Week Beginning 3rd October

We are really getting into the swing of things now in Year 3/4 and the summer holidays are now long gone.  We are all set for another week packed with hard work and new learning opportunities.  Can we just say again how grateful we are for the ongoing support of those parents who are able to assist us with the trips to Orford Hub for swimming.  We hope the children are looking forward to this week which includes the Friends of St Vincent’s Film Night!

English

Year 3

This week in English we will begin a non-fiction unit on Information Texts entitled "Where Would You Like to Live?"  We will retrieve and collate information about different countries.  We will also look at a range of other information texts about the Stone Age and find out about the layout of the books and the pages.

Year 4

In English we are continuing with our new unit of work called ‘A Huge First Step’.  Children have now children selected the most appropriate applicants to be trained as astronauts for a mission to Mars.   Last week we read a lot of interesting information about Neil Armstrong and used techniques such as skim reading/scanning.  This week will see children composing short pieces of writing in the form of diary entries.  We will then begin to look in more depth at features of biography texts and will focus on making good and effective use of pronouns.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area –            Statistics

Learning Concept -          Interpret and present data using:

-bar charts

-pictograms

-tables

Teaching sequence -      Read information set out in a bar chart

Read information set out in a pictogram

Read information set out in a table

Read information from a bar chart that has a scale on the vertical axis

Present information in a table

Present information in a bar chart

Present information in a pictogram

Present information in a bar chart where there is a scale on the vertical axis

Year 4

Learning Area –            Addition and Subtraction

Learning Concept -          Add and subtract numbers with up to 4 digits using the formal written methods of columnar addition and subtraction, where appropriate.

Teaching sequence -      Add numbers with 4-digits without exchanging

Add numbers with 4-digits where the total of hundreds, tens or ones exceed 10

Subtract a number from a 4-digit number which requires no exchanging

Subtract a number from a 4-digit number where exchanging is required

Topic

This week we will be continuing with our first topic of the year – the Stone Age.  Children will be learning about Skara Brae.  They will explore:

·         How Scara Brae was discovered

·         Some of the items which were discovered there

·         How Skara Brae shows that  Stone Age people were beginning to change the way in which they lived

RE

Children will be continue with their first RE unit this week entitled ‘Homes’.  They will explore the following questions through class discussion and a range of activities:

·         What is God’s vision for every family?

·         What does God want the relationship between children and parents to be like?

·         Who was part of the Holy family?

·         When is God with us and our families?

Week Beginning 26th September

Another Monday has come round again and we are all set in Year 3/4.  We would like to thank parents who kindly made a donation during last Friday’s own clothes day as the school played its part in the Jeans for Genes day and also for the generous contributions towards the collection for the Harvest Festival Mass.  A big well done to our Year 3/4 children for their great behaviour when going and taking part in swimming last week.  Let’s see if we can be even better this week.

Last week Year 4s had to undertake some start of year tests.  They have all done really themselves proud and tackled the tests well showing a great attitude towards their learning.  Due to these tests however, this week’s blog will look very similar for the Year 4s as planned core lessons were not delivered last week.

English

Year 3

This week is our final week learning about adventure stories.  We will continue to focus on our own ideas for a new version of the story Stone Age Boy.  We will use talk to share some ideas for a new story, plan the story and write a class version together.   We will be looking at how to use varied and interesting sentences as well as including the correct punctuation.  In particular, we will focus on using adjectives and adverbs.  Then it is over to the children where they will plan and write their own adventure story independently.  We cannot wait to hear the children's ideas. 

Year 4

In English we are starting a new unit of work called ‘A Huge First Step’.  In this unit, the children select applicants to be trained as astronauts for a mission to Mars. We will be reading about Neil Armstrong using an interactive eBook.  We will look at and be using the features and layout of the eBook to find out about Neil Armstrong’s personal qualities. Children will be focussing on effective use of pronouns and fronted adverbials to develop their grammar.  These skills will then be applied in their own writing when they produce diary entries and biographies.  These text types will also be transferred over to and applied to our topic work.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area – Measures and Perimeter

Learning Concept -          Measure the perimeter of simple 2D shapes.

Teaching sequence -      Know the term ‘perimeter’

Know that the perimeter is the distance around the sides of a shape

Understand that the perimeter refers to distance in real life contexts, e.g. football pitch

Measure accurately each side of 2D shapes and add lengths to find the perimeter

Year 4

Learning Area – Place Value

Learning Concept -          Count in multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1000.

Teaching sequence -      Count on and back in 1000s from 0 to 10,000

Count on and back in 10s from any given multiple between 0 and 10,000

Count on and back in 100s from 0 to 10,000

Count on and back in 50s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on and back in 25s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on and back in 9s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on in 8s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on in 7s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on in 6s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple.

Topic

This week we will be continuing with our first topic of the year – the Stone Age.  Children will be learning about what humans needed in order to survive during the Stone Age.  They will explore:

·         the different challenges of survival which the early men and women faced.

