Elm Class

Welcome to our class page! This page should give you an idea of the amazing things we will be doing in Elm Class this year.

Our overarching topics this year are:

Autumn 1 - Where in the world do we live?

We have a Geography focus this term. Looking at the country we live in, as well as the village, town or city we live in. We look at human and physical features in our local area, such as rivers, forests, churches, factories, farms.

Our English text is 'The Three Little Pigs' and we rehearse the story, using  our'Talk for Writing' story maps. We are helping the residents of Upton Noble to be aware of the Big Bad Wolf, by creating a 'Wanted poster'. The children will use adjectives in their writing to describe the wolf. Our Science and DT are linked to our English. This term we learn about materials, such as glass, rubber, brick, fabric, and consider which materials would make a strong house for the three little pigs. We talk about properties of materials, such as stretchy, absorbent, waterproof. stiff, bendy.

Autumn 2 - Awesome Australia.

This is a Science and Geography based topic. We look at the globe, atlases and maps to locate Australia and the UK. We learn the names and locations of the seven continents. We compare and contrast a location in Australia to England. We will have a zoom call from an Australian resident, as well as a parent to talk to us about the geography of Australia.

In Science, we look at characteristics  of animals and begin to classify animals according to their kingdom, such as birds, reptiles, mammals etc. We look at seasonal change and weather and make a class pictogram of the children's preferred weather type.

Our text for English is 'The Cantankerous crocodile' and we retell, then write this story with our own innovations. For art, we look at Aboriginal artist, Emily Kngwarreye. In PE, we shall move like different Australian animals, such as the thorny devil. We will perform  dance, combining animal movements and evaluate our performance. 

Spring 1 - It's so cold down here!

We have a history focus this term as we look at explorer Captain Robin Falcon Scott and his expedition to Antarctica. We look at historical evidence to answer questions. We learn why Captain Scott is a significant figure. We will have some visitors come into school to talk about and show us photos of their Antarctic adventures. We will write some questions to ask our visitors. 

In geography, we will locate hot and cold countries in relation to the equator. 

For English, we look at the text 'Lost and Found' by Oliver Jeffers. We help the lost penguin, by producing a 'Lost penguin' poster. We look at the middle of stories, and how there is usually a problem in stories. We will create our own problem in our innovated story of Lost and Found. In art, we will create our own sea creatures, thinking about texture and different brush sizes to add detail.

Spring 2 - Gruel and school.

We have a history focus this term, as we look at Victorian Schools. We will identify similarities and differences between the past and the present by looking at historical evidence, such as diaries, paintings and artefacts. Our English text is 'The magic porridge pot' and the children will first make and taste 'gruel', and then create their own porridge recipes to suit their tastes. In DT, we will be learning to whisk, cut and grate the toppings on our porridge. We read the instructions of how to make porridge and afterwards we will write our own food review. Our cross-curricular writing piece will be a diary of a Victorian child and their experiences of school that week.

Summer 1 - Choo, choo - and off we go!

This topic is a history focus, as we explore the changes in trains over time. We will look at George Stephenson as our significant individual. We will sequence photos of trains in chronological order. We will embark on our own steam train ride at East Somerset Railway. Our English text is 'The runaway train' by Benedict Blathwayt. We will change the middle of the story to include own ideas of different transports used to catch up with the runaway train. In geography, we will be looking at the four countries of the UK and learn the names of the capital cities. In PE, we focus on fitness this term. We learn jumping and running techniques to propel forward. In Science, we will be using instruments, such as thermometers to monitor the weather and record in a weather diary. We will be growing plants and measuring them, using non-standard and standard units. 

Summer 2 - 

Ever to return?

This is a history focus, as we look at artefacts and evidence to find out what happened to Amelia Earhart. We encourage the children to ask their own questions. 

Our English text is 'Emma-Jane's aeroplane'. We use our Geographical knowledge of the world to add new characters and places to the story. Will Emma-Jane pick up a fluffy panda from Asia, or perhaps a brown golden eagle from Scotland? We will look at creating a descriptive and captive opener for our stories. In Science, we will look at seasonal change and plants. 

Please click on the 'Curriculum overview' link within each half term to see our curriculum in more detail. 

If you have any questions or queries about anything this term please contact me through my class email at: elm@eastsomersetfederation.co.uk

I will be happy to help.

Mrs Chadi