Monday 1st October

The children had a fabulous time this week during the circusology. They learnt to do all sorts of tricks including juggling, balancing and even trying to ride a uni cycle. We are going to get feed back from our classes and the school council will discuss what the classes thought. I am sure that we will welcome Alex back next year! The behaviour in 3 and 4 was exceptional and we were very proud of the children and the way they conducted themselves.

Homework
Most children are handing in their homework now on a Thursday but a few are not being heard read at home.

Diaries
Thank you to all the parents/grandparents who correspond in the diary. Can we please remind you if it is a very important message for us ask your child to leave it on our desk as sometimes they forget to tell us?

LITERACY

This week in Literacy we are continuing with our factual theme. We are going to be spending the next couple of weeks exploring note-taking and report writing on the theme of DINOSAURS.

The children will be put into Writing Groups this week and will be set the task of producing their very own Information Book on Dinosaurs. Time will be spent building on the features of factual writing:
using headings and sub-headings;
including pictures or diagrams with captions;
text boxes;
paragraphs;
questions;
different styles of print, e.g. bold...

Check out the links below for lots of extra facts about dinosaurs that you may want to use in your writing.

http://www.show.me.uk/topicpage/teachers/tDinosaurs.html - lots of information. Make sure you check out these activities first!

http://www.dinodictionary.com/ - fact filled site - can even hear how to say those more difficult dino names.

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/dinosaurflr/diorama.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/dinosaurs/

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/dinosphere/teachers/activities.html - an American site that talks to you.

http://www.rain.org/~philfear/download-a-dinosaur.html - if you are feeling creative then download some of these dinosaur paper models to make.

http://www.prongo.com/dinoquiz/index.html - A dinosaur quiz

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/dinosaurs -Activities including a dinosaur tour

http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/wes/webquests_themes/dinosaurs_corinne_2005/species.html scroll down and there is lots of information about some of the most famous dinosaurs.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/allabout/alphadinos.shtml - a dinosaur a-z
http://enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/printouts/a.shtml - Labelled pictures of dinosaurs

http://animals.pppst.com/dinosaurs.html - a range of powerpoints.

http://www.nebo.edu/misc/learning_resources/ppt/k-5/k2_dino.ppt - a powerpoint of basic facts.

NUMERACY

Keep up with the times tables.

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/moonmaths.swf - an old favourite.

http://www.primarysite-kidszone.co.uk/KidsZone/resources/Math-Asteroids.html - a brand new game to try - make sure you give it a go.

In Miss Robinson's Numeracy Group we will be building up our addition and subtraction skill. By the end of the week we must be able to count on to find the next multiple of ten;
we should be able to add or subtract a one digit number that crosses multiples of ten;
we could be able to add or subtract a two digit number that crosses multiples of ten or hundred.
There's a lot to get through in our Numeracy this week so please use the sites below to practice:

http://www.ictgames.com/technowithflock.html - techno tortoise is back!!!

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=digitmenu

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/addsubtract/mental/flash5.shtml - can you apply your addition skills to Bargain Hunt?

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/mayan-math/index.html - can you beat the Math Monster?

http://www.mrnussbaumgames.com/football/index.html - for all you football fans

http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/c1a/playground.htm - simple subtraction

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/geniusboxing.htm - and to finish off how about reviewing <, > and =? Can you knock out your opponent?

Mrs Bethells group are also finding out what number is needed to get a 2 and a 3 digit number to the nearest multiple of 10. The week should start with adding several 1 and 2 digit numbers together and moving on to subtraction. Here's some more links you may find useful:

Simple addition and subtraction up to 20 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/chi.shtm
Adding units together to create target numbers - against the clock
http://www.kidsnumbers.com/add_it_up.php
More advanced adding and subtracting for Yr3 and 4
http://www.sch/uk/maths/wordproblems/thai/iq3.html - click on Mental Maths.

