Happy New Year! We hope that you’ve all had a lovely Christmas break and are ready and raring to go for another exciting term.
English
We will start the term by looking at the book ‘The Man who Walked Between the Towers’ by Mordicai Gerstein which tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walker, who in 1974 walked between the World Trade Center towers. We will create our own newspaper reports about the daring event and then write a biography about his remarkable life.
We will develop our SPAG knowledge through continuing to learn about the various word classes and different spelling patterns, including the Y5/6 word list. We will be focussing on how to apply all our SPAG work into our own writing.
Reading
We will continue to teach whole class guided reading and our class novel this term will be The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. The Wolf Wilder is a beautiful story about one girl’s treacherous adventure through dangerous, snowy Russia to save her mother, who has been attacked and captured by the Russian Army because she refused to give them what they wanted.
Maths
We will start the term by looking at multiplication and division. The children will learn different methods to multiply 3 and 4 digit numbers by 2 digits and how to divide a number up to 4 digits by 1 digit. We will then move onto fractions, looking at comparing and ordering fractions, converting fractions and adding and subtracting fractions. Finally, we will learn about decimals and percentages.
Science
Our topic this term is Properties of Materials. In this unit the children will compare and group together everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their hardness, solubility, transparency, response to magnets and electrical and thermal conductivity. They will have given reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular use of everyday materials, including metals, wood and plastic. We will develop our working scientifically skills by be carrying out investigations to test materials to see if they are dissolvable and whether they are good insulators or conductors.
Topic
We will be starting a brand new geography topic this half term ‘Exploring Eastern Europe’. We will develop our map skills and learn about life in different Eastern European countries, with a focus on Russia.
PHSE
We will continue to use Jigsaw in our PSHE sessions and our topic this half term is ‘Dreams and Goals’ we will think about our future aspirations and what we need to do in order to help us achieve these.
Computing
Our unit this term video editing This unit gives children the opportunity to learn how to create short videos in groups. As they progress through this unit, they will be exposed to topic-based language and develop the skills of capturing, editing, and manipulating video.
R.E
The question the children will be exploring this term is ‘If God is Everywhere, why go to a Place of Worship?’ They will look at different religions and how and where they worship God.
PE
PE will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our focus this half term will be gymnastics and dance. In gymnastics we will focus on synchronization and canon. In our dance lessons we will learn about the Haka and create our own dance in the same style. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR PE KIT. Make sure you don’t get RED on your Assertive Mentoring!
HOMEWORK
We will continue to have a creative approach to our homework this term. You will be given Maths and Spelling homework each week as well as being able to choose from a range of creative activities in Topic.
Homework is given out on Friday and is due in the following Wednesday.
Here is a link to the topic homework Take Away Homework Exploring Eastern Europe
REMEMBER:
Homework handed in on Wednesday is GREEN.
Homework handed in on Thursday is YELLOW.
Homework handed in on Friday is RED.
We read in class every day, so make sure you always have your Reading Log in school.
Please make sure you also read regularly each week at home and ask an adult to sign your Reading Log for you. We will sign your Reading Log every WEDNESDAY to check you have read at home at least twice.
Other important information:
- Please ensure your name is clearly written in all your school uniform. We have a permanent marker if you need to write your child’s name in their jumper etc.
- Please ensure your correct and full PE kit is in school all week as PE days can change in school (it will be sent home every half term to wash)
- Bring your reading book and reading diary to school every day. Sometimes a reading volunteer will choose you for extra reading.
- Please bring a school water bottle every day.
We are really looking forward to a new and exciting term. If you have any questions or concerns, please book an appointment to see your child’s class teacher.
Miss Wood and Miss Turner