Luther King Class
Welcome to 2020! I hope we have another good half term, with many exciting lessons and learning.
If you have any questions or any concerns, please come and speak to me!
Mrs Preston
Our weekly routines:
Homework
Daily: Spelling practice, times tables practice, 30 minutes of reading
Twice weekly: Mathletics, Grammar
Weekly: Reading comprehension, research / writing task
The children will receive new spellings on a Friday. Spelling tests are on Fridays and times tables tests are on Tuesday.
PE is now on a Wednesday.
Our Learning - Spring 1
Our topic this half term is called Darwin’s Delights and we will be learning all about Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution in Science. Top start with, we have extracted DNA from strawberries – very successfully! We will investigate why birds have different beak shapes and apply our learning to the finches of the Galapagos Islands. In Geography we will look at the journey Charles Darwin made in the HMS Beagle and some of the amazing wildlife he discovered. After learning all about the Galapagos Islands, we will plan our own expedition using maps. We will also compare the Galapagos Islands to Madagascar as well as Great Britain.
At the end of the unit, we’ll think about why the Galapagos Islands developed such diverse animal life, and why they might be under threat.
In Art, we will be using our observational and sketching techniques and applying these just like Charles Darwin.
During Literacy, we will be writing a range on Non-Chronological reports on Global warming and climate change, Animals from the Arctic as well as making up some of our own.
Our focus in Maths will be a continued focus on reasoning skills and being able to explain the maths we use to solve problems.
We are currently studying all about the Bible RE and will be learning about the different types of books it contains.
French will be about our daily routine and time.
Our Learning - Autumn 2
Our topic for this half term is Frozen Kingdom where we will be exploring the planet’s coldest lands, which are incredibly beautiful, yet often deadly. We will start by observing icebergs. In Geography using globes and maps, we’ll identify the Polar Regions, comparing the Arctic and Antarctic. We’ll also think about how we can protect the polar environment and why it is so important. In Science we will learn all about how to classify living things, comparing ones found in Southwark to those in the Polar Regions. We will continue by learning about how these living things are adapted to survive in their habitats. We will look at food chains and webs as well as what can happen of a link in the chain goes missing. Linking our Science and Geography, we will look at the effects of climate change on the Polar Regions. In Art we will study artwork by the Inuit people, especially that of Kenojuak Ashevak. We will use these to inspire our own lino print artwork. In Computing we will be looking at how search engines work; hone or skills in assessing how reliable and accurate a website’s information; is as well as refining our search terms.
During Literacy, our Talk for Writing text is North Child by Edith Pattou, which we will use as a basis for writing monster stories, followed by letters. The children will have their own personalised targets that they will be working towards.
Our focus in Maths will continue to be accuracy this half-term as well as an increased focus on reasoning skills and being able to explain the maths we use to solve problems.
We are currently studying our second topic in RE ‘Vocation – The Priesthood & Religious Life’ where we will be interviewing Father Graham to find out more about being a priest. We will then learn about Judaism before starting out topic on Advent.
French is all about likes and dislikes, opinions as well as saying what clothes you wear and learning larger numbers.
Our Learning - Autumn 1
Our topic for this half term is Blood Heart where we will be learning all about the heart and circulatory system. At the start of our project, we dissected an animal heart, finding out about the different parts and how the blood flows. In Science, we will explore the heart and circulatory system, the function of blood, blood groups and measuring our heart rates. Armed with this knowledge, we will investigate how heart rate is affected by exercise. Our History lessons will see us going back in time to see how medicine has changed through the ages and continents. In Art, we’ll sketch hearts to create our own model hearts out of clay. During DT we will test materials before making a stethoscope. We’ll learn about how smoking affects the heart and write adverts to persuade people to stop smoking. We’ll visit the ‘Give blood’ website, and make a flow diagram to illustrate the circulation process.
During Literacy, our Talk for Writing text is Clockwork by Philip Pullman, which we will use as a basis for writing suspense stories, followed by explanation texts on different emotions. The children will have their own personalised targets that they will be working towards.
Our focus in Maths will be accuracy this half-term; making sure we use the checking strategies we learn. We will be solving reasoning problems to practise applying our knowledge and show that we are able to explain our mathematical thinking.
Our first topic in RE is about the’ Domestic Church – God’s unconditional love’ followed by learning about ‘Vocation – The Priesthood & Religious Life’ where we are hoping to interview Father Graham to find out more about being a priest.
In Computing, we will be looking at how to keep safe on the internet including: having a positive digital footprint; how to tell if a website/message is genuine; and looking after passwords.
French (on a Wednesday) is all about the weekend, activities, using the negative, asking and answering questions as well as likes and dislikes.
Class Diary
Heart Dissection - not for the faint-hearted!