Dear P1 parents and carers,
We have had another wonderful week of learning and fun here in Primary One and continue to be very impressed with how well the children have settled in. It is lovely to see the enthusiasm our pupils are bringing to new learning experiences!
Reading:
This week we have started to introduce the Stage One Key Words for the Oxford Reading Tree reading scheme (ORT for short) and it would be super if you were able to look over these words at home to consolidate in school learning.
Here is a PowerPoint with the Stage One words – ORT Stage One Key Words
Phonics:
Each week we will be focusing on two letters. For now, we are focusing on the sound of each letter. This will help us start to blend sounds together to sound out and read simple words.
This week, we have been learning all about /s/ and /a/ so if you have some free moments at home, it would be wonderful if you could have a look for these sounds in written texts around the house (story books, instruction leaflets, food packaging, etc.) and have a go at forming these letters (writing with pen/crayon/pencil, painting them, making the shape out of pasta/stones, writing them with your finger in some flour/salt/sand, etc.) You could also play games like ‘I Spy’ or ‘I went to the supermarket a bought… (things starting with a certain sound)’ to help your child to think of words which start with /s/ or /a/.
Here is an information sheet to show you how we form each letter at LPS – Letter Formation Guide
We use the Jolly Phonics songs and actions to help us remember each sound. You can find these songs and actions on YouTube. Here are the links to our sounds for this week:
Numeracy:
Currently, we are introducing two numbers each week, with a focus on 1-to-1 counting, correct formation, finding the number before/after/in-between and different ways to add to make each number.
So far, we have explored numbers 0,1,2,3 and 4.
There are great counting games on websites such as topmarks.co.uk and lots of catchy counting songs on YouTube (we love Jack Hartmann, The Learning Station and Kids TV 123) that you can check out at home if you have time.
Here is an information sheet to show you how we form each letter at LPS: Number Formation 0 to 9
Handy hint! If you are counting with your child, e.g. from 0 to 10, try to also count back down again, from 10 to 0, as this will help with subtraction in the future. Try also to start from numbers other than 0 or 1, to support the skill of ‘counting on’ to solve addition questions.
Apologies for a long blog post today! Each week we will aim to share some of what we have been working on in school so that you can talk to your child about their week and support them with their learning. Please don’t feel like you need to spend lots of time at home doing ‘homework’ though as the school day can already be tiring for young children as we’re sure you are aware!
We hope you all have a wonderful weekend with time to relax and enjoy some quality time together.
Take care,
LPS P1 Teachers
