Year 1
Welcome to the fun and exciting world of Year 1, where we take all the wonderful skills that the children have learnt in Early Years Foundation Stage and develop them as they start to experience the National Curriculum. We make learning as fun as possible, using a range of different teaching styles to make sure that all children are able to access new concepts and succeed in their learning. Year 1 promotes independence, responsibility and hard work - as well as lots of fun!!! Our aim is for the children to deepen their knowledge and understanding in a relaxed, exciting and engaging environment where we set them up to become enthusiastic, lifelong learners.
Year 1 is made up of three classes - Darwin, Earhart and Goodall. Like all classes in The Discovery School, the classes were named after a famous scientist or inventor. Darwin Class is named after the infamous naturalist Charles Darwin who discovered the theory of evolution, Earhart Class is named after Amelia Earhart, an inspirational scientist who studied electromagnetism, and Goodall Class is named after the world renowned scientist and conservationist Jane Goodall. Click on the images below to learn more about the namesake of our classes and what they are famous for.
The Darwin class teachers are Mrs Ismail from Monday through to Thursday and Mrs Healey on a Thursday and Friday. Our teaching assistant is Mrs Oakley who will lead PPA sessions on Thursday afternoons and we have Mrs Wiggins as our specialist teaching assistant.
We are situated in the KS1 end of the school next to Goodall Class.
Earhart Class is taught by Mrs Hook and the teaching assistant is Mrs Moore.
We are located at the end of the KS1 area between Darwin and Newton class.
Goodall Class is taught by Miss Roe, Mrs Catt is the class teaching assistant and Mrs Divall is a specialist teaching assistant in this class too.
We are located at the start of the KS1 area as the first classroom after the small hall.
Meet the Teacher presentation 2023
Below is a link for the Meet the Teacher Year 1 presentation from Tuesday 29th September 2023.
Communication
The communication between yourselves as parents and ourselves as teachers is paramount, so we thought it would be helpful if you knew when and how to liaise with us. It is best email us any messages. If you feel that you need to speak with us in person, please email to arrange an appointment.
Our email addresses are:
Darwin - Mrs Ismail - zismail@discovery.kent.sch.uk
Mrs Healey - chealey@discovery.kent.sch.uk
(Please copy both Darwin class teachers into all your emails)
Earhart - Mrs Hook - bhook@discovery.kent.sch.uk
Goodall - Miss Roe - eroe@discovery.kent.sch.uk
Mrs Ismail is the Year 1 phase leader.
Please allow 48 hours for teacher to reply to emails. For all urgent messages or enquiries please call the school office on 01732847000.
Year 1 Newsletters
Academic Year 2023-24
Please find the transition newsletter for Year 1 attached below.
Newsletter-T1-23-24-DARWIN.pdf
(Please note that this newsletter is specifically for Darwin class so the PE days will be different for Earhart and Goodall class)
Topics
The curriculum at The Discovery School is an enquiry based one in which the children are encouraged to ask and answer questions about a topic.
Through this enquiry based learning, the children will get the opportunities to experience a range of activities which will help to develop further their knowledge and skills of the wider world.
Year 1 Learning experience guarantees 2022-23
Throughout the year (2022-23) the children in Year 1 will be trying to discover the answers to these 'Questions for Discovery':
Term 1 - Family and Feelings - What makes a family?
Family and Feelings Web of Discovery 2023/24
We will starting this year with a brand new Year 1 topic, 'Family and feelings'. We will getting to know each other, talking about our families, discussing what makes a family and learning about different feelings and how we can manage them.
English - narrative and recounts.
Maths - place value, addition and subtraction.
PSHE - relationships, living the wider world, mental health and well-being
Science – seasonal change and animals including humans
Term 2 - Fireworks and Festivals - Who is Guy Fawkes?
Fireworks and Festivals Web of Discovery 2023-24
In the lead up to Christmas preparations, our topic will be 'Fireworks and Festivals'. Another new topic for this year. The children will be learning all about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot as well as many other festivals celebrated around the world.
English - instructions, non-fiction texts and recounts
Maths - addition, subtraction and shape
PSHE - firework safety, living the wider world, mental health and well-being)
Science – properties of material and animals including humans
Term 3 - Amazing Africa - What is Africa like?
Amazing Africa Web of Discovery 2023-24
Our topic for term 3 will be 'Amazing Africa'. We will be looking at the countries, dance, climate and animals.
