Monkey – Year 1 & 2 Class Mrs Hind and Mrs Andrews

Welcome to our class page!

We are the mighty Monkeys! A happy mixed class of Year 1 and Year 2 learners led by Mrs Hind, our class teacher, and supported by Mrs Greevy, our teaching assistant. We support each other every day to grow and learn.

Supersonic Phonics Friends

We have invested in ‘Supersonic Phonic Friends’ (SSPF), to give our children the very best start in their learning. The Phonics Scheme is designed for Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and for some children in KS2 who would benefit from extra support. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It is a fully systematic, synthetic programme for teaching phonic skills.

Sessions are taught daily for 30 minutes and have a clear structure following the model: Revisit & Revise, Teach, Practise and Apply. We also have a session in the afternoon where we can revisit teaching from the morning.

With 'Supersonic Phonic Friends', we 'wrap our children' in rhyme' to ensure they 'hear the sounds in the words they speak'. 

Supersonic Phonics Friends Website

To find out more information please click on the link:

https://www.supersonicphonicfriends.co.uk 

You will also find the Supersonic Phonic Friends progression document below:

Supersonic Phonic Friends progression document

Phonic Sound Mats

Phonic Pure Sounds

Please visit the Supersonic Phonic Friends YouTube Channel for videos outlining how to pronounce the letter sounds correctly as pure sounds. The links for these can be found in the phonics resources section.

Reading

We love reading in Monkey Class and we are encouraged to read at home as much as possible to help our progress. We take home a reading book which reflects our reading level as well as a decodable reading book. We also have access to Bug Club which allows us to choose books and answer questions on the text we have read to check our understanding.

Spellings

We practise spellings each day and are encouraged to practise at home too.

The Big Monkeys (year 2) learn sounds for phonemes learned in Year 1. We also begin to learn about apostrophes and using suffixes to spell longer words.

English

We use ‘Talk for Writing’ which is based on the principles of how children learn. It enables us to imitate the language we need for a particular topic orally, before reading and analysing it, and then writing our own version. We do this by acting out stories and following a story map. It supports us with their writing and acts as sticky learning.

We look at a variety of genre including stories, poems and non-fiction and use these to produce different types of writing such as narrative, instructions, descriptive and persuasive pieces.

Maths

Throughout the year we will develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value.  We will use practical resources as well as pictures, numerals and words to solve maths problems. We will develop our ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary.

By the end of year 2, we should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value.

Continuous Provision

We use continuous provision to support and extend our learning across the curriculum.

Other subjects

Every week we become scientists and investigate, identify and observe animals, plants, habitats, materials and the weather. We embrace our creativity and learn different skills in Art and Design and technology.  We become historians and geographers, where we learn about our country, other countries, significant people and our local area. We use PurpleMash for computing, where we learn about coding, algorithms and online safety. We use Charanga to learn a variety of music skills. In RE, we learn to respect other people and their cultures by learning about Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In PSHCE, we follow PSHCE Matters to cover important topics which will support us to grow, emotionally and socially.

Class Dojo rewards for Monkey Class

As part of an update for the dojo reward system, the children can now redeem (spend) their dojo points as treats.

Monkey class have selected the following treats. These will be reviewed at the end of every half term through a class discussion. These costs may be different from other classes as we based it on how many points we typically get in a week and how 'precious' the prize is!

If your child chooses a treat then you will be informed by text so you can prepare if needed.

Bring a toy from home (no electronics)                                          50 points

Bring a special snack for break time                                                80 points

Come to school in non-uniform                                                        100 points

Play on the bottom yard (2+ children)                                             150 points

Extra playtime (2+ children)                                                              150 points

Dinner on stage area with an adult or child of your choice          200 points