Swallows Class - Autumn Term Learning

The African Swahili word for any sort of journey is ‘Safari’, so Swallows Class are going on a Learning Safari about Africa. Much of our learning is linked with this topic – in English we will be reading ‘The White Giraffe’ by Lauren St. John (soon to be released as a feature film), about a young girl’s experiences living in South Africa, as well as traditional African tales such as ‘The Coming of Night’ and ‘Fly, Eagle, Fly’. Our Virtual Reality Zone features authentic fabrics, clothes and musical instruments from different parts of the continent, along with small world African animals and role play activities such as cowrie-necklace making and practising kente patterning.

In DT, we will look at the huge variety of African mask styles based on raw materials available in each region, and we will be going on a trip to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery for a ‘hands on’ workshop on Nigerian Yoruba celebration masks and Chokwe dance masks from Zaire. From this, the children will then create their own mask based on these influences.

Science learning begins with a focus on the skeletal system, for protection, support and movement, linking healthy bones with a healthy, balanced diet. We are already getting very good at naming the various bones in the body! This will develop into a study of how muscles work in pairs and the effects of exercise on our bodies. This learning will be tested out with our twice-weekly PE sessions on a Monday and Tuesday (so PE kits ready please!); dance will be linked to traditional African dance, and ball skills will focus on basketball and hockey.

Maths learning starts by reinforcing the 4 number operations and developing written methods of recording, applying new knowledge to word problems and puzzles. The understanding of shape and data handling will link to whole school surveys on litter around the school, as this is Swallows’ eco-schools responsibility. Measuring has a practical application with our investigation into growth patterns in Reception, Year 4 and Year 6. Quick fire recall of mental maths is also a feature, with various calculating strategies being practised and applied.

African animal patterning starts off our Art learning and children will then have the opportunity to try the Batik technique to create their own African-inspired motifs. Geography starts with looking at where children in the class have travelled to and mapping skills focus first on Europe, and then take in the wider world, including Africa. We look at the different geographical regions including savannah, mountain areas, deserts, rivers and lakes. We will focus on Zambia towards the end of term, as this helps children understand why we send Christmas presents to Kasisi in December. Our R.E. learning discusses the importance of faith in peoples’ lives and Nelson Mandela forms part of this study. Additionally, we will look at the story of ‘Christian, the Lion’ – a young lion cub bought from Harrods in the late 1970s and we will follow his re-integration back into the wild in Africa.

All teachers have one afternoon a week out of the classroom for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA). In Years 3 and 4 this will be covered by Mrs Ritchie and Mrs Morris. We will also be welcoming a visiting teacher from Downlands, Monsieur Mathieu Verniol, to support our French learning each fortnight.

All in all, a very lively and exciting term!