Curriculum for the first half term

Dear Parents,

This is the curriculum we are planning for the first half of this term.  For this first half term there shall be a whole school focus on the presentation of work with a specific emphasis on hand writing.  The children’s literacy targets will be based on this.

Literacy:  Our non-fiction work will be based on our history topic and will include recording information in various ways and report writing with the implementation of the new primary strategy we shall be focusing the spelling on phonic work.

Numeracy:  We shall start the term with counting, partitioning and calculating.  Then move on to securing number facts and understanding shape.  To complete the half term we shall do a unit of work on handling data.

Science:  We will be doing work based on forces, especially magnets and springs.  The children will be doing a lot of practical work and learning about carrying out fair tests.

ICT:  The children will begin by learning the basics of a desktop publishing programme, using it to make the cover sheet for their folders.  They will go on to using a word-processing programme.  The year 3’s will learn basic editing and formatting.  Keyboard practice at home is always beneficial.

History:  Our topic is the Ancient Egyptians.  It is a topic which most children really enjoy and often complete work at home.  The British Museum website at www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/home is particularly good.  We shall spend some time using this within school but the children may enjoy investigating it further.

Drama:  The children will be working on a dramatic reconstruction of Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutenkhamun.

Art:  As well as art work relating to our history topic we will be focusing on portraits.  We will start by using sketch books and mannequins and progress onto discussing the work of different artists.

P.E:  Both classes will be having swimming lessons this term.  (Please ensure that your children’s uniform, P.E. and swimming kit are clearly labelled).

R.E:  We are exploring special occasions and will be focusing on ‘Landmarks in Life’ and their relevance to a Christian life.

Music:  We are learning songs and doing related activities relating to the story of Tarfa and the Trolls with a focus on discussing pitch, volume and tempo.

Homework:  As you have probably read in the homework diary we do expect the children to read every night at home for approximately 15 mins.  They are also given set pieces of homework to complete.  When this is given the children are told when it needs to be returned.  They can, if they wish, return it sooner but we do ask that they have returned it by the date specified.

We hope that you find this brief outline of the curriculum useful but should you have any queries do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,