This year you will have Mrs Walton in your class Monday to Friday.

Mrs Chaisty is our Teaching Assistant this year from Wednesday to Friday.

PE will take place every Tuesday.

During Summer 1 we will be doing Street dance on a Tuesday.

For PE sessions please bring the following:

- Black shorts, leggings or jogging bottoms

- White t-shirt or polo shirt

- Black pumps or trainers

As the weather is colder and PE is outdoors this term: Hockey and Tag Rugby, please also provide a hoodie or something similar. 

It is usually best to leave your child's PE kit in school for the half-term so that it is always available to use. Please ensure that it is named.

It is important that your child brings their reading book into school each day as the days on which they will be able to read with an adult may change from time to time. It is also crucial that you listen to your child read each evening and ensure that you sign their reading record highlighting what they have read and how they performed.

Within the class, children are given time every day when they can complete a quiz on the accelerated reader app and change their book.

The children have the opportunity to join the 100% club if they get all the questions in their quizzes correct. Our challenge is to become word millionaires. The total word count in each book they read is totalled and we monitor progress on the board to celebrate our achievements as the word count increases. 

Homework will be set on a Tuesday through our online learning platform, SeeSaw. A link for which is placed below:

https://app.seesaw.me/#/login

All homework should be completed by the following Monday and will be checked by your teacher on this day. Please make sure that if you are having difficulties with the homework, that you contact your class teacher with plenty of time so that they can assist your child in its completion. In addition, the school also run a homework club which can really help support those children that struggle completing their tasks independently.

The Rain Forest:

As scientists, we will:

• Make connections from the previous year 3 topics
• Investigate grip strength
• Plan a pattern seeking enquiry
• Gather and record data
• Conclude and evaluate the investigation

As mathematicians, we will:

• Read and write Roman numerals to 12.
• Tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes and to the nearest minute.
• Read and interpret times shown on digital clocks.
• Use a.m. and p.m. correctly.
• Learn about years, months and days.
• Solve problems involving days, hours, minutes and seconds.
• Calculate durations and work out start and end times.
• Compare and convert units of time.
• Apply our understanding to solve a range of time problems.

• Identify turns and angles.
• Recognise and understand right angles.
• Compare and describe different angles.
• Measure and draw lines accurately.
• Identify horizontal and vertical lines.
• Recognise parallel and perpendicular lines.
• Recognise, describe and compare 2-D and 3-D shapes.
• Draw polygons and construct 3-D shapes.

In writing, we will:

• Learn the features of persuasive texts
• Plan and write a guide for visiting Zeraffa at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris
• Build an increasing range of sentence structures
• In non-narrative material, use simple organisational devices including headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
• Use present and past tenses correctly and consistently including the progressive and present perfect forms
• Use persuasive language e.g. alliteration, repetition
• Write in logical order
• Use 2nd person or 3rd person to talk directly to the reader

As readers, we will:

• Continue to use our VIPER skills as we read fiction and non-fiction texts

As digital learners, we will:

• Log in and out of email
• Send a simple email with a subject plus ‘To’ and ‘From’ in the body of the text
• Edit an email
• Type in the email address correctly and send the email
• Add an attachment to an email
• Write an email using positive language, with an awareness of how it will make the recipient feel
• Recognise unkind behaviour online and know how to report it
• Offer advice to victims of cyberbullying
• Recognise when an email may be fake and explain how they know

As spellers, we will:

• Revise Year 2 common exception words and Year 3 and 4 statutory spelling words.
• Learn how the /ɪ/ sound can be spelt with the letter y in different words.
• Explore spelling patterns, including words with ar after w.
• Apply spelling rules when adding suffixes such as -ing, -ed, -er, -est and -en.
• Investigate word families and how words are related through common roots.
• Use suffixes including -ment, -ness, -ful, -less and -ly accurately.
• Revise and use contractions correctly, including apostrophes for omission.
• Identify, understand and spell homophones and near-homophones.
• Develop strategies to learn and remember tricky spellings.
• Build a personal spelling log to practise words we find challenging.

As geographers, we will:

• Locate South America on a world map and identify its countries and territories.
• Discover where the Amazon Rainforest is found and understand why it is the largest rainforest in the world.
• Explore what rainforests are and identify where they are located around the globe.
• Compare tropical rainforests with temperate forests in the UK, including our local area.
• Investigate the climate of the Amazon Rainforest and compare it with the climate of Manchester.
• Learn about ecosystems and explore the four layers of the rainforest: the emergent layer, canopy, understory and forest floor.
• Identify the plants and animals that live in different parts of the rainforest and how they are adapted to survive.
• Find out about the Yanomami people and compare their way of life with our own.
• Understand the causes and effects of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.
• Explore why rainforests are important for people, wildlife and the future of our planet.
• Use maps, atlases, photographs and climate graphs to develop our geographical skills.

As theologians, we will:

• Explore the question: How and why do people try to make the world a better place?
• Discuss what is good and challenging about the world and consider how people can make a positive difference.
• Learn about the Golden Rule and how it appears in different religions and worldviews.
• Discover how Jewish people put the idea of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) into action through kindness, charity and social justice.
• Find out how organisations such as World Jewish Relief help people in need.
• Explore Christian beliefs about Jesus, grace and forgiveness, and how these inspire Christians to help others.
• Learn about Zakat, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and how Muslims show generosity and support those in need.
• Investigate the work of charities such as Islamic Relief.
• Explore Humanist beliefs and learn how non-religious people work to make the world a better place.
• Reflect on the message of the Hummingbird story and how small actions can make a big difference.
• Compare religious and non-religious beliefs about helping others and caring for the world.
• Develop our own ideas about how we can make a positive difference in our communities and beyond.

As musicians, we will;

• Recap how body percussion creates music
• Analyse a piece of music, considering its structure and texture
• Create simple rhythms to match the layers of the rainforest
• Compose music, considering the dynamics, pitch and tempo

As artists, we will:

• Learn about Henri Rousseau and his artwork.
• Explore art techniques that create texture.
• Understand how artists show depth using perspective.
• Create a rainforest collage in the style of Rousseau.