St John's C of E Primary - Nurturing Excellence

Falcon Class

Welcome to Our Falcon Class Page!

English

We will be reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. We will be developing our narrative writing and persuasive writing to help form an argument. We will build on the terrifically, confident start demonstrating key grammar to include: commas for a list, to separate different clauses, after a fronted adverbial, complex and compound sentences, fronted adverbial/ adverbial phrases and carefully applied adjectives to expanded noun phrases. We will be looking at accurate use of questions including rhetorical questions and also effective use of metaphors and similes to broaden are descriptive language. The chosen text is wonderfully atmospheric with rich figurative language for the children to immerse themselves in and use as a model for their writing.

Maths

This half term in Maths we will be looking at addition and subtraction in the Year 5 curriculum. We will be using mental and formal methods (more than 4 digits) and solving multi-step addition and subtraction problems including decimal numbers. On Fridays, we will continue our recalling lessons with a focus on negative numbers, decimals, multiplication and division. These lessons are designed to offer children greater opportunities to practise different concepts throughout the academic year and not just within the module on learning.

Science

This half term’s science topic is the Materials. This unit builds on prior knowledge from Key Stage One, where children began to learn about materials and their properties. Children began to think about how the properties of materials link to their uses, understanding of the properties of materials, how some materials can dissolve into a liquid and how this process can be reversed to recover a substance from a solution. Children will revisit the concept of conductivity. They will look at the most suitable material for thermal conductivity and will analyse different materials and their properties. This knowledge and understanding will form a foundation of understanding of chemistry that they will build on in KS3.

History

We are moving on the learning about The British Empire. We will focus upon how the British Empire Grew in the 16th to the 20th century. We will explore the Colonies all over the world: North America, Australia, New Zealand, parts of Asia & Africa. How monarchs, explorers, and trade helped it grow. Henry VII (1485–1509): first Tudor king; supported early voyages to America. Elizabeth I (1558–1603): encouraged explorers like Sir Francis Drake; tried first colonies (Roanoke). James I (1603–1625): Jamestown in 1607 → first permanent English colony in North America. George II (1727–1760): Seven Years War → Britain gained Canada; lots of trade.

Geography

In Geography we will be learning about Mountains. Year 5 will focus on explaining how mountains form through tectonic movement and erosion, locating major mountain ranges on a world map, comparing similarities and differences between global mountain regions, using precise geographical vocabulary in extended writing. We will explore Mountains of the World, The Alps, The Himalayas, American Mountains and African Mountains. We will also be completing fieldwork on Huntingdon landscape.

Art

Children come to this unit with historical knowledge of the ‘Golden Age of Islam’ studied in history in Autumn A. They are first introduced to art from the Islamic world by first studying the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. In it they identify examples of Islamic style, including calligraphy, geometric and vegetal patterns made from tilework and mosaics. The go on to consider these features in The Alhambra and the Taj Mahal, in particular noting the ornate plasterwork in the Nasrid Palaces at The Alhambra. Study of symmetrical designs, vegetal patterns and mosaics refers back to the influence of Byzantine art studied in year 4. The children create two works of art in Islamic style. At first, they use rulers and compasses to create repeating geometric designs which they decorate with brightly coloured inks. They then take their design and transfer it onto a clay tile, developing their skills in three-dimensional modelling.

Music

For this term in music, we will be continuing our learning on Music from West Africa. Listening to a piece called Jin-Go-La-Ba by the Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji. Olatunji recorded Jin-Go- La-Ba in 1960 on an album called ‘Drums of Passion’. It was one of the first recordings to popularise African music in the U.S.A. It uses repetitive rhythms played on percussion instruments and chanting. The musicians chant the words ‘Jin-Go-La-Ba’ which, in the language of the people of Yoruba from Nigeria, mean ‘Do not worry’. We will be clapping and chanting three of the rhythms from the piece before creating a composition using djembe drums.

This half term in Religious Education the children will be looking at Reincarnation. Children will explain the place of Incarnation and Messiah within the ‘big story’ of the Bible. They will Identify Gospel and prophecy texts, using technical terms and explain connections between biblical texts, Incarnation and Messiah, using theological terms. We will be thinking about how Christians put their beliefs about Jesus’ Incarnation into practice in different ways in celebrating Christmas. The children will weigh up how far the idea that Jesus is the Messiah — a Saviour from God — is important in the world today and, if it is true, what difference that might make in people’s lives.

PSHE

In PSHE this term the children will work on our citizenship topic of “Working Together.” This unit helps children to begin to develop lifelong skills in communication and working with others. It also helps them to identify and value their own strengths, gifts and talents and to understand how these, along with others’ skills and strengths can contribute to the success of a group task. Children will begin to think about how the skills they are developing now might be used in later life, for example in the workplace. They will consider their hopes for the future and think about what steps they can take now to begin to build towards these. They will learn to reflect on the process of learning a new skill and think about what might help or hinder them when facing challenges. Through discussion and practice, children will develop their communication skills, such as listening, debating, explaining their views and acknowledging the views of others. Various influences on children’s decision making will be considered, including the Media.

This half term, we will be doing Dance. This Eco Dance unit covers a range of environmental issues, such as forms of energy, renewable and non-renewable sources of electricity, recycling, changing weather patterns and also oceans and plastic pollution. These environmental issues provide the stimuli for students’ learning in dance. Students will learn about transitioning between actions in a dance and how to create a recurring motif. They will develop their use of their spatial awareness and their understanding of timing in dance, as well as the way they create lines and shapes with their bodies. This is an engaging unit that links science and themes of sustainability.