Dear Parents
We thought you’d like to know something about what your children’s learning during this Spring Term
2014 is based around.
Our first learning journey commences with ‘Wolves in the Walls’ by Neil Gaiman. What happens if
the Wolves come out of the Walls? Well, in this learning journey, the children will find out! We start with a
study of Wolves and will create and information leaflet about these fascinating creatures. In this exciting
voyage, phase two will become film directors creating their own play script to perform including the vital
background music which adds to the atmosphere and shows the moods of the story. They will use
instruments and ICT to help with their compositions. The children will also develop their knowledge of
deserts and make comparisons between hot and cold deserts. They will be making jam and use this experience
to increase their understanding of reversible and irreversible changes. They will also learn about sounds and
how to muffle them effectively. Finally the children will have the opportunity to choose two places they
could live writing a descriptive piece for each and creating a montage to show what they are like including
choice phrases from their written compositions. In PE they will be developing skills in gymnastics using the
apparatus.
Our second learning journey is called ‘My Friend Walter’ by Michael Morpurgo. The children will
step back in time with Michael Morpurgo to understand the Tudor period of history through the
eyes of Sir Walter Raleigh. They will start by looking at family trees and portraits of important
people from the time of Henry VIII, understanding how people are portrayed in portraits, looking at Holbein
the Tudor portrait painter. They will also learn all about the Tudor royal family and understand the
difference between rich and poor Tudors. Additionally, they will be finding out about Sir Walter Raleigh and
his part in Tudor exploration. Not for the squeamish .. their learning will take them on a journey to explore
the use of torture in Tudor times creating their own torture machine using woodwork and their understanding
of forces to help. To develop skills in English the children will be writing their own short story linked to the
book and creating a newspaper article about a key event in the story – the missing crown jewels!
The final learning journey this term is ‘Tales of Wisdom and Wonder’, retold by Hugh Lupton. Passed down
through many hundreds of years of oral retelling these stories are a collection to inspire and mystify and we
look forward to delving into the world of ‘wisdom and wonder’ looking at these stories from other
cultures. To begin their journey, children will be finding out all about the origins of these stories
and the meaning of wisdom and wonder comparing them with examples from the Bible and the
Quran. Through their imagination they will be transported to Africa to find out about the animals which live
there and develop their knowledge of habitats and endangered species. They will have the opportunity to
write a non-chronological report abut a chosen animal. They will also develop geography skills as they make
comparisons between an African country and Dudley (England) as well as creating African music using drums.
Additionally children will ‘get creative’ as they design and make their own tribal masks for a chosen animal as
well as imitating Rudyard Kipling to create their own ‘Just So’ story.
During the modules, children will have the chance to take part in curriculum days in PSHE, RE and MFL. For
PSHE they will be learning about money and the importance of savings and budgeting. In RE children will be
learning about Judaism and some practises and beliefs of Jewish people. For the MFL day, children will
become confident in using language and phrases related to parts of the body. In PE, children will be learning
about invasion games.
As usual, during this term, we will be holding our Inspire Workshops and Stay & Learn – watch out
for your letters. We also have our exciting visit to the Pioneer Centre in March! We will also fundraising prior to the Pioneer visit which will tie in with PSHE (more information to follow).
Finally, please remember that weekly Home Learning is given out on Thursdays and should be returned on
Mondays. As always, we value your support – particularly with reading and talking with your child lots; ask
them lots of questions about their learning. Please see our termly Home Learning activities below.
Phase Two Team
January 2014
Phase Two Home Learning Spring 2014
First Half-Term
We will be asking the children to create a musical instrument. More information will
be included when this project is given out to children on Tuesday 21st January. This
home learning project should be returned on Monday 3rd February.
A celebration of phase two Home Learning will be on Tuesday 4th February at 3.15pm.
Second Half-Term
Linking with Design & Technology and Science learning, we will be asking the children
to create an animal puppet and this task will be given out on Tuesday 18th March and
should be returned on Thursday 3rd April. More information regarding this topic will
be sent out to you nearer the time.
A celebration of phase two Home Learning will be on Tuesday 8th April at 3.15pm.