Week Beginning 9th January

Welcome back.  We all hope that you had a very happy and holy Christmas.  We had a few days last week to settle in and so we will be getting straight back to work this week.  Just a point to make about this Thursday 12^th January: children will be having an early registration at 8:30am and so the school gates will open from 8:15am.  This is so that we can have everyone registered and ready to leave for the pantomime!

English

Year 3

Our English lessons will be focused around myths and legends.  We will read a variety of Roman myths and identify their key features.   We will then focus on the story of Romulus and Remus, using drama to understand the events.  We will also discuss the characters, make predictions, draw inferences and compare endings to show how myths can be written as different versions.  Lastly, we will begin to look at speech punctuation in the text and synonyms for said.  There are many online versions of the story of Romulus and Remus as well as other Roman myths, if you wish to research and read together at home.

Year 4

Children will be starting another non-fiction unit this half term.  In this unit, the children explore the Big Question: What is the world’s most incredible sport? They will read the interactive eBook, find information whilst distinguishing between fact and opinion. Their aim is to answer the Big Question with the final target of planning and writing their own newspaper report.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area –                Geometry – 3D shape

Learning Concept -          Make 3D shapes using modelling materials; recognise 3D shapes in different orientations; & describe them

                                               

Teaching sequence -      Make 3D shapes from a range of materials (including modelling materials and construction)

Accurately describe the properties of 3D shapes

Year 4

Learning Area –            Measures - Perimeter

Learning Concept -          Measure and calculate the perimeter of a rectilinear figure (including squares) in cm and m.

                                               

Teaching sequence -      Know the formula for calculating the perimeter of a rectangle (2 x length plus 2 x breadth)

Know that the perimeter of an irregular shape can be calculated by $adding the length of each individual side together

Topic

This week children will be starting to look at our new topic of ‘The Romans’.  We are all excited to start this unit.  This week will see the children creating some display work in a style which is very much related to the Romans.  We will also be considering what we know about the Romans already and what we want to find out with the aim of being able to write about what we have learnt at the end of the unit.

 RE

Children will be starting a new unit in RE called Journeys.  Through this Explore week children will reflect on the celebrations which took place over the Christmas period and consider what the year to come might bring.  They will think about planning  a journey throughout this new year of 2017.

Week Beginning 12th December

Well here we are again, the final week of the half term and the first term in school this year is coming to a close.  A few reminders for this week:

·        The children will be having their Christmas lunch this Monday.

·        The KS2 Christmas parties are taking place on Tuesday and all children have been placed in groups and have been allocated something to bring in for their party.

·        We have some special visitors coming in on Wednesday ...

·        Friday is our Carol service

The Year 3/4 Production

Well to quote Ceasar from the play, “you were fabulous darlings’.  The staff in the 3/4 team are so proud of all of the children.  The performances which they put on were brilliant and many comments have been made about how ‘professional’ the shows were.  Every single child in Year 3 and 4 should give themselves a pat on the back because they made this year’s Christmas production unforgettable.  Well done everyone - but don’t rest yet because Year 3/4 will be performing one of the songs from our production in the Carol Service on Friday!

Core sessions this week will be based on a Christmas theme as we want to make sure that the children are all smiling during the exciting build up to Christmas.  We will still be working hard though and will be having a very productive week.

 RE

Children will be finishing off their RE topic based on the time of the Church’s year which is currently Advent.  They will continue to prepare for the coming of Christmas and remembering the true meaning of the season.

Week beginning 5th December

We have a busy week for Year 3/4 this week with children performing their Christmas Production for the school and parents.  We have two morning shows on Tuesday and Wednesday and an evening performance on Thursday.  Can I also remind everyone that it is the Christmas fair this Friday in school and so children are allowed to wear their own clothes on this date.

English

Year 3&4

Assessments are being carried out this week as we are coming to the end of the Autumn term.

Maths

Year 3 & 4

Assessments are being carried out this week as we are coming to the end of the Autumn term.

 RE

Children have now started their new RE topic called visitors.  This is a topic which informs us about the time in the Church’s year called Advent.  Children are considering what it is like to have visitors and we will be discussing what this time of year is in preparation of.

Week Beginning 21st November

Not long to go now.  It will be Christmas before we know it.  First thing on Monday the children have a fantastic Mad Science assembly to look forward to.  Just a reminder as well that it is the second of the sessions for the Sacramental preparation programme for the Year 4s this Thursday.  This will be taking place at St Joseph’s at half 6pm.

English

Year 3

This week we will read The Tunnel by Anthony Browne which is an adventure/mystery story.  We will create a story map, thinking about the beginning, the build-up, the dilemma, the resolution and the ending.  We will think carefully about the characters' thoughts and feelings and carry out some drama activities to really understand them.  Following our drama, we will delve deeper into the text and look at some of the grammatical features, in particular, adverbial phrases.  Adverbial phrases give us more information about the verbs in a sentence.  The children will then put these into practice and re-write part of the story, using some of the adverbials that they have learned.

