Mrs James and Miss Clarke
Welcome to Puffins class! We hope that you had a brilliant summer holiday and are excited to return to MC raring to go for your first term in year 4. In Puffins, we will continue to strive to be the best that we can be, continuing our learning journey with the same expectations and standards from Summer term in year 3. We will take pride in our accomplishments and achievements, which we look forward to sharing and celebrating these with you over the course of the year.
In English, we will focus on a range of genres and texts, allowing the children to extend their ability in writing. First, we will look at ‘alternative fairy tales’ with a focus on character. This will follow with an information text about carnivals as we will be entering the Chard carnival in October. All our English learning in the second Autumn term will be linked to our history topic. We will be learning through key texts such as ‘Henry’s freedom box’ and ‘Anansi the spider’.
In Maths, we will be learning all about number and place value, before moving on to addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. As well as this, we will focus on the children’s speed and ability to recall their times tables, in preparation for the end of year 4 statutory times tables test. Furthermore, we will revisit arithmetic daily to ensure that we continue to develop these key skills.
In Science, we will look at ‘Electricity’, where children will have opportunity to make and test their own circuits. Afterwards, we will be looking at ‘Sound’ where we will be visited by a local musician. Our Geography topic is ‘The UK’ where we will be naming and locating counties and cities of the United Kingdom, identifying human and physical characteristics of geographical regions, key topographical features and using the eight points of a compass. Our History enquiry question is, ‘What was the impact of the slave trade on South West England?’ Children will be looking at how slavery has changed over time by placing key events on a timeline, describing a historical account as well as debating a key event in local history.
In Religious Education, we will be learning about Hinduism. In PSHE we will be looking at the topics ‘Being My Best’ and Valuing Differences.’ In Computing lessons, we will be looking at Scratch as well as continuing to learn how to be safe online. In Design Technology we will learning the hemming stitch through the design and creation of a handy bag. We will be getting creative in our Art lessons with Mrs Morton as we prepare for the carnival. A trip to Chard Museum will give us a better insight into carnival history.
The reading expectation is that children must read at least five times over the course of a week at home, with an adult signing the child’s reading record. Puffins homework, spellings and timetables will be set and marked on Mondays. We will have PE on Mondays and Fridays. Please ensure your child has suitable clothing for either indoor or outdoor activities on these days.
We both are really looking forward to welcoming you back for the exciting term ahead.
Mrs James and Miss Clarke