Topic – Trains 

English 

Reading and Writing:  In English, we will begin the half term by looking at the poem ‘From a Railway Carriage’ by R.L. Stevenson. We will do a lot of grammar and reading comprehension work using this poem and other well-known poems. We will then look at creating our own poems using a range of different devices. The children will then look at the different non-fiction text types that there are and their features. We will focus on Instruction writing and create our own instruction text. Children will practise their cursive handwriting, spelling zappers and statutory spellings throughout the week. We will also do a class guided reading and the children will answer VIPERs style questions.  

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS): In grammar, the children will learn about fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases, adjectives, nouns, verbs and determiners, and how these can be used effectively in their writing. The focus in spelling will be on prefixes and suffixes. The children will practise ‘Spelling Zappers’, which incorporate spelling rules as well as common exception words and KS2 statutory spellings, regularly throughout the week.  

Maths 

Fractions: We will recap what a fraction is and look at the different types of fractions. We will look at fractions of a set of objects and order and compare fractions. We will continue to work on unit and non-unit fractions and some equivalent fractions. 

Money: The children will learn about counting money in pounds and pence and how to convert between the two. They will look at adding and subtracting money and how to give change. 

Mass and Capacity: The children will learn how to work with different units relating to mass and capacity. They will learn how to read scales and add and subtract different values. 

Times Tables: Continue to consolidate multiplication and division facts x3 x4 and x8. 

Science 

Plants: The children will learn how to identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants and will learn to recognise what is needed to make them grow well. We will also investigate the way in which water is transported within plants and explore the parts the flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal. 

History 

Trains: The children will learn about the industrial revolution and how travel in the UK has changed over time. We will learn about George Stephenson and how he came to invent the first locomotive. We will take a look at how the railways have changed society and helped to make Britain the richest country in the world during Victorian times. We will also take a look at how the Embsay steam railway has developed over the years.  

Computing 

Espresso Coding: The children will begin to use Espresso Coding. They will learn how to add paragraphs of text and images to a page using HTML. They will learn how to create a web page using headings, paragraphs and images. 

DT 

Moving Mechanisms: The children will plan, design and make a moving mechanism picture based on their topic of ‘Trains’. They will experiment with a range of techniques to create moving mechanisms and research and design carefully before evaluating their finished product. 

Music 

Carnival of the Animals: The children will focus on the piece of music ‘Carnival of the animals’. They will look at the different types of instruments that are used within the pieces of music and discuss musical features such as dynamics, rhythm and tempo and how it represents the different animals. They will then go on to create their own simple piece of music to represent an animal of their choice. 

P.E. 

Invasion Games: The children will look at the skills need to take part in a variety of invasion games. They will look at passing and receiving the ball, controlling the ball between players, intercepting, using the space that they have and applying these to a range of invasion games. 

Athletics: The children will take part in relay events, look at running technique and how to use a relay baton effectively. We will learn about a range of different athletics events such as long jump, high jump, triple jump, ball push, speed bounce and javelin. 

R.E. 

Holy Week: This half term, the children will look at the different events that took part in Holy Week. We will discuss ‘Why do Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good Friday?’ 

French 

Fruit: In French this half term, the children will learn the names of different types of fruit. They will learn how to express their likes and dislikes and use some simple descriptions. 

PSHE 

Becoming an Active Citizen: This half term, the children will look at how the choices that they make can make an impact on other people in our community. We will also look at different rules that are in place in different situations and why.