Y3/4 2018 - 2019

The Romans - Invaders or Inventors?

Year 3 and 4 Spring Term Information 

Welcome back!  We are really excited about the new school year and our exciting new topics!  As your child enters KS2, our focus is to develop independent, responsible and resilient learners.  Please can you support us in this by asking your child to come in to school on their own, look after their own belongings and organise their homework as independently as possible.  

Staff 

Mrs Mace is our Phase Leader and Class 5 teacher. Miss Hall will be working as teacher of Class 4.  Mr Heaton is the Class 6 teacher. 

Topic 

Our topic for this term will be ‘The Romans - Invaders or Inventors’.  We will be asking why the Roman's wanted to leave sunny Italy to invade a cold, wet country like ritain and finding out what the Roman's left behind while they were here. Please find attached a topic web with an overview of the areas we will be covering this term. If you have any resources or artefacts that may help with this topic, we would love to share them!  

English and Maths groupings 

Children in Year 3 and 4 are put in to sets, based on their age/ability levels.  There will be 4 groups for maths, taught by Mrs Mace, Miss Hall, Mr Heaton and Mrs Wilson and 3 groups for English.  

Spellings/Phonics 

Children will still have spelling lessons within their English groups, and National Curriculum spelling lists will now be given out at the start of the year for the children to learn for the half-termly spelling test. Children will be expected to learn one column of spellings per half term and will require help and support at home to ensure the children achieve well. We realise that some of these spellings may appear quite demanding, but every child in the country has to be proficient in the spelling of the relevant age-related words. (See attached list) 

PE Timetables 

Outdoor PE sessions take place once week in KS2 on a Tuesday during the Autumn term. Mrs Wilson, Mrs Buckley and a SCNW coach will run these sessions. In the first half of the Autumn term and Summer term, Swimming will take place: Class 6 each Wednesday (1.45-2.45pm), Class 5 on Thursday (2-3.10pm) and Class 4 on Friday (2-3.10pm). PARENTAL HELP IS REQUIRED IN ORDER FOR THESE SESSIONS TO TAKE PLACE – please see your child’s class teacher if you are available (you will need to have a current DBS check). They will need the correct outdoor PE kit – see the new PE kit list. All children will need a waterproof for inclement weather. No jewellery may be worn during PE sessions and long hair must be tied back for health and safety reasons (see website). 

Reading 

All children are expected to read for up to 30 minutes three times per week as part of their homework and have their reading diary signed by an adult. These will be checked by their teacher during daily Guided Reading lessons.  Children are responsible for telling their teacher when they need to change their book, to promote independent learning; it is no longer done on a set day for them, as it may take one child a number of weeks to read their book. All pupils in Year 2/3/4, when reaching a suitable standard, will have access to Accelerated Reader, where children read their choice of book and complete a comprehension quiz online at the end. These results are tracked by teachers and the children achieve points for good test results. 

Homework 

Each week on a Monday your children will receive: 

• Age related Year 3/4 spellings to learn (from list given out at start of half term or see download list) 

• Times tables to learn (new program ‘Time Tables Rock Stars’) 

• Spelling Shed assignments for regular practise linked to our learning in school and games for fun

• Topic-related homework to be handed in every two weeks (see attached) 

This is all to be completed by the following Monday, in addition to reading 3 times.  Please support us in making reading a part of your child’s daily routine and signing their reading record books. 

If you have any further questions or queries about life in Year 3 and 4, please arrange to see your child’s class teacher or Mrs Mace after school.   

Thank you for your continuing support, 

Miss Hall (Class 4), Mrs Mace (Class 5), Mr Heaton (Class 6)