Pupils
are being made all the time.This will lead on to studying the diverse physical and human geography of China and how it is developing at a vast rate
After half term, the focus will be on transport through the ages The pupils will research different types of transport, investigating trends and how these shape the world we now live in.They will focus on British and local history with the opportunity to carry out an in-depth study of a chosen development in transport history The term will include a collaboration day where we will showcase our learning
In RS, we will learn about the OldTestament and consider its importance to Christians The stories ofAbraham and David will be reviewed, and we shall be discussing how the writings of David influenced the Christian world. We will understand how Christians believed that God revealed himself through prophets, and consider the relevance of theTen Commandments today
Language and Communication
The pupils will study a traditional Chinese story, develop their use of figurative language and write their own story in the same style They will also take a look at a range of poemsclassed as free verse - which don’t follow a set rhyme scheme, rhythm or pattern This will allow the children to really play with language and use imagery as a powerful tool for descriptive writing After half term they will look at information texts linked to our transport theme and retelling a story from different viewpoints.
In Modern Languages, as children gain confidence in communication, they are finding out more about how languages work and spotting links to knowledge they have gained about their own language and its grammar.They will begin to learn about the importance of verbs and their patterns. In French, lessons this term will start with looking at larger numbers and this will then be applied to telling the time Later in the term children will focus on France and its geography, looking at geographical features, towns and travelling around, introducing the verb aller In Spanish pupils will be asking for and giving opinions about sport and using expressions of frequency.This will lead into the use of pronouns and verbs to talk about their activities in the present tense.
Mathematical Understanding
We will continue our unit on multiplication and division by applying our understanding of place value to divide and multiply by 10, 100 and 1000.
Our next topic is perimeter and area whereby the pupils will measure and calculate perimeters and calculate the areas of rectangles, compound and irregular shapes
We will be recapping how to calculate area and perimeter but moving the understanding onto solving more complex problems This will include calculating the area and perimeter of compound shapes, and applying understanding in order to identify information about shapes such as missing edge lengths
After this relatively short unit, we will be focussing on using formal methods to divide and multiply This will include multiplication by 1-digit and then 2-digits numbers, moving onto division with 4-digits by 1-digit with a specific look at remainders As well as covering methods such as short multiplication and division, we will be solving reasoning and worded problems in contexts that require the application of multiplication and division
Our last topic of the term (and our longest of the term) will be fractions - equivalency, comparing and ordering, converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers, adding and subtracting fractions and solving problems related to these; multiplying fractions and finding fractions of an amount
Physical Education and Well-being
In PE at Fitzwilliam this term the children will be working on gymnastics and dance Football, netball and hockey will form the basis of games lessons for the pupils this term Development of key skills, refinement of technique and a focus on integrating tactics into match play will be key features of lessons this term. For hockey, pupils will need shin pads, a moulded mouthguard and hockey sticks. More information about fixtures can be found at wwwstephenpersesport com
Do encourage your child to get involved with any of these sports outside of school by joining local clubs, and discuss the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle
In PSHEE, the pupils will learn about the types and effects of different drugs, considering essential medicines and who can use and administer them They will learn about the basic safety rules for medicines and also consider attitudes and beliefs about other substances used in society, such as alcohol and nicotine, developing their critical thinking skills. Pupils will then go on to look at exploring their own identity, learn about the meaning of community and the importance of valuing difference They will consider the effect of the media and advertising Pupils will also reinforce their understanding of using technology safely and effectively throughout the term
Creative and PerformingArts
In Music, pupils will explore the elements of traditional folk music from across the United Kingdom and further afield. Pupils will learn to listen, analyse, perform and compose, based on a number of chosen setworks, both old and new.The pupils will be exposed to a number of key composers such as Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and notice some
