Here & Now, There & Then

Dear Parents,

Over the next 8 weeks Grade 5 will be following a unit of work on a theme that focuses on ‘Host Country and Home Country’ and each class will be working with a third country. 5th Hayward – France, 5th Linares – Egypt, 5th Guzman – Morocco, 5th Molina – Colombia.

During this unit we will be focusing on Geography, History, Society and International.

In Geography, we’ll be finding out:

• How to locate the host and home countries

• How these countries are connected

• What these countries are like

• How they are similar and different

In History, we’ll be finding out:

• The history of our host and home countries

• About history from people, photographs and  maps

• About history from buildings and architecture

In Society, we’ll be finding out:

• If the host/home countries are in the news

• About issues that affect the host/home countries

In International, we’ll be finding out:

• What things we have brought to the host country

• How the host and home countries have worked together

All of the work we are going to do will 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.

Talk with your child about your host country and home country and their third country. What do you like best about these countries? How are they the same and how are they different? Look at maps and globes together to locate where you are living now and where you used to live.

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 about the work your child has done, please get in touch.