Autumn Term

Our topic for the Autumn term is 'Who's that trip trapping over my bridge?'

This topic is based on the story of The Billy Goats Gruff, a familiar story for the children.

Our Stunning start is called 'Busy Builders and Exciting Engineers'. It gives the children the chance to explore a variety of construction materials and build for a purpose. This will start off our DT work, moving forward we will be designing, making and evaluating our own bridge.

In Literacy we will be looking at the story of 'The Billy Goats Gruff' we carry out role play activities, story mapping and we will look at character description. We will also look at writing instructions and a letter.

In science we will be focusing on materials and answering questions including

Which material makes the strongest bridge? Which shape makes a bridge strong?

We will use our senses to explore materials and classify them. There will be a lot of experimenting so we can come to some conclusions.

In Geography we will be looking at our own local area and the human and physical features we can see.

In History we will be exploring bridges of the past. We will compare bridges in and around Cornwall. One of our focus questions will be How did Brunel help improve our travel? 

Our maths learning focuses on place value and number knowledge. This then leads into addition and subtraction followed by shapes.

Our Fantastic Finish is a display of bridges we have created.

Spring Term

Our topic for the Spring term is “Global Explorers”. During this topic we will be answering lots of questions including:

Where in the world are we?   Was Columbus a hero?   Do African drums make you want to move?

Our Stunning Start Day sees us training as explorers. Throughout the day we will be making binoculars, packing our back packs, collaging the world, making passports and completing physical training.  Once we have completed our training, we are ready to explore the world!

In Geography, we will be naming the continents and oceans. As we will travel to each continent, we will discover the human and physical features typical for this area. We will use this information to create our own explorer fact files.

In History, we will find out about some real explorers including Robert Falcon Scott and Christopher Columbus. We will be using photos as artefacts and listening to stories  to help us answer questions about the people and events.

In Science, we will be thinking how we can group animals, naming and learning about the structure of mammals, birds and fish.  We will use our geography knowledge to help us talk about the habitats where some of these animals can naturally be found. Our trip will allow us to closely observe animals in our own environment which will include pond dipping and looking for clues of nocturnal animals. We will match animals to their offspring.

We will be looking at the continent of Africa in more detail. In Music, we will listen and watch traditional ngoma drums being played. We will be listening out for the rhythm and describe the sounds created by the percussion instruments. We will then create our own music in a similar style. In Art, we will explore Adinkra textiles, looking at patterns and printing. We will then design our own pieces of art.

We will use ICT to add detail to our fact files, using the internet safely to find pictures and using word to type labels.

After exploring the world and making lots of amazing discoveries we plan to present our fantastic findings in the form of a sensational safari, sharing African music, our art and our fact files.

For more information see the topic web linked below.

Summer

Our topic for the Summer term is “Grow Great!”. During this topic we will be answering lots of questions including:

Do people with bigger hands need larger boots? What was bath time like long ago?

Our Stunning Start Day sees us thinking about both plants and ourselves growing. We will be sharing “All about me” boxes, planting seeds and finding out about the inside of our bodies.

In Science, we will be discovering trees and plants in our local environment. We have been finding out about seasons all year and will complete our studies by thinking about summer. After learning which senses are associated with which body part, we will start to think about how we keep ourselves clean and healthy. Our trip to a local farm will allow us to find out about how plants come from food.

In History, we will find out about how health and hygiene practice has changed within living memory. We using artefacts and finding out about Florence Nightingale and Mary Secole.

In music, we will be exploring different genres of music, how they make us feel, and focus on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. We will use our colour mixing exploration in art to create pictures in response to listening to the music. We will also think about texture and collage in art as we recreate Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s famous fruit face.

In DT, we will apply our learning to design and make healthy snacks and packed lunch boxes.

Our topic ends with our fantastic finish which sees us rescuing teddy bears. After nursing them back to health we will have our very own teddy bears picnic where we will get to enjoy eating our delicious healthy snacks.

For more information see the topic web linked below.