Year One: Hedgehogs Class

Miss Sebastian

Mrs Scottow, Mrs Higgleton, Mrs McClean, Mrs O'Meara & Mrs Duffy

Welcome to Hedgehogs class page.

The children have made a fantastic start to the Summer Term – this might have been our busiest half term so far! In English we have been exploring poetry using Julia Donaldson’s book “Poems to Perform”. We looked at rhyme and rhythm in Michael Rosen’s “The Rhythm of Life”, played with water to inspire descriptive vocabulary, and read Voices of Water by Tony Mitton, which we then performed in groups. We also enjoyed “The Sound Collector” by Roger McGough and “Treasures” by Clare Bevan.

In Maths we practiced counting forwards and backwards in 2s, 5s and 10s. We learned how to recognise and add equal groups, made arrays to help us understand multiplication. Then we began exploring fractions by making equal groups by sharing and finding half and a quarter of objects, shapes and numbers. Geography learning has focussed on the seaside - how it compares to other places and what sort of activities take place there. We also learned about the animals found in rock pools and how they have adapted to their environment. In History, we explored the concept of explorers and learned what ‘beyond living memory’ means. We have been learning about plants in Science and labelling their features. We carried out a bean investigation and learned how to identify and name deciduous and evergreen trees.

Our RE lessons continued our learning about the Jewish faith, including a fascinating and exciting visit to a local synagogue. In PE we learned a dance for the May Fair. We also had a wonderful afternoon at Chinthurst school where we learned cricket skills. Music has focused on exploring different sounds and beats while PSHE has looked at friendship and respect towards ourselves and others.In Art, we created 3D sculptures in the style of artist Samantha Stephenson by shaping paper in different ways – zigzags, rolling and twisting. We applied our paper-shaping skills to create a “Tree of Life” sculpture, inspired by Marco Balich’s sculpture. In DT, we investigated fruits and seeds, explored where fruit and vegetables grow, and practised our food preparation skills.

We hope everyone has a wonderful half-term and we look forward to seeing you all for the final term of Year 1!

With the signs of spring in the air, we wrap up another busy term in Year 1. The highlight was a trip to Gatton Park where we investigated animal skulls, fish, eggs, feathers and, as well as going on a flower hunt and pretending to be bees collecting pollen. It was such a beautiful day, and we all loved exploring in the sunshine.

In English, we read “One Day on Our Blue Planet …In the Savannah” by Ella Bailey, following the lives of African wildlife. We have learnt about and described the nocturnal and diurnal animals. We became lion experts, writing fact cards and documentary voice-overs. We also wrote a story from an ostrich’s perspective and a poem about life on the savannah. After being introduced to kenning poems, we created our own brilliant ones about lions. In Maths, we worked on partitioning numbers into tens and ones, finding one more and one less up to 50, and estimating on number lines. We also explored measurement, including length, height, volume, and capacity.

Our Geography learning has been about hot and cold climates and the explorer Captain Scott, who travelled to the Antarctic over 100 years ago. We discussed what he would need to survive the extreme weather conditions and planned what he would need to pack in his bags. In science, we learnt to identify carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, and sort animals into groups. We have continued our learning about toys in History, looking at the first teddy bear that was made over 100 years ago.

In RE, we talked about what Christians can learn from the stories of Jesus as well as the events at Easter and PSHE has been about being healthy and safe. In Music, we continued to explore pitch and practiced our songs which we performed at the Easter Extravaganza. In Art, we have been learning to experiment with paint mixing to make a range of secondary colours and applied our painting skills to create a piece of work in the style of the artist Clarice Cliff. In DT, we made hand puppets using a range of joining techniques: glue, safety pins and staplers.

It’s been a fantastic term of learning, and we can’t wait for the next one!

