Welcome to the Keller Class Page

'Helen' - A Collaborative Art Project Completed by Keller Class

Here in Keller Class we are a Year 4/5 class and we take our name from an inspiration woman, Helen Keller. Helen Keller was a deaf blind author, activist, university lecturer and campaigner for equal rights for disability. She lost her sight and hearing after she suffered from an illness when she was a young child. 

After a difficult start to her education, Helen became passionate about learning. She spent her life fighting to support people who are deaf and blind and taught others about hearing and sight health. 

This year our teacher is Mrs Johnson.   

Summer 2023

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In our classroom...

Rock Steady

Several members of Keller Class attend weekly Rock Steady music sessions.

Today, all of the Rock Steady bands performed for the school. 

Sports Day 

Everyone had an amazing afternoon participating in our school sports event. Whether running, jumping or skipping, everyone took part and cheered on their friends!

Bikeability

Children in both Year 4 and 5 have been working hard to learn new cycling skills. 

Many children have achieved their Level 1 or 2 certificates. 

Stop! Go!

In our Computing lessons we have been creating space themed stop motion animations. 

We created our animations using 24 frames. 

Reading and Pizza!

Last term, Keller Class won the school reading competition - we officially read at home more than any other class!

The reward for their hard work was a class pizza party, which we had this afternoon. Everyone went home full of pizza and determine to win this terms prize of an ice cream party! 

The Big Read and Write

We joined other schools across the county for 20Twenty Productions "Big Read and Write" author event, where we spent an hour with the inspirational Sita Brahmachari, looking at her empathic story "Corey's Rock". It was an amazing experience that we all enjoyed. 

We were inspired to create our own mythical creatures during the session and will be using these to inspire our exciting writing over the next few weeks. 

Oliver and the Seawigs

As we start the Summer term we will continue to read the book "Oliver and the Seawigs" by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre.

Each week we will use a chapter or two to inspire our writing; from diaries to persuasive letters, setting descriptions to recounts.  

The Secret Garden 

We had a very special performance in school this afternoon thanks to M & M Theatrical Productions.

They enchanted us with their adaptation of the classic children’s novel ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett and we loved having the opportunity to experience the wonder of a live theatre performance.  After the show, our class also had the opportunity to meet the cast and explore the set.

Count Me In!

This afternoon our adults were invited into our classroom and we challenged them with tangrams! 

Working together we created fantastic tangram dragons.

Painting Techniques

In our art lessons we have been practising different painting techniques. Working in our sketch books, we have explored adding different materials, including salts, to watercolours in order to achieve different effects. 

We were inspired by Jim Dine’s work “Five Paintburshes” to create our own watercolour painting of everyday objects, we applied our knowledge of painting techniques to create unique pieces of work. 

The Explorer

In our guided reading lessons we have just started to read "The Explorer" by Katherine Rundell. We are excited to see what happens to the children, although many of the class predict that the characters will not along!

Living things and their habitats

In our science lessons we have been comparing the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds. We have discussed and identified the similarities and the differences - we have used venn diagrams and charts to help us.

Raiders and Traders

In our history lessons we initially travelled back in time to AD793, when the Vikings invaded Lindisfarne. We have discussed why the Vikings left their homes, how the defeat of King Guthrum lead to the introduction of Danelaw and how the actions of Edward Confessor contributed to battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings. 

To support our history learning, one of our homework projects this term was to research and create a model of a Viking longboat - the Keller Fleet are ready to set sail!

Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure

As we start the Summer term we will continue to read the book "Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure" by Alex T. Smith.

Each week we will use a chapter or two to inspire our writing; from diaries to persuasive letters, setting descriptions to recounts.  

The girl who stole an elephant

In our Guided Reading lessons we will be focusing on "The girl who stole an elephant" by Nirana Farook. 

Spring 2023

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In our classroom we have been...

D&T - Stuffed Toy 

In our DT lessons we have been making our very own Easter themed stuffed toys. We all made a bunny - we used applique and sewing skills to create the designs on the front of the bunnies. Then, we used blanket stitch to join two pieces of fabric. 

PSHE - Personal Safety

In our PSHE lessons this term we have been thinking about our personal safety - from how our body reacts to different situations, to our Networks of Support. Today, we spoke about physical contact, identifying the contact we feel comfortable with and what was unsafe.  At all times we remembered "my body, my choice"

3D Art

In out art lessons this week we have been exploring the shape of form of 3D objects. Taking inspiration from Barbara Hepworth we have designed and created our own coil pots.

Each pot is individual and amazing! 

Science - Earth and Space 

In Science this week we have been travelling the solar system! We have debated whether Pluto should be re-categorised as a dwarf planet and have been plotting the phases of the moon. 

RE - Creation Stories

In our first RE lesson of this unit, we investigated the Judeo-Christian creation story.

We created our own comic strips to help retell the story.  

Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure

We are currently reading the book "Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure" by Alex T. Smith.

Each week we use a chapter or two to inspire our writing; from diaries to persuasive letters, setting descriptions to recounts.  

World Book Day 

The whole school focused on the amazing "The Black Book of Colours" by Menena Cottin. 

in Keller Class we spent time thinking about colour and using our vocabulary to describe red, yellow, green and blue. We then used our writing to inspire the design of our clay tiles. 

Young, Gifted and Black 

In our guided reading lessons we are looking at the wonderfully written "Young, Gifted and Black" by Jamia Wilson. 

From Martin Luther King Jr to Mo Farrell, each lesson we celebrate inspirational achievement. 

School Trip to the Royal Opera House

We have just returned from a fantastic trip to London, where we experienced the extravagance and opulence of the Royal Opera House.

The class were transfixed watching an amazing performance of The Magic Flute. 

Science - the Force is with us!

We have started 2023 by exploring the types and effects of forces, in particular air resistance, water resistance, upthrust and gravity. We have tested our theories of friction using jelly, oil and chopsticks, whist we took our investigations outside to understand air resistance. 

Autumn 2022

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In our classroom we have been...

Heroes and Villains Writing Day

As a school we held a Heroes and Villains writing day in October, we all dressed up and had an amazing day! In Keller class we focused on some of the oldest known heroes and villains - those who appear in myths and legends. We looked at the 12 labors of Hercules, specifically at his second labor, where he faced the hydra! We imagined we were reporters writing articles about the momentous event!

National Poetry Day

We celebrated National Poetry Day by immersing ourselves in poetry! We focused on performance poetry, particularly rap, considering the importance of rhythm and rhyme in poems by Grace Nichols, Valerie Bloom, Tony Mitton and Michael Rosen. Using the Michael Rosen Rap as our inspiration, we wrote our very own raps - all about us! 

Knowledge Organisers

We use Knowledge Organisers for each of our topics, these provide a concise summary of the topic to be taught and include key vocabulary and core knowledge. Knowledge organisers for our completed topics can be found below. 

Homework 

Reading  

• We continue to expect everyone to read for at least 20 minutes, five times a week.

• Children have an Accelerated Reader book which is aimed at their most recent reading level, based on word recognition and comprehension.

• Children are may need support reading some of these texts so we encourage adults or older siblings to read these to the children to promote reading for pleasure.

• Children have a reading record book, to record when they read. This must be signed by someone at home. 

Maths 

• We recommend children spend at least 20 minutes a week using TTRS, practising their times table knowledge.

Project

• We will be setting a half termly project for the children to complete. 

Spellings 

• Spellings are set every Friday, on Showbie. 
• Spellings will continue to be taught throughout the week in class. 
• There is a spelling test every Friday, the main aim of this task is for the children to use the correct spelling pattern for the week.