Mrs Amy Clarke

Year 1 Class Teacher

Mrs Tara Beards

Year 1 Class Teacher

Welcome to Year 1

All classes in the school have a tree as the class name and this should help children learn to identify some common trees in our environment. Our class is going to be known as ‘Birch class’. 

Mrs Clarke will teach your child on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Mrs Beards will teach on Thursdays and Fridays. Our teaching assistants this year are Mrs Barnes and Mrs Pengelly.

Seesaw 

We use Seesaw to record and share what's happening in the classroom. Every child will have their own journal to upload photographs, videos and drawings. We will also use the platform to keep you updated about events and with ways that you can support your child at home.

PE Days

Our PE day is Friday. Your child can come into school wearing their PE kit. If your child has earrings they must be removed on these days for safety reasons.  The children will also complete separate PE challenges across the week, however PE kit is not required for this. 

Reading in Year 1

The information here will help you to support your child in making steady progress with their reading.

• In our school, children read each Read Write Inc. book at least three times in class with their partner. Adults hear the children read every day in their group. Re-reading the same book helps children to become confident readers. Each time they re-read, they build their fluency/speed and comprehension. 

• Children are expected to read at home for 10 minutes each day (little and often is best).

• We do not send stories home the children cannot read because we always want them to be set up to succeed in their reading. We want to make sure they enjoy reading so that they want to read. The more they read, the faster progress they will make. 

• Please avoid saying, “This book is too easy for you!” but instead say “I love how well you can read this book!” They are meant to be able to read all of the words as the book is at the correct level. 

• Encourage them to share their enjoyment of the story with you and read it in their storyteller voice – again and again. If they hesitate over a word, remind them to read the word using ‘Special Friends, Fred Talk, read the word’. For example, this means they spot the ‘sh’, then Fred Talk and blend to read the word e.g. sh, sh-i-p, ship.

• Some words are ‘tricky’ because they contain letters that don’t match the sounds the child has been taught. For example, ‘said’ has ‘ai’ making an ‘e’ sound. We call these Red words. In some of the books, these words are printed in red text. Remind your child not to use Fred Talk to read Red words but instead to stop and think. Tell them the word if needed.

   In your child’s book bag, they will bring home:

• a colour coded Book Bag Book especially for home reading. They have guidance inside just for you as parents. They are matched to the books children read in school so provide practice of the same sounds.
• a picture book to share with you. You can read the story to them or they can retell the story by looking at the pictures. They are not expected to read the story themselves.

• The storybook they have read in class to practise reading will be set on Oxford Owl each time the children start a new book. You can access this using your Oxford Owl login details. Please ask us if you need any help with this.

• Each time the children change their book bag book they will photograph it in their Seesaw Journal instead of having a paper reading diary.  Please record each time you read at home underneath this photograph by adding a date. You can add an emoji to show how they got on or a comment if there is something you wish us to know.   

So, to recap, what can you do to help at home?

1. Listen to your child read the same Read Write Inc. Storybook again and again.

2. Encourage them to use ’Special Friends’, ‘Fred Talk’, ‘read the word’.

3. Discuss the story and encourage their storyteller voice.

4. Record their reading, by dating in their Seesaw Journal.

Resources to support phonics

Follow the link for lots of free Read Write Inc. Phonics resources to help your child continue learning, including eBooks, practice sheets, slideshows, videos, and parent films.