Our TOPIC . . . Groundbreaking Greeks

       Our topic this half term continues the same, focusing on the Ancient Greeks, and the lasting legacies they have left - even 3000 years later. We will build on the knowledge gained in Summer 1 but end with the ever-exciting learning about the Myths and Legends from those times. This topic captivates most of the children and we hope this final half-term is no different. Our DT lessons become fun as well - where we will study the magnificent structures of the Ancient Greeks (many of which are still standing today, 3000 years later!) before trying to build our own - and hope they last to the Summer holidays :-)

 

Reading 

During the school week, there will be multiple opportunities for your child to explore a range of

different texts either through a class book, independent reading, story time or reading 1:1.

At St Thomas, during reading lessons, we follow a 7-stage format where children are asked to use

prior knowledge, read with fluency, break down tricky words and phrases, consider their initial

thoughts and observations, delve deeper, answer comprehension questions and summarise paragraphs/

chapters/whole books. We will continue this format, using the new book - Who Let the Gods Out.

This is a modern day spin of some Ancient Greek Gods, who are actually typical children and come down to modern day

Earth with some challenges to conquer. It is a truly entertaining book that we know the children will really enjoy. 

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Writing 

Children are given a variety of opportunities to write in many different genres (i.e. narrative, recount, report, instructions,

etc.) across the curriculum. They are encouraged to develop their work by writing consistently in full sentences, using more

sophisticated grammar and descriptive language in order to engage the reader. The importance of accurate punctuation in

all forms of writing is not only encouraged but expected. Despite the variety of genres we cover; a huge focus remains on

spellings and handwriting, so please encourage these areas when they do any home learning.

 

Maths – At St Thomas we follow the White Rose Maths Curriculum. We follow the small steps approach, which emphasises the importance of acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. Through the use of concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract notation, children develop their mathematical fluency and are able to apply knowledge and understanding developed to respond to tricker, reasoning/problem solving questions.  We fundamentally believe that, all pupils are entitled to and are capable of succeeding within maths. We endeavour to not only develop the mathematic skills and understanding required for later life, but also an enthusiasm and fascination about maths itself. While Mathematics is taught mainly as a discrete subject, every effort is made to link maths with other areas of the curriculum. We will start Summer2 with position and direction of shapes on a grid - how they translate and reflect... before learning decimals and percentage. Converting units will be the other main unit of learning, with negative numbers and volume taught in smaller chunks as fluency and morning tasks.

The basic 4 operations of Maths don't go away, so please encourage Times Table practice whenever you can - which includes dividing eg; we know 8x2=16, so we need to know what 16 divided by 2 is . . .  (=8).

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Computing: Our topic for Summer completes the Flat-File Databases and finishes with a new unit, called "Crumbles". 

PE/Sport: Both classes will do PE with Huddersfield Town staff every Thursday.

5F will continue swimming on Fridays  5S will be doing their other PE lesson on Fridays.

​MFL: Pupils continue their speaking, reading & writing in French with increasing confidence. Tres bien!