Topic 3: Iceland - Land Of Fire and Ice

Our topic this half-term is a geography-led study of Iceland and a small island called Heimaey.

The children will:

• Find out where Iceland is in relation to the rest of Europe
• Learn about the physical landscape and why particular geographical features occur there
• Learn how the physical environment affects the lives of the people who live there
• Compare the human and physical geography to our own local environment
• Consider the economic activity and the importance of the local environment
• Use a range of resources to draw conclusions about life in Iceland and how this might have changed over the years

English:

• Using classic poetry from Walter de la Mare as an inspiration for narrative writing showing tension and suspense
• Radio 2 - 500 Words story writing competition
• Learning to identify and write subordinate and relative clauses
• Creating an Icelandic version of 'If You're Not from the Prairie'
• Continued teaching and application of spelling rules and patterns

Maths:

• Converting mixed numbers to improper fractions
• Addition and subtraction of fractions with different denominators
• Multiplying and dividing fractions
• Expressing missing number problems algebraically
• Converting units of measurement using decimal notation
• Ratio and proportion
• Geometry – position and direction
• Naming parts of a circle
• Mental calculation strategies

Science - Classifying animals and living things

• identifying ways of grouping organisms according to their characteristics
• exploring ways of distinguishing between organisms that have similar characteristics
• classifying plants according to their characteristics
• finding out about Carl Linnaeus and his classification system
• exploring what micro-organisms are and how they can be grouped

(Science / DT catch-up from Y5) Forces: Gears, levers and pulleys

• Creating branching diagrams and decision trees and using these to classify organisms
• Creating and searching a tabular database
• E-safety - we'll be taking part in Safer Internet Day

Art:
Looking at the work of Vincent Scarpace to inspire fish drawings using pen and ink / water colour, developing a range of designs to pattern-fill, then making print blocks to create monochrome print designs.

Music:
Composition and performance- creating compositions, using notation to record these and percussion and tuned instruments to perform.

PE: Gym: balances, sequences and wall bars  Games: Handball

RE:  Exploring the concept of power

• What does power mean?
• How is God’s power significant for Christians and Muslims?
• What do I think about the concept of power?
• How does power affects my own and other people’s lives?