·         where the Stone Age gets its name from.

·         the tools which were crucial for the survival of early men and women.

·         how tools changed to make hunting more successful

This week will see the children taking a look at the bow and arrow and trying their hand at advertising the product.

RE

Children will be continue with their first RE unit this week entitled ‘Homes’.  They will explore the following questions through class discussion and a range of activities:

·         What is God’s vision for every family?

·         What does God want the relationship between children and parents to be like?

·         Who was part of the Holy family?

·         When is God with us and our families?

Week Beginning 19th September

Are you ready for another week Year 3/4?  Routines should now be firmly in place and so we can come in to school ready to learn.  Last week’s swimming sessions went well and will hopefully run even smoother this week.  Thank you to all of the parents who came to support last week and who are ready for another week of swimming fun this time round too!  Don’t forget Year 3/4, the swimming instructors have told us that the quicker we can get changed before and after the swimming session, the longer you can spend in the pool.  Let’s show them this week how sensibly and quickly we can get changed and you might then get some extra time in the weeks that follow.

Don’t forget that this Friday is Jeans for Genes day, so children can come to school in their own clothes and we ask that they bring a pound donation.

English

Year 3

This week, we will continue our work on Adventure Stories around the text "Stone Age Boy".  The children have really enjoyed getting to know the story so far and enjoyed freeze framing the main events in the story. We will look more closely at the language this week and have a go at using some of the features in our writing.  In particular, we will focus on adverbials and conjunctions.  To finish, we will plan our own complete adventure story and put all the skills we have learned into practice in our final piece of writing.

Year 4

In English we are starting a new unit of work called ‘A Huge First Step’.  In this unit, the children select applicants to be trained as astronauts for a mission to Mars. We will be reading about Neil Armstrong using an interactive eBook.  We will look at and be using the features and layout of the eBook to find out about Neil Armstrong’s personal qualities. Children will be focussing on effective use of pronouns and fronted adverbials to develop their grammar.  These skills will then be applied in their own writing when they produce diary entries and biographies.  These text types will also be transferred over to and applied to our topic work.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area – Place Value

Learning Concept -          Read and write numbers to 1,000 in numerals and words

Teaching sequence -      Read all numbers from 100 to 1000 in numerals

Write all numbers from 100 to 1000 in numerals

Read all numbers from 100 to 1000 in words

Write all numbers from 100 to 1000 in words

Year 4

Learning Area – Place Value

Learning Concept -          Count in multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1000.

Teaching sequence -      Count on and back in 1000s from 0 to 10,000

Count on and back in 10s from any given multiple between 0 and 10,000

Count on and back in 100s from 0 to 10,000

Count on and back in 50s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on and back in 25s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on and back in 9s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on in 8s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on in 7s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple

Count on in 6s from 0 to 1000 starting at any given multiple.

Topic

This week we will be continuing with our first topic of the year – the Stone Age.  Children will be learning about what humans needed in order to survive during the Stone Age.  They will explore:

·         the different challenges of survival which the early men and women faced.

·         where the Stone Age gets its name from.

·         the tools which were crucial for the survival of early men and women.

·         how tools changed to make hunting more successful

RE

Children will be continue with their first RE unit this week entitled ‘Homes’.  They will explore the following questions through class discussion and a range of activities:

·         What is God’s vision for every family?

·         What does God want the relationship between children and parents to be like?

·         Who was part of the Holy family?

·         When is God with us and our families?

Week Beginning 12th September

We hope you are ready for the second week back as in Year 3/4 we are ready to hit the ground running with all of our subjects.  We have a busy week ahead with routines to get used to and lessons to challenge us.  This week we will have a focus on Roald Dahl with Mrs Millington having organised a Roald Dahl day throughout the school.  We in Year 3/4 though are going to extend this and make the most of this week to explore the stories and poems that Roald Dahl has produced.  We are going to have some great fun with our English and Topic work as we try to bring the writings of Roald Dahl to life through as many subjects as we can. 

As well as our work in school we are looking forward to starting our swimming this Tuesday in Year 3/4.  We hope the children are full of energy to get straight in and engage sensibly with these fantastic lessons which will be taking place at the Orford Hub.  We would like to thank any of our parents in advance who are able to offer their help and support with these trips to the leisure centre.

English

Year 3

In English, we will begin to look Adventure stories and think about the common features.  We will read ‘Stone Age Boy’ by Satoshi Kitamura.  We will answer questions about the text, make predictions, dramatise the story and draw a story map to show the key events.  We will also find examples of punctuation and begin to look at the language used.  This is a really lovely book with some fabulous illustrations and we are sure that it will enhance our Stone Age topic this half term.

Year 4

In English we are spending time this week looking at the wonderful work of Roald Dahl and understanding how some of the techniques used in his writing can be applied to our writing.  We will be producing our own revolting rhymes and linking the work to our grammar.

Year 4

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area – Place Value

Learning Concept -          Count from 0 in multiples of 4, 8, 50 and 100.

