Welcome to Year One
Bumblebee and Dragonfly are our Year One classes at the Isle of Ely Primary School. From this page you will be able to read about our curriculum each half term and all the work we get up to in and out of the classroom.
The adults that work in Year 1 are:
Miss Kirsty Palmer: Bumblebee teacher
Mrs Christy Collard: Learning Support Assistant
Mr Matthew Turner: Dragonfly teacher
Mrs Natascia Newman: Learning Support Assistant
Our curriculum
Subject |
Content |
English Including: phonics, reading, writing and GPS (Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling) |
Children will continue to learn their sounds this half term, and work on their fluency to improve their speed and comprehension. On top of their phonics lessons we will be having a range of English lessons, which will extend their writing skills. We will also have weekly comprehension lessons which will help the children learn how to interpret and understand what they are reading. Once a week, we will have SPaG lessons focused on the core punctuation and grammar skills required in Y1 and we will teach the common exception word spellings as well as numbers as words and the days of the week. |
Maths |
In Maths, we are moving onto multiplication and then division. We will be introducing the children to multiplication by revising counting on in 2s, 5s and 10s and looking at doubling. Children will be introduced to arrays and we will also be using concrete resources and pictorial representations to support their understanding. Later in the half term, we will introduce fractions by exploring halves and quarters of shapes and quantities. We will also be using short burst maths sessions to revise the content taught in the first and second term of Year 1. |
Science |
This half term in science we will be exploring plants, we are going to investigate what plants need, how they grow, their seeds and the ways in which seeds reproduce. We will also explore the plants we eat and different parts of a plant. Finally we will look at evergreen and deciduous trees. |
History |
In history, we will be building on our learning from Spring 1 when we explored the formation of the first parliament in England. During this unit we will discover what parliament does and look at some key figures. We will find out about the first prime minister, Robert Walpole, the first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and our current prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, as well as learning about the election process and holding our own |
Art |
This half term we will be learning all about the language of art, the 4 main focuses will be content, form, process and method. We will be looking at some famous pieces of artwork and some local, identifying the 4 aspects. |
Physical Education (P.E.) |
On Mondays, we will be playing Net and wall games and on Tuesdays will be Fitness. On alternate Wednesday afternoons, each class will have forest school. All topics will develop the children’s communication and team work skills as well as build their resilience and perseverance. |
Religious Education (R.E.) |
In RE, we are continuing to explore Sikhism, focusing on some of the celebrations and beliefs important to this religion. We will look at Sikhism beliefs and The 5 Ks: Kara (a steel bracelet): Kesh (uncut hair): Kangha (a wooden comb): Kaccha (cotton underwear); Kirpan (steel sword). |
Personal, Social and Health Education |
This half term we are looking at relationships. In this topic the children will discuss how to make friends and how to maintain healthy friendships. We will discuss respect and how to solve problems when they occur. To conclude the topic we will discuss how they can help others or themselves when it is needed. |
Music |
In this unit the children learn that we can use music to represent different things and that we can record/create sounds to imitate what we can hear. They start by listening to The Flight of the Bumblebee by the Russian composer Rimsky Korsakov and consider how the composer uses fast music to represent the flight and sound of a bee. In doing so they explore how sounds are made on the violin and flute and discover how the fast moving music of the piece is achieved by the violin and flute players moving their fingers very fast on the strings/keys of the instruments to create different pitches. The children then go on to listen to a soundscape called The Lapaich by Chris Watson to explore that there are lots of different ways of making music. This piece of music has been made by recording sounds outside and then putting them together using electronic equipment. It is a ‘soundscape’ (a sound or combination of sounds that arises out of an environment). |
Computing |
This half terms topic is about digital writing. Learners will develop their understanding of the various aspects of using a computer to create and manipulate text. They will become more familiar with using a keyboard and mouse to enter and remove text. Learners will also consider how to change the look of their text, and will be able to justify their reasoning in making these changes. Finally, learners will consider the differences between using a computer to create text, and writing text on paper. They will be able to explain which method they prefer and explain their reasoning for choosing this |
Design and Technology (D&T) |
Our next DT project will be after May half term. |
At the Isle of Ely Primary School, we use knowledge organisers as a tool to help our children learn more and remember more and to allow parents and carers to support their children's learning. In our knowledge organisers, you will find essential knowledge, key dates, important vocabulary and key figures. The knowledge organisers can also be used as a fun assessment tool which will help children to see what progress they have made.
D.T |
Weekly Newsflash - What have Year One been up to this week?
Newsflash w/c 21.04.25
Year 1 have made a fantastic start to the summer term and have worked hard all week. We have focussed on our three school rules: 'ready, safe and respect' in assemblies this week and followed this up in class discussions. The children know our school rules very well! We have enjoyed starting all of our new topics in all subjects and look forward to the half term ahead.