Spring 1
We have been incredibly busy across the curriculum this half term! Our overarching question for History has been : ‘Why do we remember people?’ and we have studied this through the Victorian era and focussed on Lord Shaftesbury and Dr Barnardo. It has been fascinating to learn about the lives of pauper children during this period and the reforms both of these men made and their lasting legacies. Some of the lessons focussed on building chronological understanding by placing events on a timeline using dates and some children were able to label and design their own timelines.
We also learned all about the experiences of children in the mines, workhouses and textile mills by recreating scenes using freeze frames. Using a range of historical sources, including: video documentaries, pictures, books and the internet, the children were able to create powerful freeze frames to really engage with what it would have been like for a child similar to them during this era.
We have also used this learning in English. In shared reading, we have studied and explored ‘Street Child’ by Berlie Doherty and the children just LOVED it – especially when they discovered the main character was a real boy called Jim Jarvis who inspired Dr Barnardo to open his first home for children! All of this helped weave threads of knowledge and key learning points in and across the curriculum.
In Science our focus has been ‘Forces and Magnets’ and the children have become quite the experts with utilising magnets for different purposes and investigations. We explored the earth being one giant magnet and the science behind this. The children used their new knowledge to work with a compass to navigate a way around a treasure map to crack a code. We also explored friction and how a surface’s texture affects the amount of friction is made. We rolled a car down a ramp serval times, changing the material on the ramp (bubble wrap, honeycomb paper, a towel etc.) and timed how long it took the car to reach the bottom. We found out that the rougher the surface, the more friction is built up and the slower the object moves! The children were also able to explore how and why humans have used different types of magnets to our advantage, such as on maglev trains, MRI scanners or in compasses.
Other things that have been happening this half term are:
We have been learning how to use email and how to do this safely in Computing.
We have taken part in a Relax Kids afternoon, focussing on relaxation and calming strategies, such as massage and breathing exercises!
We have learned all about William Morris, the Victorian textile and wallpaper designer.
We have explored ‘what kind of world Jesus wanted’ in RE – using parables and gospels to help us.
We are very excited for the next half term and all the new learning that is ahead of us!
Spring 2
We have had such a great and busy half term! Our overarching question for Geography has been: ‘Where on Earth?!’ and we have studied this through tropical rainforests and focused on The Amazon Rainforest in South America. The children have worked hard to learn all about the world’s structure (labelling lines of latitude, longitude, tropics, hemispheres and so on!), they could then seen the tropical areas where these forests are found and why, because w then explored the world’s main climates and what they are like. Some of our lessons also focused on the layers of the rainforest, the animals that live in the Amazon and the people too! It was interesting to compare life in Draycott to life in the Amazon.
We have also used this learning in English. In shared reading, we have studied and explored ‘The Explorer’ by Katherine Rundell and the children have been really enjoying it. We have not quite finished it yet, so we will finish reading his together after Easter, but it has been great picking up on vocabulary and learning from our Geography lessons in the book!
In Science our focus has been ‘Skeletons and Muscles (animals including humans)’ and the children have become quite knowledgeable on the different types of skeletons and the jobs of the different bones. We already knew about vertebrates and invertebrates from another unit of work, but this time we looked at what types of skeletons they each have. Vertebrates have endoskeletons (inside the body), and invertebrates have either exoskeletons (outside the body) or hydrostatic skeletons (fluid-filled sacks)… the children loved saying hydrostatic skeletons and feeling very clever! We have also spent type labelling the main bones in the human body, learning about voluntary and involuntary muscles and much more!
Other things that have been happening this half term are:
We have been learning how to be a good friend and what different families are like in PSHE/RSE.
We have learned all about the words for animals, baked goods and meats in French. Some of us have even started to read and write simple French sentences!
We have explored ‘Why do Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good Friday’?’ in RE – using parables and gospels to help us.
We have been very ready for a rest over Easter but are very much looking forward to the excitement of the summer term!
