Many of the children in Hazel class come to the school during their junior period of primary education often after a period of instability in their education. The children have good cognitive potential for learning but require a highly personalised approach to their personal and social education which is their main barrier to achieving. The Link Curriculum Priorities help them to focus on and understand their emotional needs and also help them to see and understand life from the perspective of others. Raising self- esteem and a positive attitude to learning is the key to the children accessing and learning from the wide variety of cross curricular topics and extra- curricular activities on offer.
Hazel Class Curriculum Focus – 2019 Summer Term 2
Treasure Island
Over the next 6 weeks those of us in Hazel Class will be following a unit of work on a theme that focuses on pirates. The unit is called Treasure Island.
This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This curriculum sets out very clearly what children will learn – the learning goals – in three different areas:
The subjects of the curriculum – The learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught in the curriculum in your child’s own country. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.
Personal development – The characteristics which will help children become more responsible, independent learners.
International understanding – This will help children develop both a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.
Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects.
During this unit we will be focusing on Geography, Art, Technology, Music, PE and International.
In Geography, we’ll be finding out:
- About the islands that you find around the world
- About the names of places that pirates travelled
- About the islands that make up the UK and other locations, and the different features you see there
- About the weather and climate in different places that pirates visited
- About how pirates navigated around the world
- How to plan a pirate island
- How to give directions using a map
- In Art, we’ll be finding out:
- About different coin designs
- How to design, create and evaluate our own pirate coins
- How to design, create and evaluate a treasure chest
In Music, we’ll be finding out:
- How to sing pirate songs
- How to compose and play music inspired by pirates and the sea
- How to listen to, and evaluate music we have made
In Technology, we’ll be finding out:
- About the foods pirates ate
- About where food comes from in the world
- About a healthy diet
- How to plan a pirate packed lunch
In International, we’ll be finding out:
- About rules that pirates followed
- About the roles and responsibilities pirates had on board
- How to stay safe near the water
In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:
- About how to play pirate games in teams
- About how to create a pirate-inspired dance
- How to participate in team games, using skills such as throwing and catching
All of the work we are going to do has been specially written to help your child reach the learning goals. Children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, working on their own, in pairs and in groups. We will be checking to see how well your child has learned through particular activities and asking children to explain their work, perhaps to you.
We already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they are doing as the term progresses and let them teach you.
Talk with your child about pirates. What pirate facts do you know? Together, find out about pirates of the past.
If your child has some work to research, please help them, but without actually doing the work for them. If you have the chance to further their interest in the ideas of this theme please take it, but your enthusiasm and interest is most important.
By the end of the unit, we hope your child has achieved all of the learning targets. We hope they have had an enjoyable time in the classroom, and that you will have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments or questions about your child’s learning, please get in touch.
Kind Regards,
Frances McNaughton and the Hazel Team
Hazel Class Curriculum Focus – 2019 Summer Term 1
Dear Hazel Parents,
Over the next 5 weeks those of us in Hazel Class will be following a unit of work on a theme that focuses on ‘Myths, Legends and Fables’.
This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This new curriculum
sets out very clearly what children will learn – the learning goals – in three different areas:
1. The subjects of the curriculum. The learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught in the curriculum in your child’s own country. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.
2. Personal development – the characteristics which will help children become more responsible, independent learners.
3. International understanding – which will help children develop both a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.
Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects.
During this unit we will be focusing on History, Art, Physical Education, Music, Geography, Society and International.
In History, we’ll be finding out:
• About myths and legends from different times in the past
• How to create our own legend about someone we know
• About the Gods that people used to worship in the past
In Art, we’ll be finding out:
• How people in the past have represented stories and characters
• How we can use art to tell a creation story
• How to create our own Greek masks
• How to design and make our own dream catcher
In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:
• About fables and the lessons that they teach us
• How we can use dance and movement to tell a story
In Music, we’ll be finding out:
• About songs and music that tell a story
• How we can make our own music to tell a story
In Geography, we’ll be finding out:
• About stories from different countries and cultures
• How we can remember an important journey
• How we can make a map of our own imaginary land
In Society, we’ll be finding out:
• About fairytales and the lessons that they teach us
• How we can make a modern version of a fairytale
• About who we think of as ‘heroes’ today
In International, we’ll be finding out:
• About legendary and mythological characters from our different home countries
All of the work we are going to do has been specially written to help your child reach the learning goals. Children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, working on their own and working in groups. We will be checking to see how well your child has learned through particular activities and asking children to explain their work, perhaps to you.
We already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they have done as the term progresses and let them teach you.
If your child has some work to research, please help them, but without actually doing the work. If you have the change to further their interest in the ideas of this theme please take it, but your enthusiasm and interest is most important.
By the end of the unit, we hope your child has achieved all of the learning targets. We hope
they have had an enjoyable time in the classroom. And we hope you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments or questions about your child’s learning, please get in touch.