Year 4

Children have spent the last couple of weeks looking at creative extended writing.  This is because all Catholic primary schools have got together recently to compare writing from all year groups.  Consequently, the previous unit of work was put on hold.  However, we are going to start a shorter unit this week based on poetry.  Throughout this unit children will enjoy the range of poems and discuss and explore their uses of figurative language. They will learn and revise metaphor, simile and personification and then identify the features of free verse, haiku and performance poetry. Finally they draft and write their own poems using ones from the unit as models.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area –            Measures - Time

Learning Concept -          Estimate and read time with increasing accuracy to the nearest minute;

Tell and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals from I to XII

                                                               

Teaching sequence -      Read the time to one minute intervals.

Estimate the time to the nearest five minute interval, e.g. it is nearly ten past four.

Recognise the Roman numerals from I to XII.

Place I –XII on a clock face in correct place

Read time on clock with Roman numerals

Show equivalent time from Roman numeral clock face on regular analogue face and vice versa

  

Year 4

Learning Area –            Multiplication and Division

Learning Concept -          Recognise and use factor pairs and commutativity in mental calculations.

Teaching sequence -      Explain the term ‘factor pair’.

Know all the factors within all numbers to 10.

Work out all the factors of any number to 144.

Know the term ‘square number’ and recall all square numbers associated with numbers 1 –144.

 RE

Children will be finishing off their new unit for RE entitled Promises.  This week children will be remembering, celebrating and responding to how belonging to a group involves promises and rules and the meaning of the promises made at Baptism.

Week Beginning 14th November

This week is anti-bullying week and we will be doing a lot of activities related to this during the afternoons.  We hope children are working hard at home learning lines to our Christmas play.  It seems a while away but it will come round quickly. 

English

Year 3

This week we will be carrying out some assessments in Maths, Reading and Writing.  We will be looking to 

find out what the children have learned so far and identify any areas that they need to work on next.  We will also have a spelling focus towards the end of the week, looking at spelling patterns and strategies that we can use to help us to learn our spellings.

Year 4

Children are moving onto a new topic in their English this week and the overview of it is as follows:  Children are going to be introduced to the idea of an audio story or podcast. As a class, they listen to a spooky story podcast in three episodes, asking questions and listening out for sound effects to develop their listening and comprehension skills. They will focus on the use of language and the way it is used in conjunction with the narrator’s voice and sound effects to create atmosphere and character. After some help they will practise mind mapping and planning a story as a class. They will then build on this experience to plan and write their own three-episode spooky story podcasts in groups. Time is given at the end of the unit for the children to practise reading their stories aloud and incorporate sound effects. The podcasts will then be recorded or performed so that they can be shared with one another.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area –            Multiplication and Division

Learning Concept -          Write and calculate mathematical statements for division using known multiplication tables, including 2-digit x 1-digit, using mental and progressing to formal written methods.

                                                               

Teaching sequence -      Divide 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 into any multiple of ten with no remainder.

Divide 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 into any 2-digit number with no remainder.

Year 4

Learning Area –            Multiplication and Division - Mental

Learning Concept -          Recall multiplication and division facts for tables up to 12x12.

Teaching sequence -      Count in 6s; forward and backwards.

Recite the x6 tables up to x12, without error.

Answer any calculation involving x6, out of order.

Know that 2x6 is the same as 6x2 etc.

Answer any calculation involving ÷6, out of order.

Count in 7s; forward and backwards.

Recite the x7 table up to x12, without error.

Answer any calculation involving x7, out of order.

Know that 3x7 is the same as 7x3 etc

Answer any calculation involving ÷7, out of order.

Count in 9s; forward and backwards.

Recite the x9 table up to x12, without error.

Answer any calculation involving x9, out of order.

Know that 4x9 is the same as 9x4 etc.

Answer any calculation involving ÷9, out of order.

Recall multiplication facts for all tables up to 12x12 out of order

Recall division facts for all tables up to 12x12 out of order

RE

Children will be continuing with their new unit for RE entitled Promises.  Throughout the next couple of weeks they will explore:

·         The sacrament of Baptism

·         The Word of God

·         Litany of Saints

·         Promises made at Baptism

·         The Baptism and Anointing

·         The symbols used within Baptism

Week Beginning 7th November

Ready for the second week of the half term?  Last week we started introducing our Christmas play to the children and the acting roles, dance and songs which are involved in the production.  We won’t say too much on here as we want to leave some of it as a surprise.  However, this week children will be receiving their acting parts (Year 4 children) and all children will be receiving a print out of the song words.  We would ask that the children work very hard over the next few weeks to learn these lines and songs – we are counting this as part of their homework up until the time when the performances start.

English

Year 3

This week we will be carrying out some assessments in Maths, Reading and Writing.  We will be looking to find out what the children have learned so far and identify any areas that they need to work on next.  We will also have a spelling focus towards the end of the week, looking at spelling patterns and strategies that we can use to help us to learn our spellings.

