Welcome to Penguins!

We are Year 3&4 and are taught by Mr Young along with Miss Winfield (M-Th) and Mrs Hall (F)

Welcome to the start of a new adventure!

Is it me or do the summer hols seem like an eternity ago! I hope you all had a fabulous time and have recharged!

This term is, as always, crammed! There are new routines to learn and settling in to do - alongside all the learning!

Homework will be set on TEAMS as soon as the new Penguins class is updated - I will spend time showing the children how and where to find their homework during the first week - should you need any help, please come and ask. This is set in the form of smaller tasks to be done over the course of the half term - you can decide on how this is best achieved to suit your family plans and commitments.

Spellings will be set on a termly basis (Autumn, Spring & Summer) - they will come in the form of the Year 3 set and the Year 4 set. I send them in 'bulk' so that if there is a week where your child is already confident in the patter they can get a head start on a week where they are less certain. Some may get different sets sent home to work on as the term unfolds - these will be the ones they get tested on, but the standard list should also be looked at to develop vocabulary within the Year 3 / 4 expectations.

READ tasks - these will be set on a Monday, to be returned on or before the following Monday. If a READ task is not handed in on time the child may well be requested to complete the task in their own time during the school day.

PE kits should be in school each day.  

My thanks, as always, for your support!

Mr Y

Year 3 & 4 home learning

Every week, we will look at new spelling rules / patterns. The term list will be sent via TEAMS (hard copy available upon request) and there will be a weekly test. If your child is secure on a particular set, you can begin working on subsequent sets where they may be trickier.

Weekly READ tasks are set each week and require children to complete a specific task linked to their reading book. They are handed out on a Monday and due back in on or before the following Monday.

Other homework tasks are set on TEAMS (all children have their own log in & password). This is a range of tasks that link to the learning in school. They are set on the first day of each half term and are due back on the last Tuesday of the half term unless otherwise specified. Homework is to be completed where possible via the TEAMS set up but additional items may be handed in separately e.g. art projects etc.

English

In English, we work hard on a range of skills, both in reading and writing. We have a weekly handwriting session that helps us to develop the alignment and consistency of letter formations leading to joined cursive. This also supports the development of spelling fluency. Spellings for each week are introduced at the start of the week with the pattern / rule being shared with the class. Over the course of the week, children practice by finding definitions of the words and then writing sentences that show the word in context. Our reading sessions focus on a different text extract each week and work from it over a series of tasks including vocabulary development, reading fluency and comprehension skills. We often finish the week with a session that builds on the text - this could include writing a blurb / continuing the text by predicting what might come next /  or focusing on the development of a grammar skill.

Our main lessons focus around the class text/s for the half term. These lessons develop structure / audience awareness / punctuation and grammar development linked to the text at hand. Over the course of an academic year we will revisit skills repeatedly to allow for the fluency in application to become more secure.

Reading

Each child has their own school reading book based on their current reading band - these are assessed across the course of the school year. Your child will bring this home, along with their 'READ book' - this is their reading diary where they need to record what and when they are reading. In this book will also be a READ activity; a specific task we would like your child to complete to help support their comprehension of the text they have brought home. Reading books can be changed as necessary and those who are free readers can make their own selection from the library within the colour band they are currently based in. We expect children to have their school reading book and READ book in school every day.

If your child would also like to read books from home, that is very much encouraged! Please write any extra books you also read at home in your READ book so we can see the wide range of literature you are getting through! If you have a request for the school library, a book you would love to find on the shelves to have as a school reading book, please let us know!

Maths

We have daily maths sessions based around the small steps process of achieving secure knowledge of the National Curriculum objectives. We have a daily mental maths task in the main lesson (this is flashback type questions designed to recap current and prior learning to help with 'sticky knowledge') followed by a small step session that moves learning along towards the greater overall objective. These sessions include varied fluency, reasoning and problem solving questions to ensure that children are able to extract and apply mathematical skills in a range of contexts.

We also spend a lot of time learning and practicing our times tables as these underpin such a large proportion of the maths curriculum. Towards the end of Year 4 all children sit the MTC (multiplication tables check) set by the Department for Education to assess the recall and knowledge of the times tables to 12x12.

To develop fluency in mental strategies, children also have their maths passport which has a series of objectives that they are working towards. Upon completion of these tasks, children move to the next passport location.