Monday 16th April

Gosh - doesn't time fly when you're having fun. I hope that you all had a super holiday and are ready to come back to school all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I can't believe we're about to start a new term! We've got lots of new and interesting things to cover in our final term, so there's lots to look forward to.

I'm sure the Year 4's are getting more and more excited with the thought of Kingswood looming just over a week away. Don't forget to check what they need to take (long sleeve tops are a must, and leave the designer gear at home!). I'll add more details once we're all back in school properly. The adults who are going with the children are Mrs Bethell, Mrs Clancy, Mr MacGreal and myself (Miss Robinson).

As the weather turns ever warmer can I remind children of the importance of remembering to bring a hat (with their name in) to school, and to make sure they have sunblock on.

Please can we remind parents and guardians to continue to read with your child as many times as you can fit in each week, as well as checking high frequency words at the front of the diary. It does make a huge difference in improving their reading skills. It would be great if you could ask them questions on what they have read, what they think of the characters in their book, what they think will happen next and why, etc. This will help support the development of their comprehension skills in school too.

LITERACY

We start this new term with a review of lots of the 'basics' that we have covered so far this year. We hope that a refresher will help to continue to improve writing skills. We will be looking at punctuation, describing words such as adverbs and adjectives. We will be reminding ourselves how to extend and improve the detail in our sentences to make them more interesting to read. Check out the sites below to help:

http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/B/bookbox/home.htm - particularly check out the Writer's Toolkit. Hear what the experts have to say on how they write! How does Jacqueline Wilson get her characters? How does Philip Pullman choose his words? How does Allan Ahlberg decide the story? Pinch all their secrets and much more.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/english/j_thorogood/grammar_family_1.ppt - a great powerpoint to review the different types of words.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/sentence_detectives/eng/Introduction/default.htm - work through the starter, main and plenary activities and become a SENTENCE DETECTIVE!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/sentencebasics/whatisasentence/quiz.shtml - do you know when a sentence is a proper sentence? Try this quiz.

http://www.gardenofpraise.com/mugram.htm - one of the strangest sites I've found so far. Want to learn a song to help you remember what an adverb is, or when to use an adjective. Click on the learn a song link and join in with the words.

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/literature_comp/lit_comp_home.htm - keep your comprehension skills improving - can you read the text and answer the uestions?

NUMERACY

Have you let your times tables slip? Refresh your memory with the games below:

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/multiples/intro.htm

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/tabletrees.html

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf

In Miss Robinson's Numeracy group this week we are concentrating on measuring length. The children will experience accurately measuring using rulers as well as learning the relationship between mm, cm, m and km. We may even challenge ourselves to look at converting measurements to decimals.

http://www.subtangent.com/maths/flash/measures1.swf - how to use a ruler and a protractor.

http://www.funbrain.com/measure/ - more work on using rulers.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/measures.htm#Measure - check out the different activities.

Fancy moving on to our next topic and giving yourself a challenge with Perimeter and Area check out:
http://www.mathplayground.com/InteractiveGeometry.html
and
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/perimeter_and_area/index.html
In Mrs Hardings group we are continuing our topic of Fractions, with a bit of decimal work thrown in too. Look back at recent links for activities and games, or check out the links below:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/fractions/index.htm

http://www.mathszone.co.uk/ - look in the COUNT AND UNDESRTAND section

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/fracto.html - converts fractions to decimals

http://www.ictgames.com/equivalence.html - fancy a challenge? Can you place the fractions, decimals and percentages correctly?

SCIENCE

We continue with our topic on Materials and Solids, Liquids and Gases with a review of our learning so far. Swot up on the sites below:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/changingmaterials.htm#2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/solids_liquids.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/changing_state.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/gases.shtml

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/science/material/index.jsp

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

In Design & Technology we will be thinking about money containers of all shapes and sizes. Eventually the children will get the chance to design and make a money container but first they need to look at lots and lots of designs for purses and wallets. So please send in any of these clearly named and empty of course he he!!

HISTORY

We start a brand new History topic for this half term and we will be looking at the Romans. First of all, we will be finding out as much as we can to create a title page in our books. Also we will be thinking about our own lives and why people move to different countries. We will be learning key vocabulary related to this. To get ahead and be well prepared why don't you visit your local library to get some books on the Romans or go on line to find out some background information. Check out some of the links below:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/

http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/romans.html - a collection of information.

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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/city.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/timeline.shtml

http://www.headlinehistory.co.uk/swf/main_launcher.htm - a really interesting and unusual way to learn about the Romans. Click on the North West and Romans and then choose a skill level and a story. Lots to explore!

http://www.roman-sandy.com/start.htm - can you become time detectives to solve Roman Sandy's mystery?

And finally keep up with the news and play cool games on http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/games/default.stm

Have a safe and happy week.
Take care.

The Year 3 / 4 Team

xxx