The International School @ ParkCity

Key
Stage 1
Year 1 and Year 2
Curriculum
www.ISP.edu.my
Welcome to Key Stage 1 @ ISP

Thank you for your interest in our school, and for downloading this guide
to the curriculum for children aged 5 to 7 years old at The International
School @ ParkCity.

In addition to this information, we encourage you to find out about the

teachers at our school by browsing the faculty page of our website, and
to download the corresponding curriculum guides for our younger
children (in the Early Years Centre) and older children (in Key Stage 2 and
beyond).

The best way to learn about children’s development in Key Stage 1 at ISP
is to visit our school, see our facilities, meet our staff and talk to our
children. We hold regular Open Days and ‘See the School In Action’
mornings, and whenever you choose to visit us we guarantee you will
receive a very warm welcome!

Please also feel free to contact me should you have any further queries or
comments.

Warm regards

Rik Millington
Head of Primary School
primary.office@isp.edu.my

www.ISP.edu.my
How do children learn in Key Stage 1?

The emphasis in Year 1 and Year 2 is on active learning. Children are

taught subject skills, knowledge and understanding through hands-on,
practical experiences linked to real-life learning.

The children’s knowledge and understanding is enriched within dynamic,

exciting activities both in and out of the classroom. There is an emphasis
on collaboration, communication, creativity, and the importance of taking
risks in our learning.

Children are encouraged to reflect positively and evaluate individual as

well as group efforts. In Key Stage 1, children grow in confidence to
inquire, actively seek information, plan and design ways to help
themselves and others learn. In our technologically-rich environment
children apply their IT skills across all areas of learning.

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ISP Core Values & Learning Habits

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www.ISP.edu.my
What do children learn in Key Stage 1?

The Key Stage 1 curriculum is based on the UK National Curriculum. The

English and Mathematics frameworks in the National Curriculum give
structures and expectations for each year group.
Teaching and Learning in English and Mathematics are linked wherever
possible to the International Primary Curriculum themes to provide the
children a deeper understanding of the topics and a wider application of
their skills.

We use the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) to plan a

cross-curricular, thematic, teaching structure for learning goals in subjects
Science, History, Geography, Technology, Art, Digital Studies, Society, and
International Learning. The IPC, which is also based on the National
Curriculum, is designed to engage children of all abilities and provide
learning opportunities in an active, exciting and meaningful way. This
curriculum is successfully implemented in 85 countries worldwide and
promotes personal learning as well as international-mindedness.

English in Key Stage 1

The English Framework has three main elements: reading, writing, and
speaking & listening.

Reading

Children in Year 1 and Year 2 learn to read using a range of strategies. But
most importantly children are immersed in a rich and broad language
environment. Most children learn best using phonics to decode words. At
ISP we use the Read Write Inc. programme, the most widely used
commercial scheme in the UK. This effective synthetic phonics program
allows children to gain phonemic awareness and spell words with accuracy
very quickly.

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Children in Key Stage 1 have access to Home Reader books, which are levelled
to match their reading age carefully. The phase has a wide range of fiction,
non-fiction and poetry books that expand the scope and breadth of the
children’s reading, and these are sent home, shared and enjoyed by the child
and another reader. Aside from these, there is a wide range of reading books
appropriate to the children’s reading level in abundance in our library, which
allows children to follow their own reading interests.

As well as providing the tools to be able to read, teachers aim to give children a
lifelong passion for reading. Children in Year 1 and 2 link reading to their own
experiences, express their own views about texts, and deepen their
understanding by making predictions and interpreting the texts. They also learn
to use Non-Fiction books and develop research skills.

Writing

Children in Key Stage 1 learn to write in a range of different genres, which are
often related to the IPC theme being studied. In this way the children are
making connections across subjects and the learning is made more real to them.
Children are encouraged to ‘have a go’ at writing and to apply their developing
phonic skills to their writing. They learn to spell the ‘tricky’ words as whole
words. The children in Year 1 and 2 begin writing words and recording their
ideas and develop skills in planning their writing. They acquire strategies for
sustained and meaningful writing both for themselves and other readers. The
children in this phase have the opportunity to write their own stories, poetry,
instructions, posters, friendly letters and other texts.

