Welcome to Fox class! Our teacher is Mr Roberts, who has been at Bedwell ever since he started teaching, 18 years ago. He particularly likes science, storytelling and sport, and is also our Deputy Headteacher.

• Our curriculum map - find out about our current topics
• Our latest class newsletter
• Meet our school councilors, Krishna and Bonnie

Home learning ideas:

• All of the maths we’re doing this term is dependent on quick recall of tables facts, so it would be brilliant if you could work on this. Focus on one table at a time and try: 
  • Making-up rhymes to help remember number facts (“4 x 6 is 24, bears growl and lions roar!”) 
  • Looking for numbers in that table in the world around you - on doors, car number plates, in phone numbers or when you’re out shopping. 
  • Writing-out tables with finger paints, chalk or water-on-tarmac, or make them from playdoh. 
  • Chanting, singing, whispering... Say tables out loud together whenever you have the chance.
• Each week we are set spellings to learn. Click here for guidance on strategies you can use to support your child in learning these at home.  
• All of the computing tasks we’ve worked on in class are available at microbit.org. There are links to the MakeCode editor we’ve been using, loads of ideas in the projects library and lots more info about these clever devices. 
• We're learning about evolution and adaptation in science, so keep an eye out for animals when you’re out and about and think about how they’re suited to their environment - do their colours help them to stay hidden? How do they keep warm in winter?
• Keeping fit, happy and healthy is always important. There are links to lots of great resources and workouts to help everyone in the family get active at www.sportengland.org/jointhemovement

Our latest news:

• In November, we visited the RAF Museum at Hendon, where we all had a great time exploring the planes and equipment used during the World War 2. This was a great way to cement everything we’ve learnt about in our Battle of Britain topic, exploring the lives of lesser-known heroes and heroines like Joan Mortimer (who stayed at her RAF post even when bombs hit the building she was working in) and Ray Holmes (who rammed his plane into a German fighter that targeted Buckingham Palace!) During the day we saw lots of World War 2 aircraft, including Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster Bombers. 
 

 
• We rounded-off the Autumn term with a massive Christmas dinner and our fantastic class parties. A huge thank you to everyone who sent in cakes and party snacks for us to enjoy together.
 

 
• We were delighted by how many parents and carers joined us for our Stay and Calculate session earlier in the term. Each of our maths groups ran their own workshop, sharing some of the key maths that they’ve been working on this term. Mr Roberts’ group looked at fractions, finding equivalents and then using this skill to add, subtract and order. In Mrs Draper’s group, we focussed on written calculation strategies, showing our parents how we add and subtract quickly and accurately. Finally, in Mrs Thomas’ maths class the focus was on place value and number facts.
 

 
• Earlier in the year we visited  Aldenham Country Park. We had a lovely day exploring the farm, woodland and nature trails, all of which linked in with the Life Cycles topic that we’ve been learning about in science. When we arrived, we split into two groups, with half of us going on a guided tour of the farm while the other half explored a nature trail around the 100 Acre Wood. In the farm, we got to feed chickens, rabbits, donkeys, cows and geese. We particularly enjoyed meeting the 18 piglets that swarmed around their mum and the goats that climbed up on the railings to eat out of our hands. In the woods, we decided that we definitely weren’t too old for Winnie the Pooh, and enjoyed finding the houses where Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Owl lived. After lunch, we had a great time in the adventure playground, and then finished our day with a quick walk around the park before heading back to the coach.  
 

 
• We loved tacking part in this year's Science Week, including sessions with Falconry UK and the Dogs Trust, kite making, buggy building and our Egg Drop challenge. Those of us in Science Club have also completed our CREST Discovery Award, learning about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. 
 

We have been learning about... 

English : Reports - We started the year by exploring non-chronological reports, describing fantastical monsters and beasts from around the world. We finished the unit by designing our own creatures and writing extended reports on them - just like Malaikah has done in the fantastic example below: 

The Yunamhinarah 

Even though this bloody monster looks dangerous, the Yunamhinarah is actually caring and fascinating! This creature is 7 feet tall and if you see it, you should say, “Hello Madam! You look marvellous!” She will immediately grant you three wishes. If you would like to give her some food, give her watermelon popsicles. She will say, “Thank you!” (but you will need to make sure the popsicle is immense). 

