Halfway through the half term already, and the children have been working and learning brilliantly!
English:
This week, we have continued writing our short scary stories. We focused on different types of story openings and setting descriptions, such as using personification to bring settings to life, expanded noun phrases to add rich detail, and suspense-building techniques to create tension and intrigue. The children are looking forward to finishing their amazing stories to share with you all!
Inspired by this, a student in Olympus combined her learning with what we did in poetry in Autumn by writing a scary poem! Have a read below:
Maths:
We have started our new unit on multiplication and division. This week, we recapped what they learned in Year 4 and began building on it. The children practiced multiplying up to 4-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. By the end of this half term, they will be learning to multiply 4-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers and divide 4-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. As we always say, practicing their times tables will help them understand the concept of multiplying and dividing larger numbers, enabling them to solve problems quickly and efficiently. That’s why we encourage them to use TTRS to practice their times tables at home, and we hope you will support them in doing so. Maths sheets can be found here ; Week 3 sheets for blog.
History:
We have continued learning about the Maya civilisation. This week, the children explored Maya religious beliefs and compared them with Anglo-Saxon religious beliefs.
STEM:
Our forces topic is progressing well. This week, the children enjoyed learning how levers and pulleys work and even got to make their own lever! We will continue exploring forces next week by investigating how gears work, where we see them in everyday life, and how we use them.
Guided Reading:
The children are thoroughly enjoying reading about Bradley Chalkers, the main character in our current book. Bradley struggles to make friends because he lies all the time—but this eventually changes.
Please continue encouraging your children to read regularly at home and practice their times tables. Most importantly, have a restful weekend!