Year 1 Term 1

August to December

Last updated

2 July 2025 at 01:43:44

Stories, Heroes & Heroines 🦸 📚

Following the continuation and completion of the Early Learning Goals:

In Term 1, Year 1 students build on their Early Years learning through the theme Stories, Heroes & Heroines. In maths, they strengthen their understanding of place value, simple addition and subtraction, and begin exploring 2D and 3D shapes, supported by hands-on resources and visual models. Their science work focuses on the human body and senses, seasonal changes, and the properties of everyday materials. Reading is enriched by a range of engaging texts—from Drawing Club favourites to traditional tales like The Three Little Pigs—developing both decoding and comprehension skills through a systematic phonics programme. In writing, children begin crafting simple sentences, using basic punctuation, and experimenting with descriptive language and conjunctions.

The wider curriculum supports exploration and creativity across subjects. Geography helps students map their local world—Brunei, their school, and surrounding areas—while Art introduces key artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Yayoi Kusama, inspiring students to express themselves through colour, shape, and mixed media. In DT, students create imaginative structures and portraits. Computing focuses on Seesaw and basic coding using Bee Bots, and PE develops physical literacy and teamwork through a range of activities. PSHE lessons introduce friendship, kindness, respect, and staying safe. Through language learning in Malay, Mandarin, French, or EAL, students begin developing vocabulary and cultural awareness. Music lessons focus on rhythm, movement, and performance through action songs and call-and-response activities.

Maths 🧮

Place value

Sort objects
Count objects
Count objects from a larger group
Represent objects
Recognise numbers as words
Count on from any number
1 more
Count backwards within 10
1 less
Fewer, more, same
Less than, greater than, equal to
Compare numbers
Order objects and numbers
The number line

Addition and subtraction

Introduce parts and wholes
Part-whole model
Write number sentences
Fact families - addition facts
Number bonds within 10
Systematic number bonds within 10
Number bonds to 10
Addition - add together
Addition - add more
Addition problems
Find a part
Subtraction - find a part
Fact families - the eight facts
Subtraction - take away/cross out (How many left?)
Subtraction - take away (How many left?)
Subtraction on a number line
Add or subtract 1 or 2

Shape

Recognise and name 3-D shapes
Sort 3-D shapes
Recognise and name 2-D shapes
Sort 2-D shapes
Patterns with 2-D and 3-D shapes

Barvember

Towards the end of Term 1, all students are invited to take part in Barvember Maths challenges. Find out more here.

Science 🧬

The human body (Biology)

Identify and name parts of the human body
Draw and label parts of the human body
Sight
Sound
Taste
Touch
Smell

Seasonal changes (Biology)

Changes in autumn
Changes in winter
Collect and record data

Materials (Chemistry) ♻️

Explore materials - wood, plastic, glass and metal
Explore materials - rock
Objects and materials
Melt and freeze
Float or sink?
Does it absorb water?
Investigate materials

Reading 📖

In Year 1, all students have access to a comprehensive and systematic Phonics programme tailored to their individual needs: 👉 read more.

Drawing Club

The things I love about me by Trace Moroney

Your great big smile, your kindness toward others--there are so many things to love about being you. This special junior edition of The Things I Love About Me--with its simple, meaningful words and beautiful illustrations--is part of a series that is perfect for introducing little ones to positive thinking about everyday situations.

Head to toe by Eric Carle

From Eric Carle, the New York Times bestselling creator of beloved books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug, comes From Head to Toe , a colourful and energetic book that will have young readers clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and wiggling their toes! This oversize paperback is perfect for classroom sharing. Giraffes can bend their necks, monkeys can wave their hands, and donkeys can kick their legs. And so can you! Throughout this interactive book, the animals of From Head to Toe invite young readers to copy their antics as they play. Through Carle’s vibrant collages and simple instructions, children will learn the importance of listening, exercising, and taking on a new challenge. Join the giraffes, monkeys, donkeys, seals, and more for a frolicking, fun adventure!

Curious Quest

The Curious Quests is an immersive adventure into story, poetry, make-believe and giving children a childhood that brims with endless possibilities to invent, imagine and story dream.

Traditional Tales

Little Red Riding Hood
Gingerbread Man
The Magic Porridge Pot
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Little Red Hen
The Three Little Pigs

Writing ✍️

Basic sentences (who, when, where, what)
Finger spaces between words
Capital letters and full stops to mark sentences
Capital letters for names
Work shows evidence of attempts to describe events, characters and settings
Coordinating conjunctions: and

Across the curriculum 🌏

Mapping My World (Geography)

Mapping my school
My town: Bandar Seri Begawan
My country: Brunei
Simple journeys
Significant places
Compass points
Simple grid references

Curriculum Objectives & Expectations

Describe the immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non fiction text and maps ♻️
Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of the school and the key human features of its surrounding environment ♻️
Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify Brunei and it's regions as well as the countries of Borneo ♻️
Identify land use around the school
Use compass directions and locational language
Devise simple maps and use simple grid references
Mapping
Draw simple features
Survey the local area
Create plans
Add labels onto a sketch or photograph
Use aerial photographs
Use compass directions and locational language
Devise simple maps and use simple grid references

Key Vocabulary

Brunei, town, city, school, river, jungle, mosque, shops, sea, beach, hot, rain, sun.

Art & Design Technology 🎨 👷

Mixing colours workshop (primary and secondary colours). Discuss similarities and differences
Assemble, join and combine materials and components
Introduce artist - Picasso (Picasso's Face)
Introduce artist - Salvador Dali (Melting Clocks)
Introduce artist - Who is Yayoi Kusama?
Introduce artist - Henri Matisse
Introduce artist: Piet Mondrain
Free-style painting: which artist is my biggest inspiration?

Computing

Explore iPad software
Photos and labelling in Seesaw
Scanning QR Codes in Seesaw
Posting into Seesaw
Coding: Bee Bots, Code Pillars and Busy Things

PSHE 😀 🫶

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education

Families and Friendships

About people who care for them, e.g. parents, siblings, grandparents, relatives, friends, teachers
The role these different people play in children’s lives and how they care for them
What it means to be a family and how families are different, e.g. single parents
About the importance of telling someone — and how to tell them — if they are worried about something in their family

Safe Relationships

About situations when someone’s body or feelings might be hurt and whom to go to for help
About what it means to keep something private, including parts of the body that are private
To identify different types of touch and how they make people feel (e.g. hugs, tickling, kisses and punches)
How to respond if being touched makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe
When it is important to ask for permission to touch others
How to ask for and give/not give permission

Respecting Ourselves and Others