Year 4/ Year 5 Class

Teacher: Mrs Holloway

Teaching assistant: Miss Lewis, Mr Crippin and Mrs Merrett

English

In English this term we will be mainly writing fantasy stories linked to the book Gorilla by Anthony Browne. This will be followed by writing based around the book Leon and the Place Between by Graham Baker-Smith.  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 topic is called ‘How have children’s lives changed?’ where we will be looking at various sources of evidence to enable us to answer this question. We are also going to investigate ‘What life is like in the Alps?’ looking at human and physical features where we will be looking at maps and other sources. We will also carryout a local fieldwork investigation.

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 adapt a recipe. In art we are going to study mixed media based on the theme ’Light and Dark’.  Stiperstones will also continue to look at e -safety. Alongside this we will be looking at computer systems and networks first, followed by video media.

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. We also have our word count challenge where the ultimate aim is to become a ’Millionaire Reader’. 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 ’Friend or Foe’ and also look at a range of non-fiction texts linked to our topics. 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, friendships, assertiveness, emotions and stereotypes. Stiperstones class will continue to receive music lessons but this year it will be the recorder. In French we will cover the topics ’Greetings, Classroom and Clothes’. Whereas PE this term will be football, tag rugby, hockey and dance. Within RE we will have a focus on Hinduism.