In English, we will be continuing our work on “Journey to the River Sea” by Eva Ibottson. We will continue to explore the text, both through our guided reading lessons and also our English lessons, developing both our comprehension and writing. The children will build their skills over the term to allow them to write diary entries and a short narrative from the perspective of characters within the story. We will be using the text to develop and improve our grammar skills by focusing on identifying imaginative vocabulary and techniques, as well as thinking about how we can construct complex sentences that create interest for the reader. We will look carefully at the use of adverbials within our writing, as well as the importance of identifying main clauses and subordinate clauses within a sentence in order to add more detail. The children will think carefully about the use of conjunctions to create cohesion within their writing, and we will also be ensuring we develop our accurate use of a wide range of punctuation. We will also be looking at how we can use both direct and reported speech in order to advance the plot and give more insight into the characters within the story.

As well as working on “Journey to the River Sea”, we will also spend some time looking at a small excerpt of Macbeth in order to broaden our understanding of play scripts, both in terms of writing and performing them.

In Maths we will be embedding our knowledge of the four operations and fractions. We will begin to look at percentages and some algebra, applying everything we know about the number system in order to build our skills in these areas. There will be a continued focus on understanding how to solve one and two step worded problems and identifying which operations are needed. We will also start to look at shape and measure this term, thinking about the properties of both 2D and 3D shapes, as well as exploring coordinates, translation and symmetry. Throughout all of this work, we will look at how we can explain the maths that is taking place and how we can apply what we have learnt to solve problems. 

This term's science topic is evolution, with a focus on biology. We will start by examining fossils and how they help palaeontologists learn about extinct species and history, building on prior knowledge of rocks and fossils. Children will understand inheritance as the transfer of traits from parents to offspring and how variations occur. Evolution will be explored as changes in inherited traits, followed by adaptation, Darwin's theory of natural selection, and Alfred Wallace's contributions. Practical activities will reinforce the theory, and we will develop our 'Working Scientifically' skills throughout the unit.

In Geography we will dive into the fascinating world of South America, exploring its countries and stunning landscapes like the Andes Mountains. Using maps, we will discover where people live, how they work, and the unique environments across the continent. Building on our previous learning about rocks and mountains, we’ll find out why scientists believe South America and Africa were once joined. We’ll also uncover the secrets of the Inca Empire and learn how they built Machu Picchu high in the Andes. Finally, we’ll investigate the Amazon Rainforest, thinking about how humans affect nature and why protecting biodiversity matters.

In Art, students will study 20th-century art, beginning with modernism and using statues by Marc Quinn and Thomas J Price to discuss public statuary and identity. They'll examine Picasso's cubism and its move to abstraction, review notable British artists like Barbara Hepworth and Frank Bowling, and consider WWII's impact on Frank Auerbach. The class will also look at Lucien Freud's shift back to figuration and explore identity in Lubaina Himid's work. This unit will finish with students creating self-portraits using materials of their choice.

In RE, the children will consider differences between what it means to have 'faith', and what it means to have 'beliefs' (including how non-religious people have beliefs). They will go on to find out about religious and non-religious communities before thinking about how people’s beliefs help guide them in their everyday lives. We will link our learning to what we have already found out this year about Christianity, Islam and Sikhism before considering how people who hold different beliefs may experience difficulties within their communities. Finally, we will consider how people can help themselves and each other to practice their beliefs in a way that creates a sense of community. 

In Design Technology we will learn about and then cook various dishes which make up a mezze. A mezze is a selection of small savoury dishes cooked in countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq which are shared. It is also known by the word meze, spelt with one z. We will think about how mezze needs to be a balanced meal and look at examples where this is the case. This will build on knowledge from the science curriculum where the children will have learnt about the different types of food that we need to be healthy. We will then make four different mezze dishes and then taste and evaluate what we have made.