Beech Class – Year 3/4

Welcome to Beech Class! We are Year 3 and 4 children.

Welcome to Beech Class!

Cycle B Long term plan Y3_4 2024-25.docx

Our learning in Term 2…

n our writing lessons, we will keep reminding children of our ‘think, say, write, check’ approach to ensure that they are consistently using full stops and capital letters accurately. We will read our sentences aloud to check if our writing is clear. This term, we will write letters to thank our hosts at the Easton Jamia Mosque and Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation. We will build on our instruction writing skills that we learnt in Term 1 to write a more independent piece for what we do when we arrive at school. We will then enjoy a number of lessons on traditional tales, retelling the classic folk tale of Babushka.

Please see the table below for a breakdown of this term’s targets:

Punctuation and grammar

Composition

Stamina

Spelling

Handwriting

To use a and an accurately.

To create complex sentences with support.

To use some paragraphs with support.

To use some inverted commas with support..

To orally rehearse sentences.

To plan for writing.

Proofread to check for simple errors (CL, FS)

To independently write 8 sequenced sentences.

To use the first two letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary.

To join letters with some accuracy.

To use standard English forms for verb inflections.

To create expanded noun phrases with support.

To use some fronted adverbials with a comma with support.

To use some paragraphs organised around a theme with support.

To use inverted commas with accurate punctuation inside with support.

To orally rehearse sentences with varied vocabulary.

To plan writing in paragraphs with support.

Proofread and correct simple errors

To independently write two pages of sequenced writing.

To use the first three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary.

To join letters with accuracy.

In our Reading lessons, children will read a range of short fiction and non-fiction texts. Where appropriate these will be topic-based to support their understanding, e.g. Remembrance, Anti-Bullying Week. We will use dictionaries to help define key vocabulary and help us to understand words in context. We are focusing on finding the information in the text (it is not a memory test!) to answer questions.

In Maths our topics are Multiplication and Division. Helping your child with their times tables at home will make a huge difference to their confidence and understanding of concepts at school. Y3s will focus on the 3, 4 and 8 times tables in particular and Y4s will use all times tables up to 12 x 12. We will be learning how to apply our times table knowledge to help us to multiply 2 and 3 digit numbers by a 1 digit number progressing to using a formal layout (column multiplication). We will solve missing number problems, find factor pairs and solve scaling and correspondence problems (Scaling e.g. Eggs cost 90p for 6. How much would 36 eggs cost? Correspondence e.g. There are 3 lunch options and 2 dessert options. How many meal combinations are there? Find them all). For finding factor pairs and correspondence problems in particular, we will learn how to work through the problem systematically so that we know we have found all possible answers.

We have a Geography focus this half term and we will be learning about The World – Climates and Biomes. We will use our map skills to recap our knowledge to label all continents and oceans of the world, plus learn about the equator, Northern and Southern hemispheres. Children will understand how climate zones and biomes are related and the impact that humans are having on both.

In Science we are continuing to learn about rocks, soils and fossils. We will describe how fossils are formed and learn how to compare and group rocks based on their appearance and physical properties. We will learn about weathering and erosion and understand that rocks change over time.

In DT we will be making our own picture frames. We will analyse a range of free-standing structures before designing, making and evaluating our own.

Our RE theme this half term is Incarnation and our Big Questions are ‘What do Christians believe about Incarnation?’ and ‘What does the Torah and Passover mean to Jewish people?’ We will also visit Easton Jamia Mosque and Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation synagogue to build our understanding of these religions and cultures and experience the things we have learnt about for real, e.g. seeing where the Torah scrolls are kept.

In Music lessons we will be learning our Christmas songs ready for the Carol Concert. Computing we will be learning about coding. Our PSHE theme is ‘Celebrating Differences’ which links in with Anti-Bullying Week. In French lessons we will learn the days of the week and months of the year. In PE lessons with Premier we will be learning about Athletics and with Mrs Mansfield we will do country dancing and then swimming

PE lessons will be on Wednesday and Friday. Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit.
FROM WEEK 4 (25th November) our PE lessons will be on TUESDAY – SWIMMING and WEDNESDAY.
Children need to have wellies for our Adventure Play and Paddock area. (Wellies can be kept in our welly shed)
It is important that children always have a coat in school as we will be outside as much as possible in all weathers.

Weekly Home Learning Tasks

Your child’s reading record and scheme reading book needs to come into school every day.

Please ensure your child is:

Reading every day and note this in their reading record
Completing at least 10 minutes of times table practise every day (for updated details see below) – children will be asked to complete other Maths activities for homework when their times table recall is both fluent and accurate.

Reading, Spellings and Times tables

Your child will have two reading books that they use at school. One will be a levelled scheme reading book that will go home and be brought into school every day. The other will be a book that they keep at school to read for pleasure. Your child will be assessed on their book level by the class teacher and teaching assistants at regular intervals throughout the term.

Spellings lists will be shared on Class Dojo at beginning of the term and a paper copy sent home in bags. We no longer complete Spelling tests on a Friday, instead we complete ongoing assessments. Sometimes this will take the form of a traditional spelling test, but this could also be in the form of a dictation exercise. These assessments can happen on any day, they are low stakes and often informal in nature. They will be based on previously learned spelling patterns and rules from that term, that year or even an earlier year group.

Times table practise will be checked and monitored every week. Children will be tested on their times tables alongside their Maths lessons so will not have a regularly scheduled times table test. We encourage children to use Times Table Rockstars for their daily practise – specifically the Garage and Gig modes. Within these modes the game assesses your child’s speed, accuracy and fluency, and adjusts their difficulty level accordingly. If a child has 100% accuracy but takes too long to answer the questions, they will not progress. Both elements are important when learning times tables. If your child is not yet confident with their times tables, please see the Parent Guide for TTRS which explains how to adjust the settings (e.g. turn the timer off) whilst they build their fluency and confidence. We highly recommend that children practise their times tables using an online resource several times a week, this is because at the end of Year 4 children have to complete a statutory times table test using a Chromebook at school. The test gives the children 6 seconds to read, answer and type their response to a times table question before moving on to the next question.

Login information for any online resources has been stuck into the inside cover of your child’s reading record.

Play Times Table Rockstars

Play Numbots

Play Doodle Maths

Class Teacher:

Mrs Mansfield

Teaching Assistants:

Mrs Winchester – mornings

Miss McDermott – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Mansfield on Class Dojo. However to report absences, illness or update on medical appointments or results, please phone or email the school office.

This year (2024-2025) we have read…