Autumn Term Curriculum

4th September 2007

Dear  Parents,

We hope you had a pleasant summer.

Reminder: There is an information meeting about our visit to Laches Wood Outdoor Education Centre, Coven at 7pm on Thursday 6th September.

This is the curriculum for the first half of the Autumn term.

English: we are looking at different types of stories. Amongst other stories we will use ‘Treasure Island’, ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘The Pit & the Pendulum’. Pupils will learn how to structure stories to create different effects: for instance using a diary format or flashback. Pupils will be writing their own mystery stories linked to their experiences at Coven, then turning it into a multi media text using appropriate photos, effects and music. Children are expected to read each evening as part of their homework as well as receiving a weekly spelling activity. Pupils’ targets for this half term are focusing on fluent, joined handwriting and presentation skills. Pupils are expected to use Berol style handwriting pens, cartridge pens or Pilot pens with dark blue ink. They should not use biros or gel pens.

ICT: To support our literacy work pupils will learn how to use ‘Photo story’, which gives them the opportunity of creating multimodal texts. We will also use Publisher and the Internet to support work in geography and science.

Maths: We will be consolidating understanding of place value, multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000, and extending this understanding to decimal numbers.  We will be revisiting mental and written strategies for the four number operations as part of target work.  Children will explore sequences of numbers and patterns and investigate properties of 2D and 3D shapes, including parallel and perpendicular lines. The emphasis on mental maths and problem solving is continued from year 5. Solving practical problems at home would help children with their numeracy target which focuses on problem solving.

Science: we will be looking at the processes of filtering, dissolving and evaporation. This will be supported with practical experiments.

Geography: The topic for this term is rivers and we will focus on the River Severn. To support this, we are planning a visit to Carding Mill Valley during the week we are at Coven.

RE: Our theme is rules for living and we will look at this in the context of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism.

PSHE: This term our theme is ‘Going for Goals!’  The theme provides opportunities for children to reflect on themselves as individuals, explore the importance of taking responsibility for their learning and behaviour and think about when they might be making excuses.

Art: Our topic is ‘People in Action’. It would be useful for pupils to collect drawings and photographs for this topic eg of someone diving, swinging a golf club, kicking a ball etc.

Music: Bedrich Smetana is the focus of music lessons this term, with emphasis on listening and composition. During this topic we will particularly look at his piece ‘The Moldau’ (a river in Czechoslovakia). Pupils will also compose suitable music to accompany their Adventure stories.

PE: The focus for this half term is developing a range of skills to improve their defending and attacking play in invasion games.  In all games activities, children will be encouraged to think about tactics and strategies to outwit the opposition.  Although we have two hours of PE a week timetabled, we do try to seize opportunities for further activity therefore pupils should ensure they have PE kit in school every day.

Homework: In their final year at primary school it is very important for children to develop a routine to ensure that homework is completed and handed in on time. To this end they are expected to record homework and reading in their homework diary every day, as well as lists of things to remember or brief messages for parents.

We hope you find this information useful, and look forward to seeing you at parents' evening on 17th & 18th October.
Yours sincerely,

Pupil targets:

WRITING

Level 3a (Must) :Ascenders & descenders are in proportion, handwriting appropriately joined
Words are evenly spaced

Level 4 (Should) Handwriting is joined & legible with consistently appropriate joining lines between letters.

Ascenders & descenders are in proportion & predominantly parallel

To write speedily and legibly for a sustained period of time

Level 5 (Could) Handwriting is fluent joined & legible showing confident use of style.

Showing evidence of using appropriate style for different purposes

MATHS

Level 3a (Must) : Explain and record using number signs and symbols how problems were solved including converting between units, e.g. pence and pounds, minutes and hours, etc.

Level 4 (Should) Solve word problems choosing the appropriate operation and method of calculation, rounding up or down depending on the context.

Level 5 (Could) Solve word problems choosing the appropriate operations and method of calculations including multi step problems.