Spring 1

Maths

In maths we have completed our topic on fractions, decimals and percentages. We calculated percentages of quantities and became fluent identifying equivalence between fractions, decimals and percentages.

Then we moved onto a unit on ratio and proportion, calculating scale factors. We applied this to real life situation and investigated the optimum ratio for orange squash.

Every Friday, we have worked on our arithmetic skills and over the half term have made rapid progress.

English

In English we read Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson to support out Geography work on Rainforests. We wrote a travelogue of the main character's journey from England to the city of Menause located in the Amazon Rainforest. Next, we wrote a discussion text on the theme of 'What makes a family?' using the experiences of the three orphaned children in the novel as our inspiration. We worked in groups to prepare and perform a Readers Theatre of a section of the novel. This helped us understand the characters thoughts and feelings.

Music

In music we took our inspiration from our novel set in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest and used percussion instruments to learn and perform Samba rhythmns. We used drums, rain sticks and tambourines. We learned how to record the rhythmns using correct musical notation. 

Science

During out unit on Electrical circuits we worked in pairs and groups to build electrical circuits to solve problems. We learned that the more voltage is flowing around a circuit, the brighter the bulb or the louder the buzzer in the circuit. We learned to draw circuit diagrams using correct symbols for each component.

Spring 2

Maths

In maths we have begun our topic on Position and Direction. We have learned to read and plot coordiates in four quadrants and to calculate coordinates of shapes from one coordiate. We have found this quite challenging and so we consolidated olur learning using questions on LBQ. We are looking forward to our work on translations and reflections in the coming weeks.

English

In English we are reading Viking Boy by Tony Bradman to support out History work on Vikings. We immersed ourselves in the Nordic setting and explored the characters of farmsteaders, warriors and slave traders. We wrote a short burst setting description for the farm and character description for the father, Bjorn Sigurdsson. In addition, we have used our inference skills to track the emotions of the main character, Gunar, across chapters and have written a short diary extractr of his encounters.We then analysed the features of Nordic Myths and have begun to master the grammar and punctuation skills needed to write our own. 

Music

In music we have learned about famous composers from Scandinavia. We research the composer Jean Sibelius and studies a performance of his most famous composition, Finlandia, performed The Proms. We identified the different instruments of the orchestra, dynamics in the music and chose the instrument we would most like to play.

We then found out about the Norwegian composer Edvard Greig. He found images of his home town Bergen to identify the impact his environment had on his music. We listened to two of his most famous compositions - Peer Gynt, used on a well known game aswell as in films and advertisements, and Piano Concerto in A Minor. We marvelled at the speed and accuracy with which the pianist played.

We are looking forward to exploring some more modern music from Norwegian band A-Ha, including the impact of a music video on a songs success.