Mrs Harding's Math's group this week will be carrying on working with large numbers and also quick addition of single numbers.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/numberskills.html

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/powerpoint/quiz_complements100.ppt

A great site for all types of number bonds. We will be doing 100 and 1000.

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/ebooks/preview/MD2_Multiply_Whole_Tens.pdf

A good site for practising multiplying by 10 and 20.

We will also be concentrating on the 6 timetables as well as the ones below.

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

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/index.html

http://www.ict-teacher.com/Mathstutor/Timestables.html

The children could be able to know their number bonds to 100 and 1000.
The children should be able to multiply by 20 by multiplying by 10 and doubling.
The children should know how to multiply by 4 by doubling and doubling again.
The children must know the 6 timetables off by heart.

SCIENCE

In Science this week all classes in Year 3 and 4 will be learning/reviewing about flowering plants. All children will learn about the stamen, leaves, roots and flower and the jobs that they do. Some children will be able to learn about the more complex side of flowering plants learning about parts such as the sepal, carpal, filament etc. I f there are any wilting flowers you are about to throw away please bring them into school so we can show the children the real thing. We do of course accept alive and thriving flowers he he! Thank you.

The children could know what the names and function of all the parts of a flowering plant including the male and female parts.
The children should know what the parts of a flowering plant do.
The children must know all the names of a plant such as stem, root petal and leaf.

To learn more please see:

http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/floweringplants01.shtml

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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/revision_bites/life_cycles1.shtml

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/powerpoint/flower.ppt

TOPIC

The topic themes continue this week. The children started with their new teacher last week and that continues. Mrs Bethell's group is learning about renewable energy, focusing on Wind, Water, Plant and Solar power. We will be designing Saving Energy Poster.

http://tiki.oneworld.net/energy/energy.html play games including renewable energy

http://managenergy.net/kidscorner/en/u11/u11.html

Check out the links from the last couple of weeks to find out what's going on in the other two groups.

Have a safe and happy week.

The Year 3/4 Team
xxx

Monday 24th September

Firstly, thank you to all the parents who attended the Induction Meeting on Wednesday. We hope you found it useful. We have another busy week ahead of us so here are some dates for your diary.

Harvest Festival

On Wednesday, we will be having our Harvest Festival Mass in the hall, celebrated by Father Richard at 2pm. You are most welcome to join us. Thank you all for the generous donations sent in on Friday.

Circusology

On Thursday, the circus comes to St. Vincent’s! Each of the three classes will be having their Circusology workshops during Thursday or Friday.

Diaries

Lots of parents are making comments in their children's diaries and hearing them read during the week. Unfortunately, there are a few children who are not reading or having comments put in their diary.

Homework

Please make sure that your child hands in their homework on a Thursday so we have time to mark it. Thank you.

Literacy

This week in Literacy we are exploring the differences between fact and fiction. We will be linking this as much as possible to our topic work too. Please check out the link below:

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/powerpoints/non-fiction_books.ppt - how is a factual book laid out? How is it different from a story book?

Alongside this we are also going to work on our sentence writing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/penguinsonice.shtml

http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/literacy/wordclasses/adjectives.asp - improve your sentences by learning about adjectives

http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/lang_structure.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/adjectives_adverbs.shtml

Numeracy

It is really important that we get ahead with knowing our times table facts so use the games below to check how well you know them.

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/851/Hitthebuttonv7.swf - on this site you can practice your number bonds, times tables and division facts!

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

We are also going to be starting building up our Mental Maths skills so have a look through the games and activities on:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/wordproblems/index.html

In Miss Robinson's Numeracy group we are going to be using our knowledge of number bonds to ten, twenty and a hundred to speed up our addition calculations. We will be finding out ways to add several numbers together quickly.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/interactive/index.htm#addition - lots of games at different levels to have a go at!

http://www.ictgames.com/submarinenopad2.html - adding ten

Mrs Harding's Math's group made a great start this last week and Mrs Harding was very impressed with how much they knew already. This week the children will be carrying on their work with place value and ordering four and five digit numbers. They will also be reviewing the signs for less than and greater than as well as as positive and negative numbers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/whatarenumbers/writingbignumbers/game.shtml
http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/AlligatorLunch/default.htm#page1
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=ncmenu

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/whatarenumbers/negativenumbers/game.shtml
http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/negnpos1.htm

Topic

This week the children change topics and teachers. They will be moving on to learning about another area of OUR WORLD. Miss Robinson's class will be moving to Mrs Bethell for Topic sessions, Mrs Bethell's class to Mrs Harding and Mrs Harding's class to Miss Robinson.

