English Reception/Year 1 Spring Captions, Labels and Non-Fiction Writing

1. Cress heads
2. Clay hedgehog
3. All around the daffodils
4. Chalk talks!

Essential Text
That’s Not a Daffodil by Elizabeth Honey

Group Reader
Wakey! Wakey! by Ruth Merttens

Weblink
What is hibernation? from BBC Bitesize

Wakey, wakey

This lovely story about wildlife awakening after the cold, dark winter will engage beginning readers with its repeating structure and colourful illustrations. A great group reader to accompany a topic on spring, this phonologically decodable text will encourage discussion about native British wildlife and how the countryside changes through the seasons.

1. Decorated eggs
2. Odd egg sun-catcher
3. Who is inside the egg?
4. Who laid the egg?

Essential Text
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett
The Ugly Duckling (a good quality picture book version)

Group Reader
Spring for the Birds by Ruth Merttens

Weblinks
The Ugly Duckling from www.youtube.com

Spring for the birds

The birds begin to sing in this beautifully illustrated text, they build their nests, lay their eggs and raise their young. Children will enjoy reading about the different birds and how they care for their eggs and their babies. A lovely book to accompany learning about the changes that happen around us in spring.

1. leap like a frog
2. Hungry frog!
3. Perfect caterpillar printing
4. Peg puppets

Essential Text
The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Tadpole’s Promise by Tony Ross

Group Reader
Grass for Tea by Ruth Merttens

Grass for Tea

This beautifully illustrated non-fiction book is a perfect introduction to the genre for beginning readers. Children will be able to find out information about native British animals, presented in a clear, accessible way. This phonologically decodable text is a superb accompaniment to a block of work on factual texts.