Our topic for the Autumn term is 'A World at War'.

In English we will be exploring a book called 'Rose Blanche' by Roberto Innocenti and Ian McEwan. The book will take the children back in time to World War II, set in a small town in Germany through the eyes of a young girl as she tries to make sense of what is happening around her. Using the book as a stimulus, the children will write an adventure story. In Autumn 2, we will be travelling through space and writing our own flashback stories, based on a real life monkey (Ham) who was sent to Space in 1961. Keeping with the theme of space, the children will be learning about four women who were instrumental in the 'space race' and write about them in the style of a biography.

In Maths we will be looking at place value, expanding on our learning from Year 4. We will be ordering, comparing and rounding numbers up to 1,000,000. We will also be looking at addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, using a range of materials and methods to support us. During the second half of the Autumn term, we will develop our knowledge of fractions; learning how to add and subtract fractions with different denominators.

As Geographers we will be exploring Britain's coasts. We will understand what a coast is, how they are formed and how coastal erosion is affecting our coastlines. We will understand how coastal settlements have developed and compare them around the UK.

As Historians we will be learning all about WWII and its impact on Britain. By the end of the unit, we will have a clear chronological understanding of the main events during WWII and the key figures of the time. During our trip to Stockport Air Raid shelters, we will learn about the Blitz and how children were evacuated to the countryside. This will help with our individual projects on the Blitz and the impact that it had on Britain.

As Scientists we will be learning about properties and changes of materials. Through a range of experiments, we will use our scientific skills to compare and group materials based on their properties and learn about reversible and irreversible changes. In Autumn 2, we will be investigating space! We will explore the Solar System and learn about why we have day and night, the stages of the moon and look for patterns in the movement of the Earth compared to other planets. 

As Computer specialists (in Computing) we will become cryptographers and learn early coding systems to help us de-crypt and encrypt messages. We will use this to understand why encryption is important online and how we can create secure passwords to keep ourselves safe. In the second half of the term we will create our own web pages of how to stay safe online, which we will be sharing with other year groups in the school.

As Musicians we will be using graphic and staff notation to compose a detailed piece of music. We will also be working in groups to perform a piece of music, singing in two parts in a variety of musical styles from memory.

As Artists we will be using lino printing and collage to create our own war time pieces inspired by Pablo Picasso and his pieces that depict themes from the Spanish civil war.

In RE we will be exploring the question; 'Why do some people believe God exists?' We will look at the Christian belief as to how the world began and their response to evil and suffering. We will then explore the beliefs of atheists and agnostics in relation to this.

As Engineers (in DT) we will become chefs! Using our knowledge from our history lessons, we will research war time meals. We will learn chopping, slicing and pastry skills to create our own war time pies, with rationing and war ingredients in mind.

As Linguists, we will continue to build on our vocabulary, phonics and grammatical knowledge of French with a unit on the date! We will learn days of the week, months of the year, numbers up to 31, ask what the date is, say what the date is today, ask someone when their birthday is and say when your birthday is. We will learn about some important dates in the French calendar including when and how Armistice Day is celebrated in France. A unit on the weather will then follow and an opportunity to use our speaking skills to present a weather forecast in French.

Here are some websites that you might find useful:
 

MyMaths - log in provided by class teacher

Topmarks - Maths games
 

KS2 Bitesize - Learn more about our class topics and play interactive quizzes

Times Tables Rock Stars - log in provided by class teacher