Our TOPIC . . . Sow, Grow, Farm.

       Our topic this half term is Geography based, focusing on farming in the UK, and how things developed during the War when we had  

         to grow fruit and vegetables anywhere and everywhere! We will also look at farming further afield, includiding coffee farming in      

         Peru.  The Year fives will also  develop a deeper understanding of their geographical skills  -  mainly contour lines and map reading.   

 

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 reading last term's book Dragon Mountain as the class reader but our focus book is "The Boy at the Back of the Class" - which we know the children will enjoy! It's a fun but topical book, looking at the refugee crisis from a 9yr old's point of view.​​​​ 

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

        - even when it comes to writing Valentines or Easter cards! Spring 1 starts with this fantastic book (NO WORDS!).

 

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 complete the Autumn Fractions learning unit, before returning to multiplication and division. These areas 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 16cdivided by 2 is . . .  (=8).

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Computing: Our topic for Spring involves creating media, and Flat-File Databases. 

A&D: Children will explore "Nature's Art" - learning to express using lines, light and shadow.

D&T: This unit of learning is titled "Eat the Seasons" so we'll leave you to imagine what fun lessons these children are going to be experiencing!

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

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

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