Sycamore Class

Sycamore class is a mixed year 4 and year 5 class where children are encouraged to support one other to learn, grow and flourish as individuals.

We have very high expectations in Sycamore Class for the children to be the best learners they can be - across the whole curriculum - whether that is in Maths, English or a Unit subject.

We use our gem powers to help us to persevere, ask for help, bounce back from disappointment and defeat monster distractions!

 As well as doing a deep dive into unit work, we will be reading key texts across the year in order to develop our reading skills, enhance our learning in other subjects and influence and inspire our writing.

 This year (2023-2024) we will be learning more about some of the following:

 Science:

• Light - How do we see light and shadow?             
• Plants - How do scientists classify flora and fauna?
• Animals (including humans) - How does the respiratory system help us to breathe?   

History:

• Ancient Egyptians - Who were they and what did they achieve?         
• Kings and Queens - Is the monarchy still as important and powerful in today's society?
• Romans - What legacy did the early Roman Empire leave?

 Geography:                       

• The 7 wonders of the world - Why do we have them and where in the world are they?
• Climate and Biomes - What are they and where can they be found on a map? 

RE: Understanding Christianity

• Incarnation - Was Jesus the Messiah? 
• Salvation - What did Jesus do to save human beings? 
• Gospel - What would Jesus do? 

RE: Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam

• Why do people pray?
• What difference does it make to believe in Ahimsa, Grace, and Ummah?
• What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today?

Art and DT:

• Sculpture - How can we use clay sculpture to show Ancient Egyptian culture?
• Designing seasonal recipes
• Designing and making moving parts for an animal model
• Artist study, drawing and painting

We are really looking forward to some exciting learning experiences this year!

Miss Bell and Mrs McSloy

Sycamore Class Teachers

Reading

For children on the school reading scheme, we offer books that are decodable using their phonics learning. For free readers, there are a variety of fiction and non-fiction books available. 

Please try to listen to your child read some of their school book five times each week. If you are able, take time to discuss the text, focusing on VIPERS skills which we use in school:

• Vocabulary - discuss meanings of unfamiliar words;
• Inference - use clues to discuss events or characters;
• Predict - discuss what children think might happen next;
• Explain - discuss why has the author made certain choices;
• Retrieve - find information directly from the text;
• Sequence - order events from the text.

Continue to learn your Times tables

You could: 

Create a poster showing the Times Table facts.

Write out the Multiplication and Division facts.

Create arrays linked to the facts

3 x 5 = 15, 5 x 3 = 15 15 divided by 3 = 5, 15 divided by 5 = 3

Create a Times table game

Please remember you can also use Times Tables Rockstars regularly in order to improve your Times Tables knowledge and speed! 

https://ttrockstars.com/

Play 'Hit the Button':

Hit the Button Maths game

If you would like some additional Mental math's activities, you may like to visit: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/daily10

You can choose from different levels - Year 4 is Level 4, Year 5 is Level 5 and so on. There are a variety of topics to work on. Select how long you would like to answer each question.