Welcome to Zebra Class! We currently have 34 wonderful ‘Zebras’ made up of Year 3 and 4 children. Our teacher is Mr Murray and we are helped by Melinda, our lovely Teaching Assistant.
So far this year we have studied the Roman Empire as part of our Curriculum Maestro topic this term, ‘Emperors and Empires’.
The children have had a great time so far exploring the history of the Roman Empire, and how their invasion impacted Britain. We visited Truro Museum, where we took part in workshops, and even made our own clay Roman lamps!
In our English, our learning so far has been based around the books: ‘Escape from Pompeii’, by Christina Balit, where we have written newspaper articles about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and The Merrymaid of Zennor, where we have created information leaflets about the village of Zennor and places that feature in the story. This term, we have had a particular focus on expanding our vocabulary and creating ‘vivid’ sentences, as well as punctuating speech for quotes.
The Roman topic has also afforded us myriad opportunities to develop our art skills. So far we have enjoyed creating our own mosaics and working with clay during our recent trip to Truro Museum, as well creating amazing watercolour scenes of the the Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall.
Alongside our work on the Romans, we have looked at Forces and Magnets in Science. The children have enjoyed learning about contact forces, and loved exploring the school for different surfaces to test friction on. From the sandpit in Giraffes, to the gravel on the bike track, we searched high and low for the highest and lowest fricitional surface. We have also investigated which type of shoes have the greatest amount of friction, and how magnets behave in various orientations.
In Maths we have been focusing on Place Value, learning about rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000, estimating numbers on number lines, and putting our new-found Roman knowledge to the test when learning some Roman numerals! We have also completed units on Addition and Subtraction, becoming more familiar with column addition and subtraction methods, as well as Multiplication and Division, setting some valuable groundwork for the Year 4 Multiplication Check later in the academic year.
In PE we have been developing our football skills – trying to dribble and pass more accurately, as well as enjoying a beautifully sunny week on the bike track. We have also benefitted from having Neil from the Cornish Pirates in this recent half term where we have been focusing on ball-hand skills and teamwork.
In the Emperors and Empires project, we have learned about the growth and decline of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. We discovered the absolute power of the Roman emperors and study the hierarchies of Roman society and the Roman army. We have studied the first invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC and the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. We have also learned about Boudicca’s rebellion, Hadrian’s Wall and the Romanisation of Britain, including how Christianity came to Britain and investigated the legacy of Roman Britain in our local area.
| Innovate challenge | Historical reports |
| History | Chronology; Everyday life in ancient Rome; Founding of Rome; Power and rule; Roman Empire; Significant emperors; Social hierarchy; Roman army; Roman invasion of Britain; Significant people – Boudicca; Everyday life in Roman Britain; Romanisation of Britain; Roman withdrawal; Roman legacy |
| Maths | Place Value, Addition & Subtraction, Multiplication and Division and Area |
| D&T | Making it Move |
| Science | Forces & Magnets |
| PSHE | Online Safety, Circle Time, Gratitude Journals |
| English | We will be basing our English work around the story of ‘Escape From Pompeii’ by Christina Balit, with our end goal of writing our own newspaper article. |
| PE | Football, Roman Dance, Swimming & Bike Track |
| Art | Roman Mosaics |
| RE | Hinduism – Janmashtami & Buddism – Kathina |
Camp:
Each year we go on a class residential for 3 days and 2 nights to a local camp and undertake a wide range of activities. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the children to extend their independence and tackle some wonderful challenges. Most recently we went to BF Adventure near Penryn, and enjoyed canoeing, climbing, bushcraft actvities, archery – as well as Mr Murray’s favourite – the slip and slide!
