Term 4

English:

In English, we have been writing an adventure narrative based on the true story of Grace Darling, who helped to rescue survivors of a shipwreck. We have been writing in the first person and the past tense, aiming to add expanded noun phrases to build a picture for our readers and make our writing more interesting. We read some other adventure narratives to help build up a bank of useful words and phrases, looked at their structure (opening, build-up, problem, resolution, ending) and what happened in each part of the story. We then used this to help us write our own stories.

Maths:

This term, our main topic has been ‘money’. We examined different coins and notes that we use in the United Kingdom, as well as how we can count different amounts of money to work out a total. Our knowledge of counting in twos, fives and tens has been extremely useful to total multiples of 2p, 5p, 10p and £2 coins, and £5 and £10 notes. We also began to notice the relationship between counting in twos and counting in twenties when adding multiples of 20p coins and £20 notes.

We learned that the pound sign always comes before the amount, and that the value of a coin is not always linked to its size.

We also learned the importance of knowing the difference between pounds and pence. Would you rather have 75p or £5?

Science:

Our topic has been ‘Materials’, we have studied the difference between a material and its properties, and linked a material’s properties to its use. We have conducted some tests as part of this project.

The first test was about how easy or difficult it is to shape various materials, such as clay, sponge, a metal knife and plastic from a milk bottle. We discovered that some materials can keep their shape once squeezed, bent or pressed, like clay, and some revert back to their original shape, like sponge.

Our most recent test has been investigating the strength, texture and absorbency of some different types of paper. We learned that although paper is one type of material, it can have many forms with different properties. 

Topic:

We have continued to base our studies on Whitstable this term.

We looked at maps of Whitstable, then at maps of Whitby in North Yorkshire, using the symbols on the map to spot similarities and differences between the two locations. 

We learned about the tourist amenities in Whitstable, such as accommodation, catering and entertainment. We thought about whether (in summer!) Whitstable would be a good location for a holiday based on these three amenities.

French Hares were particularly interested to compare locations in Whitstable that we visited in January with how they looked in the past.

Look carefully at the buildings in the photos – some of them are the same!

Term 3

English:

In English we have been writing coastal descriptions. The focus has been writing in the present tense and using adjectives to describe nouns. We have worked hard in our grammar sessions to identify nouns, verbs and adjectives, and can create our own noun phrases. First, we learned a model text about a coastal settlement, then we worked together to make our own changes, inspired by our visit to Whitstable or our own experiences.

Maths:

Shape has been our focus in Maths, working on identifying the faces, edges and vertices in 2D and 3D shapes, recognising and continuing repeating patterns and symmetrical patterns.

Through this topic, French Hares have developed a greater fluency in using the key vocabulary of faces, edges and vertices, and recalling key properties of both 2D and 3D shapes.

One of our reasoning challenges this term has been to compare a cube with a cuboid, being able to express the similarities between the two shapes and use the key vocabulary to identify the differences.

Geography:

In addition to learning geographical terminology linked to coastlines, we have also had a focus on map work, learning to use a key to identify features on a map of the United Kingdom and on a map of a coastal town. We have used compass points to help us identify the location of towns and cities in the United Kingdom.

Our topic work has led to some interesting discussions about whether some coastal features are human or physical, such as caves and forests. If a forest has been planted by a human, is it still a physical feature? Are all caves naturally formed?

Spanish:

French Hares have really enjoyed their recent ‘Bajo El Mar’ (Under the Sea) topic, where we learned the names of some sea creatures in Spanish along with an action that the animal might do. For example, el cangrejo chasquea sus pinzas (the crab clicks its pincers). French Hares always sing the action song at the end of each lesson with great enthusiasm! We have just begun our ‘En la Selva’ (in the Jungle) topic and we are looking forward to learning some more animal names and singing a new song.

Term 2

French Hares have very much enjoyed their ‘Movers and Shakers’ topic and have learned a great deal about a range of significant people and why they are significant.

Topic:

In our History learning, we studied some significant explorers such as Vasco de Gama and Roald Amundsen, and discussed how exploration has changed over time. We have learned about some famous activists such as Martin Luther King Jr and Malala Yousafzai, and placed them on a timeline.