Check out the links from last week for Miss Robinson's and Mrs Harding's topics.

In Mrs Bethell's the children are learning about energy and will be spending time learning about fossil fuels (gas, oil and coal), conserving energy and alternative energy sources such as the wind. This week they will be exploring how we use energy in our lives and homes. We will be finding out about the 3 fossil fuels : oil, gas and coal, why they are called fossil fuels and where they are found. We will find out about the history of mining and write the diary of a miner.

This website helps explore initial information about energy and fossil fuels.
http://www.energychest.net/energy_in_buildings/index.html

This website is for the National Coalmine Museum and gives information about mining in past.
http://www.ncm.org.uk/index.asp

http://managenergy.net/kidscorner/en/u11/u11.html - photos and animations

http://tiki.oneworld.net/energy/energy.html - games to play helping Tiki save energy and play renewable energy linked games.

Science Review

In Science this week we will be reviewing and learning about dissolving. The children will learn that there are some solids that dissolve and some that do not. For more information see the sites below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/revision_bites/reversible_irreversible3.shtml

http://www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/science/downloads/science_unit6c.ppt#262,7,Slide 7
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/powerpoint/dissolving_and_changes_WWtbaM.ppt

Spanish

We are all still trying hard to remember our Spanish. If you've forgotten a lot over the summer too then check out the links below.

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

That's all for now.

Have a safe and happy week.
Take care.

The Year 3/4 Team
xxx

Monday 17th September

Things are all settling down in Year 3/4 now. Routines are being introduced gradually and the children have adapted very well to their new classes.

House-Keeping

Induction Meeting

Please remember that we are holding our Induction Meeting in Miss Robinson's room on Wednesday this week (19th) at 3.15pm. Even if you are a Year Four parent there will be lots of important and new information given out. Please feel most welcome to attend and meet the staff afterwards.

Diaries

Your child’s high frequency words will be stuck into the diaries this week, so you are able to support their learning at home. It is important that these diaries do come into school every day, as we have messages, information and targets that we need to pass onto you. Also, we do love to read your comments, so please do write in the diary when you have read with your child every week. We are aiming for a 100% response rate this year, so your efforts to help us achieve this targets are appreciated. From many years experience, children who are heard to read regularly at home, make rapid progress.

Harvest Festival

On Friday, we will be having a non-uniform day and we would ask that the children bring in something for the Harvest Festival, which will take place next week. We do ask that children bring in non-perishable items, as they are taken to the St. Joseph’s Family Centre and re-distributed from there.

Homework

Your child will be coming home this week with some homework. On a Monday they are given their spellings to learn that week. The children will get a differentiated number of spellings to be put into a sentence at the front of their homework book. Some children will write three sentences and some children will write five. All Year Four children will be expected to write a sentence for every spelling given. Please make sure that the children have a date and title which is underlined and the homework is signed by an adult. Please send the homework in on Thursday as this allows the time for the teachers to mark it. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

They will also be receiving Numeracy homework each week too. A letter will come home this week explaining the routines of homework more fully, and of course this will also be covered in Wednesday's meeting.

LITERACY

This week in Literacy we are exploring SETTINGS. We are challenging ourselves to really set the scene for a story and draw the reader in with our descriptions. Talk to your child about different settings: a street, a house, a shop, a forest. Ask them to think about what they might hear, see, smell, touch, taste. We've also been thinking about describing a setting as though we are making a movie. One sentence to describe the setting from a distance, then a sentence getting closer and picking up more detail and then finally zooming in for a close-up shot. We have been watching parts of The Secret Garden and the children are becoming very good at spotting the different types of shots.

http://www.learnatglobal.com/assets/applets/grammar.swf - check out this link to learn more about descriptive writing.