of their most common and distinctive musical traits. Pupils will also have elements of movement woven into their study so as to allow them to feel the lilting folk rhythms in an authentic and musical way.The pupils will round off their folk music topic with performances of their favourite traditional pieces. Each week, the pupils will develop their instrumental technique and ensemble performance skills as members of differentiated flexible performance groups. These groups will change a number of times throughout the term, providing the pupils with a holistic ensemble experience, challenge, and the opportunity to explore a variety of instruments and musical genres. As a member of each ensemble, the pupils will build their confidence and fluency with reading staff notation, and learn how to convey expression and more detailed musical markings Pupils will prepare instrumental and choral repertoire for the much anticipated Spring Concert
The Great Wall as a boundary and way of containment will inspire our ceramic skills in Create Design & Engineer this half term as we discover features from great artworks and translate the elements of art into three dimensions Using clay to explore rolling, joining, cutting and decorating skills and techniques, we will create our own vessel based on the work of a great artist The second part of term will be spent constructing our own motorised vehicle We hope to combine constructing skills with coding to design our own wheels
In Drama, pupils will develop their skills in performance technique in preparation for their year group production With a focus on developing and maintaining a character throughout a performance, pupils will also develop vocal skills Pupils will also put into practice their understanding of stage blocking Through the production, students will have the chance to develop their movement and vocal skills This year, students are staging a Shakespearean play and will have the opportunity to explore Shakespearean conventions such as puns, mistaken identity, poetic dialogue, asides and soliloquy Afull evaluation of the performance will allow pupils to consider how to improve their performance work in the future
Scientific Understanding
This term in Science, pupils will start by learning about materials and their properties, looking at the properties of solids, liquids and gases, how these affect their practical uses and how they change from one state into another. We will look in some detail at the Earth’s atmosphere and its role in protecting life on this planet.
We will then boldly go beyond the atmosphere, with a topic on Earth and Space, in which pupils will gain a wider perspective on the place of the Earth in the wider Universe, starting with the rotation of the Earth on its axis and its orbit around the Sun, the phases of the Moon and why we have seasons, and moving out to look at the wider Solar System.
How you can help: Visit local museums, such as the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Saffron Walden Museum and Cambridge Science Centre These institutions have extended their online resources since lockdown, as has BBC Bitesize Science Look out also for science programmes onTV orYouTube
With the Google apps at the heart of digital curation our pupils use Google Classroom to complete work digitally and hand in work that is produced in a variety of ways We have identified 7 main apps, our EverGreen apps, that help to showcase our pupils’learning An animation, movie or annotated piece of work provides richer feedback for the teacher and ultimately helps to make greater progress
Explain Everything wwwexplaineverything com Green Screen www.doink.com Stop Motion www.cateater.com Strip Design www.vividapps.com/Strip Designer/ Notability www.gingerlabs.com Book Creator www.bookcreator.com Puppet Pals www.polishedplay.com
The Outer Wheel
We have a number of apps that we use consistently throughout our curriculum that lend themselves to our creative approach. We avoid apps that are specific to a particular outcome, preferring content free apps that can help to enhance our pupils work and understanding. Some examples are: Minecraft, iMovie, KeyNote, Pages and Padlet.
Coding
Another aspect of our digital curriculum is the coding/programming skills that are embedded in all subjects or taught discretely inYears 5 and 6. We have identified a progression of apps that help to develop our pupils ability to code.The apps provide variety and challenge and help to develop the computation skills that are crucial learning in our digital work.
We combine the coding experiences with physical output Using Spheros, BBC Micro:Bits and Ozobots provides visual outcomes that bring our code to life As our pupils develop further they transition on to written code
ThinkingToolkit
Alongside and underpinning our curriculum we ensure that our pupils are developing as active learners and active thinkers.Throughout each subject area pupils are encouraged to use their range of thinking tools and reflect on when and how they are using them. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on how their thinking tools underpin all aspects of their learning and not just in the more obvious ways How are they creative in maths? How do they enquire in English? How are they critical in Music? How do they think computationally in PE?
Inclusion
This curriculum map outlines the core curriculum for each year group each term but at the heart of our wheel is the individual learner. Each subject area has a progression of skills which enables staff to stretch or support individuals as and when they need a little help, a bit of a push or a just a different way in Within our classrooms through planning, teacher knowledge and interactions work is differentiated to suit the needs of each individual