Springfield House School- Information for Parents Spring Term 2 2017 Class: Janine, Sam, Pete and Marsha Lier Evolution English The children will develop skills in writing a biography by studying the life of Mary Anning. They will develop skills in writing explanation texts on Volcanoes and diary entries like Charles Darwin. By listening to the class story ‘Worm in the Blood’ by Thomas Bloor, they will develop fictional writing by writing about a transformation. By identify the beauty of the Galapagos Islands, the children will be developing a discussion text on tourism, as well as writing part of travel brochure to persuade people to visit the Galapagos Islands. Each week there will be a focus on grammar and spelling rules. Mathematics Our focus this half term will include revising written methods in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The children will also explore the properties of 3D shapes, symmetry and rotational symmetry. They will look at statistics by creating pictograms and equal class interval charts and graphs. The children will learn about mixed and improper fractions as well as finding equivalent fractions. They will continue to develop their multiplication tables through Maths Wizard and Froggy Maths work. Geography The focus in geography will start by learning about Pangea and how the earth’s plates have moved over millions of years. We will learn about the formation of fossils. By understanding about earth’s plates, we will examine the formation of volcanoes and the dangers of volcanoes. We will focus on life on the Galapagos Islands, including physical features, plant life and weather conditions. Physical Education We will be learning tag rugby and possibly ‘boxercise’ as a form of fitness. We will develop sportsmanship skills – praising people on our team and offering positive advice, to help support any member on our team and the opposing team. The children will learn about the importance of health and fitness and warming up and cooling down. Music Dave Claridge will join us in singing sessions with his guitar. We will also examine elements of Jazz music. Religious Education and PHSE Our focus in RE will be learning about the Easter story and how people celebrate Easter today. We will focus on the meaning of Lent, The Last Supper and Jesus’s crucifixion. .In PHSE the topic is ‘Kind and Selfish’. Children will be identifying how to be considerate and why acting with consideration is important. They will examine ways to act kindly, helping people feel ok when they are unhappy and managing feelings. Art and Design and Technology The children will learn how to use different types of line to sketch fossils and use a colour wash. They will be developing landscape sketches based on the Galapagos Islands. The children will be learning to use shade when sketching animals. They will also have the opportunity to make a 3D creature using paper Mache in order to develop skills of attaching and joining materials, adapting work as it develops and considering the final appearance. Science Our focus this half term will be on evolution. The children will be learning about the famous scientists Charles Darwin and Mary Anning. They will examine Chares Darwin's theory of evolution. The children will identify ways to classify animals. They will learn that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parent. We will examine how animals have adapted through evolution to survive. Computing The children will use the internet to research the Galapagos islands, including climate, vegetation, animal life and tourism. We will use PowerPoint and Publisher to present information related to our topic work incorporating images, text and sound.