It has been a very exciting week in Maple Class as we began our new topic on Ancient Greece! We started our exciting new topic by exploring our class book, The Odyssey by Gillian Cross, and worked on retrieving information, discussing the author’s choices, explaining vocabulary and answering questions with reference to the text. We are so looking forward to reading exciting myths and learning all about Ancient Greece!
In English, Year 5 pupils used fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases to write diary entries and instructional texts inspired by our topic and Greek mythology. Year 4 pupils wrote diary entries, focusing on describing characters’ feelings and using suitable conjunctions to link their ideas. Their writing was inspired by another fascinating book, Oranges in No Man’s Land by Elizabeth Laird.
In History, we began to find out who the Ancient Greeks were and started to place the Ancient Greek civilisation within a historical timeline. We are looking forward to discovering more about their fascinating way of life and their influence on the world today.
In Maths, Year 4 pupils have been developing their understanding of place value by working with thousands, hundreds, tens and ones and reading and recognising partitioned numbers up to 10,000. Year 5 pupils have been extending these skills by working with numbers up to 100,000, strengthening their understanding of place value and partitioning.
In PE, we enjoyed our first Yoga lesson. We practised new positions and postures through the Sun Sequence, played the Rainstick Game and finished with Ladybird Relaxation.
We also had our first hockey lesson, where we learned the rules for holding and controlling the stick. We then worked on our attacking skills, learning how to beat a defender and how to create opportunities to move the ball forward.
In PSHE, we explored rights, respect and duties, linking our learning to our school’s commitment to being a Rights Respecting School. Together, we created our own Maple Class Charter, agreeing on the rights and responsibilities that will help us to create a happy, safe and respectful classroom where everyone feels valued and included.
In Art, we began exploring the work of the famous abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. We learned about his life and artistic style and looked at how he used colour, shapes and lines to express ideas and feelings. We then experimented with mixing primary colours to create secondary colours, developing our understanding of colour and how artists can use it creatively.
This week, Maple Class began a special project that encourages the children to pause, reflect and look back at their experiences at school.
The children each decorated their own special book, which they will use to write a weekly letter to their future selves. Each week, they will reflect on their experiences, recording the exciting moments, achievements and challenges they have faced.
