Classes
Each class follows a curriculum plan prepared for the year and term ahead.
Year 3
Crickets - Mr Townsend
Grasshoppers - Miss Henman and Mrs Young
This year in Year 3 we will be learning about lots of exciting things. In our Talk for Reading sessions, we will be looking at books such as I am Badger, Leon and the Place Between, The Promise and The book of Bees. We will be learning how to retrieve information, infer meaning from the text and how to justify our answers using evidence as well as other important comprehension skills.
In our Talk 4 Writing sessions, we will look at how to write in a range of genres such as information texts, explanation texts, transformation tales, recounts and warning tales. At the beginning of each new topic, we have a hook lesson which is interactive and draws the children into the new genre of writing.
In our Core Knowledge Curriculum sessions, we are exploring Ancient Egypt, the Shang Dynasty, life in Ancient Greece and how the Olympics originated. In Geography lessons, we will explore our local area before diving deeper to learn about the world that we live in. From this, we will be making comparisons about where we live and South America.
Within our SMSC curriculum we will be learning how to develop self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. We also wish to empower pupils by encouraging them to accept responsibility for their behaviour and actions therefore contributing positively to those in our school and our society.
Year_3_Curriculum_Overview.pdf
Year 4
Butterflies - Miss Jones
Fireflies - Miss Rogers
In Talk for Reading, we explore a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. These sessions encourage children to understand how to apply the key reading skills of retrieval, inference and justification, vocabulary understanding, predicting, summarising, and considering the authors intent. We will also be encouraging children to find pleasure in reading and challenging them to complete the DRET 30 reading challenge.
Our Talk for Writing sessions give children the opportunity to study a range of genres, working their way through the stages of imitation, innovation and independent application to deepen their understanding of using literary features to write for different purposes and audiences.
Maths skills are developed through the teaching of Effective Maths, where children learn to solve both fluency and reasoning mathematical problems across all areas of the mathematics curriculum. In Year 4, the children complete the National DfE Multiplication Check. As a result of this, a focus is put on learning and becoming efficient at using times tables (1-12). Times Table Rockstars is a tool that we use to support the learning of these.
Our year 4 Core Knowledge Curriculum covers the exciting topics of Ancient Rome, Romans in Britain, Islamic civilisation, the United Kingdom, a river study and exploring mountain ranges. These topics aim develop children’s skills as geographers and historians, by encouraging them to make connections between historical facts and to understand how ideas cause change.
In Science, children explore the topics: rocks, animals including humans, light, states of matter, electricity and living things and their habitats. They will be encouraged to ask questions; seek answers through studying, and to collect, count and measure and observe.
In RE, children learn about the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Humanism. These topics aim to encourage children to celebrate our difference and the importance of respecting different religious beliefs.
We follow the Jigsaw curriculum as part of PSHE to help children develop their sense of self-worth, self-esteem and self-believe. It also encourages them to think about their dreams and goals, how to be healthy and understand different relationships in their lives.
Art and design technology will alternate each half term and will support children to develop their creative side through the teaching of specific art skills and providing children with exciting criticality and further writing opportunities.
Each week children will enjoy developing their athletic ability through focussed PE lessons that support children to develop confidence and challenge children to extend their comfort zone.
We enrich our curriculum with daily singing opportunities, weekly French lessons and computing lessons to show children how to safely use computers and develop their skills in this important subject.
Year_4_Curriculum_Overview.pdf
Year 5
Centipedes - Mr Gibney
Dragonflies - Miss Coleshill
In Talk for Reading, we explore a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. These sessions encourage children to understand how to apply the key reading skills of retrieval, inference and justification, vocabulary understanding, predicting, summarising, and considering the author's intent.
Our Talk for Writing sessions give children the opportunity to study a range of genres, working their way through the stages of imitation, innovation and independent application to deepen their understanding of using literary features to write for different purposes and audiences. We encourage children to take ownership of their own independent work and to showcase their abilities in their writing.
We follow the Effective Maths programme when teaching mathematics, focusing on mastery. The children will work through a range of topics which will engage and challenge them. They will work on reasoning style questions, fluency, arithmetic and times tables.
Our Year 5 Core Knowledge Curriculum covers the exciting topics in History such as The Early Civilisation in the Americas, Anglo-Saxons, The Vikings. In Geography, we will explore topics including London, Europe and Climates around the world. These topics aim to develop children’s skills as geographers and historians, by encouraging them to make connections between historical facts and to understand how ideas cause change. We pride ourselves on being able to offer variation in our lessons through group work, roleplay and independent application.
In Science, children explore the topics: sound, forces, Earth and space, animals including humans, properties and changing materials and all living things. They will be encouraged to ask questions; seek answers through studying, and to collect, count and measure and observe. We also prepare different investigations for the children to take part in so they are fully immersed in their learning.
In RE, children learn about the religions of Islam, Christianity and the Sanatana Dharma. These topics aim to encourage children to celebrate our differences and the importance of respecting different religious beliefs.
We follow the Jigsaw curriculum as part of PSHE to help children develop their sense of self-worth, self-esteem and self-believe. It also encourages them to think about their dreams and goals, how to be healthy and understand different relationships in their lives. PSHE allows children to gain the skills needed to be able to live a happy and fulfilled life.
Our curriculum is also enriched with computing, DT, PE, Music, French, Computing and Art. Each of these lessons allow children to explore what they enjoy and be able to experiment with their ideas.
Year_5_Curriculum_Overview.pdf
Year 6
Caterpillars - Miss Nash
Ladybirds - Miss Randall and Miss Harman
As this is their last year before moving on to secondary school, we will make sure that the Year 6 children at Falconer’s Hill are prepared for their transition, emotionally and academically.
Part of their school year will be taking the statutory end of Key Stage 2 assessments - the SATs - and we will work hard to make sure that they are ready to sit them confidently and leave our school ready for Year 7.
We follow the Effective Maths programme when teaching mathematics, focusing on mastery. In our first term, the areas we will focus on will be Place Value and the four operations. In readiness for the end of key stage tests (SATs) there will be additional focus on arithmetic. The arithmetic paper will be the key paper in May, so times table knowledge and mental agility will be key areas of focus.
As with the rest of the school, we use Talk for Writing and Talk for Reading to deliver the English curriculum. This means that we use high quality model texts to study different genres and writing styles. Some of the Talk for Writing units we will be exploring are: information text; meeting tale and a suspense story with a flashback. In Talk for Reading, we will explore many different texts such as: Mortal Engines; Orange in No Man’s Land and Clockwork. Our aim is to engender a lifelong love of reading in all our students.
Our Science, History and Geography curriculum is structured carefully so that students are not only constantly exposed to new knowledge but frequently revisit old knowledge to ensure that new ideas can be built upon the understanding of earlier ones. We will cover topics such as: Migration Through Time, World War Two, Civil Rights, Brazil, Tectonic Plates and a field study of our local area.
The RE topics to be covered this academic year will research key aspects of some of the major religions in Britain today. These include Sanatana Dharma, Christianity and Humanism. The children will draw upon several key themes, such as the similarities and differences between these religions; the importance of respecting and accepting the beliefs and values of other people and how we can work together to ensure that the society we live in is a harmonious one.
In Art, we are studying the work of Roy Lichtenstein and Paul Nash. In Design Technology, we will be celebrating culture and seasonality, creating complex switches and using computer aided design.
Our curriculum is also enriched with computing, PE, Music, French and Computing. Each of these lessons allow children to explore what they enjoy and be able to experiment with their ideas.
