English

Our topic this half-term is Explorers. As an introduction to the topic, we will read poetry about different places that people could explore. We will use our reading to help us write our own versions. 

Our key text for our story writing unit is The Great Explorer by Chris Judge. We are enjoying reading some of his other books, particularly the different adventures of The Lonely Beast. The link to Chris Judge’s website is below:

Chris Judge Website

We will write character and setting descriptions, thinking about what an explorer might need and see in the Arctic. We will use the plot of our key text to help us write our own versions of the story.

Maths

In maths, we will cover statistics, fractions, money, volume and capacity and time. In statistics, we will look at how information can be represented and interpreted using tables, block graphs, pictograms and tally charts. In factions, we will consolidate our understanding of 1/2 and 1/4. In money, we will make values in different ways using coins and add coins to make a total. In capacity and volume, we will measure using millilitres and practise reading different scales on measuring cylinders. We will practise telling the time to half and quarter hours. 

Science

Our topic in science this half-term is ‘materials.’ We will think about what we remember from Year 1 by selecting objects in the classroom and discussing their materials, properties and their uses.

We will learn new scientific words to describe the properties of materials. We will investigate the suitability of materials and why they are used for certain objects. 

We will also carry out an experiment to test different materials and their suitability for a tent.

Design Technology

This half-term, our design brief is to design and make a bag for an explorer to carry his equipment. We will investigate existing products - looking at what bags are made of, how they are joined and what they are used for. We will also investigate different joining techniques and practise stitching, stapling and gluing. We will then design our bags before making them and evaluating them against our design criteria.

History

In history this half-term, we are learning about Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his expedition to the South Pole. We will first ask questions to help us find out about him, before looking at photographs of him and his team at the South Pole, and reading his diary to find out what happened. We will research by reading non-fiction texts.
We will sequence the main events of his expedition on a timeline, and compare his decisions to Roald Amundsen, who beat him in the race to the South Pole. We will also compare Captain Scott to Preet Chandi, a modern explorer who has set many records on her polar adventures. A link to Preet Chandi’s website is below:

https://polarpreet.com/

The Antarctic Heritage Trust website is a great place to find out more about Scott and his final expedition. Follow the link below:

History of Scott's Expedition | Antarctic Heritage Trust (nzaht.org)

Geography

In geography, we are learning about the continents and oceans of the world. We will use atlases and globes to name and locate them, and to help us remember them, we will learn these songs (follow the links below):

Continents Song

Oceans Song

PE

In PE this half-term, we will focus on football and multi-skills. We will practise dribbling with a football and learn how to keep it under close control. We will also develop our passing and shooting techniques. 

In multi-skills, we will develop our agility, balance and coordination, working on our throwing and catching skills, our speed, and our endurance.