We will be focussing the children on sentence writing too. It is so important to make sure that they can use capital letters adn full stops in all the right places without needing reminders:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/lug.shtml - capital letters

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/hms.shtml - full stops

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/sentencebasics/whatisasentence/flash7.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/punctuation.shtml

We will be continuing to work on our comprehension skills each week, making sure that we always understand what we have read and can answer questions. Have a look at the links below:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2005/read/level2/level2reading.htm

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2005/read/level3/level3reading.htm

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/online/2005/read/level4/level4reading.htm

http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmasola/psmain.htmhttp://www.eslbears.homestead.com/Map_and_Directions.htmlhttp://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/literature_comp/lit_comp_home.htm - if you really want to challenge yourself have a go at some of these. Be warned - they aren't easy!

http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/auto/18/49.html - keep building up your spelling skills

NUMERACY

I know that Mrs Harding's group will already be keen to start testing their times tables again so I found a new game for the new year. What NASA ranking will you achieve? Will you reach the stars?

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Quiz-Times-Tables

In Numeracy this week Mrs Harding's group will be starting the year reviewing place value. We will be practising reading and writing large numbers and practising rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. See below for some web sites.

http://education.jlab.org/placevalue/index.html

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/powerpoint/PV_BIGGEST.ppt

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/powerpoint/placevalue_y5_t1_unit1.ppt
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/whatarenumbers/rounding/quiz.shtml
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/rounding.html

In Miss Robinson's and Mrs Bethell's Numeracy groups this week we will be exploring place value, ordering and comparing numbers, greater than and less than. Check out the websites below to get ahead!

http://www.mape.org.uk/startower/owl/resources/index2.htm - ordering numbers game

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/awards/awardc.html - want to really challenge yourself - youo can choose to try to order numbers up to 1 million!

http://www.channel4learning.net/sites/puzzlemaths/frog_ladder_game.shtml - can you put the numbers in the order?

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game11.htm - practise your counting skills to get frog across the pond

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=npmenu - can you tell the difference between an odd and even number?

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=ncmenu - practise using your crocodile signs. Can you complete all the levels?

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Toolkit%20index2a - this is called a teacher's toolkit and is just that. It has time, place value, calculators, number lines, tables tester so that you can support your child online with their learning.

TOPIC

We have started our new topic based curriculum and we are trying to make the curriculum exciting and interesting. We are all very much looking forward to having the opportunity to go a little further in our learning and make the links across lots of subjects. The three teachers will be planning and teaching blocks of work, initially to our classes. The classes will then be rotated round so that all the children in Year Three/Four benefit from our expertise. All our topic themes this year centres around

OUR WORLD

Mrs Harding's class will teaching the Science and the topics will centre around Electricity and light. For more information see below. Please take note that the other two classes will have the same lessons in the coming weeks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/electricity.shtml

http://www.andythelwell.com/blobz/guide.html

http://www.rp-l.com/rplkids.htm

http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/discover/index.cfm?menu=light&main=light/light&on=home

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

http://www.molli.org.uk/burma/theatre/goose.htm

Miss Robinson will be looking at 'How The Earth Began'. We will learn about what the Earth is made from, why the world changes, volcanoes and earthquakes, rocks, crystals and fossils. This will be a very hands-on topic focus. Wait 'til your child starts to tell you how the Earth is like an egg!!! The websites below should be useful, fun and above all interesting to look at for this topic.

http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/tectonics/pangea-animation.html - plate tectonics.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml - a little tricky to read but super pictures for how the Earth is formed.

http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/teachers/tNatural-World/STO1043.html - VOLCANOES!

