Below is an outline of learning and development for this term. As always, please speak to me if you have any further questions.
English Year 3
Children in Class 4 will begin the new term with a new Genre, Explanation Texts. My key focus throughout the year, which will be improved on this term, will be to further develop, improve spellings, language and structure in writing and the children’s use and range of connectives and conjunctions to link ideas and events. Children will continue to use ‘Boxing Up’ planning frames to organise writing into events which are sequenced logically. On-going sentence-level work will continue to focus on writing accurate and full sentences, clarity of handwriting and the spelling of common words. Children will continue to develop reading and spelling skills through daily sessions.
English Year 4
Children will begin term 4 by exploring different mystery stories. They will discover the features of stories in this genre and learn vocabulary they will need to become confident writers of their own mystery story. Children will use role play, complete their own suspect trackers and case files and gain confidence in controlling the complicated plots of these intriguing stories. Children will begin to innovate on the example shown to practise using the features and patterns of language before planning and writing their own mystery story. We are continuing to focus heavily on basic grammar, punctuation and spelling skills that the children need and we are encouraging them to use vocabulary such as adjective, verb, adverb, noun, phrase, clause, etc to help them think, share their ideas and have a deep understanding and control of why their writing is good and how it can be improved further. In guided reading, we are using the ‘reciprocal Reading’ approach. This involves the children reading a text and also clarifying anything they do not understand, learning to summarise what they have read and to ask a variety of questions about what they are reading. Children will be developing skills in answering different types of question and, in particular, the skill of inference. It is extremely important that your child also reads regularly at home, in order to practise the skills learnt at school. Ten minutes every evening is more beneficial (and probably easier?) than one long session a week.
Maths Year 3
In Class 4 we will begin a new term with a focus of Fractions, we will do this by finding fractions of a shape and fractions of a length; we will also be adding fractions and identifying equivalent fractions. Children will also continue to consolidate and extend their skills in their multiplication tables. Children will continue to work on strengthening their ability to recall and apply number facts and to count in steps of 2-12 and use the sequences to make links between fractions and percentages. There will be a daily focus at the start of each lesson on the understanding of mathematical vocabulary and applying this to solve worded problems at the end of the week.
Maths Year 4
This term, children will begin by adding decimal numbers and developing skills in ‘carrying’, including across the decimal point. Children will apply their skills to problem solving in order to deepen their understanding and develop more sophisticated thinking about concepts to achieve mastery. Children will build on their ability to explain their reasoning and use mathematical vocabulary to do this, to further clarify their thinking and enhance understanding. We will continue to practise times tables and mental maths, exploring when it is helpful to use the different strategies at their disposal. Children will go on to subtract with decimal numbers, develop their understanding of place value, rounding and estimating and ordering and comparing numbers. They will also be learning more about division and multiplication and written methods used in these calculations. Calculations will be presented in different contexts to support children in understanding when to use their calculation skills.
The focus for this term is ‘Plants’. The children will build on their understanding of ‘Plants’ and explore different ways of comparing them. For example, the children will be exploring in the classroom what plants need to survive. They will continue to develop skills in planning, obtaining, presenting and evaluating evidence though weekly investigations.
Our theme this term is learning about ‘The Victorians’, as always teaching and learning in class will be shaped by the children’s ideas. Here are some examples of future learning experiences that have been planned based on areas of interest that your children discussed just before the end of the last term. Children will have the opportunity to learn about the rich and poor in the Victorian Times, What school was like, What Inventions there were and When the Era happened.
This term the children will be learning about the Christian faith with a particular focus on Christian Values. Children will be encouraged to reflect on their own experiences and discuss how the school values have impacted their learning.
PE, this term will be Gymnastics, it will take place inside on alternating Wednesdays and Thursdays. There is always a possibility that the day may change due to unforeseen circumstances. I should therefore be grateful if you would ensure that children have their kit in school every day. This term children will be provided with the opportunity to acquire, develop and refine skills taught alongside an external coach. As I am sure you are aware, PE kits need to be labelled, long hair tied back and all earrings removed for PE sessions. Thank you.
Every Monday, children will be given a list of spelling words to practise in class each morning. These will form a mix between high and medium frequency words, and words that reinforce various spelling patterns. On Friday the children will bring their spellings home for you to test them. They will bring them back to show the class teacher on Monday and on a Tuesday a quiz will take place based on those words.
Homework will be set and given to children each Friday for them to complete over the weekend. Children should bring their completed task back to school on Monday morning so that we can mark the work together at the start of the maths lesson.
Homework will also be set and given to children each Friday for them to complete over the weekend. Children are encouraged to bring their homework back to school on Monday morning so that we can mark the work together at the start of the lesson.
Children in Years 3 and 4 should be reading for a minimum of 20-25 minutes, at least four nights per week. Any additional reading they do on their own is wonderful! If your child is a confident, fluent reader, they will still need to read aloud to help develop expression and use punctuation correctly. Your child will benefit from talking about the book – predicting, clarifying unfamiliar vocabulary, ‘reading between the lines’ for deeper understanding, forming opinions and summarising. Please help take an active role in your child's reading experience by reading with them regularly. Each child should have a named book bag in which to keep their reading book and reading record. This book bag should be brought into school every day. We are also promoting our love for reading at school, with our reading leaves. Every time your child has read at home, you can sign their reading record and they will be able to help continue the ever growing canopy of leaves.
Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful during reading sessions:
What are your child’s predictions?
Who is(are) the main character(s)?
What is the main idea?
What is the problem?
How was it solved?
Describe the setting using evidence from the text.
Where does the story take place?
Did you think the story had a good ending? If not, how could you have changed the ending?
Are there any words you didn't understand?
How can you find out their meaning?
Ask your child why certain characters are feeling like they are (happy, sad, angry, jealous, etc.), and ask if they know any other words that mean the same.
Did they like the story? Why or why not?
In Les Ananas, we are positively promoting home learning; this can be anything which your child chooses to do to further their learning. Whether it is researching on a tablet about our learning, or practicing times tables, your child will receive a leaf that will be added to our home learning and ever growing rainforest in the classroom. Thank you for your continued support.