Class 3 Newsletter Autumn Term

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to a new school year, I hope you had a lovely summer break with your children. We are all excited to begin a brand-new year together in our year 5 and 6 class and are ready for some hard work. Below is a break-down of everything that we will be covering and what you need to know for the coming term.

In maths we will begin by recapping place value. We will be exploring Roman numerals, writing numbers from decimals up to a billion, understanding the value of each digit, and rounding numbers to help with estimation. Next, the children will learn about factors, multiples, and prime numbers before exploring calculations. We will focus on addition, subtraction and multiplication this term, including formal written methods. Finally, before Christmas, we will begin exploring fractions including finding a fraction of an amount, equivalent fractions, converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages, mixed numbers and improper fractions. We will also have a daily 10-minute session where the children will work in their Schofield and Sims booklets to practise their mental maths skills.

In English, we will have a daily 30-minute Comprehension Bug session where the children will read a range of age-appropriate texts, answering a range of comprehension questions. We will be using Spelling Shed alongside spelling games to practise the year 5/6 spelling list. We will have a written test each Friday. In writing, we will plan, draft and edit different text types, focusing closely on the purpose and audience of our writing. We will be basing most of our writing on our topic, changes in Britain from the stone age to the iron age. We will also use Literacy Shed video clips and a range of texts to inspire our writing. The children will write for a range of different purposes – to entertain, to inform, to persuade and to discuss. 

In science, we are looking at animals including humans. Our focus for this half term is the human body. We will begin by learning about the circulatory system, describing the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood. We will also be looking closely at what makes a human body healthy including eating a balanced diet, water, nutrients, and exercise. Towards the end of the topic, we will discuss how tobacco, alcohol and drugs affect the human body. Next half term we will be exploring Earth and Space learning all about the Earth, Sun and Moon and the movement of the Earth and other planets. The children will be using all five types of investigation – pattern seeking, classification and grouping, observing over time, fair testing, and scientific research.

In History we are learning about changes in Britain from the stone age to the iron age. We will learn all about how man survived the stone age, the importance of hunting and the tools and weapons they invented. Then we will learn about Skara Brae, Stonehenge, hillforts, and the druids. Our class text will be closely linked to our topic beginning with The Wild Way Home by Sophie Cleverly.

Geography will be taught discretely. This term we will be focusing on Locational knowledge including naming and locating counties and cities of the United Kingdom as well as identifying human and physical characteristics and key topographical features (hills, mountains, coasts and rivers).  We will complete a detailed study into rivers.

All art and DT work will be based around our history topic, where the children will investigate and recreate some cave drawings and create their own stone age tools and weapons. In computing, we will be learning about E-Safety ensuring that all the children understand how to remain safe online. We will also continue to use the IT programme ‘Purple Mash’.

In music, all children will learn to play the guitar or ukulele and they will use their voices with increasing control. In RE, the children will consider why some people believe that God exists and they will learn about places of worship. In PSHE & C, the focus will be families, friendships and safe relationships. In French, the children will revisit and review basic French vocabulary and phrases linked to everyday scenarios.

The children will receive a day of training from Dave from Skip2bfit, which means Class 3 will be able to lead daily Wake Up Shake Up and HIIT activities. These activities will alternate with running the Appleton Mile. Mr Swankie will be leading a lunch time sporting club each Tuesday and all children are welcome to join. He will also be teaching Class 3 on a Tuesday afternoon, firstly focusing on invasion games and later in the term focusing on dance.

We are continuing with our reading reward scheme in Class 3, where the children are rewarded each time they read and write a reflective comment in their reading journal. When the children have read 80 times in total, they will receive a book mark and 100 times in total they will receive a new book. Thank you for writing any notes for me in the blue planners rather than reading journals.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We are looking forward to our new year together!

Miss Rowling and Mrs Taylor.