Kingfishers
Well, we’re arguing already! Presenting BALANCED ARGUMENTS that is. We have been weighing up the pros and cons of organ donation and something called xenotransplantation (check out our knowledge organiser if you’re not sure of the meaning). All this wonderful discussion and debate has been sparked by our novel Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman. We have only just started reading it and we are already inspired. It is the first of five very challenging novels we study in year 6 and one of our top 50 reads too! Even though we read in school, it is still so important for you to read at home as well. Keep reading (at least 4 times a week) and log it in your reading record. Bring your reading record to school every day and use Accelerated Reader to quiz on books. Remember, if you get 100% in your quiz you will earn a reading token. Save them up and go shopping in the school book shop!
Our science learning links to major themes in our novel through the curricular theme Blood Heart. Biology studies are helping us to understand more about the role of the heart and blood in animals, specifically humans. Whilst in geography we have been deepening our understanding of our geographical skills and fieldwork through studying Ordinance Survey maps. Now we know what all those squiggly lines and pictures mean, we are better equipped to get out and about!
Finally, we are learning all about the religion of Islam. To find out more, take a look at your knowledge organiser.
Kingfishers have made such a brilliant start to the year and crammed in so much learning already, it is clear to see it is going to be a GREAT year!
Eagles
Wow! We’ve had a busy few weeks in Eagles class already, we have all settled in so well and have been working so hard. We have already got stuck into our science topic ‘Blood Heart’ and have been looking at the circulatory system and parts of the blood in Science. In the coming weeks we will be looking at the structure of the heart before we carry out some experiments to see what effects our heart rate.
In Geography, we have started to learn about Ordnance Survey map symbols and will be learning about how these map symbols are useful before learning about grid references and developing our understanding of Sustainable Development and what these means, this will be done through our own Geographical enquiries using a range of sources.
In Art, we are excited to be learning about Leonardo Da Vinci, and have already started to develop our own drawings of hearts in the same style as his artwork, later on in the term we will be drawing pictures of some real pig hearts which will be totally gruesome but exceptionally good fun!
In RE, we are learning all about Islam and have already started to think about how Muslims show commitment through the five pillars of Islam. In PSHE we are thinking about what makes each and every one of us special and we are thinking about our hopes, dreams and goals for our future, we are also looking at how we can empathise with children who are not as fortunate as ourselves
In English, we have been reading ‘Pig Heart Boy’ by Malorie Blackman, this is a fantastic story about a boy who has a serious heart condition and is desperately awaiting a transplant. His parents contact a doctor who is trying to develop the science to transplant a pig’s heart into a human. So far, we have looked at creating a balanced argument surrounding using animal organs for transplants. We have had a couple of debates already and are developing our language all the time.
In maths, we have been developing our knowledge of numbers up to 10,000,000 and have started to look at how to place larger numbers onto a number line. We have also looked at how we can represent numbers in different ways using practical resources such as dienes blocks and place value counters. We are now going to start to look at how we can order and compare numbers before learning how to round numbers.
In computing, we have been looking at how we can stay safe online. So far we have looked at what a digital footprint is and have discussed the sorts of information that is ok to share online and information that is dangerous to share online.
We know we are going to have a brilliant half term! Please take a look at our knowledge organiser on the school website to find out more about our learning for this half term!