English - narrative stories, information texts and recounts
Maths - place value within 20 and addition and subtraction within 20.
PSHE - caring for living things, understanding we all have different strengths, healthy eating and physical activities and how to stay healthy.
Science - this terms topic are 'Materials' and 'Animals including humans'.
Term 4 - Once upon a time...(traditional tales) - What are the key features of a traditional tale?
Once upon a time... Web of Discovery (2023/24)
Our Topic for term 4 is ‘Once upon a time’. This topic will run throughout our English lessons with a focus on traditional tales including Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We learn familiar stories off by heart as well as looking at the key features of a narrative text, including the setting and characters. Together we innovate the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff by changing the characters. The children learn this new version of the story verbally and then write up independently.
English - Recounts, retelling, information text and letter writing
Maths - Addition and subtraction within 20, Place value within 50 and Length and Height.
Science - Seasonal changes, completing our topic 'Animals including humans'. We also have 'Science week' this term.
Term 5 and 6 - The Sky's the Limit - How has transport changed throughout time?
The Sky's the Limit - Web of Discovery 2023/24
The final Topic of the year is 'The Sky's the Limit' and it will run over two terms. We will be looking at transport through time, studying the local area and learning about human and physical features. We will also learn about some key historical figures including Amelia Earhart and Neil Armstrong.
English - Non chronological report, letters, recount, narratives and leaflets.
Maths - Capacity, multiplication and division, fractions, place value to 100, money and time.
Science – Seasonal change and plants.
PE
Our PE days for this academic year 2023-24 are Wednesdays and Fridays.
The first PE sessions for Year 1 this year will be as follows:
Darwin and Earhart classes - Wednesday 18th October (they will then continue to have PE every week on Wednesdays)
Goodall class -Friday 20th October (they will then continue to have PE every week on Fridays)
They will also be having 'Forest School' sessions throughout the school year
Key Dates
| Date | Event |
| 5th February | Africa Day - workshop in school |
| 19th February | Start of term 4 |
| W/C 11th March | British Science Week |
| W/C 18th March | Parent Consultation Week |
| 28th March | Last day of Term 4 |
| 15th March | Start of Term 5 |
| 16th, 17th and 23rd April | Year 1 outdoor workshops with Mrs Chapman |
| 22nd April | Transport through time - workshop in school |
| 30th April | Darwin Class assembly |
| 2nd May | Goodall Class assembly |
| 7th May | Earhart Class assembly |
| 24th May | INSET day - children not at school |
| w/c 10th June | Phonics Screening Week |
General information
Reading Books
Reading books will be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays, two school books will be sent home each time. Therefore it is essential that your child’s yellow reading record book AND reading books are in school every Tuesday and Friday. Please record in your child's yellow book that they have read everyday even if it is just with a smiley face or a tick besides the date.
In addition to their regular school reading books, children will be able to chose a 'free choice' book from our class library to take home each Friday. These need to be returned the following Friday so that they are able to chose another.
Phonics
We believe that learning to read and establishing a love of books is an essential part of being a literacy learner. Therefore we value the importance phonics has in the development of early reading and early writing. In year 1 we deliver high quality daily phonics lessons using the FFT publications.
In phonics we want the children:
- To develop a good knowledge of phonemes and graphemes.
- To be able to blend phonemes to decode (read) a word.
- To be able to segment and blend to be able to spell a word.
- To be able to transfer the skills from phonics into everyday learning.
- To be confident with segmenting and blending pseudo (alien/made up) words in preparation for the statutory Year One phonics screen.
For more information please visit our phonics page.
Reading
The Reading Books in KS1 are an amalgamation of different reading schemes, for example; Oxford Reading Tree, Treetops, Rigby Stars and Floppy's Phonics. These Reading Books are scheduled to be changed on a Friday and generally three books will be sent home each time. This will enable you to share books from ‘Bug Club’ or from home over the weekend. Reading in Year 1 can take the form of anything and doesn’t always have to be a school book.
You can read:
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Menus
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Road signs
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Maps
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Labels
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Cards
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Non-fiction books…to name but a few
It is important that children understand that reading words is everywhere…not just in their school books and should be enjoyable. We ask that you write in your child’s book every night to record that they have read, even if just with a smiley face or tick beside the date.
Our Homework
Please watch the Key Stage 1 Sway below to find out more about our Year 1 homework.
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