Topic (Social Subjects): This term, we are focusing on a history topic ‘Scottish Clans and Castles’. We will be learning about life 800 years ago: the feudal system of clan chiefs and simple farming lifestyles. We’ll learn about the famous Scots, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce and their role in keeping Scotland independent from England at that time! We’ll also understand the link between clans, geography and tartan designs. Mrs Brightman has arranged a class trip to Stirling Castle on March 9^th as part of this topic work.

Burns Night also falls in January so the whole school will be celebrating Scottish heritage on Wednesday 25^th January with poems and songs in Scots and Gaelic.

 

Reading: We are starting this term by reading The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy. The story has been made into several TV shows and a brand new version starts on CBBC on January 11^th. This will allow us to compare the way the book and the programme tell the story.

The Worst Witch is a short book so we will go on to read a history book to link with our topic. The Story of Scotland is a bright and engaging non-fiction text which tells a brief version of Scottish history from early settlements to modern day. By studying its double-page information sheets, we will get a sense of where our topic fits in the wider history of Scotland.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/the-worst-witch

Writing: We’ll be focusing on setting and character in our story writing this term. We are learning to add details to help our reader to get a better picture of the people in our story and where it takes place.

As part of our history topic, we will also be doing some factual report writing. This will ask for different skills such as using technical vocabulary that is linked to the topic.

 

Finally, we will try our hand at persuasive writing this term as we pretend to be a great leader like William Wallace who needs to convince others to join his army! To be persuasive, we’ll be showing our reader (or listener) that we are trustworthy, that what we want them to do is the right thing to do and make them feel like they want to join!

 

Talking and Listening: The children will perform at the Burns Assembly in January. We will be having lots of class discussions about our topic and our theme for speaking and listening this term will be expressing opinions and giving reasons for our ideas. This will be especially important for our history work as historians have to look at evidence and make their conclusions from what they see.

Mathematics: In mathematics this term, we are extending our knowledge of the number system to decimals by looking at the decimal number line. We will revisit place value (hundreds, tens and units) to see how tenths and hundredths fit into this. We will use our knowledge of multiplying and dividing by 10 to convert measures from £ to pence; and from metres to centimetres. Once secure, we will link our decimal work to what we already know about fractions and percentages.

We are also revisiting 2D shape this term to look specifically at angles. The children will start learning how to use a protractor to measure and to draw angles.

 Health and Wellbeing: This term’s topics for Health and Wellbeing are Road Safety, Personal Safety and Diversity. The children rotate around three members of staff to enjoy these three themes which helps them to know other teachers in school.