Speaking & Listening

Speaking and listening are essential skills and the mastery of these skills is
needed to develop both reading and writing. Year 1 and 2 students spend a lot
of time talking with each other and the teacher before writing takes place. This
can take many forms such as question and answer sessions, role-play, dialogue
between characters, or the giving and following of instructions. Students are
given the opportunity to share their learning with a wider audience and also
develop their listening skills as part of an audience, and extend and enrich their
vocabulary.

www.ISP.edu.my
Range of Text Genres in Year 1

Term IPC Links Text Genres

1 Who am I? Fiction: Stories with familiar settings

Time Detectives Poetry: Using the senses
Non-Fiction: Instructions, labels and recounts

2 Flowers & Insects Fiction: Traditional Tales & Fairytales

Buildings (Part 1) Poetry: Pattern & Rhyme
Non-Fiction: Information Texts, Recounts

3 Buildings (Part 2) Fiction: Writing with patterned and predictable

All Dressed Up structures. Traditional Tales and Stories from different
cultures. Nocturnal animals
Non-Fiction: Information Texts

Range of Text Genres in Year 2

Term IPC Links Text Genres

1 How Are You? Fiction & Poetry: Really Looking

(Health) Non-Fiction: Instructions
Stories People Fiction & Poetry: Stories from other cultures
Tell (Myths & Non-Fiction: Explanations
Legends)

2 Our World Fiction & Poetry: Different stories and poetry by

(The significant authors
Environment) Non-Fiction: Non-chronological reports

3 The Magic Fiction & Poetry: Extended stories

Toymaker Silly stuff. Texts with language play: riddles, tongue
(Toys & Games) twisters, humorous verses and stories
Non-Fiction: Explanations

www.ISP.edu.my
Mathematics in Key Stage 1

Central to the Mathematics framework for all children is developing the

skills to be able to solve problems and carry out mathematical tasks.
Relating the tasks and problems to other curriculum areas and real life
ensures that children find Mathematics creative and engaging. The
development and application of IT skills is an important part of the Maths
curriculum. Children in Years One and Two solve problems through learning
the skills of:

Sorting, Ordering, Grouping, Measuring, Calculating, Comparing,

Manipulating Organising and Interpreting Information.

Mathematics Objectives for Year 1 & Year 2

These can be read in more detail here.

We use a range of scheme and teacher-designed activities to enrich the

children’s learning in Mathematics. Our main scheme is Abacus Evolve,
although we also use other supplementary schemes and resources.

www.ISP.edu.my
The International Primary Curriculum (IPC)

The International Primary Curriculum is based on the English National Curriculum but
sets learning within an international context. It provides a thematic, cross-curricular
structure with rigorous personal and academic targets. The latest research on the way
children learn is encompassed and is fully integrated into the approach to teaching.
The approach and organisation of IPC supports teachers to enable them to bring
learning to life.

The IPC focuses on four main aims to support learning and teaching: To help children
learn the subject knowledge, skills and understandings they need to become aware of
the world around them. To help children develop the personal skills they need to take
an active part in the world throughout their lives. To help children develop an
international mindset alongside their awareness of their own nationality. We do each of
these in ways that take into account up-to-date research into how children learn and
how they can be encouraged to be life-long learners.

English and Maths are set within the context of the IPC wherever possible. The following
subject areas are specifically covered within the themes:

● Science
● Geography
● History
● Society
● International Learning
● Technology
● Art
● Creative Arts
● Digital Studies

The following subject areas are taught by specialist teachers and are linked to IPC
themes where possible:

● Music
● Drama
● Bahasa Malaysia
● Mandarin
● PE
● Swim

www.ISP.edu.my
Children become immersed in exciting topics for blocks of 5 to 9 weeks. For this
academic year the following themes will be studied:

Year 1 IPC Units

Term 1 Term 2 Term 3

Who am I? Time Flowers and Buildings Buildings Clothes (All

(Ourselves) Detectives Insects (Part 1) (Part 2) dressed up)
(Finding Out
about the Past)

Year 2 IPC Units

Term 1 Term 2 Term 3

Health Stories Environment Toys

(How are (Myths, Fables (Our World) (The Magic Toymaker)
you?) & Legends)

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Overview of IPC Topics in Year 1

Who am I?
The Big Picture

Ourselves’ is a wonderful theme at any age, but with children of 5-7 it is especially
exciting because they are at a stage in their lives when they are just beginning to feel
‘grown up’ as they learn important adult skills such as reading, writing and
Mathematics. They are also finding out the skills they need to be part of a group and
are moving away from the self-centered picture of themselves, that dominates the
first few years of their life, to a realisation that their ‘self’ is not just about them but is
also defined by their relationships with others. Above all, we should celebrate our
differences whilst seeing our similarities to our group members. So, we are individuals
as well as important members of a wider community.

During this unit we will be focusing on Society, Art, Physical Education, Science,
Geography and International.

In Society, we’ll be finding out:

● About the different groups we belong to
● About the things that make us feel happy
● How to deal with anger
● How to stay safe
● How to make an emergency phone call

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

● How to draw portraits and self-portraits
● How to take a portrait photograph
● About portraits by famous painters and sculptors
● How to design a favourite menu

www.ISP.edu.my
In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:
● What activities we can do well
● How we can stay fit and strong

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

● About how our hearts work
● About how we are similar to and different from other people
● About different types of food

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

● Which countries we or our ancestors have come from
● How to find our local area on a map
● About different countries we have lived in.

