Focus Narrative:

Suspense and Tension

Key Text/Stimulus:

Holes

Writing Outcome:

Overview

Focus Grammar

Non-finite clauses🔗

• A new subordinate clause: the non-finite (-ing) clause
• A new sentence structure: the non-finite complex sentence
• Using the comma rules in non-finite complex sentences

Debate/Discussions around events

In this writing task, children will explore how authors create suspense and tension during a dangerous moment. Using the scene from Holes in which Stanley and Zero are surrounded by deadly yellow-spotted lizards, children will build atmosphere, slow down the action and show the characters’ fear through carefully chosen description.

Writing Task

Write a suspense-filled account of the moment Stanley and Zero realise they are surrounded by yellow-spotted lizards. Describe the lizards appearing, the boys’ reactions and the growing danger as they understand that even the slightest movement could have deadly consequences.

Writing Focus

Create suspense by varying sentence length and pace, using short sentences at key moments for impact. Choose powerful verbs, adjectives and sensory description to create a threatening atmosphere. Show Stanley and Zero’s thoughts and feelings through their actions and reactions rather than simply telling the reader how they feel. Use paragraphs and carefully controlled detail to slow down important moments and gradually increase the tension.

Focus Non-Narrative:
Local Songs🔗
Key Text/Stimulus:
Cushie Butterfield

Writing Outcome:

Overview

In this writing task, children will explore how traditional local songs use rhyme, rhythm, repetition and memorable language to tell stories about people and places. Inspired by Cushie Butterfield, children will use the style and structure of a familiar local song as a model for creating their own lyrics.

Writing Task

Professor Crankpot has an important commission for you! It is Olive Stein’s birthday, and he wants to surprise her with a brand-new song written especially for her. Write the lyrics for a song about Olive Stein, using Cushie Butterfield as your inspiration. Adapt the ideas and subject matter while keeping the lively style, rhythm and feel of a traditional local song.

Writing Focus

Use rhyme, rhythm and repetition to make your lyrics memorable and enjoyable to perform. Choose lively and precise vocabulary to build a clear picture of Olive Stein and her personality. Use repeated lines or a chorus to give the song a recognisable structure, and experiment with the wording and sentence patterns of traditional local songs so that your new lyrics fit naturally with the rhythm.

Singing, performing

Cross-curriculum support genres:

Letters

Debate, discussions, hot-seating

Peer feedback/instructions

Pathway: Gymnastics

Focus: Flight🔗

Pupils have already learnt how to think creatively about the design of their sequences to utilise canon and unison, with a focus on different gymnastics themes. This unit explores a unique aspect of gymnastics where we focus on flight and use jumps and turns to create moments of flight. This unit will allow pupils to use all their learning so far and really test their creativity as they construct their movement sequences and include flight in key moments of the sequence. Pupils will be ready to use their integrity, as they strive to create the best performance possible.

Swimming

Big Question: Are any materials strong enough to build a bridge?

Science Enquiry Focus: Comparative and fair testing

Outline: Challenge children to build a bridge across the gap between two tables using paper, tinfoil, plastic bags and wooden dowels. Explore different ways of shaping, combining and strengthening the materials before testing whether their bridge can support a 1kg weight.

What to Wonder? Encourage children to wonder which materials are strongest, whether seemingly weak materials can be made stronger, how changing their shape affects their strength and whether combining different materials makes a stronger bridge.

Which Solids Will Disappear in Water?Focus: Comparative testingChildren add equal amounts of different solids, such as salt, sugar, sand and flour, to equal volumes of water and stir each for the same length of time. They identify which substances are soluble and form a solution, before investigating whether the dissolved substance can be recovered through evaporation.

Can We Separate a Mystery Mixture?
Focus: Problem solving / comparative testingChildren are given a mixture containing materials such as gravel, sand, paper clips and salt. Using their knowledge of material properties, they devise a sequence involving magnetism, sieving, filtering and evaporation to separate the mixture and recover as many individual materials as possible.