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/fun-games/volcano/build-a-volcano.html - want to make your own volcano on-line and watch it grow and erupt. Fantastic site with lots to explore! Make sure you fo on the Mission - you can choose what you are going to discover.

http://volcano.und.edu/volcanoes.html - all about volcanoes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/rocks_soils.shtml - the basic info you need to know about rocks and soils for this topic.

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/geomysteries/mysteries.html - all about rocks - a really interactive and interesting site. Make sure you check it out!

http://www.fossweb.com/modules3-6/EarthMaterials/index.html - an interesting way to test the hardness of rocks + a database for different rock types.

http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/fossils/index.htm - learn interactively about rocks and fossils.

That's all for now, folks.

Have a safe and happy week.

The Year 3/4 Team

xxx

Monday 10th September

What a positive first few days back. Well done to all the children in Year 3 and 4 for the super start they have made to the year. All the children looked very smart (well done parents!) and their attitude in school was excellent. We spent a lot of time last week getting to know each other and that will continue through this week too as part of our 'induction period'

INDUCTION MEETING

The Induction meeting is a very important meeting when you will learn lots about the different year groups. It centres on routines and organisation of the curriculum and homework. It will be held at 3.15 on Wednesday the 19th September in Miss Robinson's room. It is a useful meeting where you can find out what is expected through the year. It's also a good opportunity to introduce yourself and ask any questions.

DIARIES

Please could you sign your child's diary each week and hear them read every day. Please remember to write a comment in their diary too. Thank you! We find the children who are heard read most often make the most progress in our assessments throughout the year.

P.E.

Please remember that your child needs to have their PE kit in school which is a white tee shirt, blue shorts and pumps or trainers. Can we please remind you that the girls are only allowed to wear blue or black bobbles etc. No jewellery of any kind is permitted except a watch. It is vital that all uniform is labelled clearly as we have already had a problem with jumpers being taken off because of the hot weather and they didn't have any names on them.

CURRICULUM

We will be using this week to assess what your child knows and remembers after the long summer holiday. Please encourage your child to look at the websites from last week as a review.

Have a safe and happy week.

The Year 3/4 team
xxx

Wednesday 4th September

Welcome back everyone!!!

Who could believe that six weeks can go so fast. We hope that you have all had a super summer holiday. I bet you can't wait to catch up with all your friends on the first day back and tell them everything you've done.

This blogspot will be updated every weekend with information about what your child will be learning and doing over the coming week. It is a way to keep you informed of what is going on in school and in class throughout each term. As well as passing on information we will also be recommending relevant websites that may be useful for you to use with your child to support them in their learning. If you have any other ideas of what it might be useful to know please do tell us.

Don't forget that your child also has a diary with them which can be used to communicate with their class teacher as well as writing in it when you hear them read or check their spellings. This is useful for if we have a message to send home, or if we have something specific to say about your child's learning, or even to be able to write in it to let you know if the have participated in a Guided Reading session. If you write a note for us to see, please remind your child to show us at the beginning of the day. With the many things that go on in school the message may get missed otherwise.

When the childrenstart back at school they are in what we call their 'induction period'. During this time the children are given the opportunity to settle with their peers and new teacher, find their way around a new room (and for the year 3's a whole new part of the school!), establish class rules, responsibilities and expectations, as well as have the chance to talk about themselves, caring for others and ways of developing into successful learners.

Here's just a few of our favourite websites from last year just to get you back 'in the mood'.

http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/gooey.html - WOW! Strange games = great literacy learning!

http://www.starfall.com/index.htm - great activites for literacy 'refreshers'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/ad_menu_flash.shtml - choose your adventure and practise your spelling.

http://www.mathszone.co.uk/ - lots of maths games for you to explore.

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/851/Hitthebuttonv7.swf - Year 4's get working on those times tables again! Year 3's how many can you do in one minute?

http://www.e-gfl.org/e-gfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/other/spark/playcards/gamelaunch.html - play your cards right...

We hope that you all have a happy and exciting start back to school.
Take care.

The Year 3/4 Team
xxx