English

Autumn 1

                                                            The Piano 

The Piano is a flashback narrative based on short animation by Aidan Gibbons.

Studying the film and the themes that run through short clip generates some fantastic speaking and listening opportunities as well as some amazing writing.

The children got a chance to listen to the music to see how it made them feel. tehy linked it to the past and remembered what happened. Then they listened to the music with the lonely man to began to understand his feelings and memories.

Below is an example of the sort of writing the children have been writing.

Whilst thoughts rushed swiftly through his mind, the lonesome man tapped his fingers gently on each key. Soothingly, the music reminded him of his past memories however unfortunately the music only made him remember the sombre, sad and depressing memories. Sorrow ran through him.

                                                      Written by Margi Mc Allister.

The children have been studying the above book. It talk about a young girl travelling 3rd class on board the RMS Titanic with her mother as they plan to start a new life in America.

They have been exploring the two main characters in the story, Daisy and Jimmy. The pair have met on board the ship. Coming from very different backgrounds, we compared the two, looking carefully at their similarities and differences.

This week, the children wiil be looking at setting the scene, mimicingbthe style of writing to create own  and  using a variety of punctuation to create fantastic writing pieces.

 Using pictures of the Interior of the Titanic blog and selected scenes from the 1997 film Titanic,  the children began to develop the settings. They used larger sheets and recorded ideas from differnt rooms on board. The children worked in groups and used descriptive vocabulary which will help them produce some amazing work.

The children began to write a diary account about boarding The Titanic. They drew The Titanic that helped them to generate ideas for their writing.

This week, the children will be looking at the lifes of Walt Disney and William Shakespeare.

What is a biography?

A biography is a non-fiction story about someone's life.

Biographies are true stories, based on fact, so biographers (the people who write biographies) have to do a lot of research. They use websites, letters, photographs, diaries and newspapers to help them.

• Because biographies are written by someone else, they are written in the third person (he/she/they).

• They are usually written in chronological order (the order in which events actually happened).

            Walt Disney                                                           William Shakespeare

The children have been working in groups, looking at different biographies to understand them. they looked at the famous ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Walt Disney and Katherine Jojnson.

The children continued learning all about Walt Disney by reteieveing and recording information and then present the information from non fiction.

The children are really enjoying learning all about Walt Disney.

Below are some pictures and videos of a talk4write.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone quickly became a bestseller on publication in 1997. As the book was translated into other languages, Harry Potter started spreading round the globe – and J.K. Rowling was soon receiving thousands of letters from fans. The Harry Potter books have since broken many records.

In 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became the fastest-selling book ever, selling 2.65 million in the first 24 hours in the UK. The Harry Potter series is now published in 80 languages, and over 500 million copies have been sold across the world.

The children have been busy learning all about different biographies. They wrote a letter to Walt Disney asking for a job, learned how to scan text to look for key information and learnt how to manipulare sentences for effect.

Autumn 2

This term, the children will be looking at The Wizard of Oz.

The children will be focusing on the vocabulary to start with and look at why the author has chosen to use the word below:

Rusty looking cookstove

Lumber

Cellar

Cyclone

Whirlwinds arose

Kansas prairies

Garret

Midst.

The children have been enjoying small clips of the film as well as reading extarct from the book to gain a better understanding of the choice of vocabualry the autor has used. The children have then wrote up a setting description using photos and own vocabulary.

              The Cyclone scene ( Plese click on the picture below to watch the twister scene)

Spring 1

The term, the children will be studying Goodnight Mister Tom.

The novel teaches the reader that an act of kindness can change someone's life or make one's day. Mr. Tom's kindness greatly influences Willie's life because he becomes healthy and transforms into a joyful boy.

Please click on the picture below to watch the film to get a better understanding of the story. It will help you to support your child.

Below is a small extract from the story.

Chapter 1

Good Night, Mr. Tom
Michelle Magorian
Meeting
"Yes," said Tom bluntly, on opening the front door. "What d'you want?"
A harassed middle-aged woman in a green coat and felt hat stood on his step. He glanced at
the armband on her sleeve. She gave him an awkward smile.
"I'm the Billeting Officer for this area," she began.
"Oh yes, and what's that got to do wi' me?"
She flushed slightly. "Well, Mr., Mr. . . ."
"Oakley. Thomas Oakley."
"Ah, thank you, Mr. Oakley." She paused and took a deep breath. "Mr. Oakley, with the
declaration of war imminent . . ."
Tom waved his hand. "I knows all that. Git to the point. What d'you want?" He noticed a
small boy at her side.
"It's him I've come about," she said. "I'm on my way to your village hall with the others."
"What others?"
She stepped to one side. Behind the large iron gate that stood at the end of the graveyard was
a small group of children. Many of them were filthy and very poorly clad. Only a handful had
a blazer or coat. They all looked bewildered and exhausted.
The woman touched the boy at her side and pushed him forward.
"There's no need to tell me," said Tom. "It's obligatory and it's for the war effort."
"You are entitled to choose your child, I know," began the woman apologetically.
Tom gave a snort. 

The children have been making comparisons within and across the text in pairs.

Spring 2

This term, the children will be looking at William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Characters:

The children have been acting out scenes from the story.

Quotes from the Play:

Summer 1

The children have been looking at the front cover to explain three things:

What can they see (observe)

What could be happening? (infer)

What the pictures could mean? (wonder)

Please click the link below for further information. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris discuss designing The Lost Words – a gorgeously illustrated book that conjures lost words and and species back into our everyday lives.

The making of a modern 'spell-book’ (penguin.co.uk)

Below is a flip through the book. Please click the picture below.