This half term in Oak class, we will be continuing our Literacy work based on our class reading book "The Boy in the Tower" by Polly Ho-Yen. For the first 3 weeks, the children will be focusing on the format and content of discussion essays, which we will also link into our Geography and History topics. Following this we will be focusing on narratives and how to build tension through description and dialogue.
In Maths, we will be moving on to percentages, linking them in to decimals and fractions before calculating percentages of amounts. After this, we will be moving on to statistics; interpreting line graphs, tables and finally pie charts.
In History Oak class will be learning about the Victorians. During this unit, the children will learn about the significant life of Queen Victoria: both her personal life and some of her decisions as a monarch, including her involvement with the British Empire. In addition to the political context of this time, this unit also delves deeper into the social aspects of Victorian Britain, looking in particular at the lives of the poor. Children will have access to primary sources to explore what it was like to live in a Victorian slum or Workhouse and discuss how attitudes to the poor were reflected in new legislation.
In Geography we will be learning about Australia. Within this unit, the children will use maps of Australia to identify key settlements, such as the capital city of Canberra, and identify biomes and rivers. They will study physical aspects of Australia’s geography such as the desert, the tropical rainforests, the mountains and the rivers. They will learn about the importance of Uluru and how it is respected by the Aboriginal people of Australia as a sacred site. They will learn about the climate and how unreliable rainfall causes problems for people who depend on water for irrigation and farming. Using population maps, children will locate areas of dense population and major settlements within Australia. They will consider the physical geography of the country and reflect upon the position of major settlements and how the two factors are related.
Science this term will cover materials, including their properties, which materials are best in a given context; solubility; how to separate mixtures and which changes are reversible. In Science, the children will be extending their knowledge of forces. The children will learn that forces can make things increase their speed, reduce their speed, change direction or change shape. They will study gravity, friction air resistance and water resistance, looking at ways in which all of these forces act upon objects such as parachutes, boats and footballs.
In RE we will be looking at the question "How does the Triple Refuge help Buddhists in their Journey through Life". Many people recognise the need to take refuge in their everyday life as a way of refuelling for their life-journey. Within the idea of refuge is both the notion of a ‘haven’ or place of safety and rest, and a place where life is nourished and strengthened for the journey towards the ultimate destination.
