Dosbarth Rhuddlan
Dosbarth Rhuddlan
Our focus for the Spring Term is ‘The Celts’. It is a history topic but much of our work in other curriculum areas is linked to ‘The Celts’.
SCIENCE
As part of our work in science we will be looking at materials and their properties. This will be linked to ‘The Celts’ by looking at building materials used during Celtic times and how and why houses have changed over the years. This will cover many aspects of Science including strength of materials, absorbency and transparency and natural and man-made materials. We will carry out investigations into different materials to find out the best to use in different situations. Children will be encouraged to think independently and try out their own ideas.
GEOGRAPHY
Geography will be very closely linked to ‘The Celts’. Initially we will be looking at Early Village Settlers and the geographical reasons for the development of villages. We will explore the estate of Caia Park to see if (before modern developments) it would make a good place for a Celtic settlement. We will then move on to local villages including Llay, Bersham and Gresford discussing the reasons for their development and the mining communities that developed. We will look at maps of the local area, learn some simple ordnance survey symbols and identify them on the map.
ICT
In ICT we will learn skills to help us with our learning across the curriculum. We will look at how to use search engines for research purposes and how to present work using the edit, copy and paste buttons. We will also further practise the skill of saving and retrieving work. We will input data into programs such as Excel and transfer the data inputted into graphs and charts. I-pads will be used to take photographs and make simple presentations as well as using a variety of apps to support our learning across the curriculum but particularly in maths and language.
WELSH
In Welsh we will be learning how to ask and answer questions in relation to shops and money and also direction. Most of our work in Welsh is oral but we will be developing our reading and writing skills too.
P.E.
In P.E. we will be working on developing our Gymnastic skills by putting together sequences on the floor and on apparatus. The children will work individually, in pairs and in groups to put together their own creative sequences and will develop their assessment skill by looking at their own performance and that of others and identifying how they can further improve their performance. I-pads will be used to film the children and then replayed for the assessment to be made.
We will also be carrying out a unit of work after half term covering the development of dance skills.
P.E. is on a Monday and a Thursday. Please ensure that your child has a pair of black or dark shorts and a white t-shirt. Both dance and gymnastics are performed in bare feet thus for this term there is no need to send pumps unless your child needs to wear them for a medical reason. If this is the case can you inform the class teacher by letter or in person.
ENGLISH
In language we will be developing our understanding of how to write a non-chronological report. We will develop the skills needed to do this during our language lessons, looking at different aspects of a non-chronological report and developing our written skills accordingly. Reports will then be written in our History and Science work.
In spelling pupils are working at their own pace and we will use the McNally and Murray word lists to develop their spelling of regular and irregular work as well as using other strategies within the class i.e. Letters and Sounds.
MATHS
In maths our main focus will be developing our understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We are working to improve our mental maths skills, developing strategies to carry out the four operations quickly and accurately. We will continue to practise basic skills like counting on and back from different numbers like 1’s/2’s/5’s/10’s etc. Times tables are very useful in developing quick methods to calculate and this term we will be adding the three times table to the 2, 5 and 10 that we already practise.
We are encouraging the children to learn to tell the time on both digital and analogue clocks. As well as focused lessons on telling the time we encourage the pupils to use the clock incidentally and try to work out the time. It would be useful for your child to do this at home. This could be related to recognising teatime or the time their favourite television program is on. If your child is able to tell the time then perhaps they could work out how long until tea time or how long a programme is on television for.
Homework
Your child has been set a homework project for this term. They need to put together a short presentation about a topic they know a lot about. They may want to talk about a club they go to i.e. football, dance, tae kwon do, brownies or cubs and share their knowledge about their club. Alternatively they may enjoy drawing or cooking and want to share their knowledge with the class. They will be invited to do their talk in front of the class – the talk will only need to last for two minutes (minimum) - 5 minutes (maximum) and the children can bring in any props or uniform to help them with their presentation. During the presentation I will be looking for
- A clear voice that can be heard by all
- Fluent speech
- A knowledge of their chosen subject
- Evidence that they have tried their very best