Monday 15th January

Exciting things have been happening in school this week with the start of the building work for the new classroom. Well done to the children for coping with the changes in space and routines this week - obviously the work will be ongoing for quite some time.

Swimming

This week the children in Year 3 and Year 4 will start their weekly swimming sessions on Thursdays. Please make sure your child comes swimming kit, towel, etc. The girls who have long hair will need their hair tied back on that day. The Year 4 children will go for the first session and the Year 3's for the second session.

Literacy

This week we are continuing with our narrative theme. The children investigated and explored scary stories last week and this week move onto science-fiction.

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/how_started.html - combines reading science fiction stories with solving a range of problems. There are also games and quests on the site too. Check it out.

http://goodnightstories.com/stories.htm - a huge range of story activities not necessarily linked to sci-fi but you can read, see, hear, finish or decide stories.

All the children are keen to imporve their reading skills and so we are working on improving comprehension skills. You can help at home by checking out the sites below. There are a variety of different levels so find the one that suits where your child is at.

http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmasola/psmain.htm

http://www.eslbears.homestead.com/Map_and_Directions.html

We have been continuing to develop our spelling skills too - check out the language game site below for some different ways to work on your spellings.

http://resources.kaboose.com/games/read2.html - check out Aton-Ra - a word game with an Egyptian feel. There's lots more games too.

http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/gamezone2.htm

Numeracy

In Numeracy the children will be continuing to work on basic skills, as well as continuing to plug away at learning their times tables. Check out websites mentioned last week to keep all these ticking over.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/fractions/index.htm - a fantastic range of games to help you get to grips with fractions. A real must to check out.

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/measures/Understand%20&%20Convert.swf - challenge yourself to link fractions and measurements.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/measures/index.htm - do you know your measurements well enough to help Jack?

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/ruler/ruler_cm.swf - a great tool for using rulers.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/shape.htm#Angles - have a go at angles - do you know your acute from your obtuse? A range of games to help you know the difference.

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/MathBrain/MathBrain.html - a range of activities - log in and begin to work around Grade 2 or 3 - how far can you go?

Science

We are continuing to explore Habitats as our topic this half term so check out:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/habitats.shtml

http://www.activescience-gsk.com/games/index.cfm?module=2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks2/blueplanet_ks2.shtml

http://www.show.me.uk/topicpage/teachers/tNatural-World.html

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/science/life/habitats_bi.jsp

http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/explorer/index.html

History

As I'm sure you've all heard by now our topic is Ancient Egypt. As well as the excellent sites linked in last weeks blog have a look at these too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ks2/historyegyptians.shtml - another excellent BBC site.

http://library.thinkquest.org/4368/ - lots of information

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/history/egyptians/index.htm - really interactive site - cartoon style

http://www.icteachers.co.uk/children/cyberhunts/egypt/egypthunt.htm - want to hunt for your own information about the Egyptians rather than been told all the answers then check out this cyberhunt.

http://www.eyelid.co.uk/

Hopefully that's enough to keep you going through the week.

Have a great week.
Take care.

The Year 3/4 team