Let's Say...I found an old toy in my attic. This toy is special to me...but it's damaged...
Our learning journey this half term has been wrapped around the Let's Say approach (Hywel Roberts) and children have been fully immersed in our History driven topic to explore 'I wonder what toys our grandparents played with...' We started with thinking about what makes a toy a toy. Is a book a toy? Or a bike? The children have benefitted from hands-on learning through provision to learn about toys through time. We also learnt about Jim Henson (The Muppets Creator) and designed our own puppets, using drama to being our puppets to life. The unit has developed our skills in RSE and Values as we have been learning to respect belongings and develop empathy to understand how others feel.
To conclude our topic, the 'problem' of the damaged toy led children to exploring how to mend broken toys and work with our Year 6 Team Repair Enrichment team to repair and construct toys using tools.
Year 1 have been amazing toy detectives! Read on to find out more.
Math
In Maths this half term we learnt about Place Value. We have been sorting items, counting objects, finding 1 more and 1 less then a number. We have also begun to look at representing numbers using part whole models, tens frames and number lines.
We have learnt how to write and recognise numbers in numerals and words and used < > and = to compare. We have explored the cost of toys and how prices have changes over time. To practise your maths skills have a go on these:
Counting and ordering - Year 1 Maths - BBC Bitesized
Science
This half term in science we are learning about the uses of Everyday Materials by identifying materials like wood, plastic and metal. Children have sorted toys based on the materials they are made from, made suggestions for the best material to make No-Bot a bottom and investigated which material would be best to make an umbrella for No-Bot. We have been using the construction area to build models using blocks and loose parts, suggested materials for fixing broken toys and described physical properties of materials.
We have learnt about our key scientist, Ole Kirk Christiansen, the inventor of Lego. This linked in with our learning about toys through time. Many of us enjoy playing with Lego and were fascinated to learn who invented it.
Year 1 have worked scientifically by asking questions, observing closely, describing phenomena and drawing simple conclusions.
We have also been learning about Seasons and created paintings of deciduous and evergreen trees using pointillism, inspired by George Seurat. This was a great way to link Art and Science! A huge thank you to Joel also for the opportunity to harvest the potatoes we planted. We hope to continue our learning about seasonal changes throughout the year.
PE - Autumn 1 Dance
In PE are we learning the skills to create a story through dance.
We have looked at how to isolate our body movements to move as a robot. We have then been linking movements before creating our own dance routines in groups.
Our dances have followed a robot character's journey from space.
DT
Year 1 have learnt about Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets. He inspired children to create their own robots using junk modelling. Children used their designing skills to explore and share ideas through drawings and chose materials carefully. Simple techniques such as selecting appropriate tools, measuring, marking, cutting and joining, folding, taping, gluing and tying were used to assemble the robots. Children adapted their work as they built; problem-solving when materials didn't fit or stay together. This reinforced their science learning to understand materials are used for different purposes.
History
In History we have created a timeline of toys, looked at similarities and differences, using words related to time. We looked at changes since our grandparents were young, thinking about what it is was like then for them. Children looked at old photos and noticed how cars and clothes were different. The focus was how toys have changed in time, from wooden toys to the invention of plastic and electric games. We then got very excited about the prospect of designing a toy, advertising it and selling it to make a profit. We all shared our ideas and thought about how our toy was similar/different to a toy from the past.
English
Our key text was 'No-Bot the Robot with No Bottom' and children have enjoyed the humour in this book. We have retold the story, using first, next, then and finally to recount key events. We have also described characters and how they are feeling using adjectives, explored vocabulary and used different words for happy and sad, with a focus on writing sentences using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. Children have loved freeze framing and exploring emotions.
Our end of unit writing was based on a response to 'I wonder what toys our grandparents played with...' We interviewed our grandparents/parents and then drew a picture of their favourite toy and described it. These have been published in Time to Shine books.
Having three reading sessions each week, alongside daily phonics has helped Year 1 to develop fluency, comprehension and confidence as independent readers.
Thank you for all your support. We really appreciate it!
R.E
In R.E this half term, we explored 'I wonder what it means to belong to a faith community...'. We learnt about what it means to belong, what do Christians, Muslims and Jews believe and explored similarities and differences. We recapped our understanding of the Parable of the Good Samaritan and also learnt how The Parable of the Lost Coin shows Christians how they are special to God. We then explored how different faiths celebrate the birth of a baby and shared our own experiences.
We have also learnt the Diwali story and made diva lamps using clay.
