This term, Beech Class will be reading the text 'Coming Home' by Michael Morpurgo. They will be writing a setting description using present tense and adjectives. They will start to use commas in a list and also look at sentence types. We will be including different punctuation, such as question marks and exclamation marks. Later, we will move on to rewriting the narration, examining the opening, the problem, the climax and the resolution. The children will be investigating writing in different perspectives and learn to identify first and third person. To minimise cognitive overload, the writing will be scaffolded with the adult providing the layout and modelling the types of sentences required. We also will be practising a great deal using dictated sentences.

In Maths, the children will be exploring addition and subtraction up to 100. They will begin by learning about the different resources available to support them, such as 100 squares, place value charts and concrete equipment such as dienes. We will continue to embed number sense and place value to develop the children's understanding of what happens to numbers when we add one more ten, or tens and ones. 

In Science this term, we are learning about animals and their living environments. This helps children to understand the difference between things that are alive, things that are dead and things that are inanimate (have never been alive). Children will build on their knowledge of different types of animals as they learn about habitats including rainforests, deserts, meadows and underground habitats. We will learn that microhabitats are habitats that are very small or limited, for example, under a log. 

In History, the children will be encountering significant individuals such as Julius Caesar and Emperor Claudius. They will also look closely at how the Roman army was organised, and evaluate what made them so successful. We will also learn about the rebellion led against the Romans by the Celtic queen of the Iceni, Boudicca. The children will analyse continuity & change between life in Britain before, during and after the Romans, looking at what continued and stayed the same versus what changed. At the end of the unit, the children will consider the legacy of the Roman invasion on life on Britain.

In Art, we will be looking at Matisse’s cut-outs. Building on our knowledge of shape and colour, we will introduce the idea of complementary colours and composition. We will be building up to making our own collages with colourful paper to experiment with compositions using organic shapes and complementary colours. We will also look at visual texture (how an artist shows how something feels) by studying Durer’s Young Hare and Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait. This will help us learn how an artist uses different colours and marks to create visual texture. 

The question that we will be pondering in RE this term is: Who is God to Christians and Why Does God Matter to Them? The children will learn that Christians believe in one God who created the world, that The Bible is a key source of authority for Christians and that it is a collection of books written at different times.