Year 1
Spring 2, 2026
Welcome back! We hope you had a lovely half term break! We have lots of exciting learning planned for the next half term and we can't wait to get started.
Start time – 8:40am Pick-up time- 3:15pm
A fruit snack is provided every day for our Year 1 children. Alternatively, children may bring their own fruit (no bananas). Please ensure that your child brings a named water bottle to school each day and that sun cream is applied before coming to school. Also, please ensure all items of uniform are clearly labelled.
If you have any questions, concerns or worries, please contact me at year1@cpa.dsat.education, and I will do my best to respond as soon as I can.
Please follow the links below to view information meetings.
Reading Information Meeting 2025
Phonics Screening Check Parents meeting
"Picture News" is a UK-based educational resource that provides schools with weekly current affairs packs, featuring a relevant photo, a "big question," and teaching materials to help children discuss real-world events, develop critical thinking, and learn about British Values, respect, and empathy in an age-appropriate way, often linking home and school learning.
Purpose of our PICTURE NEWS assembly at Canon Popham:
To make the world more accessible and understandable for children.
To develop speaking, listening, and vocabulary skills.
To foster independence, drive, and a passion for learning.
To build empathy and teach children to find their own voice.
PICTURE NEWS is delivered in a whole school assembly once a week with a thought-provoking question by class teacher throughout the school year. Each week in assembly, the children learn about an exciting or important story that has been in the news. They consider their responses to the story and are invited to feedback their thoughts. They reflect on each story and learn how they relate to British Values and Protected Characteristics - Equality.
Each class will also take part in a weekly PICTURE NEWS assembly in their classroom.
Here is what we will be learning this half term:
Curriculum focus: Geography - What can we find out about the United Kingdom?
Our theme this half term will focus on developing our geographical knowledge, skills, and vocabulary. Through our study, we will build knowledge of the UK and learn more about each country. The UK's landscape, weather and agriculture are covered throughout the lessons, giving the children an opportunity to share their own experiences. We will use maps and atlases to identify the countries of the UK, recognising that the maps of the UK show a much larger area than the maps of the local area.
English – Reading
As a school we follow the Read, Write, Inc programme to deliver our phonics teaching.
Please access the links below to learn how and why we teach phonics in our school.
What is Read, Write Inc Phonics?
We also have lots of information on our school's phonics page, which you can access here.
English – Get Writing
Our writing this half term will be based on further developing sentence structure and how to build a successful sentence. We will focus on the use of capital letters, finger spaces, and full stops, as well as ensuring sentences make sense to our reader.
Core Texts:
Our 2 stories to focus on for this half term are 'The Extraordinary Gardener' and 'Hugless Douglas'. We will be learning new vocabulary within both of these stories.
Spelling
We use our Read Write Inc. phonics knowledge to help us to spell when we are writing. Some words do not follow our spelling rules and we just have to learn them. The link below shows the words which appear frequently in our reading and writing. Year 1 are working towards being able to read and write these words by the end of the year 1.
Maths
This half term we will be developing our knowledge of addition and subtraction within 20, numbers to 50 and length and mass.
We will focus on knowing and remembering our Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs). More information about our school KIRFs can be found on our school maths page.
Please click on the link below for Year 1 KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts). We are currently working on Spring 2. By the end of this half term, children should know number bonds for each number up to 10.
Year 1 Spring Key Instant Recall Facts
If you have any questions about these areas of Maths, please do not hesitate to come and speak to us.
Please click the link below to access a basic PowerPoint presentation that supports children in recalling number bonds to 10 instant facts.
https://whizzbots.co.uk/whizzbots-links/ks1-maths-games/number-bonds-to-10-2/
R.E. – Easter - Why does Easter matter to Christians?
In RE, we will study Christianity and explore the question 'Why does Easter matter to Christians?' We will learn to recognise that Incarnation and Salvation are part of a ‘big story’ of the Bible. We will tell stories of Holy Week and Easter from the Bible and recognise a link with the idea of Salvation (Jesus rescuing people).
