This week in Maple Class, the children made a fantastic start on their new class book, The Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll by Scott Peters, which links closely with our History topic for the Spring term: Ancient Egyptians. They discussed the author’s choices and answered questions with reference to the text, showing great engagement and enthusiasm—they are already excited to read on!
In English, Year 5 pupils explored the structure of an adventure story in preparation for writing their own stories next week. They worked with their partners to discuss effective vocabulary choices, developed well-rounded characters using similes and expanded noun phrases and created vivid setting descriptions to bring their writing to life. Year 4 pupils wrote narratives in the style of a chosen author, carefully choosing their vocabulary and using dialogue effectively to advance the plot.
In Maths, the children multiplied numbers using the expanded written method and short multiplication, applying their skills to solve a range of problems with growing confidence. In French, the children revised the days of the week through a variety of engaging activities. They whispered the days, put them in order, said them aloud, and matched the English days to their French equivalents, building confidence in both pronunciation and recall.
In History, the children located the ancient Egyptians in time and place, placed key events from the Ancient Egyptian period onto a timeline and learned about Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. They then brought their learning to life by writing and performing speeches in role as the gods—an enjoyable and creative way to deepen their understanding.
It has been a busy and exciting time in science this week. In Year 4, the children have been exploring the topic of sound. They showed great curiosity by coming up with their own thoughtful questions about how sounds are made, how they travel, and why some sounds are louder or quieter than others. These questions will help guide our future learning and investigations, just like real scientists do!
Meanwhile, Year 5 have been working hard on properties of materials. They have confidently used scientific vocabulary to describe and compare different materials. The children have also planned their own investigation, which they will carry out next week, to test the transparency, magnetism, and hardness of a range of materials. They carefully discussed what equipment they will need, how to make the test fair, and how they will record their results.