Appearance 

When you spot the Yunamhinarah, the first thing you will spot is its wiggly, giraffe-like neck. The unbelievable thing is, she has clear, white, pearl eyes (and cries Aphrodite tears). Surprisingly, her magical, leafy green Chinese dress is covered in ruby red blood! She also has golden shimmering wings like an angel. 

Where it lives 

This terrifying creature wants to live like real humans, so she lives in a majestic town in China. She pretends to be an average human and lives in a small house. It is basically a haunted house filled with spooky spiderwebs and gooey slime. Inside, it is magical and fascinating (it is very different from the outside). She also has a magical talking mirror! 

Powers and abilities 

Although this tremendous monster pretends to be a human, she can also control nature. For example, she can make roots and plants grow by rubbing her magical hands together and touching whatever plant she wants to grow. Every time she frightens someone, her giraffe neck grows longer and longer. Last but not least, flying! Her gigantic golden wings unfold and allow her to fly far above the town. 

History : Battle of Britain - Throughout the term we have been learning about the Second World War and, in particular, about the Battle of Britain. To support our learning, we visited the RAF Museum in Hendon. During the day, we saw lots of planes from World War 2 and took part in a workshop where we learnt about (and dressed-up as) lesser known heroes and heroines. Here are a few of the things we learnt: 

In our group, we learnt about a man called Douglas Bader. When he was showing-off to his girlfriend, he crashed his plane and lost his legs. However, even though he didn’t have any legs he kept flying, and during WW2 he led a fighter group. He was shot-down and taken prisoner by the Germans. He lost his false leg, so the RAF were allowed to parachute a spare one into the camp where he was being held! - Carson 

Bonnie and I were Joan Mortimer. She did a very good job by placing red flags to warn the pilots that there were bombs scattered around the airfield. She was awarded with 12 medals for her bravery! - Nyoreme 

I think my favourite part of our trip was the section where we got to design our own plane. We got to choose the size and shape of the wings (as well as the colour of the plane) and then when you started playing in the simulator, you could play with the plane you had designed, so you could see if it worked! - Chloe 

This term's topics

English - Our next writing unit will focus on biographies. We will use a collection of fantastic books retelling the lives of ground-breaking scientists from history to help us to explore the features of biographical writing, including the use of quotes, relative clauses and brackets. At the end of the unit, we will pull all of these skills together to write our own biographies of people who inspire us. Later in the term we will move on to examine persuasive writing, using a fab book called The Misadventures of Frederick by Ben Manley as our starting point. Our final task for this unit will see us writing letters to Miss Shaw, trying to persuade her to change something at school.

Maths - Having secured lots of key arithmetic skills last term, we will now focus on applying them to different areas of maths. We will learn to compare, order, add and subtract fractions, and will link these to equivalent percentages. We will also learn to calculate percentages and fractions of amounts. After that, we will move on to geometry, finding the area and perimeter of shapes made of rectangles and beginning to explore volume. Later in the term, we will build on our knowledge of angle, using protractors to measure angles and calculating angles in triangles and on straight lines. Throughout the term we will continue to develop our tables knowledge, and will be tested on this regularly.

Science - Our next topic focuses on evolution. We will be learning how living things have changed over time, adapting to suit their specific environment. We will investigate the evidence for the theory of evolution, looking at what fossils can tell us about the living things that lived on Earth millions of years ago. We will also be learning about the work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace.

Humanities - We will be investigating Viking and Anglo-Saxon Britain this term. After identifying who the Vikings were and where they came from, we will learn more about their raids on Britain and the battles which resulted in them dominating much of modern England. We will meet King Alfred the Great, find out why he is the only English king called ’the Great’ and discover how he made peace with the Viking invaders. Throughout the term we will also be discovering what it was like to live in Viking times. We will find out what they wore and ate, what their homes were like and how they were governed. We will also learn about their gods and read a range of Norse myths and legends.

Take a look at our curriculum map for more information on our topics.