Summer 1 - Tales from the Caribbean

From the story of the princess who was too "Choosy-Choosy" and nearly ended up missing out on true love to the tale of Brer Anansi the spider who wanted it all and ended up with nothing, here is a collection of tales from all over the Caribbean.

They have been written by accomplished storyteller Trish Cooke (author of the classic picture book So Much, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury), whose parents travelled from Dominica to Bradford in the 1950s, bringing all the stories with them: a legacy for Trish to explore in later life.

This is a brilliant collection of stories, perfect for children to read to themselves, but best of all to read together and out loud. Some of the stories are famous but each one feels fresh with Trish’s brilliant retelling. A book to treasure.

In Writing we will be writing a Speech on Plastic Pollution and Why the Rainforest should be Protected. We will also write a Trickster Story based on Tales from the Caribbean. 

Spring 2 - The Explorer

This term we will be reading The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. We will also be writing a Narrative based on this. Later on in the term we will write a Speech based on Geography topic, Why Should we Protect the Rainforest?

He has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, of making history and of reading his name amongst the lists of great discoveries. If only he could land and look about him.

As the plane crashes into the canopy, Fred is suddenly left without a choice.

He and the three other children may be alive, but the jungle is a vast, untamed place.  With no hope of rescue, the chance of getting home feels impossibly small. Except, it seems, someone has been there before them...

Katherine Rundell spent her childhood in Africa and parts of Europe before settling in the UK. She is the author of Rooftoppers, a story of one girl’s adventures across the rooftops of Paris, which won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award.

Spring 1

We are reading 'A Song from Somewhere Else' by A F Harrold. 

Frank is being bullied - for what, she's not sure. Being smart? Being different, perhaps. One day, after the bullies throw her bag in the middle of a huge patch of stinging nettles, Nick Underbridge comes to her aid - a strange boy that everyone makes fun of at school for his hugeness and odd, unidentifiable smell. 

As Frank and Nick become friends, Frank discovers something strange and wonderful in Nick's basement - and an explanation for what holds him apart from the others at school.

A sometimes sad and sometimes wry tale of bullying and fitting in, The Song From Somewhere Else is also a magical tale about how - sometimes - people might feel alien to us, but that families are universal, whoever you are.

We will be focussing on developing:

- Identifying our impressions of characters, settings and atmosphere, finding evidence from the text to justify our ideas;

- Making predictions, using evidence from the text to back these up;

- Making inferences about characters thoughts, feelings and motivations;

- Learning to read and recite poetry by heart. 

We will be Writing an adventure story based on 'Gorilla' by Anthony Browne. 

Hannah’s father never seems to have time to spend with her. Disappointed with receiving a toy gorilla for her birthday instead of the real one she hoped for, she enjoys a night time outing with her new toy, who grows to life size. Is it a dream?

We will be focussing on developing:

- Using dialogue to move the plot forward;

- Using a range of cohesive devices such as suborindate clauses, adverbials and co-ordinating conjuctions;

- Using dashes parenthesis and at the end of a sentence. 

Autumn 2:

We are currently reading Shackleton's Journey by William Grill. 

'Shackleton's Journey is a unique visual re-telling Ernest Shackleton's landmark expedition crossing the Antarctic from one pole to the other. William Grill's impeccably researched and informative illustrations celebrate the 100th anniversary since the historic exploration by Shackleton and his crew on Endurance. Children will love exploring Grill's exploded diagrams and the fascinating details of this landmark voyage.'

We are also learning how to write non-chronological reports to include:

- Headings and subheadings

- Subordinating conjuctions such as while, although, until

- Relative clauses using who, which, where and that

We are writing a non-chronological report about Emperor Penguins, based on our learning from David Attenborough's Dynasties documentary. We will be writing about an Artic animal of our choice for our independent piece of writing.