We followed this up during Jubilee University, and each gave a short  presentation to the class about who we each believed to be the most significant person and why.

English:

In English we wrote a newspaper report about the race to the moon. We watched some videos to help us imagine we witnessed the launch at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on 16^th July 1969. Through this writing we learned about the past tense and the past progressive tense, making sure we had the key information about who was involved, where the event happened, what happened why it happened and when it happened.

Our most recent English topic has been writing a persuasive poster to help us learn the four sentence types; statement, command, question and exclamation. The original model text was about Emmeline Pankhurst and her campaign for votes for women. We then adapted this to write about Rosa Parks and the campaign for equal rights for all.

Maths:

In Maths, we have been working on developing a secure understanding of addition and subtraction with a range of two-digit numbers.

We have continued to work on the stem sentence ‘I know that a part add a part is equal to the whole’ using a ‘putting together’ action to help us remember that this is the structure of an addition number sentence.

For subtraction we have used a ‘taking away/taking apart’ action with the words ‘I know that the whole subtract a part is equal to a part’. We have also learned that when one number or quantity is taken away from the other, the number remaining is the difference. We enjoyed watching Numberblocks ‘What’s the Difference?’ to help us remember this.

These stem sentences are particularly useful when working out how to solve questions like 17 – ? = 9; we can colour code the parts and whole to help us work out the answer.

We have also continued to build our Maths fluency by counting in twos, threes, fives and tens and ensuring we can speedily recall number bonds to ten.

Science:

‘Human Survival’ has been the focus of our Science learning this term. We have looked at the human life cycle and some of the processes that occur during our lives, such as birth, growth and reproduction.

We further developed our understanding of food groups and looked at what a balanced diet should contain. It has been pleasing to hear children apply this knowledge at lunchtimes, for example saying that they will choose more salads or vegetables so that they are eating enough from this food group.

Term 1

Topic

This term, our topic focus has been ‘Movers and Shakers’; learning about historically significant people who have had a major impact on the world.

So far, we have learned about Rosa Parks, Mary Anning, Mahatma Gandhi and Neil Armstrong, using timelines and other historical sources to find out more.

We used Dawson’s Model of Significance, which gives five statements to help us decide who was the most significant person and who had the biggest impact on the world. These are:

1. They made big changes in their lifetime
2. They made lots of people’s lives better or worse
3. They changed the way people think
4. Their ideas are still used today
5. They were a good or bad role model

We are looking forward to learning more about significant activists in Term 2!

English

In English, we have been studying biographies. A biography is a written history of a person’s life.

First we learned about Mahatma Gandhi and how he inspired people to protest peacefully. We used story maps and actions to support our sequencing and recall of this information. “If you can say it, you can write it!” is our class mantra!

We then innovated on this to write a biography of another famous activist; Rosa Parks. We remembered to write in the past tense, write in chronological order, underline titles and subheadings and include important events in each part of their life, with dates.

We have now begun studying newspaper reports, learning about the Apollo 11 mission that took Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon.

Science

In Science, we have been investigating different animals and their habitats. We learnt that a habitat is where living things such as plants and animals live and include all the things that they need to survive such as shelter, food and water. We then tried to identify different plants and animals by studying their features and using spotter guides. We learned about how plants and animals are adapted to living in their habitats. We very much enjoyed making paper moths to show how camouflage can help them to avoid being eaten.

We also discussed how living things depend on one another for food by making food chains. All food chains start with a producer; a plant.

Music

We have really enjoyed our music lessons. During the first unit ‘Ourselves’ we learned about vocal sounds and body percussion, using these to help us sing ‘If You’re Feeling Blue,’ and the call-and-response song, ‘John Kanaka’.

We have now begun a new ‘water’ topic which will focus on pitch and musical score. We learned that music notes can be shown by letters and symbols which help to show their pitch and duration. With a focus on pitch, we tried singing the ‘Slippery Fish’ song, joining in with the pitch actions shown in the photo.

Art

We have very much enjoyed colour mixing this term, learning how primary colours can be mixed in different quantities to produce a range of hues.

We then applied this knowledge to help us make our fundraising Christmas cards by painting trees in hues of green that we had mixed ourselves.