Here is the Learning web for Summer 1:

Well done Year 1 for another brilliant half-term! In English, we have got to know and love another fantastic book: The Pet Potato by Josh Lacey and Momoko Abe. We wrote character descriptions using adjectives and made predictions, justifying our ideas with the conjunction "because." We explored the character’s emotions and were introduced to personification, discovering how the potato had human-like qualities. Using story maps, we planned and wrote our own stories about a character searching for friendship who encountered an inanimate object and went on an adventure. The highlight of our learning was welcoming our very own pet potato into class! After spending time with it, we gave it a send-off by planting it - along with a few other potatoes so it wouldn’t be lonely. Finally, we wrote instructions on how to plant potatoes.

In Maths, we have focused on numbers 11-20, understanding that teen numbers are made up of one ten and a number of ones. We used practical resources, including ten frames and number lines to help us do this. We have also learnt about ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ as well as ordering numbers from smallest to greatest and vice versa.

Our learning in History has been about how toys have changed. We had had a visit from Chertsey Museum, who brought a selection of old toys for us to explore as part of our History learning. We listened carefully to the visitors and then we got the chance to play with the toys ourselves. It was a fantastic hands-on experience that made history come to life. We also learned about the toys our grandparents might have played with and compared them to the ones we enjoy today. We have also sequenced toys from the past on a timeline. In Geography, we have been learning about weather: how it changes through the seasons of the year and why some places in the World are hotter than others. In RE we have learned about why the Torah is special to Jewish people. In DT we explored wheels and axles, designed and built a moving vehicle. Music has focused on learning about different pitch levels, and in PSHE, we discussed the importance of having a positive attitude and staying motivated to set and achieve goals.

Here is the Learning web for Spring 2:

What a wonderful end to a fantastic term in Year 1. The children have been busy and done lots of brilliant learning. In English, we have been working on the book “Look Up” by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola. Alongside learning lots of interesting facts about meteor showers, we made inferences by looking at the pictures, created our own persuasive flyers encouraging others to witness a meteor shower, had a visit from Rocket (the main character) and had the opportunity to ask her questions. We even ‘experienced’ a meteor shower using finger lights! The children also learned about and wrote a biography of Mae Jemison, a famous astronaut and Rocket’s personal hero. In Maths, we have learnt how to subtract using two methods; number line and by crossing out. We also explored the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.

In Science, we investigated everyday materials, learning how to identify and group them. In History, we looked at our personal chronology and began to find out about the past within living memory. We examined photographs, made a memory box with our more important memories and learned about time capsules and how the objects put in them help people to understand life in the past. The children thought about what they might include in our class time capsules to tell children in the future about what childhood is like now. In our geography lessons we continued the study of our local area, exploring the different uses of places nearby and collected data about how we travel to school, discussing the reasons why we might travel in different ways. The focus in RE this term has been the Nativity and in DT we designed and created windmills. We ended the term with a magical Christmas performance. The children worked very hard learning their words and the songs for their play, ‘Christmas Counts’. We had the opportunity to sing a few of our songs at St Mary’s Church. Well done Year 1, and we wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Here is the Year 1 Learning web for Spring 1:

The Year 1 children have settled in wonderfully, and we have been impressed by their eagerness to learn. We've had a busy start to the term! In English, we’ve been working with the book ‘Mini Rabbit Not Lost’ by John Bond, reading a few pages each lesson to build anticipation as the plot unfolds. Our writing activities included setting and character descriptions, instruction writing, poems, and questions. We have also engaged with the story through drama activities such as acting out the story, playing ‘conscience alley,’ and performing our poems. In Maths, we began by sorting and comparing numbers, using the part-part-whole model to identify relationships between numbers. We have also reviewed the number of bonds to 10 and practised addition.

Our Geography lessons have focused on learning about where we live, naming the four countries of the UK, and creating aerial plans of our classrooms. In History, we’ve explored key events in our lives so far. The focus in Science has been seasonal changes, weather patterns, and how trees change, even presenting our own weather reports. In Art, we experimented with different types of lines, and in RE, we have learnt about Harvest and how wonderful our world is. We have enjoyed using the new laptops in Computing . We have practised logging in and saving work.

The children in Hedgehogs class have made a very positive start to the year. We are very much looking forward to working with you all and making this year a very successful one!