In Literacy, we will be reading the book Beowulf; this is Michael Morpurgo’s poetic retelling of the tale of an epic hero and the infamous monster Grendel. It will provide rich opportunities for the pupils to reach into the depths of their imagination to produce creative pieces. From newspaper reports to emotive diary entries, children will be developing their grammar, punctuation and spelling through stimulating, rich outcomes.

In Literacy, we will be reading the book Beowulf; this is Michael Morpurgo’s poetic retelling of the tale of an epic hero and the infamous monster Grendel. It will provide rich opportunities for the pupils to reach into the depths of their imagination to produce creative pieces. From newspaper reports to emotive diary entries, children will be developing their grammar, punctuation and spelling through stimulating, rich outcomes.

In Maths this half term, we will build on our knowledge of place value by looking at numbers up to one million. We will practise rounding and look at powers of ten. Children will continue to solve tricky problems to develop their reasoning and depth in learning. I encourage everyone to get back into their times tables as this is the cornerstone upon which all our maths this year is founded! Times table rockstars is a great website to use but there are lots of fun ways to practise. A few minutes a night makes all the difference.

In Maths we will continue to do weekly arithmetic tests. Children have really improved their scores which is great to see. Generally, we could all do with some revision on adding and subtracting mixed number fractions as well as percentages so, if you’re looking for a focus at home, it can be these topics. In class we’re going to focus on decimals: dividing and multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000 and adding and subtracting decimals which have a different number of digits.

In Science, we will be investigating the life cycle of plants and animals. The children will carry out simple class based investigations and devise their own methods for recording, questioning and evaluating.

In Science, our topic is Earth and Space and children will work towards being able to answer the big question, ‘Is there a pattern between the size of a planet and the time it takes to travel around the sun?’ They will carry out simple class-based investigations and devise their own methods for recording, questioning and evaluating.

In History, we’ll be kicking things off with an in depth look at the Anglo-Saxon struggle for power in England. We’ll travel back in time to learn about why they invaded and what life was like during this fascinating but relatively mysterious time. Children will discover who these people were and how they helped shape the Britain we know today.

Our geography focus will be the Silk Road. This really is a magical topic where we’ll learn about the most important trade routes around the time of the Abassid dynasty, which goods were traded and how and the most dangerous trade routes. We’ll focus on critical thinking throughout these lessons so we can eventually answer the question: ‘How advantageous was the Silk Road?’

In Design and Technology, we will start the year by looking at the foods the Anglo-Saxons made and cooking some of these ourselves, concentrating on issues of seasonality and a balanced diet. 

In Art, we will be developing our print making.

In Music, we will be learning how to play steel drums with the amazing company Kinetika Blocco. The children are split into two groups and learn how to play a collective piece. They started this just before half term and it sounds absolutely amazing!

In Music, we will be learning how to play steel drums with the amazing company Kinetika Blocco. The children are split into two groups and learn how to play a collective piece. They started this just before half term and it sounds absolutely amazing!

In PE, we will be learning Swimming (at West Norwood pool), football and tag rugby.

In PE, we will be learning athletics, tennis, cricket and outdoor adventurous actvities.

In PSHE, we will be studying:

What can we do to improve mental health?

Does society treat everyone with equal respect?

In PSHE, we will be studying:

How does self-esteem affect your future?

What changes can we expect during puberty?

In Computing we will be focused on programming using Scratch. The children will learn how to create their own computer game, based on the Beowulf/Grendel battle.

Our Computing topic this half term will be online safety. The children will be taught how to recognise when health and wellbeing are being affected in either a positive or negative way through online use, understand that passwords need to be strong and that apps require some form of passwords and recognise a couple of the different types of online communication and know who to go to if they need help with any communication matters online.

In Religious Studies, we will spend this half term focussing on Hinduism, specifically trying to answer the question ‘What is the best way to show commitment to God?’. We will learn about showing commitment to God through Puja, pilgrimage and Dharma. Finally, the children will be able to critically evaluate how Hindus show commitment to God.

Our RE topic will be Christianity and our big question, ‘What is the best way for a Christian to show commitment to god?’ We have lots of discussions during these sessions and focus on how we can discuss our differing beliefs respectfully.