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• About the way children in our host country and home countries live

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

● Illustrating an eBook

Time Detectives

The big idea

Would you like to be a detective? A time detective who goes in search of evidence
from the past? Evidence that tells you where people lived, what people did and
what happened to them? Detectives need clues – our clues are going to be old
objects and treasures from the past.

In History, we’ll be finding out:

● How we find out about the past
● About clues that are left behind from the past

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 ● How to sequence clues from our families’ past
● How to create a ‘Time Detectives’ museum
● How to create a time capsule

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

• About the properties of different materials
• How to sort materials into groups
• How different materials age over time

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

• How to look closely at objects
• About the paintings of Joan Miró
• How to compare a photograph and a painting

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• About an important historical find
• Why we learn about the past

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

• Producing a talking book

Flowers and Insects

The big idea
Have you seen any flowers today? Where did you see them? Have you seen any
insects? Where did you see them? Flowers and insects need each other. Without
insects there would be no flowers. And without flowers insects would go hungry.

www.ISP.edu.my
In Science, we’ll be finding out:
● Where flowers and insects prefer to live and grow
● How and where seeds grow
● How to set up tests to discover how plants use water
● How beans grow
● About the life cycles of insectsAbout ants and bees
●
In Geography, we’ll be finding out:
• About honey and silk production
• About the migration of the Monarch butterfly

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

• About paintings of flowers and insects
• How to make paintings and models of flowers and insects
● How to create a garden in the classroom
●
In Music, we’ll be finding out:
• About the music of the famous composer, Rimsky-Korsakov
● How to create our own music

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

• Finding images using the web

Buildings
The Big Picture
There are structures around us all the time some of which we barely notice. What are
they made from? What is their purpose? What do you notice about their shapes?
What could be done make them stronger? Through this unit you will become builders
and discover the secrets to holding up bridges and skyscrapers.

www.ISP.edu.my
In Art, we’ll be finding out:
● How to draw pictures of local buildings
● How to make and decorate models of buildings
● How to make prints

In History, we’ll be finding out:

● How buildings were made in the past
● How buildings have been used in the past
● How people travelled in the past

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

● About different houses, homes and other buildings around the world
● How to use maps and atlases to locate the different countries these
buildings are in

In Music, we’ll be finding out:

● About the structures of tunes and songs
● About comparing our own music

In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:

• About different ways to balance
• About making shapes with our bodies

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make picture frames
• How to make models of houses

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

● How to test the strengths of structures
● About materials used in structures

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• About the different houses people live in, in different countries

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

• Using programmable toys

www.ISP.edu.my
Clothes (All dressed up)
The Big Picture
Have you ever seen an elephant in a dress or a giraffe in a pair of jeans? Of course
not, because unlike other animals, human beings wear clothes. Clothes are an
important part of our lives. They can keep us warm (or cool). We can wear different
colours and designs and change them for different occasions, we can follow the
latest fashions – and even make them ourselves! So what do the clothes you wear
say about you? During this unit we will be focusing on Geography, Art, ICT, Science,
Technology and International

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

● What people wear in different countries
● What the climate is like in different parts of the world
● How the weather affects what people wear

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

● How we can sort materials
● How to carry out a scientific investigation
● Which materials will keep us warm or dry

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

● How to create our own tartan design
● About symmetry in design
● How to make repeat patterns

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

● How wool is made
● How to make a weaving on a cardboard ‘loom’
● What felt is and how it is made
● About different methods of fastening clothes

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In History, we’ll be finding out:
● About clothes people wore in the past
● About comparing clothes ‘then’ to ‘now’

In Society, we’ll be finding out:

● About protective and reflective clothing

In International, we’ll be finding out:

● About the clothes people wear for special occasions
● How to design a school uniform

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

● Filming the steps of a recipe

Overview of IPC Topics in Year 2

Health (How are you?)

The Big Idea
We are very lucky in this class because we are all healthy. What things make us
healthy? We are going to find out because we want to do everything we can to stay
healthy.

