Class 4. Mrs Davidson
Welcome our Class 4 page – we are delighted that you found some time to come and visit. Here you will be able to find out useful information about your child’s learning.
In our class of 25 pupils, we have our deputy head teacher Mrs Davidson and our fabulous teaching assistant Mrs Brown! We have 15 year 5 and 10 year 4 pupils.
Spring term revolves around firmly embedding the skills we have learned so far and developing our stamina and perseverance in all tasks that we take on.
English: We are basing our shared reading and writing on a classic text: ‘The Iron Woman’ by Ted Hughes. Our exploration of this powerful text involves some lovely work on discussing how the author has crafted the story, (which is a passionate cry against the pollution of the Earth’s waterways through the dumping of industrial waste); we will take part in drama activities and children recognising and using specific vocabulary for effect. We are also working on some extended pieces of writing such as: story writing ‘in role’ as a character.
We will also be researching information about the young environmental campaigner, Greta Thunberg; as well as researching information in order to create our own information texts about the environment.
Spellings: Spelling rules are taught on a Tuesday, when we are given words which follow a particular rule, alongside some common exception words. Our test (using different words from that spelling pattern) will be on the following Tuesday. Our spellings are becoming much more complex so they must be practised even more often at home.
Reading: We have an ‘Accelerated Reader’ programme, whereby children take Reading Practice quizzes – which asks questions that measure their comprehension of a book. Children are encouraged to take these levelled reading books home and to read for a minimum of ten minutes every day. We have a dedicated ‘Guided reading’ session in class each day and whenever possible, we have individual ‘one-to-one’ readers – but children do need much more. So please, please, please make some time to listen to your child reading. Working both at home and in school will help your child improve his/her reading skills immensely. Thank you in advance for all your support at home.
Maths: we will be practising our arithmetic daily with ‘Fluent in Five’ – which involves working at speed to answer number/calculation questions. We are working on consolidating our understanding of calculation methods in multiplication and division. This is followed by exploring ‘measurement, area and volume’ and then focussing on fractions and decimals.
We are enjoying practising our ‘Rock Star’ tables; trying to improve our speed with our times tables. It is our aim to become more proficient / fluent at applying our maths skills in problem solving and mathematical reasoning. Please encourage your child to practise their times tables frequently (Rock Stars).
Science: ‘Materials’ – this term we are learning about the differences between solids, liquids and gases, classifying objects and identifying their properties. The children will work scientifically and collaboratively to investigate the weight of a gas. Furthermore, they will have chance to find the ideal temperature to melt chocolate. They will explore in-depth how water changes state, exploring melting, freezing, condensing as well as a particular focus on evaporation. Finally, they will learn about the stages of the water cycle (which links nicely to the rivers in our English text).
‘Earth & Space.’ The aim is to give children a basic overview of Earth and its place in our solar system. We will look at describing a sphere and identifying scientific evidence. We will learn how to name the planets and be able to explain how they orbit the Sun. We will explore how night and day occur and make predictions about it in different places on Earth. We will report and present our findings from enquiries and explain how the Moon orbits the Earth not the Sun.
History: We will be exploring the question: Were The Vikings Really Vicious? We will focus on the skills of handling historical interpretations through an overview study of the Vikings using primary sources to support inference.
Homework: is given weekly and should be returned on a Thursday. The work given always supports work done in class and will help children to consolidate learning. Please encourage children to complete homework on time each week.
As always, I would like to thank you for you continued support as your child progresses through this term. I have an open-door policy – so if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s progress, or their well-being, please contact me to discuss them.
Many thanks,
Mrs A. J. Davidson