Dear parents/carers,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a restful Easter break and are ready for the up coming learning.

English

In English we will be covering newspaper reports, instructions & explanations, persuasive letters and finally a book study. The children will be using skills they have learnt so far along with new ones. Children really enjoyed using thesauruses last term to improve their word choices; a skill we will continue to develop. The class have focused on their reading comprehension through independent, paired, and whole class work. We will be still looking at comprehension, this is something that can be practiced verbally at home. Please try and encourage your child to spend time reading every day, even if they are a confident reader it is vital they are heard reading aloud regularly.

Maths

To begin the term, we will be focusing on fractions by exploring whole, tenths and equivalents and the children will take part in a daily arithmetic and recap of previous learning in our maths meetings. To assist with children’s mathematical development encourage them to handle real money, understand the value of coins & notes, add and subtract money and give change.  Practise reading analogue and digital time in a 12hr and 24hr format.  Continue to practise the times tables and use Times Table Rock Stars – we will be starting weekly times table assessments.

History and Geography

In History, we will finish our Anglo-Saxons and Vikings topic before moving onto Tudors. We will use our history knowledge from the year to explore timelines to support chronology and understanding of BC/AD. In Geography our topic will focus on North America. The children will continue to use their map skills, apply their previous learning about mountains and explore physical geography.

Science

We will start the term with a topic called Animals including Humans which recaps the children’s learning from year 2 about how animals survive and stay healthy and helps children to learn more about what makes a healthy, balanced diet. They will learn about the nutrients that different foods provide and how these nutrients help our bodies. We will also explore how different animals eat different types of foods and need different proportions of nutrients. We will look at food labels on packaging to gather information about content.

Computing

We will be continuing with ‘how to stay safe online’ which will an ongoing theme throughout the school year. Children will be using the school laptops and iPads to further develop researching skills and ensuring we use trusted websites. The children will also learn how to use Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations.

Art and Design & Technology

In art we will be studying the artist Quentin Blake and exploring self-portraits. The children will be learning to use constructive criticism to further improve their artwork. In Design & Technology we will be looking at designing, making, and evaluating a healthy packed lunch! Children will be surveying other year groups to find out what they have in their packed lunches and consider what makes a healthy packed lunch. Our learning in science will further support this.

RE

In RE we be looking at the religion of Hinduism. The children will be able to name the main Hindu deities and symbols, identify where Hindus worship, and retell one of the stories celebrated during a special Hindu festival.

PSHE

Our PSHE learning will continue to support children’s mental health. We will also be exploring physical wellbeing, growing & changing, and keeping safe. This will cover positive friendships, what makes a good friend, dental health, healthy sleep, calling for help in an emergency, how to help someone if they have been bitten or stung, water safety around rivers/canals, risks with flooding, and much more.

Music

In Music we will be developing the skills of listening and appraising, musical activities and perform and review. The children will learn songs and explore different percussion instruments.

PE

We will start the week with swimming every Monday morning and PE with Mr Snelling on a Thursday afternoon. Please make sure the correct PE kit is in school on a Tuesday morning ready for the week. On occasions we have extra PE sessions, so it is important kits are in all week.

French

Our French topics this term will revisit previous topics and we will then move onto following instructions, name parts of the body, identify colours and say what they are wearing. Children we be able to verbalise, read and write simple words and phrases in French.

Homework

Along with listening to your child read, the children will be set spellings to learn each week ready for a test on Monday; please assist them with look, cover, write, check activities to consolidate their learning or an alternative method that suit your child’s way of learning. The children will have one to two pieces of homework to complete each week these will support their learning in the classroom from a variety of subjects. Please ensure all homework is completed and handed in by the due date.

Kind Regards,

Miss Morton