Spring Term in Clover Class

January 2021- A New Year, A New Start

After the thrilling ending to our class story, 'Mortal Engines', where do we go next in our reading journey? 

.....To wartime Britain where we look at the dangers faced by many citizens at the time. We join Olive as she is evacuated to the Devonshire coast to stay with a mysterious lighthouse keeper in Emma Carroll’s 'Letters from a Lighthouse.'

In history, we will explore the similarities and differences between the experiences of those in London and Lincolnshire during the war, learning about the role that Lincolnshire played during the war

In geography, we will explore the location of those countries associated with WW2, and then digging deeper to explore their environments in more detail.

Our science will lead us to an exploration of electricity, finding ways to create messages using bulbs and buzzers. There might even be an air raid siren or two!

28th January 

Update: I have posted a 12 minute video of Tom Palmer talking about After the War on our Instagram page - @BcL2U. Unfortunately, the video is too long to post on the website. 

26th January 

We have been asked if the children in school want to be part of a Zoom session with author Tom Palmer tomorrow to talk about his book After the War and Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27th January. There are so many schools invited to this session that unfortunately the host cannot add individual homes to the session. However, I have been on Tom's website and found the following link to give the children some background about the book and Holocaust Memorial Day resources. There is also the opportunity to read the first chapter of After the War.

https://tompalmer.co.uk/after-the-war/

Message from Mrs Batey about transition to secondary schools: 

At this time of year, secondary schools usually hold open evenings/days for our Y6 pupils, allowing them to see the options on offer. Due to Covid restrictions, many of these events have been cancelled. In light of this, we suggest that you view the school websites and social media pages for information about the schools as many are currently offering alternatives and booking individual appointments. Please contact the schools directly for further information: they are happy for you to do so.    Mrs Batey  

Welcome back, Clover class!

It seems such a long time since the sound of chatter from excited learners filled our classroom but on Monday, it returns and I am so, SO looking forward to it!

We’ve got a busy term ahead of us:

-we explore the past from the viewpoint of scientists, looking at how the world has evolved

-we explore the past from the viewpoint of historians, looking at what happened during the Industrial Revolution

-we explore the concept of migration in both the past and present

-we look at future times in our class text ‘Mortal Engines’ where cities move on wheels! Can you believe that?

Look at our ‘Reading Inspired Curriculum’ to see further details.

Be inquisitive- find out more!

Reading:

In Clover class, we read independently, but it’s great when we read to you at home too. It’s important to discuss what we have read, for example: looking at how an author gives clues about the characters in the book.

In our reading logs, we record:

• book title and author
• an important comment about each chapter ( such as why the characters amuse us, what we think might happen next in the plot). We can support this with a quote from the text too.
• new vocabulary which we can use in our writing
• other texts we have read, such as recipes, online texts, magazines, newspapers so that we expand our reading ‘diet’

The expectation is that we read every night.

Spelling:

Our spelling logs have 3 main areas of focus

1. We will be working on a particular letter string/patters and so there will be lists of words which we are expected to learn independently. We can use Spelling Shed to support us with learning these words- assignments  are set using that letter pattern
2. Personal words- these are words which individual pupils spell incorrectly and so need to practise further. There may be a personal list on Spelling Shed set up to practise these words further
3. Y3/4 and Y5/6 lists. These words are examples of the kinds of words which the government recommends that pupils should be able to spell. They are words which we are expected to use in our independent writing.

We learn spellings in different ways so you will see us trying out different techniques such as mnemonics and  using colours for letter strings. We will always use joined handwriting for our spellings and write them starting with a small letter. We are able to develop our own system in our books so that we can retrieve spellings quickly so don’t be surprised if you see post-its sticking out

The expectation is that we practise spelling in some way every night.

Times Tables Practice

We use Times Tables Rock Stars to practise our multiplication tables.

Multiplication tables are linked to so many areas of mathematical learning such as fractions, percentages and ratio, so it is crucial we know all of our tables as well as their division fact.

We can chant tables, play online tables games, count in a times-table pattern, give a division fact when someone gives us the table fact- there are so many things to do. We can say them, write them, even dance them- all are beneficial!

The expectation is that we practise our times tables in some way every night.

From the moment you step foot in our classroom, we will be a hive of activity.

Ask us what knowledge we have learned: every day is a learning day in Clover.

Knowledge Organisers

We have introduced Knowledge Organisers in school to support learning in and out of the classroom. Please feel free to print these off at home and use with your children to discuss their learning. The key class book, e.g. Mortal Engines, will have its own knowledge organiser and will be supported by some for science and history.

Due to mixed-aged classed we run a two-year cycle for our curriculum. This will mean not all knowledge organisers are applicable to the year group your child is in, therefore please refer to the Reading-Inspired Curriculum. In 2020/21 we are returning to Cycle 1 of the curriculum. 

Please note: there are some aspects of the science which may be taught in Fig class, not Clover so please use the Reading-Inspired Curriculum documents as reference. 

The Extraordinary Lives document supports our curriculum. It shares some of the key figures from history to the present day who we will spend some time thinking about during the year. Some of these figures link directly to some of the books we read and we will look at in detail. Others, we may mention briefly in Worship or during PSHE.