A guide to your child’s learning this half term.

 

‘Escape from Atlantis!’

 

Spring Term 2 – Year 3 and 4

 

Miss Pattison, Mrs Ridgeway, Miss Bishop-Bingley & Miss Newbould

 

English

 

This term we will be immersing ourselves with adventures at sea, beginning with a variety of drama, writing and grammatical activities linked to the Atlantis myth. The children will learn about Atlantis and will be taught a variety of ways to create an exciting story. At the end of the topic children will write their own adventure story describing their escape from Atlantis. We will also be looking at different types of poetry and creating our own ‘water’ themed works.

 

Spelling

 

Each week your child will be given a new list of ten words to learn. They will be tested on Wednesday. The objectives that will be covered this term are:

• The prefix re/sub
• The prefix super/inter
• Homophones
• Words from the recommended list

 

Reading

 

Children will be given opportunities to develop their reading as part of their English lessons. We are having an increased focus on reading this term, so please encourage your child to read regularly and complete one reading log in their journals, which should be handed in every Wednesday.

You can help your child at home by-

• Asking your child to talk about the book they are reading and talk around the story (using skills of inference and deduction)
• Helping your child to gather key facts about Atlantis from non-fiction texts
• Collecting excellent watery words from books for our working wall display.

 

Maths

In maths we will be learning about:

 

• Multiplication and division
• Fractions

 

You can help your child at home by-

 

• All aspects will be taught in line with the mastery curriculum with an increased focus on reasoning and problem solving, as well as teaching mental and written methods and strategies.
• Developing rapid recall of facts
• Practising basic mathematical facts such as doubling and halving common numbers.

 

Geography – Children will learn where rainforests are and what they are like, including the climate. They will discover the plant and animal species that live there, before learning about the causes and effects of deforestation.  

 

Science – children will learn about organisms in the oceans. They will discover how different animals move, breathe and reproduce in the oceans, as well as deepening their understanding of other life processes and habitats. They will also discuss adaptations that allow marine creatures to survive underwater.

 

Geography – Children will learn where the world’s major oceans and seas are, their geographical features and uses. They will also look at the water cycle.

 

PE/Games – Striking and Fielding games/Swimming

 

RE – Children will study the bible story of Jonah and the whale before learning why Easter is important to Christians?

 

PSHE – Difference and diversity.

 

Music – children will learn the skills of music appreciation using Camille Saint-Saëns ‘Carnival of the Animals’.

 

French – Carnaval des animaux – linked to the music curriculum – children will learn the names of some animals in French and describe the noises they make, how they move, their appearance and their habitats in French.

 

Art – children will create images of Atlantis and make a mosaic.

 

Computing – children will learn about sending and receiving emails, along with aspects of online safety.

 

Useful Websites:

 

To reinforce the vocabulary of colours and animals play:

http://www.digitaldialects.com/French.htm

 

A useful video about the world’s oceans and seas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTgPgIc1PXg

 

Facts about the oceans and seas:

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/ocean-facts/#!/register

 

A great video to show how a wide variety of marine organisms live and interact together:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zs8mpv4

 

More facts about the oceans:

https://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/marine-habitats

 

http://www.purplemash.com

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/daily10

 

For online safety:

 

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

 

 

Homework

 

Class 2 children will be given one piece of English and one piece of maths work that will either develop or consolidate our learning in class. They should spend at least 20-30 minutes completing it to the best of their ability. They will also get a longer project linked to our topic, which will be due in during the last week of term. They could spend a little bit of time each week, or complete the whole project in one week. Completed work should be handed in every Wednesday morning and their book will be returned on the same day.

 

Reminders!

• Named PE kit needs to be in school for Wednesday every week and swimming kit on a Tuesday  for the following 10 weeks.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact staff at school if you have any questions regarding your child’s learning.  Thank you for your continued support!