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This week in Wrens we have been learning the amazing story of the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton who attempted to sail across the Antarctic in his ship the Endurance. The children enjoyed studying historical photographs of his expedition and producing their own nonfiction book to tell the story of his adventures.

In DT we explored which materials were waterproof and will be applying this knowledge over the next few weeks as we design and build our own boats. This week we studied the shape and main features of a boat.  We have also been using the cutting and joining skills we have learnt in DT this term to produce some polar scenes.  Could you identify whether the children had created the Arctic or Antarctic by looking at the animals they added to their models?

There will be no new phonics homework this week as next week is assessment week. Instead please take the time to revisit the sounds and tricky words we have covered this half term.

In RE we have started exploring special stories and this week we looked at the Bible story of David and Goliath and what it means to Christians.  If your child has a special storybook (it doesn't have to be a Bible story!) that they would like to bring in, we would love to share them during Class Storytime.  Thank you!

In English this week, we have been continuing our preparation for writing letters from Hermelin the Detective Mouse. The children have been exploring how to use adjectives to describe items in detail and make their writing more interesting. As part of this work, they have been learning about the suffixes –er and –est and how these can change the meaning of words to compare things. The children have also been writing missing item sentences, which will be very useful when they begin writing their letters next week. At the end of the week, the children wrote a postcard to Mrs Mattison from the story, to tell her where her missing handbag is.

In maths this week, the children have been identifying related facts. For example, if they know that 2 + 3 = 5, they also know that 20 + 30 = 50. They have been applying this understanding to subtraction as well. The children have been practising adding and subtracting ones from any given number to 100, as well as adding to the next 10, for example,  42 + ? = 50. We ended the week by adding to a multiple of 10, for example, 60+5=65.

In geography this week, the children have been exploring the weather in Abberley by carrying out a weather investigation. We went outside with compasses and thermometers and explored how to use these on the playground while observing the weather conditions.

In DT, the children were very excited to start adding details to their puppets after cutting out the front and back last week. They have been adding features such as eyes, buttons, whiskers and ears to make their puppets look like bunnies.

Timetable

Monday: Wellies and appropriate clothing for outdoor learning

Tuesday & Thursday: PE kits - please can those with longer hair have their hair tied up ready

In English, the children continued writing their non-chronological reports about polar bears, focusing on correct layout, using fronted adverbials, a range of nouns instead of repeating “polar bear,” and applying possessive apostrophes accurately.

In maths, we built on our work with short division by moving on to exchanging, using concrete resources and place value grids to support understanding.

In art, the children added the melted elements to their sculptures and began painting them carefully, following their original designs.

In geography we continued with our work on the Amazon rainforest, where we explored the lives of indigenous peoples and the threats to their homes; this led to thoughtful discussions and the children writing letters to the President of Brazil, sharing their fears and hopes for the rainforest.

In science, we revisited our egg investigation from last week, observing the effects of different liquids and reinforcing the importance of looking after our teeth, before comparing the teeth of different animals as an introduction to food chains.

In English, we have been analysing a discovery narrative and exploring the writer’s knowledge needed to create this style of text. The children have looked at how authors build description, suspense and detail when introducing something new to the reader. This learning is in preparation for writing our own discovery narratives, where the children will imagine discovering a new creature from the perspective of Charles Darwin. We have also started reading a new class book, The Shark Caller. The children are thoroughly enjoying this fascinating story. The book is written mainly in English but includes some Papua New Guinean Pidgin English phrases, which we are learning and discussing as we read.

In maths, our focus has been on decimals. The children have been developing their understanding of decimal numbers and have been practising rounding decimals to the nearest whole number and to the nearest decimal place.

In geography, we have been exploring the human uses of deserts. The children learned about how deserts are used for recreational activities as well as how people use deserts for their natural resources. To support their learning, the children wrote and performed their own speeches where they personified the desert, thinking carefully about how a desert might describe its importance and challenges.

In design and technology (DT), we have completed our model playground landscaping projects and they look fantastic. The children worked brilliantly in pairs to design playgrounds that are safe, fun and engaging. Each playground includes a moving part and a variety of apparatus at different levels, showing excellent creativity and teamwork.

This week in science, we have looked at the effect of friction. We have thought about different situations such as ice skating and using a bicycle brake and what the effects are of friction.

In French, after reading a short text, we used our knowledge of French vocabulary to work out what different words and phrases mean and how this can help us to understand the text without translating every word.

In our computing groups, we have returned to our storyboards and thought about how we are going to animate our ideas. We have created our characters and backgrounds required to begin photographing each frame.

Please see below information within the community but independent of the school