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

● About eating the right foods
● About getting enough exercise
● Why our bodies need sleep
● What happens when we are ill
● How germs get inside our bodies
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 ● How to protect our bodies
● About our senses

In History, we’ll be finding out:

● About the doctors who discovered medicines
● About diseases from the past

In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:

● How exercise keeps our body healthy
● What activities we can do to stay fit

In International, we’ll be finding out:

● Why some people don’t have drinking water
● What hospitals are

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

● About basic skills, Hardware and Software (iMac and iPad)

Stories People Tell

(Myths, Fables and Legends)

The Big Idea

Many of the stories that we enjoy today are influenced by the stories that have been
passed down through the ages. By studying older stories, such as myths and legends,
we can become storytellers too, writing and performing our own stories to entertain
people today. During this unit we will be focusing on History, Art, Physical Education,
Music, Geography, Society and International.

www.ISP.edu.my
In History, we’ll be finding out:
● About myths and legends from different times in the past
● How to create our own legend about someone we know
● About the Gods that people used to worship in the past

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

● How people in the past have represented stories and characters
● How we can use art to tell a creation story
● How to create our own Greek masks
● How to design and make our own dream catchers

In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:

• About fables and the lessons that they teach us
• How we can use dance and movement to tell a story

In Music, we’ll be finding out:

• About songs and music that tell a story
• How we can make our own music to tell a story

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

● About stories from different countries and cultures
● How we can remember an important journey
● How we can make a map of our own imaginary land

In Society, we’ll be finding out:

● About fairytales and the lessons that they teach us
● How we can make a modern version of a fairytale
● About whom we think of as ‘heroes’ today

In International, we’ll be finding out:

● About legendary and mythological characters from our different home
countries
● How we can make a costume to represent a character from a story

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

• Developing ideas and making things happen: Control monitoring, modelling.

www.ISP.edu.my
Environment
(Our World)

The Big Idea

Our world is where we live – our home, our family, our school. It is the places that we go,
the people that we meet, the things that we can see, smell, hear, taste and touch. Our
world is important, because we share it with lots of other living things. We need to treat
our world with respect – to ensure that it is well looked after – so that every person,
animal and plant can live healthily and enjoy it. During this unit we will be focusing on
Art, Science, Geography, Technology, Music and International.

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

• How to create artwork using natural materials
• How to make a tree collage
• How to make a silhouette of our local skyline
• How to design and create our own sensory garden

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

● About the animals, plants and birds in our local environment
● About the best soil conditions to grow seeds
● How we can recycle and reuse materials to help our environment
● How we can set up our own composting club

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

• About different wildlife habitats in our local environment
• About the animals and insects that share our local environment
• How our local environment compares with other locations around the world

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make model gardens
• How to design and make our own bird feeders

In Music, we’ll be finding out:

● How to create our own sound journey around our school
● About music and songs, written about the weather
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 In International, we’ll be finding out:
• How to make a fact file about our home country to share with others

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

• Finding things out, organising and presenting information and data handling

Toys and Games

(The Magic Toymaker)

The Big Idea

Toys come in many shapes and sizes. But all are designed for us to have fun with, to
learn new skills and to exercise our bodies and our imagination. During this unit we
will be focusing on History, Science, Technology, Physical Education and International.

In History, we’ll be finding out:

● About toys and games from the past
● How to decide if a toy is new or old
● How to create our own toy museum
● How we can learn about the past in different ways

In Science, we’ll be finding out:

● How to sort toys based on what they are made out of
● What materials are best for making a bath toy
● About pushes and pulls, and how things move

In Technology, we’ll be finding out:

● About ‘magic’ toys that fool our eyes
● How to design and make our own board game
● How to design and make our own puppets

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In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:
● About how different toys move

In International, we’ll be finding out:

● How to design a toy/mascot to celebrate a special event
● About a popular game from another country and teaching others to play it

In Digital Studies, we’ll be finding out:

● Developing ideas, presenting information: Word Processing, Graphics,
Multimedia

www.ISP.edu.my
Specialist Subjects in Key Stage 1

Physical Education (PE), Swimming, Music, Drama, Bahasa Malaysia & Mandarin are
taught to children in Key Stage 1 by our specialist departments.

PE and Swimming
The children learn a range of basic movement skills through ball games, gymnastics
and dance. All children partake in swimming lessons during the year. PE lessons take
place on the school site and also at the facilities of the Desa ParkCity Clubhouse and
sports field.

Music & Drama

Music and drama lessons take place in our fully equipped performing arts rooms. All
the children learn about rhythm, pitch and performance skills through hands on
practical activities. Wherever possible the music and drama curriculum is linked to the
IPC so that children can make connections across subjects. Our music and drama
departments work with class teachers to prepare children for performance in class
assemblies, and our annual Key Stage 1 production.

www.ISP.edu.my
Music topics in Key Stage 1

Drama topics in Key Stage 1

Modern Foreign Languages

Specialist teachers for Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia deliver the language
curriculum. The emphasis is on speaking and listening in both languages. Learning
takes place through the use of songs, stories and games.

www.ISP.edu.my
We are very proud of the teaching and learning that takes place at ISP and
invite you to visit Key Stage 1 in our Primary School, to speak to our students
and staff and find out more, and see great learning in action.

Nathan Phipps Rik Millington

Deputy Head of Primary Head of Primary School
& Head of Key Stage 1 rik.m@isp.edu.my
nathan.p@isp.edu.my

www.ISP.edu.my