Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to a new term at Appleton Wiske Primary. We hope you have all had a lovely Easter break and we hope the children are looking forward to a new and exciting Summer term ahead full of hard work and fun.
In English, we are continuing with Comprehension Bug, we will have a daily half an hour reading session. We will also be continuing to use Spelling Shed, which we will be using alongside spelling games to practise weekly spellings and the year 3/4 spelling list. We will still have a written test each Friday. In writing, we will continue to explore a range of Fiction and Non-Fiction texts and the children will be planning and writing these types of texts. We will be basing some of our writing on our topic, ‘The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings’, but also using Literacy Shed video clips and a range of texts to inspire our writing.
In Maths, we have begun our focus on finding the perimeter and area of 2D shapes. We will move on to telling the time, both in analogue and digital forms, in both 12 hour and 24 hour digital format and also converting units of time and applying this to problem solving. We will then be moving on to exploring shapes visually and practically. During this unit, there will be an emphasis on sketching, constructing and modelling shapes to gain a deeper understanding of their properties. After that, we will be estimating and measuring length, mass and capacity. The children will also continue to be encouraged to practise their times tables regularly using games, activities and computer programs. We will also be continuing with our ‘Mastering Number’ where the children will have a daily session to develop their times tables knowledge. The expectation is that pupils should be able to recall all times tables facts up to 12x by the end of Year 4.
Please ensure that your child reads as much as possible at home in order to help them to progress with their reading. When you hear your child read please could you discuss the characters, events and stories, for fiction books, and check understanding of information for non-fiction books. We would be very grateful if you could sign the reading record on each day that your child has read at home and add any helpful comments. Also, if your child has read on their own, they can make their own reflective comments in their reading record. We are continuing with the reading reward scheme this year. If your child reads 80 times in total they will receive a bookmark and if they read 100 times in total they will receive a book!
In Science, our first topic is ‘Animals including humans’, during which, we will
identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat. We will also be exploring skeletons, and that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement. In the second half term, we will be focusing on ‘Living things and their habitats’. This will involve exploring and using classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in our local and wider environment. We will also be learning to recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.
In History we will be learning about Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. We will explore and compare their everyday lives and we will learn about the main Anglo-Saxon and Viking kings and their actions. In Computing we will be learning how to use ‘micro:bits’ and we will explore, create and debug algorithms. The children will continue to learn to play the ocarina in music lessons with Mrs. Gudger. In P.E. we will be developing skills in a range of net, wall, striking and fielding games, as well as athletics.
P.E. days in Class 3 continue to be Tuesday and Friday. Please ensure that your child continues to come in to school in their P.E. kit on those days. Girls will need to have a soft bobble to tie their hair up for P.E. If your child wears earrings, please could you ensure that they are able to take them out themselves for P.E.
Homework will still be given out to the children on a Friday and needs to be handed in completed by the following Thursday.
Spellings will be handed out on a Friday and must be practised ready for our spelling challenge on the following Friday.
We are really looking forward to our Summer term together! Many thanks, again, for all of your help and support. If you have any queries or concerns please contact us.
Mrs Atkinson, Mrs. Gudger and Mrs Guyll.