Our English work will be mainly focused on our theatre visit to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We will write a short biography of CS Lewis and a review of the performance we have seen. We will look at how writers develop characters and we will write our own fantasy stories.
We will write poems based on winter. We will write a non chronological report on our own invented fantasy creature.
There will also be a weekly focus on grammar.
Spellings will continue to be practised daily with a weekly spelling test. We will learn spelling patterns and rules and will continue to learn the list of ’tricky’ words. The children will also add words they find difficult to remember to their own spelling log.
The children will continue to read daily, with a weekly guided session.
Maths will continue to be taught daily and will mainly focus on developing standard methods of calculating to work accurately and efficiently. We will be re-visiting the four rules of number (working with larger numbers now and in different contexts) and there will continue to be a session on learning our times tables with a weekly test. This term, we will develop our knowledge and understanding of fractions and decimals. We will focus once a week on the properties of 2d shapes.
A homework task will be set each week which will provide a further opportunity to practise the skills taught during the week.
History
In line with the new Primary Curriculum, this term we will be learning the narrative of how early settlers have shaped our country. We will focus on the Anglo Saxons before half term and the Vikings after half term. We will discover how historians are able to interpret archaeological clues about the past. We will learn about where these invaders originated, how they lived, the changes they made to society and their legacy. We will research King Alfred and discover why he is ‘the Great’. We will construct homes, a Viking longboat and design some jewellery. I have booked the class onto a Viking workshop at Shrewsbury Museum in February.
Science
This term we will be Mixing It Up! Looking at mixtures: mixing, dissolving, separating and chemical reactions. We will investigate states of matter—solids, liquids and gases—and how the science of these relates to everyday living.
Art
Our mission this term is to investigate the science of colour-mixing and see how the giants of the art world—Titian, Van Gogh, Klee, Hunderwasser and others—can inspire us in our use of colour.
Computing
The internet will be used often this term as a source of historical information. We will learn how to use search engines effectively and we will remind ourselves again of the importance of staying safe online.
We will use Excel to construct timelines and the iPads to video our written news reports on the arrival of the Vikings.
RE
This term’s values are: courage, responsibility and forgiveness. These will be the focus of whole school and class assemblies. We will be presenting the story of how Jesus met Zaccheus in our Open the Book assembly. We will focus on the significance of Easter in March.
PE
Julie Dean and her staff will continue to teach a variety of sports on a Wednesday afternoon. Our 8 week block of swimming lessons finishes on Tuesday 26th January.
Spanish
The Y5 children will have Spanish for one hour a week with the children in Oak.
Music
The Y4 children will have Violin lessons on a Friday afternoon.