Class Davidson
Welcome to Year 4 and 5 where we love to learn
In our class we have 29 children who are taught by our Deputy Head Teacher Mrs Davidson and our fabulous Teaching Assistant Mrs Brown!
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 wonderful text: ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. Our exploration of this delightful text involves some lovely work on visualisation and discussing how the author has crafted the story; drama activities and children recognising and using specific vocabulary for effect. We are also working on some extended pieces of writing such as – persuasive letters, recounts, and story writing ‘in role’ as a character. Later in the term, we will be researching information in order to create our own non-fiction ‘Biography of a Scientist’ and ‘Tourist Information’ writing which is linked to our science and geography topics.
Maths: We are working on our understanding of the calculation methods of ‘multiplication and division’. This is followed by exploring ‘measurement’ (area and volume) and finally we will conquer fractions and decimals.
We are enjoying practising our ‘Rock Star’ tables; trying to improve our speed with our times tables. Children are also encouraged to log on at home to do daily practise on Rock Star maths- as this will support in developing their quick recall of facts.
It is our aim to become more proficient / fluent at applying our maths skills in problem solving and mathematical reasoning.
Science: This term as we are studying ‘Properties and changes of materials.’ This will be followed by designing our own investigations about ‘Forces’ – including air and water resistance.
Geography: We are studying the location of towns and cities in the UK; reading maps and atlases & understanding the human features of England by exploring its most famous landmarks.
Design Technology : Cooking and Nutrition -we will be exploring some traditional local dishes.
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 are continuing to develop ‘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. 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.
Water Bottles: we have purchased water bottles for every child in class. All the hard work makes us thirsty and we need to stay hydrated.
We offer a morning snack of each day – for only £1.00 a week. Please send money in to Mrs Brown. Funds raised from this are used to buy extra resources for our class.
Don’t forget that we are able to access Lexiacore5, Rock Star maths and Active-learn maths at home. Get logging onto those laptops and iPads…
Finally, Mrs Davidson has an open-door policy – so if you have any questions or concerns please contact her to discuss them. She is keen to work in partnership with you so that your child is happy and continues to make great progress.