What we are doing this week in Lilac Class for the week beginning 8.5.23

For Maths this week in Lilac Class, we are starting our new block of learning about Perimeter and Area.  We will start by finding the perimeter of rectangles and the most efficient calculation to do this.  We will then find the perimeter of rectilinear shapes finding out what strategies can be used.  How can we use the labelled sides to find the unknown side?  Do we need to add or subtract?  The next step is to find the perimeter of polygons and what operations we need to use and why. Lilac Class will then move onto finding the area of rectangles and compound shapes asking the question ‘will multiplying the length by the width calculate the area of any shape?’  With regards to the latter, Lilac Class are investigating whether there is more than one way to split the shape and do you get a different total area if you split the shape differently.

In English this week in Lilac Class, we are drafting a newspaper article about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.  We will be using our planning drawn from a range of information texts including actual newspapers articles written just after the Titanic sank.  We will be using the features of a newspaper report – Headline, Byline, Lead, Body, Picture and Caption and Tail. 

For our Guided Reading text, Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill this week, we are reading pages 19-24. In Lilac Class we are developing our knowledge of key terminology, for example  ‘cross-bracing’, ‘pack ice’, ‘bow’ and ‘jib boom’ referring to the glossary and by also using our word detective skills.  Our inference questions will ask how might the Weddell Sea present problems to the expedition and what could have made the progress laborious? 

For RE in Lilac Class, we are learning about why Shahadah (the First Pillar of Islam) is important to Muslims.  We will find out what the Shahadah is and what it says. We will also be exploring why the first words that a Muslim baby hears are the Shahadah and be answering the question ‘What would you whisper to a new born baby or shout from a tower?’   For Time and Place in Lilac Class, we are learning about the features of a river and will be learning about the journey of the River Severn.  Lilac Class will be answering such questions as ‘What is a young river?’, ‘How does erosion cause meanders?’ and ‘What is a tributary?’  For Science in Lilac Class, we are finding out that plants can also reproduce artificially.  We will learn that it is possible to clone plants and Dr Charles will take a cutting from a geranium plant from her garden to grow a new geranium plant in the classroom.  We will also be growing beans in our classroom and observing what happens over the next few weeks!  For Design and the Arts, we are starting our seascapes using a range of different materials to create a variety of effects and textures.