What we are learning this week in Lilac Class for the week beginning 1.12.25

In Maths this week in Lilac Class, we are adding fractions with different denominators.  We are finding the common denominator using our knowledge of factors and multiplication.  We will also be using pictorial representations to support our calculations.  We will then move onto adding fractions that are greater than one by converting mixed numbers into improper fractions. This will lead us to adding two mixed numbers using partitioning and recombining. 

In English this week in Lilac Class, we are starting to draft our new piece of extended writing entitled ‘Come to Belize!’ We will recap on the travel site videos we watched and the information we read on travel websites and in travel books.  Lilac Class are writing about what Belize is like as a holiday destination and why you should visit it. As a whole class, we will ‘Magpie’ language used and brain storm phrases and words that are examples of persuasive writing.  When visiting Belize, holidaymakers can see the lost cities of the Ancient Mayans, explore the tropical rainforests and swim in the Great Blue Hole.

For our Whole Class Guided Reading, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis we are reading Chapter 13 and 14 this week.  We are particularly developing our inference skills.  What is the Witch preparing Edmund for?  Why do you think Aslan says there is no need to talk to Edmund about things past? Why does the Witch refer to Aslan as a fool?

In RE, we are finishing off re-visiting our Big Question ‘Was Jesus the Messiah?’ drawing on the knowledge we have gathered throughout this unit.  What does the Messiah mean?  What examples from the texts that we studied are evidence that Jesus was to be the Messiah?

In Time and Place, we are finishing off our Mayan Haab calendars and will then be exploring Mayan writing.  What did the Mayan writing system consist of?  How are Mayan words constructed? What are codices? 

For Science in Lilac Class, we will be conducting an experiment that investigates the effects of friction on a moving object. 3 toy cars will be rolled down a ramp and will be timed using a stop watch. The cars will be identical and the ramps will be the same size.  However, the surface of each ramp will be covered in a different material.  In ICT, we are film making using digital cameras.  Our script will be based on our storyboards we wrote about St Barnabas School.  We will be looking at the different shots we used and how we could improve our videos.

In Art, we are using our 2B pencil sketches to create pictures of peppers using felt tip pens based on the work of the artist Yayoi Kusama ‘Pumpkins’.