Year 4

Children are moving onto a new topic in their English this week and the overview of it is as follows:  Children are going to be introduced to the idea of an audio story or podcast. As a class, they listen to a spooky story podcast in three episodes, asking questions and listening out for sound effects to develop their listening and comprehension skills. They will focus on the use of language and the way it is used in conjunction with the narrator’s voice and sound effects to create atmosphere and character. After some help they will practise mind mapping and planning a story as a class. They will then build on this experience to plan and write their own three-episode spooky story podcasts in groups. Time is given at the end of the unit for the children to practise reading their stories aloud and incorporate sound effects. The podcasts will then be recorded or performed so that they can be shared with one another.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area –            Multiplication and Division

Learning Concept -          Write and calculate mathematical statements for multiplication using known multiplication tables, including 2-digit x 1-digit, using mental and progressing to formal written methods.

                                               

Teaching sequence -      Multiply a multiple of ten by a single digit mentally, using 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10x.                                      Multiply a 2-digit number by a single digit using 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10x.

Year 4

Learning Area –                Measures Time

Learning Concept -          Read, write & convert time between analogue and digital 12-and 24-hour clocks.

Teaching sequence -      Know how to set out each analogue time in digital format

Know how to set out each digital time in analogue format.

Convert between analogue and digital and vice versa

Explain how the digital clock system works, e.g. 10 past 2 in the afternoon = 2:10pm = 14:10.

Topic

This week children will be starting their new topic considering Map work – Map and Plan skills.  This week will have the children considering the difference between a plan and a drawing of an object or place.  They will be attempting to draw plans from side, front, back and overhead views.  They will then challenge themselves by trying to draw missing views of a plan.

RE

Children will be continuing with their new unit for RE entitled Promises.  Throughout the next couple of weeks they will explore:

·         The sacrament of Baptism

·         The Word of God

·         Litany of Saints

·         Promises made at Baptism

·         The Baptism and Anointing

·         The symbols used within Baptism

Week Beginning 31st October

Welcome back to another half term.  We have got loads to do and we will be getting stuck in straight away.  Make sure you come in prepared Year 3/4 because it is going to be straight back to it from where we left off.  Can I just say a big thank you to everyone who donated before the half term break for the head shave fundraiser which was to raise money for Cancer Research UK.  We managed to raise over £1300 which is massive and a lot more than I was expecting, so thank you so much.  Don’t forget to get you PE and swimming kits back into school this week.

English

Year 3

We will be learning about shape poems or "Calligrams".  We will read a variety of shape poems and look at their structure and language.  We will then read a poem about Bonfire Night called "Crackle! Pop!" by Marie Thom and identify the sound words (onomatopoeia) and any interesting vocabulary.  Using a bonfire night video clip to stimulate ideas, we will then generate lots of interesting onomatopoeia words ourselves as well as adjectives and verbs.  These words will be formulated into poems and then transferred onto firework shapes to create our very own Calligrams.

Year 4

Children are moving onto a new topic in their English this week and the overview of it is as follows:  Children are going to be introduced to the idea of an audio story or podcast. As a class, they listen to a spooky story podcast in three episodes, asking questions and listening out for sound effects to develop their listening and comprehension skills. They will focus on the use of language and the way it is used in conjunction with the narrator’s voice and sound effects to create atmosphere and character. After some help they will practise mind mapping and planning a story as a class. They will then build on this experience to plan and write their own three-episode spooky story podcasts in groups. Time is given at the end of the unit for the children to practise reading their stories aloud and incorporate sound effects. The podcasts will then be recorded or performed so that they can be shared with one another.

Maths

Year 3

Learning Area – Multiplication and Division

Learning Concept -          Recall and use the multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 tables.

                                               

Teaching sequence -      Count in 3s; forward and backwards.

Recite the x3 table up to x12, without error.

Answer any calculation involving x3, out of order.

Know that 2x3 is the same as 3x2 etc.

Answer any calculation involving ÷3, out of order.

Count in 4s; forward and backwards.

Recite the x4 table up to x12, without error.

Answer any calculation involving x4, out of order.

Know that 3x4 is the same as 4x3 etc.

Answer any calculation involving ÷4, out of order.

Count in 8s; forward and backwards.

Recite the x8 table up to x12, without error.

Answer any calculation involving x8, out of order.

Know that 4x8 is the same as 8x4 etc.

Answer any calculation involving ÷8, out of order.

Year 4

Learning Area –           Measures Time

Learning Concept -          Read, write & convert time between analogue and digital 12-and 24-hour clocks.

Teaching sequence -      Know how to set out each analogue time in digital format

Know how to set out each digital time in analogue format.

Convert between analogue and digital and vice versa

Explain how the digital clock system works, e.g. 10 past 2 in the afternoon = 2:10pm = 14:10.

Topic

This week children will be finishing and rounding of our topic of Stone Age before we start on our next topic which will have us focusing on Geography and the United Kingdom.

RE

Children will be continuing with their new unit for RE entitled Promises.  Throughout the next couple of weeks they will explore:

·         The sacrament of Baptism

·         The Word of God

·         Litany of Saints

·         Promises made at Baptism

·         The Baptism and Anointing

·         The symbols used within Baptism