Yew Tree Class 2023 - 2024
Welcome to Yew Tree Class
Year 3 and Year 4
Class Teacher: Miss Cotgreave
Our Learning:
English - Reading
Daily reading is a key priority in primary school and we actively encourage children to read as much as possible at home to help further develop their fluency and comprehension skills. Every child will be able to bring home a banded reading book from school. These will be assigned to children by their class teacher following a short reading assessment. These can be changed regularly in school. Every child is also encouraged to have a 'Reading for Pleasure' book.
Within our Whole Class Reading lessons, we will be exploring a variety of texts within a variety of genres. This will give children plenty of opportunities to practise their reading comprehension skills and learn about new things.
Our class novel for this half term is 'The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane' by Kate DiCamillo.
English - Writing
Our focus text for this half term is 'Where the Forest Meets the Sea' by Jeannie Baker and Rainforests in 30 Seconds by Jen Green. Using our key text, the children will work towards writing a non-chronological report. Throughout the unit, children will work towards mastery the Mastery Keys outlined below.
Mastery Keys (Year 3)
Build a varied and rich vocabulary
Use a or an according to whether the next word begins with a vowel or a consonant
Group related ideas into paragraphs
In non-narrative material, use simple organisational devices including headings and subheadings to aid presentation
Mastery Keys (Year 4)
Build a varied and rich vocabulary
Propose changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
Use paragraphs to organise information and ideas around a theme
Indicate possession by using the plural apostrophe with plural nouns and revise Y2 singular
Know the graamatical difference between plural and possessive 's'
Maths
In Maths, we follow Power Maths. This allows children to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills.
During this half term, our topics are:
-Decimals (Year 4)
-Mass and capacity (Year 3)
Throughout the week, children are given many opportunities to practise their arithmetic skills. At the end of each Maths lesson, all children complete a 'Tough Ten' and on a Friday, all children will participate in an arithmetic lesson.
Science
Our Science topic for this half term is Electricity. Throughout this unit, children will practise using a variety of scientific skills to help them learn:
-Appliances can be mains operated or battery operated
- Electricity is a form of energy that can give objects the ability to move, emit light, produce sound and heat
- - An electrical circuit is a closed loop that allows energy to flow round to make an object work
History
This term, we will be exploring:
'Who was William the Conqueror and what did he do?'
This topic is a great opportunity for the children to learn about the Norman conquest of England. Children will use and intepret primary sources, such as the Bayeux tapestry learn about the events of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Children will also consider the legacy of the Norman time period, making comparasions to their lives today.
Geography
This term, we will be exploring:
'Where does our food come from?
The children will be using maps and atlases to locate the countries and continents of where different foods orginate from.
Children will investigate the relationship between climate and ideal conditions for growing certain crops.
We will use food packaging from home to calculate our 'food miles'
We will design a questionnaire for field work to answer the question, 'Are our school dinners locally sourced?'
Art and Design
This half term, we will explore the skill of painting, in particular exploring how we can use different tones and brush strokes to add dimension to objects. At the end of this topic, children will produce a still life composition using acrylic paint.
Music
Music sessions will be delivered by Junior Jam. This half term, we will be focusing on 'Singing'.
Computing
Computing sessions will be delivered by Junior Jam.
PE
Our P.E. days for this half term are Monday and Thursday. Children should come to school in their kit. All kit must be clearly labelled, and appropriate footwear must be worn. Jewellery, including earrings, must not be worn during P.E. days. School hoodies and jogging bottoms can be purchased online with school uniform.
Personal Development
At St Luke's, RHE is taught using a scheme created by 'Ten:Ten'. Our topic this term is Created to love others. Rooted in the teaching that we are made in the image and likeness of God, it helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships. We will also be using MyHappyMind to help the children learn about emotions and how to self-regulate.
Homework
Homework will be set on Google Classroom.
Useful websites to support home learning:
We encourage all pupils to access these websites on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis.
Please see below for our long term overviews.
Communication
Messages will mainly be sent using School Spider; please turn on notifications for the app so that you are alerted to new messages/emails. I am always happy to discuss any worries, concerns or general queries you may have. Please feel free to send an email or make an appointment through the school office.
