Welcome to Year 1 (Greenfinches)
On our class page you can find out about what we are learning and see pictures of some of our highlights.
There are also parent resources where you will find links to excellent learning resources that you can use with your child at home.
Things to remember
Year 1 doors open at 8.35am and close at 8.45am to allow adequate time to complete attendance and lunch registers.
Any late arrivals please report to the school office.
School closes to children at 3.15pm.
- P.E is every Tuesday and Thursday. Children should have their full kit in school all week. Earrings must be removed.
- Homework is given on Friday via Purplemash and is to be returned by Wednesday. If help is needed please see a member of the Year 1 team.
- Spellings are given on Friday and are tested the following Friday. Please remember to practice at home.
- Home school books and reading records must be in school everyday. Books are changed on Fridays.
Dates for your diary
Please see the key dates document emailed to all parents
- Pupils return Monday 9th November 2026
- Monday 9th – Friday 13th November – Anti bullying week
- Friday 13th November – Children In Need
- Tuesday 17th November – Y1 Trip to Rochdale Town Hall
- Friday 20th November – Non uniform (chocolate donation)
- Wednesday 25th November – School photographs (individual and sibling)
- Wednesday 2nd December – Pantomime visit (within school)
- Wednesday 2nd December – Christmas fair
- Friday 4th December – Christmas craft afternoon
- Tuesday 8th December – KS1 Nativity dress rehearsal
- Thursday 10th December – KS1 Nativity (time to be confirmed)
- Wednesday 16th December – Christmas dinner day/Christmas jumper day
- Thursday 17th December – Christmas party day
- Friday 18th December – School closes to pupils at 3.15pm
Phonics
**Phonics Screening Check take place in June. All children must be in school. Further details will be given nearer the time**
At Moorhouse we aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers, passionate about reading.
Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds! More importantly, reading will give your child the tools to become an independent lifelong learner.
We can achieve this together through:
- Read Write Inc: a phonics program to help to your child read at school
- Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, at home and at school
- Giving children access to a wide range of books at school and at home
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a synthetic phonics program which helps children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling.
Find out more here – https://youtu.be/TkXcabDUg7Q?si=TD-wy_EidlaXWHH5
| https://youtu.be/p_6Jb0-3qz8?si=DMdk6TMeArrRrmTk | Understanding phonics |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbWIujM1WGM | What is RWI phonics? |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07DruIKFsKw | Listening to your child read |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLjXT1jP9M | Sound blending books |
Literacy
Beegu is not supposed to be on Earth. She is lost. She is a friendly little creature, but the Earth People don’t seem very welcoming at all. However, so far she has only met the BIG ones. The little ones are a different matter …
This half term we will be focusing on;
- Combine words to make sentences
- Leave spaces between words
- Begin to use capital letters and full stops
- Use capital letters for names of people and the personal pronoun ‘I’
- Use adjectives to describe
Writing outcome
To retell a story
Maths
At Moorhouse Academy, children are introduced to our maths scheme White Rose. White Rose is a whole-class mastery programme designed to help nurture confidence in maths.
In Year 1 this half term, we will continue to explore addition and subtraction (within 10) before moving onto geometry.
Use the links to download free workbooks from Whiterose Education to use with your child at home.
- Number bonds to 10 Farmer Pete
- Counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s KS1 Super Movers – Counting is easy
- Teen numbers with Jack Hartmann Teen Numbers
- Number bonds/Addition and Subtraction/Doubles (free to play, just choose the green ‘play game’ button https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
Geography – What is it like here?
will be learning to…
- Locate three features on an aerial photograph of the school and know the name of the country and village, town or city in which they live.
- Make a map of the classroom with four key features, using objects to represent the distance and direction of features in the classroom.
- Recognise four features in the school grounds using a map.
- Explain how they feel about three areas of the playground and find out how others feel by looking at the results of a survey.
- Draw a design to improve three areas of the playground using the results from the survey
Science – Seasonal Change
In this unit, children explore how day length, weather and the natural world change across the four seasons. We will investigate the effects of seasonal change on plants, animals and humans. Lessons will build on prior EYFS learning about time and the natural world, introducing key concepts such as daylight, seasonal weather patterns and the repeating cycle of the seasons. Children will carry out scientific enquiries including observing changes over time, identifying and classifying and recording and interpreting data. We will continue to develop our working scientifically skills in observing carefully, asking simple questions, communicating their ideas, and sorting and comparing information. Knowledge is revisited in each seasonal block to strengthen understanding, support long-term recall and help pupils identify patterns across the year, including how living things prepare, survive and rest in response to seasonal change.
Jigsaw – Being in my world
Additional home learning resources
Home learning ideas
🍂 Year 1 Autumn Home Learning Ideas 🍂
Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom! Here are some simple and budget-friendly activities you can enjoy together at home this autumn. There is no expectation to complete them – just choose the ones that work for your family.
🍁 Autumn Hunt
Go for a walk and look for signs of autumn. Can you find different coloured leaves, conkers, acorns, pinecones or berries?
🔢 Autumn Maths
Collect some leaves, stones or conkers. Count them, sort them by size or colour, make groups of 2, 5 or 10, or practise finding one more and one less.
📖 Share a Story
Snuggle up and enjoy a favourite book together. Talk about the characters, what happened and which part you liked best. Remember, library books are free!
✏️ Be an Autumn Writer
Write a sentence about something you have seen or done. You could write about an autumn walk, a rainy day, Bonfire Night or something fun you did at the weekend.
🍂 Leaf Art
Collect fallen leaves and use them to make a picture, pattern or collage. You could even make an autumn animal!
🏠 Shape Hunt
Look around your home or when you are out and about. How many circles, squares, rectangles and triangles can you spot?
💰 Play Shops
Use tins, packets or toys to make your own shop. Make price labels and practise counting coins or paying for different items.
🌦️ Weather Watcher
Look outside each day and talk about the weather. Is it sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy or cold? How has the weather changed now that it is autumn?
🥄 Help in the Kitchen
Help to make a snack or meal. Count spoonfuls, weigh ingredients, talk about halves and practise following instructions in the correct order.
🧦 Sorting Challenge
Help with the washing! Match pairs of socks, sort clothes by colour or size and count how many items are in each group.
🗣️ Most importantly – talk, play and explore together!
Everyday activities such as shopping, cooking, walking, reading and playing games provide fantastic opportunities for learning.
📸 We would love to see what you get up to! Feel free to share photographs or examples of your home learning with us
Games
50 Recommended reads for Year 1…which ones have you read?
WOW!
Please check social media to keep up to date with all our fantastic work.
