Year 4/ Year 5 Class

Teacher: Mrs Holloway

Teaching assistant: Miss Lewis, Mr Crippin and Mrs Merrett

English
In English we will be basing our writing around the book ‘Queen of Falls’ by
Chris Van Allsburg with the main focus being on diary entries. This will be
followed by the book ‘The Lost Happy Endings’ by Carol Ann Duffy with the
main genre being fairy tales. Our main focus in English will be on sentence
structure where we will ensure we punctuate sentences correctly and we
are confident at using a wide range of sentence types.
Maths
In maths we will begin with place value which is one of the most important
areas of maths. Once the children have mastered this we will move onto
addition and subtraction of increasingly larger numbers. Later in the term
we will cover written multiplication, division, measurements, perimeter and
area. A significant amount of our maths this year will rely on us knowing our
multiplication facts so we will be working very hard on our times tables
through teaching and using the home school apps Times Tables Rock Stars
and Maths Shed with the aim of improving speed and accuracy. The more
your child practises the times tables facts the easier they will
find the maths this year!
Topic
Our history topic is ‘What was life like during Tudor times?’ where we will
be looking at various sources of evidence to enable us to answer this
question. As part of our work, we will be visiting Harvington Hall. In
geography we will investigate the geographical features of the Antarctic
and improve our map skills. Also we will look at the adventurer Shackleton.
Science, DT, Art and Computing
Our first science topic is ‘States of Matter’ where we will learn about: the
water cycle; how to compare and group materials according to whether they
are liquids, solids or gases; and how some materials change state when they
are heated or cooled. In the second half term we will look at ’Electricity’
where we learn about: identifying and naming different components of a
circuit and how to work scientifically to investigate factors influencing bulb
brightness. Plus we will investigate electrical conductors and insulators. In
design and technology we are going to work with textiles and investigate a
range of fastening techniques. In art we are going to study textiles around
the theme ‘Fabric of Nature’. Stiperstones will also continue to look at e –
safety. Alongside this we will be looking at computer systems and networks
first, followed by coding using the Crumbles.
Reading
In Stiperstones we have a mini challenge to see who can read
the most ‘Top 20 recommended reads’. The list of these books
can be found inside your child’s Reading Record. Alongside these books
there is a wide range of books for your child to choose from in class. In
school, we provide daily reading opportunities, some of which are guided
where we focus on the following skills: vocabulary, inference, prediction,
explanation, retrieval and summarising. We are going to start the term with
a book called ’Letters to the Lighthouse’ by Emma Carroll. Plus we will look
at a range of non-fiction texts linked to the Tudors and the Antarctic. For
those children who require further support with their reading they will
take part in additional reading sessions as much as possible.
Other
In PSHE we will cover ‘Me and My Relationships’ where we will discuss team
work, feelings, friendships being under pressure, emotions and stereotypes.
Stiperstones class will continue with ukulele lessons. In French we will cover
‘numbers, calendars, birthdays and food’. Whereas PE this term will be
football, tag rugby, hockey and dance. Within RE we will have a focus on
Hinduism.