Can We Change It Back?Focus: Identifying, classifying and groupingChildren investigate a range of changes, including melting and solidifying, dissolving salt, mixing materials and reacting bicarbonate of soda with an acid such as vinegar. They observe what happens and classify the changes as reversible or irreversible, recognising that some reactions produce new materials and cannot easily be changed back.

Which Material Will Keep It Warmest?Focus: Comparative and fair testingChildren wrap identical containers of warm water in different insulating materials and measure the temperature at regular intervals. They control variables such as the amount of water, starting temperature and thickness of material, then use their evidence to identify effective thermal insulators and explain their practical uses. 

National Curriculum:

Properties & Changes

compare and group together everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electrical and thermal), and response to magnets

know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution

use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes

give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular uses of everyday materials, including metals, wood and plastic

explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible, including changes associated with burning and the action of acid on bicarbonate of soda

What does it mean when a material dissolves, and how can we get it back again? Some materials, like sugar or salt, dissolve in a liquid to form a solution. The solid appears to disappear but is still mixed into the liquid. To get it back, we can evaporate the liquid, leaving the solid behind. This is a reversible change.

How can we separate mixtures using filtering, sieving or evaporation?We can separate mixtures based on the properties of the materials in them. Sieving separates larger solids from smaller ones, filtering separates solids from liquids, and evaporation removes liquids to leave dissolved solids behind. These methods work because different materials behave differently. They are all useful examples of reversible changes.

What is a reversible change and how is it different from an irreversible change?A reversible change means we can get the material back in its original form, like freezing water and melting it again. An irreversible change makes a new substance that cannot easily be changed back. Burning, baking, or reacting acid with bicarbonate of soda are examples of irreversible changes. These changes cannot be undone.

What happens during irreversible changes?Irreversible changes often create new materials, such as gases, ashes, or cooked food. For example, burning wood creates smoke and ash, and mixing vinegar with bicarbonate of soda makes bubbles of gas. These new materials are different from the ones we started with. This shows that some changes are permanent.

Why do we use certain materials for different jobs?We choose materials based on their properties, such as hardness, flexibility, conductivity, solubility, and whether they are magnetic. For example, metals conduct electricity, so we use them in wires, while plastic is an insulator, so it’s used for wire coatings. We can test materials through fair and comparative tests. These tests help us make sensible decisions about how materials should be used.

Dissolve – When a solid mixes with a liquid and seems to disappear, forming a solution.

Evaporation – A process where a liquid turns into a gas, often used to separate dissolved solids from liquids.

Reversible change – A change that can be undone, returning the material to its original state, like melting or freezing.

Irreversible change – A change that creates a new material and cannot easily be undone, like burning or cooking.

Properties – The special features of a material, such as how hard, flexible, or magnetic it is, which help us decide how to use it.

Online Safety

Lesson 2: Online communication 🔗

Learning the positive and negative aspects of online communication and how to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly.

Programming 1

Scratch: Music 🔗

Applying programming skills to create a soundtrack for a particular genre.

Singing together

Pathway: How songs unite us🔗

Prior to this unit, pupils have studied songs sung for a range of purposes, including songs that evoke a feeling, work songs, community songs, and songs that tell a story. Pupils now start to explore the concept of being united through songs. Building on their knowledge of songs changing over time, there is an increased focus on conveying meaning and mood through song, which is explored further in later units.

Music Tuition

Steel Pans

Describe things and events: 'es'🔗

Lessons 1-4

In this unit, pupils learn the numbers 16-31 and the months. Using numbers, months and days pupils ask and answer questions about birthdays and dates of other events. They practise the new vocabulary through listening, reading, speaking and writing to secure the knowledge.

Me and others: plural 'estar' (for states) and 'ser' (for traits)🔗

Lessons 1-2

This unit requires pupils to use ‘estar’ and ‘ser’ effectively to communicate about how others are today and what they are like in general. When using the new plural forms ‘están’ and ‘son’ in the context of the festival ‘El Día de los Muertos’, pupils also use plural forms of familiar adjectives.