Canaries Newsletter

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Welcome to Spring Term 2. We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable break. Mrs Gosling and I are pleased to welcome the children back for the final part of the Spring term. Over the next five weeks, pupils will be engaged in the following areas of learning:

 

Literacy - Pupils will focus on producing a non-chronological report about Emperor Penguins. Lessons will emphasise the development of high-quality writing, with a clear focus on sentence structure and composition within a non-fiction genre. Each sentence-stacking lesson is structured into three distinct learning components, following The Write Stuff approach: Fantastics, Boombastics and the Grammaristic Rainbow. Pupils will construct their non-chronological reports using jigsaw pieces, which support a clear understanding of all elements of the success criteria.

During the Autumn term, pupils followed the journey of scientists travelling on the Twin Otter aircraft, which form part of the Antarctic Survey and the Royal Geographical Society. These scientists undertake vital research to support the preservation of habitats for animals living in Antarctica’s extreme climates, alongside a range of other important scientific work. The Canaries class submitted their class names to be displayed on the aircraft and engaged in detailed learning about Antarctica. This provided a valuable foundation of prior knowledge to support pupils’ final written outcomes.

Reading – Pupils in Canaries will continue to read with an adult on a one-to-one basis throughout the week. Selected pupils will also continue to participate in the Literacy Gold programme during the following term. We kindly encourage parents and carers to support their child in reading at home at least three times per week. Regular reading helps to strengthen vocabulary, comprehension and confidence, supporting pupils in becoming more successful and motivated learners. In addition, pupils will continue to develop their reading comprehension skills through the study of selected texts and by responding to a range of comprehension questions.

 

Spelling – Spellings will be sent out each week on a Monday. This term the children will be tasked with learning 10 spellings per week, and our spelling test will take place on a Friday. Some children will continue in Mrs Gosling’s group learning the high frequency words. A spelling practice sheet will be sent home as normal.

Week 1 focuses on words with the /or/ sound spelt or

Week 2 focuses on words with the /or/ sound spelt au

Week 3 focuses on converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using the suffix -ate

Week 4 focuses on converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using the suffix -ise

Week 5 focuses on converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using the suffix -ify

 

Maths – This half term, our year 5 children will be focusing on multiplication and division following the White Rose Maths scheme, in line with the National curriculum. We will learn to multiply a 4 digit number by a 2 digit number using column and area methods and divide with remainders using the bus stop method.

Science – Canaries will be learning about Forces during this half term. The sequence of lessons is outlined below:

1. Forces, including gravity
2. Air resistance, water resistance and friction
3.  Investigation of air resistance
4. Pulleys, gears and levers
5. Assessment

Pupils will learn to explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth due to the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object. They will also identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction acting between moving surfaces, and recognise that certain mechanisms, including levers, pulleys and gears, enable a smaller force to have a greater effect.

 

Geography – Canaries will be learning about mountains during this half term. The sequence of lessons is outlined below:

1. Mountains
2. The Alps
3. The High Peaks of the Himalayas
4. American Mountains
5. African Mountains
6. Assessment

Pupils will focus on physical geography, including climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, as well as the water cycle. As part of this unit, pupils will produce a non-chronological report about mountains, which will link directly to the learning outcomes in Literacy.

Music  – This is a six-week unit of work in which all learning is centred around one song, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Pupils will listen to and appraise The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, while also exploring how music has developed over time. The unit adopts an integrated approach to music education, incorporating games, the dimensions of music (such as pulse, rhythm and pitch), singing and the use of instruments.

In addition to learning to sing and play the glockenspiel, pupils will have opportunities to improvise and compose music using this song as a stimulus. Pupils will also listen to and appraise other songs from the same musical genre.

R.E -  Canaries will explore each religion’s perspective on peace and will be guided through a range of ways in which peace is achieved and promoted. Pupils will compare and contrast the concept of peace across different religions, examine significant figures associated with peace, and explore well-known symbols of peace before creating their own.

The lesson sequence is as follows:

1. Introduction to peace
2. Peace across religions
3. Comparisons across religions
4. Inner peace
5. Community cohesion
6. Peace symbols

 

R.S.E - Year 5 R.S.E lessons will focus on understanding the correct terminology related to gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as recognising that homophobic and transphobic bullying is unacceptable, in line with the National Curriculum.

 

P.E – Well done to all of Canaries for their hard work and dedication in their swimming lessons, it was great to hear how well they are doing in the water. Going forward into this half term, Mr Callaby will be teaching and further information will be sent out accordingly.

 

Thank-you for your continued support. 

Mrs Bussey and Mrs Gosling.