Year 1 - Rainbow Fish & Elmer
Rainbow Fish & Elmer Classes
Curriculum for Summer 1
As readers
Our class book this half term is ‘Dear Earth’. As a class, we will be retrieving information from the text as well as using our inference skills to understand the message from the story.
As a key stage, we will be continuing to work on our reading using the Read Write Inc. Scheme. The children will all be reassessed before the Easter break, and if necessary, settled into their new groups at the start of the new half term. Parents should expect to receive a copy of the reading book the children are currently reading in their phonics groups, as well as a ‘Book Bag’ book.
As writers
Using our book, ‘Dear Earth’ as inspiration, we will be exploring our world and discovering what is special about the Earth. We will be looking at the different features of our world, and finding out which of these features are our favourite, for example, the fiery volcanos, and the glistening, blue oceans, as well as considering where, on Earth, we would like to visit. This will lead us onto our fiction writing piece: a love letter to the Earth, which will continue to build on our description skills.
Key vocabulary: infer, features, adjectives, moral, first person, persuasion.
As mathematicians
We will be starting our new topic, mass and capacity, learning about using scales to balance objects, along with exploring which containers of various shapes hold the most or least. In addition, we will be looking at patterns within the 2, 5, and 10 times table. Finally, we will be understanding the term ‘equal’, as well as starting to understand the term ‘half’ in preparation for fractions in the last half term of the year.
Key vocabulary: balance, scales, capacity, less, more, equal, half, double, patterns, sequence, groups.
As scientists
For the second part of our topic ‘Plants’, we will be predicting what happens to seeds when they germinate, as well as understanding the best environments for plants to grow by comparing and contrasting. We will be growing a variety of seeds and bulbs, then observing, measuring and recording their growth over the summer term.
Key vocabulary: growth, soil, water, roots, flowers, petals, waters, temperature, seed, stem, shoot, height, leaves, measure, observe, record.
As geographers
Using our geography topic ‘Around the World’, we will be travelling around the world to examine and compare what life is like in other countries, looking at the different traditions, as well as exploring the different features of these countries. This topic will be part of our non-fiction writing focus as mentioned above.
Key vocabulary: Europe, continent, culture Asia, tradition, population, Bondi Beach, boomerangs, didgeridoo, Ayers Rock, Sydney Opera House, landmark, president, independent, climate.
As artists
Our topic this term is Hennie Haworth, an artist who specialises in collages in bright colours. Will we be exploring various examples of her work, leading to the children using watercolours to paint an observational painting of a tree, following a trip to the town park.
Key vocabulary: primary colours, secondary colours, mixing, tones, bright, dark, material, vibrant, collage, observational.
