Happy New Year from Team DB!
Well, the beginning of the week started off with our snow day and lots of ice that has stayed with us, refusing to budge! But, that has not stopped us with our learning. Excitement to have an extra day, the children were keen to discuss everything they had been doing during the Christmas holidays on Tuesday, as well as the fun they had at home on Monday!

Literacy
This week has seen us start our new genre of writing; we are going to write our own narrative based on our class text 'Private Peaceful', by Michael Morpurgo. The children have been looking in detail this week at the features that are used to write a quality and good piece of narrative writing. We will then build on these skills over the coming weeks.

Maths
In maths this week, we have put the finishing touches to our learning about the topic of money. The children have applied the different strategies (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) to reasoning problems.

Reading
This week has seen us start our new class text 'Private Peaceful', by Michael Morpurgo. We have discussed in great detail the genre of the book and what the story is about. The children have been introduced to the main characters, and we have discussed Morpurgo's method of writing in time order.

Literacy
In our writing sessions this week, the children have been putting their final touches to their diary recount. The children have completed their final draft, edited and have prduced their final piece of writing. They have worked incredibly hard to ensure that the events are written in chronological order as well as displaying personal recounts and experiences by the character. It has been wonderful to see them used expanded noun phrases and using a wide range of vocabulary to engage the reader.

Maths
During our maths session, we have been continuing our learning about money. The children have been applying their knowledge of money, addign and subtracting, and using these strategies to answer word problems. 

Reading
In reading, the children have been continuing to read the text 'The Street Child', by Berlie Doherty. They are interested to see how Jim escapes from the Workhouse, hoping this does not lead him into further troubles.

Literacy
This week has seen Team DB continue to develop their skills in writing a diary recount. The children have gathered information, identifying the main features used when writing a diary. We have been looking at how a diary recount is written in first person and how it expresses personal feelings and experiences. The children have enjoyed unpicking the class text to help them with their own writing.

Maths
In maths, the children have been exploring money, looking in detail at different notations and creating various amounts. As well as looking at the different coins and notes that can be used, the children have developed their own understanding of the link between decimals and fractions and money.

Reading
We have been continuing our reading of the text, 'The Street Child', by Berlie Doherty. The children have been delving into Jim's experiences of childhood in the workhouse, and the torment of having to live and be educated there.

Literacy
In our writing this week, we have been continuing to develop our SPaG skills to implement these into our writing to create our very own diary. We have gathered evidence of what features a writer uses to create a diary as well as researching more about the lifestyle and schooling of children of the Victorian period. 

Reading
We have been continuing to read the text, 'The Street Child', by Berlie Doherty. The children have been amazed at what life was like for children when they were sent to the workhouse. We have been investigating new vocabulary and trying to implement key vocab into our writing.

Maths
This week, the children have been completing their learning about the decimals and fractions topic, developing their understanding of hundredths and thousandths. Using their place value knowledge, the children can recognise the value of each digit up to three decimal places. 

For our Art project this term, the chilsren have been focussing on European Landmarks, linked to their Geography topic. The children have investigated various landmarks, and worked in teams to sketch, source materials, which materials would be the most useful, to then finally construct their structures. The children overcame obstacles such as parts of their building not staying in the right place, to then getting to the point of papering over their sculptures in the hope of decorating them. 

​This year, for Children in Need, we had an extra Feel Good Friday. The children were invited to wear their Children in Need clothes if they so wished. Throughout the day, we participated in various activities, as well as learning more about Children in Need and it's purpose for children in the UK. The children asked many questions, especially about how long Children in Need had been raising money for. They were surprised Pudsey was as old as Mrs Bamforth! Not bad for 21! (Plus a couple more, they said!) 

This week in Team DB, the children appear to have returned refreshed and have hit the ground running in all areas of their learning. Here is what we have been up to in our first week back.

Writing
In writing, we have continued our learning about Renga Poetry. Before the half term break, we studied in detail the features of poetry with our main focus being Renga Poetry. We used our knowledge of similes and metaphors to create our very own Renga poem. The children have enjoyed writing their poem based on the theme of autumn. They then presented their poems to Team JD, who appreciated the various interpretations of an autumnal Renga poem.

Reading
This week, we have started our new text, 'The Street Child', by Berlie Doherty. This text is a story about a boy and his life in the workhouse and how he managed to free himself and make a life outside. From the very beginning, tragedy strikes Jim and his family, and the children have been very inquisitive about the period and we have researched what schools and life was like during the Victorian era.

Maths
In maths this week, the children have been developing their knowledge and understanding of hundredths. We have been using diennes to help us with our learning. We have been learning how many hundredths are equivalent to a tenth as well as recognising a hundredth as both a decimal and as a fraction.

The children have been busy designing their European landmark sculptures, and today was the day that they could finally gather their materials and begin building their structures. The children have worked brilliantly in teams together, and discussing methods to make their buildings of a sound structure. Take a look at their learning below. 

Literacy
This week, Team DB have been working very hard in all aspects of their literacy learning. In writing, we have been focussing our attention on editing our final piece, ensuring that spellings, punctuation and grammar are all correct. This allows us to use dictionaries and thesauruses enabling us to produce our final piece. In handwriting, we have been trying very hard to use cursive handwriting and this was evident in the final production of our writing. To allow us to practise our oracy skills, we then read aloud our finished pieces to the class, who gave constructive feedback to help us with our learning.

In reading, we have been completing our book 'The Butterfly Lion', by Michael Morpurgo. The children were taken aback by the ending of the text, and were surprised to learn of the white lion living in rural England! The children have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the text, and have asked many questions about it.

Maths
Throughout the Autumn term, our main focus has been learning about decimal fractions. This week, our main focus has been learning about subtracting decimal fractions using our embedded number place value knowledge. We have used number lines and manipulatives to help us with our understanding of this area of maths.

As part of our P.E. learning this half term, the chidren in Team DB have been learning to improve their basketball skills. Each week, the children are lucky to have the talented Mr Smith, who teaches them the techniques to be used when participating in Basketball. The children have been learning how to dribble and how to shoot at the nets!