Term 6 2024-25 

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 ‘fractions’.

First, we mastered identifying the whole and parts of different objects. We then moved on to identifying equal parts of shapes and quantities; halves, quarters and thirds.

Understanding what the numerator and denominator represent is essential because it helps us make sense of what fractions like 1/2, 2/3 and 3/4 actually mean.

For example, in the fraction 3/4, the denominator (4) shows that the whole has been split into four equal parts, and the numerator (3) tells us we are looking at three of those parts. This helps us to understand how one half is equal to two quarters.

Would you rather have ½ or ¼ of a cake? A larger denominator does not mean a larger fraction! 

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.   

French Hares were particularly interested to learn about the history of Whitstable. They compared locations in Whitstable that we visited in April, with how they looked in the past.

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

We learned about the tourist amenities in Whitstable, such as accommodation, catering and entertainment.

We are now writing the answer to our Key Enquiry Question; ‘Would Whitstable be a good location for a summer holiday?’