*Our Learning for this term*

Summer Term 2 2026 

Terrific Toys!

We can’t believe we are about to start the last term of Year 1 and our exciting topic this half-term is ‘Terrific Toys’.  During this topic we will explore our favourite toys and consider how toys and technology have changed over time, throughout our lifetimes, as well as others. This has links with our science learning, finding out about the properties of different everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock. We will learn lots of new vocabulary, including opaque, transparent and flexible. In science, we will also be recapping different types of trees and the different parts of plants. We will remember what the function of each part of the plant can do too.

In Art, we will be looking at sculptures and focusing on the work of Eva Rothchild, a UK-based artist. We will be inspired to design and make our own sculptures, using different resources and considering efficient joining techniques.

In DT our creativity will continue as we will take on the challenge of designing and making our own robot based upon the brilliant story of No-Bot the Robot.

Our computing lessons this term have a strong link with PSHE, through our ‘Natterhub’ lessons we will be thinking about how to keep safe online and considering what information is safe to share online. We will also be using our computing skills across the curriculum, further developing them, and considering how technology has changed.

In PSHE we will be recapping our pants rule through the ‘Pantosaurus’ song. We will be sharing what is special and unique about each of us and discussing how we are all different. We will be thinking about our feelings, noting how we are feeling, as well as others and thinking about how to respond to these feelings. Our circle times are always a safe space where we can talk and share ideas about how we are feeling. 

In RE we will continue to develop our understanding of how stories influence different traditions and festivals. We will continue to develop our understanding of Easter, and we will also be learning about the Jewish festival of Passover.

We have many carefully selected high-quality texts for story time that link to Terrific Toys and we cannot wait to start sharing them! These include What the Ladybird Heard, The Fish that could Wish, Dogger, Stanley’s Stick, Toys in space, Whatever Next, On Sudden Hill plus a range of poetry.                                       

English

The children will continue to practice correct letter formation in their handwriting, ensuring that letters are the correct size and are all facing the correct way. We will look at the sizing of our letters, focusing on ascenders and descenders and beginning to join some letters.   

Through Talk for Writing, our focus story is ‘No-bot The Robot’. We will become very familiar with the story through re-telling it orally and using different writing styles to put innovate the story! We will also be developing our understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar, descriptive writing, and the joining of sentences using conjunctions. These will help us to improve our writing skills and create some incredible stories! We will also be revisiting instruction writing, character descriptions and poetry.

Maths

In Year One we follow a maths scheme called White Rose Maths. This term, we will cover:

Place value within 100 – looking at ordering, recognising, comparing and using number lines.

Money – involving recognising coins and notes and utilising money

Time – including before and after, days of the week and months of the year and telling the time to o’clock on an analogue clock.

We will also consolidate our previous knowledge from the year.

Additionally, we are working through the “Mastering Number” programme, using short, practical activities to develop pupils’ confidence and understanding of number. 

Phonics information and reading

As always, we place huge emphasis on the importance of regular reading practice both in and out of school.

Please continue to ensure that your child brings their reading practice book and reading record to school each day so that we can assess and record their progress appropriately. Hearing your child read at least 3x a week is very valuable in developing their reading skills and their love of reading! We cannot emphasise this enough!

This term all Year 1 children will complete the Phonic Screening check. As you will already know, this is when your child works one-on-one with their class teacher and reads 40 words, made up of 20 real words and 20 nonsense words. This is a national check and is nothing to worry about. If you have any questions or want to discuss this further, please speak to your child’s class teacher.

Homework Challenges

These can be handed in at any point up until the end of term and be done in any format – photos, videos, writing, drawings, or any other type of artwork. Please choose from the following:

• Create a map of an imaginary island, adding a range of human and physical features and using symbols with a key to show them clearly on the map.
• Design a new toy that you would love to play with and label it. You could always create a poster to advertise it in a toy shop! Or why not create a small model of it?
• Design and plan a summer picnic. This may involve you going to the shop with a list for the ingredients. Fingers crossed, it isn’t raining on picnic day!
• Keep a diary of all the lovely family adventures you do throughout the term and into the summer holidays.
• Design and make your own robot. Remember to make sure all their body parts are firmly attached! Which joining methods will you choose?
• Can you create a timeline of toys? When did you get your first toy?
• Alternatively, can you create a timeline of technology? Start with the technology your grandparents had, then your parents and now you. How has this changed? You could always do a mini-interview with them, such as how they use to listen to music?