English

Elm Class will continue the Spring Term reading ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’ by Phillip Pullman. We will be paying particular attention to the author’s intent behind his vocabulary and grammar choices and how the author shows dialogue between the characters. The children will be writing instructions to wash an elephant, using imperative verbs, formal language and prepositions.  We will then use role-play to check that our instructions are clear.

We will also look at the different uses of apostrophes for possession and contractions, the use of inverted commas for dialogue and how the verb changes to reflect the past, present and future tenses. We can then ensure that we use the correct grammar in our narratives later this term. 

Maths

The children will develop their mathematical understanding through a range of topics, building confidence in problem-solving and reasoning. This term, we will be measuring length, width and height in millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres. We will then investigate the perimeter of different objects. 

We will then recap our multiplication and division knowledge in our fractions unit, where we will calculate fractions of numbers, recognise fractions of objects and equivalent fractions and then apply this knowledge to real-life situations. 

Science

In Science, Elm will be learning about sound. We will learn how sound travels from the object to our ears. We will also consider why sound is distorted when it travels through different media. We will learn that the frequency of the sound waves affects pitch, and that volume is caused by the amount of energy released to make the sound. We will link our learning to real-life questions, such as why do we see the lightning before we hear the thunder?

Geography

This term, we will be learning about Eastern Europe including the Balkans and the Baltics. We will discuss the similarities and differences between Russia and the UK, including it’s climate and it’s physical geography. We will also discuss the Crimean war and the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including noting how many people have been displaced and where they relocated to.

Art

In Art, we will be studying Ancient Roman monuments. We will pay particular attention to the leaders who ordered these monuments to be built, and what the monuments can teach us about Roman beliefs at the time. We will study the architecture of the Pantheon, the Colosseum and Trajan’s column, including making sketches and labelling their features. We will then create our own model of the Pantheon using papier mache, collaging techniques and our knowledge of strong structures.

RE

Our RE learning this term is titled ‘What is a good life?’ and is centred around Humanist beliefs. We will apply our understanding of the concept of duty to the ways in which religious and non-religious people try to live a good life. We will draw on questions and methods from the human/social sciences, theology and philosophy, and will particularly explore the life of James Baldwin, who was an important African American writer and Civil Rights activist.

Creative Translation

Elm Class will begin to learn creative translation this half-term.  This programme brings high-quality, accessible and sophisticated picture books in languages other than English into the classroom. Pupils work through the stages of code-breaking, translation and creative writing, looking at the similarities and differences between languages, both in spelling and in grammar structures. This will help us to develop core literacy skills and will help to build an appreciation of literature and cultures around the world, enriching our intercultural awareness and raising confidence and aspirations.  We will begin by looking at the story ‘Along the Tapajos’, a Portuguese language book set in Brazil.