? Finding out what they do for fun?

So many new books to share, enjoy and learn about!

Reception/Year 1 Spring 2 Curriculum Information

Welcome to the second part of the spring term Our reading curriculum books are linked to our English lessons, our class reading times and our Science and History big questions.

In Science our big question is ‘How and why is my local environment changing?’ We begin with our science story ‘Dear Earth’ by Isabel Otter. This inspiring story begins with a little girl called Tessa talking to her grandad about the Earth. He tells her how he had been an explorer and had many adventures. Tessa decides to write a letter to the Earth, sharing it’s wonder. Showing compassion and respect, two of our school values, Tessa tells us how special our planet is. In Science we are learning about how to look after our Earth. Finding out how we can make a difference and help save the Earth!

The next book is ‘David Attenborough’ by Isabel Sanchez Vegara. We are so proud to have him as our class name.  David Attenborough is an inspiration, he cares so much for our planet, animals, and their natural habitats. We find out about his life extraordinary as a conservationist and the impact he has made on our planet.

Another book that will help us to answer our big question is ‘Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth’ by Oliver Jeffers. This book explores our planet and the world we live in. Helping us to understand the wonders of the Earth, how it is changing and how we need to care for it.  

The book ‘Somebody Swallowed Stanley’ by Sarah Roberts explains about plastic pollution and the impact it has in our oceans. This story explains the damage plastics have on our environment. It will help us to understand our own responsibilities, another of our school values, and how we need to look after our planet.

One of our English books is The Queen’s Hat by Steve Antony. This links to our history big question ‘What do you know about Queen Elizabeth II?’ The book is full of humour with magnificent illustrations. The wild wind blows off the Queen’s hat! Where will it land? Will the Queen get her hat back? We are introduced to many sights of London. The book captures our school values of curiosity and optimism to get the hat back.   

Another book that enriches our curriculum is ‘Little Elizabeth: The Young Princess Who Became Queen’ by Valerie Wilding. Finding out about a young and brave Princess who grew up to become our Queen. This story will help us to find out about the life of Queen Elizabeth II and to answer our big question.

Alongside learning about Kings and Queens we are finding out about important people in our community. With visits from the Fire Service,

Community Police and local dentists. We also plan to visit Melton Vineyard and Storehouse to find out how they support our local community.

Finally, our class book is ‘The Wishing Chair’ by Enid Blyton. The characters Peter and Mollie buy a present for their mother's birthday, it’s a chair. However, this is no ordinary chair, it is a magical chair! The chair sprouts wings and flies, it flies them wherever they want to go. They meet a pixie and have endless magical adventures together!

We have so many wonderful books to share this half term.

Reception/Year 1 Spring 1 Curriculum Information

In the first part of the spring term, we will be reading books linked to our English lessons, our class reading times and our Science big question.

In Science our big question is ‘Why does the Weather Change?’ We start learning about seasons and the weather in our Science by sharing a book called ‘After the Storm’ by Nick Butterworth. The book begins on a stormy autumn night in the park. It makes links to the weather and seasons in detailed pictures and descriptive language. When Percy the park keeper wakes the next day the old oak tree has blown down! Many animals live in the oak tree, what will happen to them? We will discuss our school values of compassion and perseverance when Percy helps all the animals. He saves the day by finding them all a new home!

One of our English books is ‘The Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen. A family set off on an amazing adventure. The rhythm and movement of the language used brings the journey to life. As we turn each page and join in, we become part of the story. With curiosity and creativity, we splash in the river, squelch in the mud and swirl in the snowstorm before arriving at the gloomy cave. Finally with courage we meet the bear!

The next book is ‘Seasons Come, Seasons Go’ by Patricia Hegarty. In this book we are invited by an owl to explore and learn about the seasons. The inspiring artwork captures the life cycle of a tree as it changes through the spring, summer autumn and winter. This will make great links with our Science big question.

This half term includes a poetry focus. We will learn a poem called ‘By Myself’ by Eloise Greenfield. This poem will make us think about ourselves. What do we know about ourselves? How do we feel? With self-belief, another of our school values, we will collect ideas to create our own poems. In addition to this we will share poems by Michael Rosen in his book of ‘Nonsense Poems.’ Poetry full of silliness and laughter, and the inspiration to make up our own class poem!

In addition to poetry, we will spend time finding out about William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ We will venture into enchanting forests, meet Queens and fairies. With magic and lots of tricks along the way!

Finally, our class book is ‘The Sheep Pig’ by Dick King Smith. A charming story about an orphaned piglet called Babe who is adopted by a sheepdog called Fly. Babe wanted to be a sheepdog! We follow his story, his antics and capers as he becomes the Sheep Pig!

