Westall

Dear Parents & Children - Welcome to the Autumn Term

Over the next six weeks Westall class will be following a unit of work called `AD 900’ that focuses on the history of non-european societies.

This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This new curriculum sets out very clearly what children will learn through learning goals, these are split into three different areas:

1. The subjects of the curriculum. The learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught within the UK curriculum. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.

2. Personal development – the characteristics which will help children become more responsible, independent learners.

3. International understanding – which will help children develop both a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.

Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects based on National Curriculum. During this unit we will be focusing on History, Science, Technology, Physical Education and International Learning. During this unit of work, children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, working on their own and working in groups.

In History, we’ll be finding out:

• About the Maya from the buildings and artefacts they left behind
• How the Maya worshipped their gods
• How the Maya used glyphs for writing and counting
• Why the Maya empire declined
• What Benin City in West Africa might have looked like
• How to use different sources to find out about the Kingdom of Benin
• How the Edo/Benin people celebrate and worship
• What happened to the Kingdom of Benin
• Why the prophet Mohammad was so important to the Islamic civilisation
• About the achievements and inventions of the Golden Age of Islam
• Why the Islamic empire declined

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

• How to make West African masquerade masks and costumes
• How to create Islamic art

In Music, we’ll be finding out:

• How to plan and perform our own West African masquerade

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• About the culture and traditions of modern day Maya and Muslims

Teaching in a thematic way, the national curriculum requirements of English, maths, RE and music will be  interwoven with our topic learning. In English we will be looking at a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts and developing our understanding of spellings, punctuation and grammar. In numeracy, we will be developing and applying the number system, securing numerical fluency and calculating. We will also be exploring place value, negative numbers, decimals and understanding prime numbers. In RHSE we will be looking at the unit ‘Me and My Relationships’. This is a sequence of work that will encourage children to rebuild their relationships with their peers, including how to react and respond in different situations. Lastly, our science unit will see us learning about living things and their habitats.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

We already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they have done as the term progresses and let them teach you. Discussions about societies and how they are formed/sustained will help to support your child in their understanding of this unit by making modern day links.

If your child has some work to research, please allow them to complete this themselves with background support from you where appropriate. If you have the opportunity to further their interest in the themes of this topic by visiting a historical museum or similar, please allow them to do so.

P.E.

This year, indoor and outdoor P.E. will take place on Tuesdays. As a result, it is important that your child has their full Oaklands P.E. kit on when they arrive at school on this day. They will wear this throughout the day to avoid changing and unecessary contact. The Oaklands P.E.kit  consists of a sky blue polo top with a school badge, plain royal blue shorts, royal blue track suit and trainers. For health and safety reasons earrings and watches should be removed for all P.E lessons and long hair must be tied up.

Homework

Children will receive homework twice per week. Details of weekly homework will be set on Google Classroom.

Reading  & Doodle Maths                 Every night (15 minutes – please comment on your child’s reading record)

Curriculum activities                           Given out on Wednesday                  Returned on Monday

Spelling & times tables                      Given out on Friday                             Returned on Wednesday

By the end of the unit, we aim for your child to achieve their learning targets. We hope they have an enjoyable time in the classroom and that you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments or questions about your child’s learning, please get in touch.

Kind regards,

Miss Jones

Westall Class Teacher