Monday 5th March

Wow! Last week was very busy for all of us. Swimming was cancelled again because they did not have a teacher to teach the children. All weeks that we have missed will be given back to us in July....which is a much better month to go swimming!!!!! Please if you are not busy on a Thursday morning then we could really do with the help. 9.30 or 10.00 are the two times that we leave school.

Thank you to all the parents/carers who returned the RE questionnaires as there is an RE inspection on Wednesday this week. I am sure all the visitors will feel very welcome in our school and have lots of positive things to say especially about the children.

On Thursday this week we have a visiting Spanish head teacher who will spend the day in our school. The children really enjoy learning different Spanish phrases and the teachers are learning along side the children. We would welcome any help from fluent/ knowledgeable people on the Spanish language!!!! Also don't forget to do a bit of preparation using:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryspanish/

The children have been really enthusiastic about raising money during Lent and have come up with a lot of ventures that they do during breaktimes. We are going to organise a charity afternoon for the year 3 / 4 so that they can set up their stalls and open them up to the rest of the school. The children are working really hard with this and need to start collecting for the big event - unwanted toys and books. Great news I hear you say ....he he..... It has been a pleasure all week to watch the children on the yard in all year groups in the Juniors and we are very proud of them.

LITERACY

In Literacy this week we are continuing with our work on EXPLANATIONS. The children can recognise an explanation text and describe the different parts that make up it's structure:
TITLE - usually in the form of a question.
INTRODUCTION - a simple sentence or two that tells you what the text will be about.
SUB-HEADING - mini titles to help people find particular information quickly.
BULLET POINTS - for just writing pure facts or pieces of information in a short and quick way.
LABELS - to show the important parts of a diagram or picture.
CAPTION- a short sentence to describe what a photograph, picture or diagram is about.

We will be looking at organising information into paragraphs.

As well as this can you keep your spelling ticking over? Have a look at these pages which review plurals:
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/plurals/pl_1/pluraladds.htm
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/plurals/pl_2/esplurals.htm
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/plurals/pl_3/yplurals.htm
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/plurals/pl_4/plurals4.htm

Keep general Literacy skills ticking over too by looking back at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/index.shtml

NUMERACY

As always we are working hard to improve all the children on their timestables. If your child has a few spare minutes you never know how many of them they could remember. Tables are in nearly everything in the Numeracy curriculum in all the year groups so please give some time.

http://www.mathsisfun.com/timestable.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/timestables/game.shtml
http://www.timestables.co.nz/index.php

In Miss Robinson's Numeracy group this week her class will be learning about directions,co ordinates and angles.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/shape.htm#Coordinates - scroll down and check out the games on angles and co-ordinates - there are lots to practise with.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/maths/shape/15_act.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/bathroom.html


In Mrs Bethell's group the children will be learning about 3D shape this week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/maths/shape_and_space/2d_3d_shapes_2_1.shtml
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/3d/index.htm

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/longshape3d.html

http://www.crick.northants.sch.uk/assets/Flash%20Studio/cfsmaths/Shape%20Match/MatchingPairs3Dshape.swf

This is a great site for reviewing all the work Mrs Harding's group has done on shape this year. The children will also be learning about nets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/maths/shape/14_fact.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/maths/shape_and_space/2d_3d_shapes_1_2.shtml
If you want to really challenge your maths knowledge check out some of the games and activities through the Maths Mansion.

http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/M/mathsmansion/

SCIENCE

In Science this week we will be looking at separating solids and what happens to common solids when we add water. To find out more information see below.

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/powerpoint/separating_materials.ppt#257,2,Which of these materials might dissolve in water?

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/powerpoint/testing_solutions.ppt#258,3,Could we use a filter to separate it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/science/materials/10_fact.shtml

We will also be finding out about shadows in our practical topic.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/light_shadows_fs.shtml

MUSIC

In Music we will be exploring about rhythm and pattern. We will soon be visiting Bridgewater Hall with all Key Stage Two children. The children are getting excited. Please send in any more slips and monies thank you. For more experience with rhythm and information about the orchestra please see below.

http://www.playmusic.org/ - a super website for exploring the orchestra!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/music/mm/ - can you solve the musical mysteries?

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/powerpoint/Exploring_Pulse_Rhythm.ppt

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/powerpoint/Exploring_Pulse_Rhythm_pt2.ppt

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/powerpoint/the_orchestra.ppt

That's probably all for this week. There's definitely enough to keep you going, I'm sure.

Take care.
Have a safe and happy week.

The Year 3/4 team

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