Centipede Class (Year 1) 2025 - 2026

Welcome to the class page for Centipede Class.

Class teacher: Mrs Edwards

Teaching assistant: Miss Mitchell

Here you will find all of the exciting and wonderful things that your child will be learning during their time in Year 1. If you have any questions, please use Class Dojo or speak to a member of our team at drop off/ pick up.

Thank you

Spring Half-term One

This half-term our class will be learning and rehearsing our writing skills using the text 'Hermelin' by Mini Grey

Our writing focuses are:

Punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop

Adding 'es' or 's' to plural nouns

The children will be working on using story language, character and setting description and will be sequence simple sentences to form short narratives.  

Spellings

Children have spellings linked to their reading levels that are reviewed every week. For children who have completed these challenges in reading and spelling they progress onto the Year 1 and 2 common exception words. 

Make learning these words fun and creative.

This half term in maths we are going to be working on:

Place Value to 20 & Addition & Subtraction to 20 

                                                                                                              Place Value to 20 small steps

Count within 20, understand numbers to 20, 1 more and 1 less, use a number line to 20, estimate on a number line and compare and order numbers to 20

Addition and Subtraction to 20 steps

Add by counting on within 20, add ones by using number bonds, find a make number bonds to 20, doubles and near doubles, subtraction using number bonds, subtraction by counting back, subtraction by counting the difference, related facts and missing number problems

Numbots

Year 1 children will begin to use this fun, interactive maths game on their tablets. It is a great game to support children in fluency with numbers. They will be given a user name and password which can be used to access the game online at home. 

Everyday 8.50 - 9.30 am we will have our phonics lesson. Each child will bring home a shiny book and paper book which are matched to the sounds they are learning in their phonics group. Your child will have read the paper copy already in school and will be able to share this with you independently. The shiny book will be new to them and they may require some adult support with this as they decode the words. 

Reading Expectations

Read with your child every day even if it is just 2 minutes- this can make all the difference. 
Please record all home reading in your child’s reading diary so we can ensure that your child is receiving their vending machine book or reading buddy. Frequent reader prizes will be awarded on a Thursday. 

When reading, ask your child about what they think might happen next in the story, how they think the character is feeling, who the author is and what do they do. 

It does not have to be their paper or shiny book they read, it can be any. Remember, you too can read to them - change your voice for expression, bring the characters to life. 
Shiny book bag books MUST be returned to school every day ready to be changed every Monday. 
Paper books ( they are the same as what they are reading within their phonics lesson to promote confidence) should be coming into school every day so that they are ready to be changed every Friday. 
Reading diaries MUST come in every day regardless of whether or not they have been written in - we cannot replace them if they are continuously being lost or not taken care of.  

The children who have progressed off the RWI phonics scheme will be joining the Shared Reading Class. During these sessions they will be reading a shared narrative and learning more complex reading skills using our Ready, Steady, Read programme.

This half-term we will be learning all about Animals including Humans

In this topic children will:

Identify and name parts of the human body, draw and label parts of the human body, learn about the 5 senses

Learn about mammals, fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles, compare and group animals, learn about herbivores, carnivores and omnivores

Working Scientifically

When working scientifically children will be able to:

Suggest different ways to test their scientific predictions, make predictions and recognise whether they were accurate, use their observations to answer questions, recognise if a test is fair. 

We will be having lots of fun learning through practical experiments and learning all about the famous scientist:

Charles Darwin

This half-term will be studying Geography 

Our topic is 'What is it like here?'

Learning Objectives:

Recognising human and physical features, use an atlas, use directional language, recognise features on aerial maps, ask and answer questions, use simple maps with keys, draw a simple map with a key, recognise features on school playground 

Your child will have a music lesson each week, where they will learn to play instruments and explore their musical abilities.

This half term our Year 1 topic is 'Superheroes'

The music focus in pitch.

In PE this term, our topic is 

Gymnastics and ball skills using the feet

Your child will have 2 PE lessons each week. Please ensure they come into school in their PE kit on these days. Centipede Class will have PE on a Wednesday and Friday afternoon. 

PSHE

Each week children will take part in a lesson looking at their personal, social, health and emotional lives. 

Forest School

This half-term Centipede Class will have a Forest School session on a Monday afternoon. Please ensure your child comes to school in their green Forest school hoodie, with joggers and a change of footwear. 

General Reminders:

Please ensure that your child's belongings are clearly labelled – uniform, water bottles etc.

Water bottles should contain water only.

Most communication will be done via Class Dojo. This is a great way to upload and home learning and WOW moments. You can also use this to contact your child’s class teacher if you have any questions or concerns.