Welcome to 2023! This term is often where we really start to consolidate and build on the work we have done in the previous months, but we continue to learn new things too! We’ll be touching on all sorts of areas – highlights of which may include using the apparatus during gymnastics in PE and (fingers crossed) a trip to Stirling Castle some time after Easter.
Numeracy
BODMAS – The class were introduced to BODMAS last term which outlines the order in which calculations should be completed. This is a rule which will be applied all the way through High School so it is particularly important to learn.
Fractions Decimals and Percentage – We started learning how these three things are connected (they are basically the same thing expressed in different ways). It’s very early days with this tricky subject and we’ll be sure to revisit it before the end of the year.
Number Patterns – Over the first couple of weeks of the new term we’ll be looking at number patterns, from the very basic to quite complicated. We’ll also be examining how this is used in the wider world and where it appears in nature, such as in the examples below – do you recognise the picture on the right?
Chance – This is an area which is a lot of fun to learn but has some serious maths behind it. For those of you old enough to remember it there may be a little bit of Bruce’s Play Your Cards Right as part of this!
Literacy
Reading
Our class novel at the moment is Charlotte’s Web. Yes, it’s an old book but it’s a classic for a reason and the ideals and issues it deals with still resonate today. Much like DOAWK the book has been almost universally enjoyed by the class.
“I really enjoy reading this book because it has lots of animals in it – especially the pig as I have a pig at home!” : Lewis.
Writing
At the end of last term we finished off narrative writing with some fun Christmas stories and now we have moved onto procedural writing. This relates to any form of instruction like a how-to or recipe. We’ve already made chocolate pudding in the classroom and hope to follow this up with curry sauce before the term is out .
After this we will move onto persuasive writing so be prepared for your child to be even better at coming up for reasons why bedtime should be put back by an hour.
IDL
Our main topic for this term is the Scottish Wars of Independence. This is a huge topic and will not only take in the Wars themselves but also the national geography of Scotland, its battlefields and how the nation of Scotland was forever changed by the events of this tumultuous time.
Kali is really looking forward to starting this topic because she likes history.
PE
Our main focus for PE this term will be gymnastics. We’ll start with the basics of strength, balance and flexibility and then build on this as we progress onto the use of the apparatus. This area of PE gives pupils the chance to try some entirely new skills and is great for building confidence.
Please note that your child will require suitable indoor shoes to take part in any apparatus work. The pupils were informed of this requirement on Monday.
Elise is looking forward to this as she already belongs to a gymnastics club.
Music
The lessons with the visiting specialist music teacher are drawing to a close this term – the pupils have enjoyed them. However, they will also be taking a 3 week lesson course as part of their normal learning where we will try to make a class rap culminating in a short video. For inspiration have a look at the 4 o’clock club videos on CBBC:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/the-4-o-clock-club
STEM
Last term and this term we are looking at ‘Forces’ and so far have been looking at friction in particular.
Kali enjoyed making friction posters because, “It was fun for colouring in and it’s relaxing at the same time. You also learn when friction is needed and not needed.”
Lewis enjoyed our jelly experiment where we added oil to the jelly and made it hard to pick up. “I think it was fun because we learnt that the slippier it is, the harder it is to pick up.”