Kind Regards,
Frances McNaughton and the Hazel Team.
Hazel Class Curriculum Focus – 2019 Spring Term
Dear Hazel Parents,
“SAY CHEESE”
Over the next 6 weeks those of us in Hazel Class will be following a unit of work on a theme that focuses on ‘ICT and Computing’.
This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This new curriculum
sets out very clearly what children will learn – the learning goals – in three different areas:
- The subjects of the curriculum. The learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught in the curriculum in your child’s own country. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.
- Personal development – the characteristics which will help children become more responsible, independent learners.
- International understanding – which will help children develop both a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.
Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects.
During this unit we will be focusing on ICT and International learning.
In ICT, we’ll be finding out:
- How to handle photographic equipment
- About techniques for taking successful photos
- About photography as a profession
- How to download save, edit and print out photos
- How to publish photos on the internet to share them with others
- About ways to stay safe online
- How to write and debug a simple program to control an avatar
In International we’ll be finding out:
How the internet allows us to find out more about the lives of children in different countries and make comparisons with our own
All of the work we are going to do has been specially written to help your child reach the learning goals. Children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, working on their own and working in groups. We will be checking to see how well your child has learned through particular activities and asking children to explain their work, perhaps to you.
We already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they have done as the term progresses and let them teach you.
As you look through magazines, books and posters, talk to your child about your own experiences of taking photos and how you think the photographers achieve certain effects. If possible, encourage your child to use the family camera to teach you what they have learnt in class.
Your children will be using a program called ‘Scratch’ to write their own computer
games. This software has been developed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
for educational purposes. Please encourage your child to create his or her own online
‘Scratch’ account at: http://scratch.mit.edu
‘Scratch’ allows students to program their own interactive stories, games, and
animations, which can then be shared with others in the online community.
They will need access to an email address in order to set up a ‘Scratch’ account.
If your child has some work to research, please help them, but without actually doing the work. If you have the chance to further their interest in the ideas of this theme please take it, but your enthusiasm and interest is most important.
By the end of the unit, we hope your child has achieved all of the learning targets. We hope they have had an enjoyable time in the classroom. And we hope you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments or questions about your child’s learning, please get in touch.
Kind Regards,
Frances McNaughton and the Hazel Team.
Hazel Class Curriculum Focus – 2018 Autumn Term
Dear Hazel Parents,
Over the next 6 weeks those of us in Hazel Class will be following a unit of work on a theme that focuses on ‘Ourselves’.
This unit of work is part of the International Primary Curriculum. This new curriculum sets out very clearly what children will learn – the learning goals – in three different areas:
- The subjects of the curriculum. The learning goals for each of these subjects are at least as challenging as anything taught in the curriculum in your child’s own country. In many cases, the learning goals are more challenging.
- Personal development – the characteristics which will help children become more responsible, independent learners.
- International understanding – which will help children develop both a sense of the independence of their own country and culture and the interdependence between countries and cultures.
Each unit of work is based around specific targets derived from the learning goals for one or more of the subjects.
During this unit we will be focusing on Society, Art, Physical Education, Science, Geography and International.
In Society, we’ll be finding out:
- About the different groups we belong to
- About the things that make us feel happy
- How to deal with anger
- How to stay safe
- How to make an emergency phone call
In Art, we’ll be finding out:
- How to draw portraits and self-portraits
- How to take a portrait photograph
- About portraits by famous painters and sculptors
- How to design a favourite menu
In Physical Education, we’ll be finding out:
- What activities we can do well
- How we can stay fit and strong
In Science, we’ll be finding out:
- About how our hearts work
- About how we are similar to and different from other people
- About different types of foods
In Geography, we’ll be finding out:
- Which countries we or our ancestors have come from
- How to find our local area on a map
- About different countries we have lived in
In International, we’ll be finding out:
- About the way children in our host country and home countries live
All of the work we are going to do has been specially written to help your child reach the learning goals. Children will be reading, researching, writing, illustrating, working on their own and working in groups. We will be checking to see how well your child has learned through particular activities and asking children to explain their work, perhaps to you.
We already know the interest you take in your child’s work. If you can, please discuss with your child the work they have done as the term progresses and let them teach you.
The children will be asking questions about themselves, their siblings and other family members when they were young. We might ask to borrow photographs of your child as a baby and as a toddler and also pictures of other family members for discussion and display.
If your child has some work to research, please help them – but without actually doing the work. If you have the change to further their interest in the ideas of this theme please take it – but your enthusiasm and interest is most important.
By the end of the unit, we hope your child has achieved all of the learning targets. We hope they have had an enjoyable time in the classroom. And we hope you have enjoyed seeing your child work with enthusiasm. If you have any comments or questions about your child’s learning, please get in touch.
Please could you send in any family photos you can spare so we can talk about ‘Who am I?
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Frances McNaughton and Hazel Class team.
