A wide range of stimulating visual stimuli and engaging texts are used to teach English. Sharing texts including poetry, fiction and non-fiction books which provides rich stimuli for children to develop their own writing styles using their own imagination. Alongside developing their writing skills, pupils will also develop their skills in spelling and grammar.
Reading is taught using a range of texts and stimuli. Books, images and video clips are used with the children to develop a range of skills required as a reader. Discussion, as well as carefully structured questions, allow children to think about why texts are structured in particular ways, how and why writers make specific language choices and to encourage children to use their inference skills to ‘read between the lines’.
Children are encouraged to read at home as often as possible, through their own choice of authors and genres from our extensive library, which increases their vocabulary and spelling skills to add to the valuable work that we carry out in class. Children are also given time each day to ‘Read and Relax’ where time is spent reading an ‘Accelerated Reading’ book at their level and then quizzing on this book to show their understanding of the text.
In mathematics, we use ‘Maths No Problem’. This scheme develops and builds upon the children’s mathematical skills alongside their thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills. Lessons provide children with time to discuss and develop a range of methods to solve questions and subsequently achieve a greater depth of mathematical understanding.
The spring term
For the first half term, we will begin a new topic named ‘Our Changing World’, with a focus on geography. Within the topic, we will revise features of Earth, time zones and lines of latitude and longitude to pinpoint places on a map. We will then find out more about map scales, grid references, contour lines and map symbols. Furthermore, we will learn about climate change and the importance of global trade. After that, we will learn to analyse data and carry out fieldwork to find out about local road safety. Finally, we will study patterns of human settlements and carry out an enquiry to describe local settlement patterns.
For the second half term, we will begin a new topic named ‘Frozen Kingdoms’, which also has a geography focus. We will learn about the characteristics and features of the polar regions, including the North and South Poles, and take part in a detailed exploration of the environmental factors that shame and influence us.
The autumn term
During the Autumn term, children will begin their study on WW1 in our history topic. They will look at the main causes, events and consequences of WW1. They will also look to see what life was like in the trenches for soldiers during the war and later they will look at home the war came to an end. This learning will also be used in the writing, where they will be writing a narrative based on the novel ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo, as well as looking at the poem ‘In Flanders Field’. In science, they will be studying ‘Animals Including Humans’, where children will explore what the circulatory system is, how nutrients are transported around our body, the impact of a healthy lifestyle and how our heart works (including making a model of our blood!). In RE, the children will explore and discuss the question of ‘What is the best way for a Jew to show commitment to God?’ and in PSHE, children will explore “Being Me in My World” where they will discuss their year ahead, they learnt to set goals and discuss their fears and worries about the future.