Class book: Letters from the Lighthouse
We are continuing with our class book from last half term which is Letters from the Lighthouse, Emma Carroll.
‘Olive and her brother have been evacuated to Devon, but her older sister Sukie is still missing from the night of the bombs. A mysterious note found in the coat of her sister suggests that Sukie was involved in something dangerous, but Olive can’t make the pieces fit together.’
English
Our Rose Blanche narratives are unfortunately coming to an end. The children have thoroughly enjoyed delving into the life of Rose and writing about her experiences during WW2. The children have showed empathy and compassion in their writing and it has been wonderful to hear so many of them enthusiastic about their pieces of work, wanting to share them with adults, and children, around school. It’s also been really enjoyable to mark such brilliant work!
Following our recent workshop with guest speaker, Judith Rhodes, our next writing focus will be biographies. Judith, with the ‘Little Suitcase’, came to talk to UKS2 about her family’s experience during the Holocaust as a Jewish family. The children listened attentively during this session, showing great respect and asked some brilliant questions throughout.
Spanish
In Spanish this half term, both year groups will be focusing on ‘The Wider World’ (el mundo a mi alrededor). The children will learn new key words and phrases relating to places in our world e.g. continents, animals, countries and the United Kingdom. They will conversate in Spanish asking each other questions such as, “Where do you live?”, and “Where is Spanish spoken?”. Not only will this enhance their Spanish skills, but their Geography knowledge too.
Maths
Year 5
During their Maths learning this half-term, Year 5 will continue to develop their understanding of fractions in a variety of contexts. After, they will move on to decimals and begin to explore the relationship between fractions and decimals using key mathematical vocabulary to reason this connection. Year 5 will also continue to strengthen their fundamental maths skills through the wide range of fluency activities provided on an afternoon
Year 6
In Maths this half-term, Year 6 will be working on applying our understanding of fractions and percentages to support us when comparing quantities using ratio. We will also look at geometry and strengthen our understanding of the different types of angles, drawing triangles and naming parts of a circle. This will be followed by position and movement where we will apply our understanding of co-ordinates and negative numbers to help us describe reflections and translations of shapes. Alongside this, we will continue to work on our fundamental mathematical skills during our afternoon fluency activities.
PSHE
PSHE at Oulton is taught through discussion. Pupils are asked to follow classroom rules that encourage respect and the ability to discuss concerns with a trusted adult when needed.
Through PSHE, UKS2 will be focusing on two different topics. We will begin the half-term by learning about Identity, Society and Equality. Part of this will be looking at the experience of refugees, human rights and about homelessness in today’s society. We will also be looking at Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco Education. They will be focusing on the risks associated with different drugs and how to manage risk in situations involving drug use.
PE
Our PE this half term will be slightly different depending on which year group/class your child is in. Please see below to see which areas of PE your child will be focusing on this half term.
Blue Tangs: Swimming and Dance
Orcas: Swimming and Tennis
Starfish: Tennis (Miss James) and Dodgeball (Elite)
Octopus: Tennis (Mr James) and Dodgeball (Elite)
Children in Octopus, Blue Tangs and Starfish will also continue to be taught by Elite Kids Coaches for one of their PE lessons.
DT
We will be continuing with DT this half term but starting a new project making controlled vehicles. The children will first learn about the history of transport and then move onto understanding why we are moving towards more electric vehicles. They will then budget for their project and work together to create a small battery-powered vehicle. We are lucky enough to be working with the Primary Engineer Programme for this project which means that we will be partnered with an engineer from the local area to come and support us throughout. The children will also get the opportunity to be chosen to take their vehicle to a competition at the end of May to showcase their work alongside other schools from Leeds.
Science
In Year 5, we will be learning about Living things and their Habitats. Throughout which, the children will expand on their knowledge of Plants from Year 3/4, look into the work of Jane Goodall and compare the life cycles of different living things. They will also have the responsibility of looking after our strawberry beds up until the end of the year.
Year 6 will be learning about Electricity and will also be building on knowledge from Year 3/4. Constructing simple circuits to investigate light and sound alongside understanding the symbols used to represent different elements of a simple circuit. This will link in well with our DT project which will contain a circuit of its own.
Music
Our music theme for this half-term is Roots. Pupils in both Year 5 and 6 will work on performing a traditional African story through drama as well as singing traditional African songs. Children will be given the opportunity to use a range of instruments to support the tracks as well as provide background music for some scenes of the story.
History
In History, Years 5 and 6 will be learning about Ancient Greece. They will find out what life was like for Spartans and Athenians and make links to our lives in the present day. They will also explore the role of archaeologists in finding out about ancient history and even take part in their own mini archaeological dig!