Looking forward to sharing so many amazing books!

Reception/Year 1 Autumn 2 Curriculum Information

In the second part of autumn term, we will be reading books linked to our English lessons, our class reading times, our Science and History big questions.

In Science our big question is ‘Which animals would make the best pet?’ We are learning about ‘Animals and their Needs’ exploring and finding out about a variety of animals. Our Science story is a book called ‘My First Book of Garden Birds’ by Sarah Whittley and Mike Unwin. This delightful picture book is full of everyday birds we might see in our gardens, or around and about. As we turn the pages, we get clues and are encouraged to guess the bird!

We will also be reading a book called ‘Dinosaur Bones’ by Bob Barner. We can make links with this book in our Science lessons. This book ‘roars and stomps’ with dinosaur bones and fossils that can be found in museums. The author brings these piles of bones to life as we find out facts about dinosaurs!

The next book is ‘How to Grow a Dinosaur’ by Caryl Hart. Albie, the little boy in the story has amazing adventures! He plants seeds with his mum and overnight they grow into dinosaurs of different shapes and sizes. Imagination and creativity ooze from this book, helping us to create and tell our own dinosaur stories.

In addition to our dinosaur books, we have a ‘Dinosaur Project Box’ in school from the learning library. First-hand experiences with so much to explore. Alongside this we have a ‘Dinosaur Art Session’ we are so excited!

In English one of our books is ‘On Sudden Hill’ by Linda Sarah. Two best friends play on Sudden Hill inventing contraptions out of cardboard boxes, what a team! Then along comes a new boy. What will happen to their friendship? This story explores emotions, friendships, ups and downs. However, compassion and kindness shine through.

Our other English book is ‘If Sharks Disappeared’ by Lilly Williams. We find out about the many animals that live in the sea and how some of them are scary! But what would happen if sharks disappeared? What would happen to other animals? Together we need to look after our oceans and our planet!

Our class book ‘The Night Gardener’ by Terry Fan is enchanting. The main character William and his town are transformed by a night gardener. Trees are sculptured into owls and much, much more. The town transforms and changes.

Our final book is ‘Stickman’ by Julia Donaldson. A rhyming book about a family, with bags of courage and perseverance, some of our school values. The book links with our history big question ‘What do we know about our families?’ As we see Stickman finally reunite with his family.

So many books to share and learn about, so much to look forward to!

Reception – Year 1 Autumn 1 Curriculum Information

To start the autumn term, we will be reading books linked to our English lessons, our class reading times and our Science and Geography big questions.

In Science our big question is ‘What super sense would you choose?’ We are learning about our bodies and our senses, and our science story is a book called ‘My Five Senses’ by Aliki Brandenberg. The story explores our five senses and discovers how we use them. As we turn each page, we realise how amazing our senses are and how we use them to find out about the world around us! Which sense would you choose a as superpower?

We will also be reading a book called ‘Funnybones’ by Allan and Janet Ahlberg. In science we are learning about parts of the body and in this story, we will learn about the skeletons body parts as we go on a journey at night-time. This story is funny, full of repetition and you just have to join in!

The next book is ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ by Margery Williams. When the Velveteen Rabbit first arrives in the nursery, the other toys don’t want to talk to him. However, the Rabbit soon makes friends who tell him how toys can become 'real' if they are loved enough. The Velveteen Rabbit can’t wait for this to happen! This is a magical story exploring emotions, feelings, our families, friendship and all the memories we make!

Another book we are reading is ‘Paddington Bear’ by Micheal Bond. This bear from Darkest Peru sets out on an adventure. He arrives at London’s Paddington Station and is found by the Brown family who name him Paddington after the station. In geography our big question is ‘What do I need to draw on a map?’ As we learn about maps and locations, we will create one for Paddington talking about and drawing features and landmarks Paddington might see.

In English we are reading a book called ‘Perfectly Norman’ by Tom Percival. Norman is just like other children until one day to his amazement he grows a pair of has wings! This is an inspirational book about self-belief and being proud of who you are.

The final book we are reading in English is a poem ‘How to make a Chocolate Mug Cake’ by Michael Rosen. We are using this poem as a stimulus for making a chocolate cake in a mug. Who loves chocolate cake? Do you? Michael Rosen does, it is his favourite treat! The poem is amazingly funny and full of funny noises and superb descriptive vocabulary. In our English lessons we will follow instructions and write our own to ‘make a chocolate cake in a cup!’

We have many more things planned this half term. We have a ‘Farm in a Box’ day, participating in activities, investigations and challenges linked to farming. This will be followed by a trip to the farm, bringing learning to life. So much to look forward to!