Welcome to Orange Class. We have a very busy and exciting year ahead, with many special experiences and learning opportunities planned for the children.
Over the year we will be spending lots of time growing and supporting children’s personal development. In PSHE we learn about staying safe physically and online, building positive relationships with our peers, explore our feelings and how we regulate these with the help from Harold the Giraffe, along with the wider impact we can have supporting our class charity; The Orangutang Project. In PE we will be growing our fundamental skills, mental mind set and starting our gymnastic unit which we are all looking forward too. In RE we will take the time to appreciate and learn about several religions including Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism. One of our favourite activities, is creating a Ganesh clay model for our class shrine. As part of our British Values learning, we always promote respect and tolerate of all cultures and encourage children to see beyond their local area, viewing what the wider world has to offer. In class we enjoy our daily book vote and understanding how our favourite book cannot always win (early democracy). On a Tuesday, come rain or shine, we head into our Wildlife area for outdoor learning, which is a great opportunity for children to grow in knowledge, understanding, confidence and teamwork, with activities such as den building, campfire cooking and nature explorations.
In orange class we love children to be creative and explore through music and the arts. Mr Miller is a keen musician and can often be heard playing his guitar with the class singing along. In Art we explore a variety of skills such as printing, sculpture, observational drawing and collage. In the warm months, we love to work outside create observational flower drawings using oil pastels.
Phonics is part of our daily routine. Mrs Smalley ensures all the children are working in small targeted groups at their appropriate phonics phase. Over the year we aim to build on prior knowledge working through phase 4 and 5. As a parent/carer you will receive an information card anytime your child changes phase to help you support their learning at home.
In Maths, we will be building our knowledge of place value within 100, addition and subtraction, mass and volume, fractions, money, time and shape. We keep all lessons fun and interactive with hands on learning to help children grasp each concept. We take time to revisit units and build concrete connections with prior learning from Red Class.
English in Orange Class is always very creative and we love to use stories that grab children’s imaginations for exciting reading and writing opportunities. Some of our favourite books you may hear about this year are; The Bumble bear by Nadia Shireen, Zog by Julia Donaldson and No-Bot the Robot by Sue Hendra.
If you have any question about the Year 1 curriculum, how your child is developing or how you can support learning at home please do pop in and chat with us.
Mrs Smalley and Mr Miller
