Kestrels - Website Class Page – January 2016
English- What we are learning
Fiction
Text - Short by Kevin Crossley Holland
Description:
We will look at the genre of short stories using Short! by Kevin Crossley-Holland. The Children will investigate the
use of adverbials to link sentences or paragraphs together. They will plan and write short mystery stories.
Argument and debate
Text - Arguments for and against use of CCTV cameras
Description:
The children will Identify features of argument texts and discuss differences between facts and opinions. They will
find out how to present opinions as if they were facts. The children will research for and hold a class debate.
Classic narrative and oral poetry
Text
The Ballad of Charlotte Dymond by Charles Causley
Lochinvar by Sir Walter Scott
Description:
The children will learn the classic narrative poem Ballad of Charlotte Dymond to recite and identify features. The
will use role play to study the characters in depth. Then they will compare with Lochinvar and explore relative
clauses.
Maths – What we are learning
Addition and place value
 To add and subtract 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000 and 1,000,000 to/from 7-digit numbers.
 To place 7-digit numbers on number lines and round to the nearest 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000.
 To use negative numbers in context of temperature; calculate rises and falls in temperature.
 To add and subtract near multiples of powers of ten including decimals (e.g. +/- 2.99, 3.02).
 To use knowledge of the order of operations and brackets to carry out calculations.
 To explore the order of operations using brackets; for example, 2 + 1 x 3 = 5 and (2 + 1) x 3 = 9.
 To solve multi-step word problems; use brackets to record the necessary calculations.
 To round decimals to the nearest whole, tenth and hundredth.
 To use written addition to add numbers with 3 decimals in context of measures (litres, km, kg); use
rounding to estimate totals.
Shape and measure
 To plot points and draw polygons in all four quadrants.
 To work out new co-ordinates after a translation or reflection.
 To interpret pie charts.
 To construct pie charts.
 To draw a conversion graph of imperial to metric units and use it to read off equivalent measures.
Multiplication and division, Place value
 To multiply and divide numbers with up to 2 decimal places, e.g. 0.4 × 6, 3.5 ÷ 7, 5 × 0.03, 0.15 ÷ 3.
 To use long multiplication to multiply 3-digit then 4-digit numbers by numbers between 10 and 35; use
rounding to approximate.
Fractions, decimals, percentages and mean
 To revise comparing fractions with unrelated denominators using equivalence.
 To recognise equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages.
 To find percentages of amounts.
 To use mental division strategies to find non-unit fractions of amounts.
 To calculate and interpret mean as an average.
Science – Living things and their habitats
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To describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable
characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including micro-organisms, plants and animals
To give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics
To describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals
To describe the differences in the life cycle of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird
Topic – Mountains, Rivers and Coasts
 The Journey of a river
 Rivers for people
 Mountains – What Are They?
 Coasts – Where the land meets the sea
 Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
PE
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Wednesday and Friday - please remember to have PE kits in school.
Homework (All homework will be set on Monday and due in by Friday)
Spelling
Spellings will be handed out every Monday. Your child will be required to complete a focus task and/or an
extension task based on a weekly spelling pattern.
Please encourage your child to check their work for common spelling and punctuation errors.
English
A comprehension exercise will be set with questions to be answered in detailed sentences. Please encourage your
child to add as much detail as possible to each answer and read the questions carefully.
Reading
Please encourage your child to read every night. It is very important that they discuss what they have read and
can explain their views, giving examples from the text.
Maths
A problem solving worksheet will be set which should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete. Please
encourage your child to explain their methods and check their answers are logical in the context of the question.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.