Dear Parents,
I hope you had a wonderful and restful Christmas break, and I wish you a very Happy New Year 2025! We are looking forward to getting started with our learning again in Acorn class and this curriculum letter will give you an overview of the fantastic learning planned for the spring term.
Our topic this term is “The Stone Age to the Iron Age” and therefore some of the English will be based on this topic. We will read “How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth” and learn how to write a set of instructions. after that and until half term, we will base our writing on “Stone Age Boy” by Satoshi Kitamura. We will be writing a narrative, retelling the story and changing aspects of it. The children will also continue to develop their grammar, spelling and punctuation skills with stand-alone SPaG lessons.
In reading, we will continue to focus on comprehension of texts through vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising (VIPERS). This will be done by the children completing a reading comprehension once a week to build their confidence.
Spellings will continue to follow the National Curriculum patterns along with words form the statutory list and I will carry on sending them home as part of the children’s homework for the children to practise.
In history, the children will be learning about the Stone age to the Iron Age using skills such as chronology, comparison, similarity and difference, enquiry and many more. We will be exploring why there was a Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age, identify changes and continuity between periods of history and the difference between a primary and secondary source. The children will also be comparing settlements and technology from each period of history.
In maths we will be looking at area and we will carry on using a range of different strategies to help us multiply and divide. We will use concrete apparatus and visual methods to consolidate our understanding of these concepts before starting to learn to use written methods efficiently in small steps. Later in the term, the children will use their knowledge of times tables to learn about fractions. They will also measure length and calculate perimeter as well as developing their knowledge of mass and capacity.
In Science lessons, children will study rocks compare and group together different kinds of rocks based on their appearance and simple physical properties, describe in simple terms how fossils are formed and recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter. The children will also be learning about magnets, including magnetic and non-magnetic materials.
In art and design, the children discover how to make drawings that capture a sense of drama or performance using charcoal. We will also look at cave paintings and some of Edgar Degas’ s charcoal paintings.
In RE we will be exploring why does a Hindu want to collect good Karma through three areas: the Hindu narrative, Hindu community practice and Hindu living. In PHSCE, the children will explore Physical Health and Wellbeing and ask, “What is important to me?”
Computing lessons will focus on E-Safety and Creating media-(desktop publishing and Adobe Spark)
Our P.E. lessons will take place on Mondays and Fridays. On Monday, the children will be doing gymnastics. On Fridays, we will be taking the children swimming at Arun Leisure Centre, so please ensure your child brings in the correct clothing for these lessons on Friday afternoons.
In French, the children will learn how to say the date, colours and parts of the body and face through songs, games and listening, reading, speaking and writing activities.
Lastly, any time the children can spend consolidating their learning, either independently or with an adult at home, will greatly benefit their progress. Little practice and often on Times Table Rockstars, Spelling Shed and reading for example, is crucial and really does help the children to build their fluency with these core skills.
Finally, if you have any concerns or feel that you need to talk about your child’s learning, please feel free to catch me at the end of the day or make an appointment at the office.
Mrs Soal (Class teacher)
Mrs Baker and Miss Potter (Teaching Assistants)