Swarcliffe Primary School

Our Staff

Spring 1 Why do people travel?

Welcome back to Spring 1 in KS2. We hope you all had a lovely break and are looking forward to your learning this half term.

This half term we are going to be looking at the topic of why do people travel. For our learning this half term, our important person will be James Cook: a famous British explorer and naval officer who became famous for his three voyages in the Pacific and to New Zealand and Australia (he was the first European to reach the Eastern coast of Australia).

English 

In English and guided reading during Spring 1 we will be reading the story of Kensuke’s Kingdom. This book tells the story of a young boy who sets of an around the world trip with his parents aboard their trusty ship- the Peggy Sue. However, disaster soon strikes and the young boy (Michael) finds himself marooned on an uncharted desert island. Whilst trapped here, Michael discovers he is not alone and soon comes into contact with Kensuke (an elderly Japanese man who has been trapped on the island for many years). The story tells of their growing friendship and Michael’s attempts to get home.

For our writing we will start by writing a letter as Michael which he will send out in a glass bottle in an attempt to convince someone to come to his rescue. During this writing, we will focus on our FANTASTICs and are sentence types and attempt to produce a letter which is informative as well as persuasive.

Once we have completed this writing our writing will turn to our science topic this half term: micro-organisms. We will first write a recount on the work of Edward Jenner, identifying how he developed the first vaccination. We will then create our own non-chronological report about the different types of micro-organisms.

Maths

At the start of the term, we will look back at long division and ensure that we are experts with this method before moving on. Once we have done this, we will once again look at fractions. However, this time we will concentrate on multiplying and dividing fractions and finding fractions of amounts. Finally, this half term, we will look at shape and measure. We will use new and old skills to find the perimeter and area of different shapes before looking at volume for the first time.

Geography

In geography we will improve our locational knowledge and also our understanding of human and physical features. We will first identify where Europe is on a map and then locate some countries within Europe. After this we will start to look at the Mediterranean; we will focus on the climate, physical and human features and also why people visit this location. Finally, we will look in detail at Greece as a country and discuss how it differs from the UK.

Science

As mentioned earlier our learning in science this half term will focus on micro-organisms. Our first step will be to identify the different types of micro-organisms and discuss how they differ. Next, we will complete our investigation in to the growth of mould. We will attempt to discover in which conditions it grows at the quickest rate. During Science, we will also look at the work of Edward Jenner and the creation of the first vaccination.

Computing

Our learning will focus around using PowerPoint. We will be creating our own presentation based on our learning in geography. To ensure the information we present is correct we will also work on how we can identify reliable sources of information.

PSHE

In PSHE we will be looking at human rights. We will identify the different rights children have and discuss the importance of these. We will also look at how human rights impact our daily lives.

This half term will also be friendship week and our topic for this is cyberbullying.  

Autumn Two: How does conflict impact lives?

Class Novel: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

During World War II, 8-year-old Bruno and his family leave Berlin to take up residence near the concentration camp where his father (David Thewlis) has just become commandant. Unhappy and lonely, he wanders out behind his house one day and finds Shmuel, a Jewish boy of his age. Though the barbed-wire fence of the camp separates them, the boys begin a forbidden friendship, oblivious to the real nature of their surroundings.

English

In English this half term, we will begin writing a diary entry from the perspective of Bruno in our book: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. The children will have to think about the emotions involved in Bruno's move from his childhood home in Berlin to a new house for his Dad's job.

With our topic focusing on World War 2, there will be lots of cross-curricular links to History throughout the half-term. Our next writing focus will be writing a historical recount surrounding the events of the D-Day landing.

Finally, the children will write a narrative based around the Sainsburys Christmas Day War advert. They will use our fantastic lenses to create exciting sentences that grip and entertain the reader as well as promote a range of different emotions.

Maths

 The main focus of Maths this half-term will be fractions! Children will begin looking at equivalent fractions as well as how to simplify and convert developing our understanding of numerators and denominators. There will be a big focus on using their times tables and knowledge of factors and multiples to do this confidently. We will then move on to adding and subtracting fractions, again, relying heavily on our times tables and multiples. This will progress in to converting improper fractions into mixed numbers and back again. Next up, we will multiply and divide fractions thinking carefully about when we need to keep our fractions as they are (multiplying) and when we need to flip them (dividing).

History

 History will be a huge focus of this half-term. We will open our learning by exploring when and where World War 2 took place as well as who the important figures were. We will then start looking at the key events from World War 2 including the Battle of Dunkirk, the Blitz, D-Day and VE Day. Our learning will then move on to other aspects of the war including evacuations, rationing and the impact of women in the war. As we are incredibly lucky to be within walking distance of a local historical site (from WW1), we will visit the memorial to the Barnbow lasses and research their role in the war.

Science

Our Science focus over the next 6 weeks will be light. We will use a range of experiments to look at how we see and the ways in which light travels to our eyes. We will then look at reflections and refraction and how light changes through a mirror and a prism. We will also explore shadows and silhouettes before making shadow theatres.

Art

Art will be exploring the use of charcoal as well as different shading techniques. The children will then apply this learning to create London Blitz imagery using silhouettes of the London skyline in Charcoal and creating cloud smoke and ash in the skies.

RE

RE will focus on forgiveness and the theme that runs through all religions. We will compare different religious stories and find the advice each one gives towards forgiving, not holding grudges and caring for others.

PE

PE this half term will be dodgeball. We will develop our throwing and catching as well as work on our tactical understanding.

Autumn One: How do our bodies work?