English

The Lion and The Unicorn by Shirley Hughes

This week we start this absolutely brilliant and most memorable book, which even includes real-life  recounts from evacuees, uncovered from the Imperial War Museums.  This wonderful yet woeful, and beautifully illustrated story book, will not only allow us to further explore how the war affected many children on the Home Front in Britain; from the bombings to life as an evacuee.  It will also enable us to reflect on many of the emotions felt and character traits developed during this time, everything from the sadness and uncertainty that comes with homesickness to the bravery and courage shown by those who overcame this.  This heart-warming book, which tells the tale of conquering inner demons and the forging strength of friendships, shows that magic can happen, even in the most desperate of times.  We will not only look at this text from a historical point of view, but it will also inspire us to explore an array of different writing genre and finally write our very own similar structured narratives.

Bombs and Blackberries: A World War Two Play by Julia Donaldson

Grab your gas masks and buckle yourselves down!  This World War II playscript will once again provide to be a highly thrilling read.  Not only will it allow us to explore a vast amount of subject matter ranging from rationing and evacuation to the Blitz but it will also allow us to work on many of our English spoken language skills - as we get the opportunity to take on different roles and characters in our reading.  All the while we shall we exploring and identifying the features of a playscript, which will allow us to conclude by writing our very own final scene!

What We'll Build by Oliver Jeffers

Excitement is definitely in the air as we all finally unite back in school and in celebration of this, once I again we will be reading a whole school text.  In fact this gorgeously told father-daughter story, which focuses on some of life's bigger questions and explores the importance of relationships, is a sequel to the story we read by Oliver Jeffers at the beginning of the year.  By reading this book not only do we hope to build new foundations as we all return to learning together, but hopefully the lessons of endurance and endless opportunities will allow us to move forward and continue to build a positive future together.

Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll

This term, we will be reading the gripping tale of Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll.  This historical fiction will not only leave us on the edge of our seats as we immerse ourselves in mystery and suspense, but will also provide us with a highly realistic insight as to how Howard Carter went about one of the greatest discoveries of all time!  This should not only be inspirational and lead to some great pieces of writing, but it will also allow us to delve into the past and find out more about the mysteries of the past.

Wild Robot by Peter Brown

We have recently started reading the absolute page-turner of a book Wild Robot by Peter Brown.  Although, we have only read the first chapter so far we have got off to a superb start, as we took the time to carry out research about robots and write our own non-chronological reports.  We shall be continuing to read and base our work on this text, most probably till the end of term, as it provides so much scope to explore many different literary genre and inspire good writing.

Belonging by Jeannie Baker

In English, this week we have begun the study of the picture book 'Belonging' written by Jeannie Baker.  This book, not only has the environmental focus of the regeneration of the city, which will link to our study of living things in their habitats in Science later in the year, but also considers the role of community, the empowerment of people and the significance of children, family and neighbourhood in changing their urban environment. This uplifting book - where gradual change is observed, as the streets slowly become places for safe children’s play, community activity and places for nature and wonder - will not only allow us to partake in many engaging discussions, but will also provide us with a lot of scope to explore many literary genres.

Having been inspired by Tracy and her community's success in bringing about change for the better of the environment, we have concluded our focus on this text by trying to follow suit.  We have put pencil to paper and taken the time to write some beautifully presented persuasive letters to Miss Minnis proposing some changes we would like to see take place for the better of the school.  We now await patiently for a response to our eco-friendly ideas. 

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

 by Oliver Jeffers

We begun this term by reading the whole school text 'Here We Are: Notes for living on planet Earth' written by Oliver Jeffers. This new beautifully illustrated heartfelt book has supported our transition back to school as it allowed us to explore many topical issues; everything from our own personal experiences during lockdown to the more powerful movement and motives behind the Black Lives Matter campaign.  We were also encouraged to reflect on our thoughts and feelings, considering how we might deal with the more negative ones that enter our mind.