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 3…

Welcome to Beech class! We have such an exciting year ahead of us. Here is what we are learning about this half term.

In 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 read the book ‘The Black Dog’ by Levi Pinfold and learn about suspense. We will create our own versions of the story using thesauruses and word mats to help us to write powerful descriptions using the different grammar features we have been working on (using inverted commas for direct speech,

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

Punctuation and grammar

Composition

Stamina

Spelling

Handwriting

To recognise word families based on common words.

To create complex sentences with support.

To use paragraphs with support.

To use inverted commas with support.

To orally rehearse sentences with different structures.

To discuss the themes of paragraphs.

Identify and correct simple grammatical errors

To independently write a page of sequenced writing

To use apostrophes for regular plurals.

To sometimes recognise which letters are best left unjoined.

To use apostrophes for possession with support.

To create expanded noun phrases.

To use fronted adverbials with a comma with support.

To use paragraphs organised around a theme with support.

To punctuate speech sentences with support

To orally rehearse sentences with varied structure.

To plan writing in paragraphs.

Identify and correct grammatical errors.

To manage writing time independently.

To use apostrophes for plurals.

To recognise which letters are best left unjoined.

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. Ancient Egyptians, short extracts of suspense stories. 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 Measurement and Fractions. Y3s will be learning to measure, compare, add and subtract lengths (mm, cm, m) and measure the perimeter of simple shapes. Y4s will also be learning to find the perimeter of non-rectilinear shapes and how to find areas. In Fractions the children will use their knowledge of times tables to help them to find fractions of amounts and draw upon their place value skills to work in tenths and hundredths. They will add and subtract fractions with the same denominator and compare fractions. Y4s will also work with decimal equivalents and learn to round decimals to the nearest whole number. As always, we will continue to focus on our times table and division facts with the aim of all children being confident with these by Y4.

We have a History focus until Easter and we will be learning about The Ancient Egyptians. We will use our ‘big ideas’ of main events, society, power, evidence and artefacts, conflict, legacy and beliefs to explore this ancient civilisation, learning how and where they lived, what their daily life was like, their belief systems and what modern historians have been able to discover (e.g. Howard Carter and Tutankhamun’s tomb, the Rosetta Stone).

In Science we will learn about light. We are very excited to have a Science Week this term and so the children will complete all their Science learning during this. We also have a trip to Somerset Earth Science Centre and We The Curious.

In Art we will be looking at famous buildings. We will learn about the architecture of many famous buildings around the world and use a variety of media to create our own designs.

Our RE theme this half term is Gospel and our Big Questions are ‘What do Christians believe about the gospel?’.

In Music lessons we will be learning about folk music and we will begin to play the recorder. In Computing we will be learning to touch type. Our PSHE theme is ‘Dreams and Goals’. In French lessons we will learn verbs of activities (e.g. to sing) to be able to construct sentences (I am able to sing/dance/cook etc). In PE lessons with Premier we will be learning about gymnastics and with Mrs Mansfield we will go swimming.

Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit on Tuesday (with swimming kit), Wednesday and Thursday.
Thursday is Forest School – all children need to wear their PE kit plus wellies, waterproof trousers and a waterproof coat. We also recommend gloves. They will get muddy!
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…