Maths

In Maths this term we will be reviewing the learning from year four in order to build the children's confidence before we move on.  We will continue to follow the Inspire Maths approach so children will be encouraged to use concrete resources, problem solving and reasoning.  Our first unit will investigate length, mass and volume and converting units of measure (eg 100cm = 1m, 1000g = 1kg etc). Get the children baking at home!  We will also encourage children to talk in 'maths sentences' to develop their oracy skills and will be continuing with daily maths meetings to help review previous learning and embed key maths skills such as telling the time. 

We want to encourage children to use their ipads to improve their mathematical skills. Freckle and TT Rockstars are important in this aim. 

Literacy

We will be continuing with our Literacy and Language Programme. This term we will study the story of Prometheus and Pandora. It has been chosen for its strong mythological themes and characteristics. Children will analyse the importance of different characters to the development of the story and the role of the narrator as storyteller. Differences between oral and written storytelling will also be explored. The Non-fiction section  will develop the children's understanding of the features of instructional writing. They will analyse, evaluate and write instructions. Our class text 'Kiss of Death' will support our gruesome topic about the Black Death.

After half-term we explore the story Bling! (a modern retelling of the King Midas myth) and how  a dilemma can be driving force of a narrative. The children will pick apart the dilemma, explore the writer's craft in creating characters of different status and empathise with the main character's dilemma. The outcome of the unit will be for the children to compose an ending to the story through writing a diary and a newspaper report of the same event.​​ The Non-fiction links to this through exploring the difference in a first person recount.

Creative Curriculum

We will start the school year learning about our town Prescot and how the industry has developed over time.  We will focus on key people who have influenced the town's industry and major companies such as BICC and Lancashire Watch Company.   We will travel back in time to compare the original Prescot Playhouse with the newly completed modern theatre complex, Shakespeare North.

If any of our families can help with this topic then we would love your involvement.

Our Cornerstones topic this term is Peasants, Princes and Pestilence. The Unit looks at 14th Century England and covers events such as the Peasants Revolt, Black Death and the Knights Code of Conduct. The children will also look at the spread of the plague across Europe using map skills in Geography and will reproduce the mediaeval London landscape using printing techniques in art.

Click on the link at the bottom of this page to see our knowledge Organiser.

Science

Properties and changes of materials

This ‘Properties and Changes of Materials’ unit will teach children about different materials, their uses and their properties, as well as dissolving, separating mixtures and irreversible changes. The children will sort and classify objects according to their properties. They will explore the properties of materials to find the most suitable material for different purposes. The children will work scientifically and collaboratively to investigate thermal insulators, making predictions and forming conclusions. Furthermore, they will have chance to find the best electrical conductor. They will have the opportunity to work in a hands-on way to explore dissolving, identifying the different variables in their own investigations. They will find out about different ways to separate mixtures of materials, using filtering, sieving and evaporating. Finally, they will learn about irreversible changes. This unit is a long one with some conceptually difficult ideas so will be split between two half-terms and continued in Spring 1 allowing for revisiting and reinforcing knowledge and understanding.