Subject  

Teaching and Learning  

Parental Involvement - We encourage parents to choose at least one activity for each subject to support your child in their learning.  

Maths  

In Year 3, children will be learning to tell the time to 5 minutes and to the nearest minute. They will also learn to tell the time using the 12 hour and 24-hour clock. They will be learning to convert pounds into pence and vice versa as well as adding and subtracting amounts of money. Year 3 will also be looking at the different types of angles within 2D shapes 

Year 4 will be solving time problems and convert from the 12-hour to 24-hour clock.  They will be converting amounts of money using decimals and solve money problems. Year 4 will also be learning about the properties of different shape groups e.g. triangles and quadrilaterals. 

Your child can practise times tables on TT Rock-stars. Also test them when you’re in the car or walking to school. Little and often makes a big difference! There are lots of fun games and songs available online too.  

Hit the button is also a good game for children to practise their number skills. 

Your child can practise telling the time by using an analogue watch or playing time games.

English  

The children will be reading a variety of high-quality texts that will spark their interest, starting with “Aesop’s Fables” and “The Great Kapok Tree” by Lynne Cherry. The texts will cover poetry, fiction and non-fiction.  The children will be writing in the style of different genres and text types, e.g. a fable. The children will be taught age-related spelling, grammar and punctuation discretely.   

Find ways for your children to write for a purpose, e.g. write a letter to a friend or family member, write a shopping list or a story based on their favourite toy/film or book character. As part of our non-fiction writing, the children could write facts about a specific topic, e.g. dinosaurs or space. 

Reading  

During guided reading sessions, the children will all read the same text and discuss the text using VIPERS skills (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explain, retrieve, summarise/sequence).    

Please listen to your child read at least 4 times per week. Children who read regularly at home make the most progress, not just in reading, but right across the curriculum. Please ask us if you need any support.    

Science  

This term our science topics will be ‘Electricity’ and ‘Light’. In the first half term will be learning about different types of electrical power, how to created different types of simple circuits and finding out which materials conduct electricity. In second half of the term, we will be looking at UV light and how to stay safe in the sun, look at how shadows are formed and how they change throughout the day and identifying reflective materials. 

Across all topics the children also learn how to work scientifically by asking questions, observing, recording data and explaining results.

Have a look at the videos all about the science topics here: Electricity and  Light. 

What things use electricity at your house? Do they use mains or battery power?  

Can you create shadow puppets using light?

Computing  

We will be learning how to input data to make different types of graphs and create their own PowerPoint. 

If your child has access to Microsoft PowerPoint or Google slides, allow them to explore the different functions and create their own PowerPoint which they can share with their class. 

RE  

This term the children will be focusing on the question “Who was Jesus really?” They will share their ideas about who Jesus was and what he might have been like and will learn about different actions and qualities Jesus had that made some people believe he was the Messiah. They will look at different ways to interpret information and opinions on Jesus and will also look deeper into the Easter story. 

To gain more information about Jesus, look at BBC Bitesize where there are multiple videos looking into different parts of Jesus’ life. 

Art  

The children will be using the rainforest as a starting point of their art project. They will be doing observational drawings of plants, creating a mood board and creating their own piece of batik art. 

To gain more inspiration, look at these images of the rainforest and do your own observational drawings of plants using a variety of art tools e.g. pens, paints, chalk. 

D&T  

The children will be creating their own torch by creating their own electrical circuit with a switch. Children will also be analysing different types of torches and looking at the different design specifications. 

To learn more about making your own torch, follow the instructions on this DT website - Torches. 

PSHE  

In PSHE this term, children will be learning about Citizenship. They will be looking at their community and how to contribute to their community, for example recycling and reusing as a way of taking care of the community and how democracy works in their community. They will also learn why rules are important and the consequences of breaking them as well as their rights as children. 

Create a happiness journal for the week. Every day, write down one thing that you are proud of, one thing that made you happy and one thing you are looking forward to.  

BBC Bitesize has lots of fantastic information about citizenship to build up your child’s knowledge. 

History  

This term the children will be looking at the ancient Maya and their beliefs and inventions. The children will learn about the Maya gods, how where they settled affected their daily life and how the civilisation came to an end. They will also use artefacts and historic enquiry to find out more about the ancient Maya people. 

Have a look at the BBC Bitesize area all about the ancient Maya and these videos 

Geography  

This term the children will be learning all about rivers. They will explore different the journey of the river, learn about the water cycle and compare local rivers to ones around the world using map, coordinate and compass skills. 

On BBC Bitesize have a look at a section on rivers.  

PE  

In Summer 1, the children will be swimming and learning different skills in Athletics. In Summer 2, the children will be learning how to play Tag rugby and rounders.  Children should bring their PE kit into school on their PE days which will be Wednesdays and Fridays.  (Swimming will be on Fridays.) 

To learn about the rules of rounders, watch this video 

Music   

The children are learning about music notation. They will learn to compose and perform different rhythms individually and in groups. 

Enjoy listening to music and singing with your child at home or in the car. Developing a lifelong love of music is the first and most important step towards being a successful learner of music! 

MFL  

In French, we will be learning how to name musical instruments and items of clothing in French. Year 3 will be focusing on how to say different musical instruments and eventually will be able to say, ‘I play...’ followed by different musical instruments. Year 4 will be focusing on how to say and write, ‘I wear/ my’ followed by different items of clothing. 

Check out French with Mr Innes on Youtube who has many funny and interactive videos, including ones on clothing and musical instruments.