I am particularly looking forward to the writing we will produce, based around the photography portraits ‘Humans of New York’ by Brandon Stanton, amongst other fabulous stories and texts. This is my absolute favourite stimulus for writing and the children always produce fantastic things. We will be writing everything from narratives to newspaper reports, but with a keen focus on developing characters through strong, meaningful descriptions. I will be encouraging the class to use their imaginations to create fictional New Yorkers, and then capture their essence on the page.

In Maths, we will be finishing off our fractions and then diving more deeply into multiplication and division. TIMES TABLES ARE CRUCIAL! The children will progress to multiplying 4 digit by 2 digit numbers and dividing 4 digit by 1 digit numbers. I will share the methods the children are taught in class so you can also consolidate these at home but if you can take the time to practise these skills at home to develop fluency, that would be really helpful.

In Science, we will be looking at states of matter, focusing on reversible and irreversible changes. We have a term packed full of fun practical experiments to engage the children’s senses and bring science to life in the classroom.

We have lots of fantastic maps to look at in Geography, as we discuss whether maps of the same area can be useful. The children will develop their understanding of the physical and human geography of New York - its population, politics and habits.

In Art, we will be focusing on the contemporary period, researching and exploring three main artists and their self-expression: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Yayoi Kusama. We will be studying their methods and techniques to answer important questions about how emotion can be communicated through art, before having a go at creating our own version, inspired by these artists.

In Music, we will be learning how to play steel drums with the amazing company Kinetika Blocco. The children are split into two groups and learn how to play a collective piece. They started this just before half term and it sounds absolutely amazing!

In PE, we will be learning gymnastics, fitness, dance and dddgeball.

In PSHE, we will be studying:

Is social media always positive?

What makes a healthy family unit?

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Computing studies will move on to the important topic of data-handling.

We are studying Sikhism in R.E., specifically focussed on Sikh stories and what they can tell us about the priorities and customs of the religion. The pupils will be discussing the relevance of these stories and considering whether these tales are a good way to deliver a message.