Hillyfield Primary Academy

Power of Reading Topic:
This half term in Year One we are very excited that our ‘Power of Reading’ text is Lila and the secret of the rain. The story is a traditional African tale and will follow on from the work we did at the end of term during black history month. If you know a traditional African tale that you would like to share with the children please speak to a member of the Year One team. We will explore the story in many ways including drama and story mapping. The children will be able to confidently retell the story and discuss the main character. Whilst we are looking at the book we will explore different kinds of weather. We plan to visit Lloyds park and study the subject of weather in a very fun and active way (look out for more info on this trip soon!

Writing:
This half term in Year One we will be holding daily phonics sessions where the children will be working in their current phase focusing on a different sound or tricky word each day. If you would like to know more about phonics or you are unsure of the phase that your child is working in please speak to your class teacher. We will be continuing to practice the correct spelling of the Year One high frequency words. Handwriting will also stay a big focus, we will work to ensure each letter is being formed correctly. Our writing genres this half term are weather poems, Recount and story descriptions. Don’t forget to ask your child what their writing target is.

Numeracy:
In Numeracy, we will continue to work on developing confidence with recognising, reading and writing numbers up to 100. This is a great activity to practice at home! We will revise the work that we have done on addition and number bonds at the end of last term. We will then start to look at subtraction. Initially the children will explore these concepts through the use of concrete manipulatives such as counters and cubes. Then the children will develop the pictoral method and eventually move onto more abstract thinking and problem solving. Please see our calculation policy to find out more. In the final few weeks of term the children will begin to explore measurement. This will be highly interactive and will involve plenty of outdoor learning as the children put their new knowledge to work measuring different things in the playground.

Power of Reading Topic:
This half term in Year 2 we are very excited that our ‘Power of Reading’ text is Zeraffa Giraffa. This is a fantastic story which shows the beautiful journey made by a giraffe and its keeper. We know that the children are going to love it! Our topic will be linked to the story and we will be answering the question ‘Who is Louise Marie Therese?’ looking at the life of this interesting historical figure and how to find information from the past. We will also be comparing life in England and other countries and using maps and atlases to improve our understanding of the world.

Writing:
This half term our writing genres are descriptive narrative, and recounts. We will be retelling stories from other cultures and times which will help us to develop our descriptive vocabulary and our use of openers eg later that day, early one morning. We will also be learning how to write a recount, putting events that have happened in to order and learning how to use the past tense.

Numeracy:
In Numeracy, we will begin the half term by finishing our work on subtraction, using different resources such as number lines, counters and tens frames to help us understand how to subtract one and two digit numbers. We will then be looking at measurement, understanding how to use a ruler to measure length and how to order objects by length. We will also be looking at how to weigh objects using and ordering them by their weight. We will also look at some basic work on statistics, how to make a bar graph and how to answer questions by looking at results.

Power of Reading Topic:
For our Power of Reading Topic term we will be travelling back in time for life in the Stone Age! In History, we will be learning all about how people lived in Britain thousands of years ago: where they lived, what they ate, what tools they had and famous monuments they left behind. In Science, we will be studying different types of rocks, how they’re formed, investigating their properties and choosing ​what different uses we can have for them. In Art, we will begin by using charcoal to create Stone Age style wall drawings and then move on to using clay to make Stone Age style pots and jewellery. In other areas, we’ll be focussing on what bullying is, its impacts and how we can stand up to it in school and will also be learning all about Christianity in our RE lessons. 

Writing:
This half term our writing genres are play scripts, non-chronological reports and narratives.  We are going to focus on how speech and dialogue can shape a story, translating our book on Ug from a fictional text into a play script.  Once we’ve finished our scripts we hope to put them to the test, adopting all the key roles of a production team to act out our plays within our year groups.  After this we turn our attention to non-chronological reports on different rock types, which will help our children understand their uses in the Stone Age.  Finally we will need our imaginations turned up to study narratives, writing our own stories, inspired by Ug, on an invention we might create to improve life in the Stone Age.

Numeracy: 
In Maths this term we have been consolidating our knowledge of place value for numbers up to one thousand. Now that we have secured our knowledge of place value, we are learning to add and subtract two and three digit numbers using various methods. After the half term break, we will be learning how to multiply and divide two and three digit numbers. Please see our calculation policy to find out what methods your child will use in year three.

Power of Reading Topic:
This term our power of reading book is the Village that Vanished. It tells the story of how the inhabitants of a West African village thwart capture by slave traders, thanks to the wisdom, courage and faith of three generations of women: the child Abikanile, her mother Njemile and her grandmother Chimwala. It is retold in a style resembling the oral tradition as narrated by an African storyteller or griot. We will start our literacy work with diary writing, utilising the great characterisation in the book!

Writing:
Connected to this is our topic: Search for Freedom. Children will develop their knowledge of slavery. Our science objectives are all health based: we will look at teeth, diet and the digestive system. For geography, we will look at where a variety of ingredients are grown, found and processed.

Numeracy:
In maths, children will continue learning about the four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They will look at different written and mental strategies for each. Please continue to assist your children in learning their times tables. Beyond this, children will begin fraction work, starting with equivalent fractions.

Power of Reading Topic:
This half term in Year 5 our ‘Power of Reading’ text is ‘The Journey’ by Francesca Sanna. This is a very interesting book about a family who are forced to become refugees. They travel across the world in search of safety. We will be learning about the refugee crisis and planning a fundraising event for this. As part of this topic, we have lots of Geography objectives to meet so we will be learning about the Geography of Syria and comparing it to the United Kingdom. Many people only know about the war in Syria but they are many other things for us to learn about the country. 
 
Writing:
This half term our writing genres are information texts, poetry and narrative. We are writing information texts about Syria to help people understand more about the war, refugees and the greater geography of the country. We will also be writing our own myth from another culture inspired by ‘The Raven who stole the Sun’. We are going to be writing sound poems about journeys with lots of descriptive language.
 
Numeracy:
In Numeracy, we are learning written methods for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Please see our calculation policy to find out which method your child is learning. We will also be revising our times tables to help support these methods. As part of our maths mastery programme, the children will be practicing their use of the bar model to help them to problem solve. 

Power of Reading Topic: 
This half term year 6 are looking forward to our next ‘Power of Reading’ text: The Promise, a tale of personal and ecological redemption. Inspired by the belief that a relationship with nature is essential to every human being, and that more than ever, we need to renew that relationship,  A story about hope, community and change. It sends a positive message about the power we have as an individual to make a positive impact on our surroundings. As part of our science learning we will be classifying animals and plants as well as looking at how some animals have adapted to live in inhospitable environments.

Writing:
In our english learning we will be looking at biographies, instructional text and persuasive writing. As part of Black History Month we will be collecting information about the life of Barak Obama to write a biography. We will also be developing our persuasive writing skills to write letters to the local council to promote a greener Waltham Forest. 

Numeracy:
In Year 6, we will continue to work on the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and will apply these skills to fractions, decimals and percentages. Children will look at real life contexts and use bar modelling to support their understanding of this work. As arithmetic is an important part of mental maths, we will continue to embed practice throughout all lessons. Children are already making progress so we are excited to see how quickly they can apply their mental recall to new contexts!