Find 10 or 100 more or less than a given number.

Teaching sequence -      Count on and back in 10s from 0 to 1000

Count on and back in 100s from 0 to 1000

Count on and back in 50s from 0 to 1000

Count on and back in 4s from 0 to 1000

Count on and back in 8s from 0 to 1000

Find 10 more than a given number between 0 and 1000

Find 10 less than a given number between 0 and 1000

Find 100 more than a given number between 0 and 1000

Find 100 less than a given number between 0 and 1000

Year 4

Learning Area – Place Value/Negative Numbers

Learning Concept -          Count backwards through zero to include negative numbers.

Teaching sequence -      Know that the value of any negative number is less than 0

Know which of two negative numbers is greater

Know which of two negative numbers is smaller

Count accurately forwards from any negative number to any positive number, moving across 0

Count accurately backwards from any positive number to any negative number, moving across 0

Order a set of negative and positive numbers showing smallest to largest

Order a set of negative and positive numbers showing largest to smallest

Topic

This week we will be introducing our first topic of the year – the Stone Age.  Children will be introduced to the topic by learning about how to produced and read a timeline.  In doing this, children will be able to pinpoint important events and happenings during this period of time in history and order them chronologically.

RE

Children will be starting their first RE unit this week entitled ‘Homes’.  They will explore the following questions through class discussion and a range of activities:

·         Wonder what makes a house a home?

·         What makes home a special place for you?

·         What do you like to do at home, on your own and as a family?

·         What do people do for you at home, that makes you feel special?

·         What sometimes is difficult about sharing and being part of a group at home?

Week Beginning 5th September 2016

Welcome back to a brand new year.  We can’t wait to meet our new classes and have lots of exciting work planned.

This first week is all about getting to know the children and establishing routines.  We will also complete some writing and some mini-assessment tests to see what the children already know.

Induction Meeting

The year 3/4 induction meeting is at 3.15pm on Friday 9th September. This meeting highlights rules and routines and the year 3/4 curriculum.  All parents are also welcome and encouraged to attend this.    

Please ensure your child has there PE kit in school as well as an outdoor kit as we only have selected hours in the hall. 

We are sure all children will look beautiful in their uniforms however please remember that jewellery is not uniform and that we only allow stud earrings and a watch.  Any hair accessories should also be school colours. 

We look forward to seeing you all this Friday. 

The year 3/4 team. 

Final Post for Year 3/4 2016!

We can't believe the year has come to an end.  It has been an pleasure for all of the staff to watch the children develop and grow.  They have achieved so much to be proud of over the year and have made us smile every day.  They have tackled new challenges with enthusiasm and confidence.  There are so many highlights and I have asked the children to share their best bits, they said...

• The Euro football tournament.
• Trip to Kingswood.
• Going to watch 'Cats'.
• Having great teachers.
• Doing the Salsa dancing during European week.
• The Christmas play.
• The Easter Service.
• The Viking visitor.
• Sports day. 
• Meeting new teachers
• Swimming lessons.
• Communion celebrations.
• Air raid shelter trip.
• Bike ability.
• World Book Day.
• Sports Relief.
• George Sampson dancing workshops.
• Rio football tournament.
• Warrington Wolves Rugby
• Football.
• First aid.
• Wake Up and Shake Up.
• St Vincent VIP
• Treat for for winning house teams
• Magical Maths Day.
• Viking brooches.
• Discos.
• Christmas party.
• Learning new things.
• Rounders.
• Basket ball.
• Music with Mr Griffiths.
• Spanish food tasting.

They have done so much, a great year full of enriching activities and new learning. Have a fantastic Summer and we look forward to seeing you in September, ready for another year of hard work, learning new skills and of course lots of fun and laughter!

Year 3/4 Team

Welcome back to the second part of the summer term!

What a varied and exciting first week back.  The children were certainly refreshed and raring to go.  It kicked off... (Euro 2016 pun). ..with Communion Mass preparation. Where Y3 and 4 sang their hearts out to get the hymns perfect for the Mass on Tuesday.  The readers bravely volunteered, practised and then took their readings home to make sure they were well prepared for the Mass.
The Mass on Tuesday went well.  It was lovely to have parents and the Y3s there to support the Y4 children as they celebrated with their school their recent Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation.  Fr Richard spoke to the children about the importance of the Sacraments and how his own were still very clear in his mind.  The children read well and the singing was gentle and beautiful.
The children all took part in the St Vinnie's Euro 2016 competition.  They all played very well and supported their friends in other teams throughout the day.  The finals will be played on sports day.  There will be other matches over the next couple of weeks for the runners up.
This week the children will all take part in a European week where they will research a country, look at money, time and statistics in Maths.  Complete a holiday brochure in English and learn more about Spain through language, culture, salsa dancing and food tasting.
Thank you to Erin and Philip who prepared a presentation from their holidays...both children visited Scotland.

They did a fantastic job well done!

Football Fun! The Euro Competition followed by the England V Wales game- a moment in History!