Science – Properties and uses of materials
In our learning, we will learn to:
● distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made
● describe the physical properties of a variety of everyday materials
● compare and group together a variety of everyday materials based on their simple physical properties.
Seasonal Changes
In our learning, we will learn to:
Observe if all flowers are the same in spring
Design & Technology – Cooking and Nutrition - Smoothies
In our lessons, our learning will learn to describe fruits and vegetables and explain how to identify fruits. We will explore the basic characteristics of fruits and vegetables and name a range of places where fruits and vegetables grow. Finally, we will prepare fruits and vegetables to make a smoothie.
Computing
Online Safety - Managing Online Information
In our computing lessons this half term, we will learn how to manage online information. We will learn to give simple examples of how to find information using digital technologies. We will also understand that we can encounter a range of things online, including things we like and don’t like, as well as things which are real or make-believe. To further develop our learning, we will learn how to get help from a trusted adult if we see content that makes us feel sad, uncomfortable, worried or frightened.
Animated Stories
In our computing lesson this half term, we will learn to understand some differences between traditional books and digital books, to draw a character for a 2Create a Story digital book, to understand the difference between backgrounds and other objects on the screen in 2Create a Story and to add animation, text and sounds to objects in 2Create a Story.
Coding
We will also be learning that a computer programs work by following instructions called code and we will use object and action code blocks to make a computer program. We will understand what an event is in coding, the purpose of an output and be able to ‘read’ code to find out what it does. To deepen our understanding, we will change aspects of the design view and plan and make a computer program.
P.E. – Net & Wall Games and Sending & Receiving
In PE, we will master basic movements, including throwing and catching. We will participate in team games and develop simple tactics for attacking and defending.
Our PE day is Monday. Please ensure that your child arrives at school in their PE kit with their correct (named) uniform in a bag to change into after our lesson. For health and safety reasons, please can children remove jewellery on PE day or provide plasters to cover earrings if this is not possible and ensure long hair is tied back away from the face.
P.S.H.E. - Economic Education - Money
This unit encourages children to think about where money comes from and how it can be used. We will discuss the idea of spending and saving money and begin to understand why it is important to keep belongings, including money, safe. We will also learn about the different things on offer when we go shopping and how we need to identify the difference between the things we want and the things we need.
Music - Learning to Listen
Our music theme is learning to listen. We will learn that listening is very important. We will understand that we can listen with our eyes and ears and we can also feel sound in our body.
NUMBOTs – Every day 10 minutes
NumBots is an on-line programme to boost addition and subtraction skills. It is available on a range of devices, you can play online at Numbots Game or download the Numbots app. Playing little and often will significantly improve your child’s recall and understanding of number bonds and addition and subtraction facts. These are critical foundations in maths so we are excited by the impact Numbots will have. In order to get the best out of NumBots children should regularly play for short bursts of time over the week. Children will receive a golden ticket for accessing their Numbots for 15minutes or more each week.
If you have misplaced your log in details or are having trouble accessing the website, please email me to let me know.
READING – Every day 10 minutes
Please continue to enjoy your reading each day. Reading is fun and a great way to spend time together with your family, as well as developing your imagination. Encourage your child to talk about what they have read and ask them a question or two about the book. This will help consolidate their comprehension work in school. Adults, please remember to record what your child reads at home in their reading record. We will count all entries in the reading diaries and award golden tickets to those who have read 20 times or more in a month.
Please send your child's reading book and reading record to school each day. We love to hear the children read in school, and this will support us in promoting reading throughout the day.
Our book change day is Thursday.
OXFORD OWL – One book a week
Oxford Owl is an e-book library to boost reading skills. Once your book has been read, there is a short, fun quiz to complete afterwards. Children will receive a golden ticket for every book they complete. Click on the link below to access Oxford Owl.
Oxford Owl for School and Home.
If you have misplaced your login details or are having trouble accessing the website, please email me to let me know.
As always, thank you for your continued support with your child’s learning.
Mrs Slack - Teacher
Mrs Westwood and Mrs Jones - LSA's