Spring 2
We had an exciting start to our Crime and Punishment topic!
We couldn’t believe our eyes, as we walked into the classroom after half term and found a size 5 boot, several footprints and numerous fingerprints! As well as a can of diet cola, a Manchester United Card, several fidget toys, a spade and clumps of black hair. Within minutes, we realised that our beloved class mascots were missing! Shortly after, we cornered off the area with caution tape, to ensure the evidence wasn’t tampered with. After working tirelessly for several days, we had our final six suspects who we interrogated carefully. The following day, we found a UV light that revealed a secret message from Mrs Hoskins! It explained that she had taken our beloved class mascots to show the special visitors at our school!
English
The children have already written a newspaper report to inform others about the unexpected events at our school. They have also written a thank you letter to the staff at the YHA in Whitby or to Olaf (the Viking), who visited our school a couple of weeks ago to carry out an amazing workshop with the pupils.
The children are currently turning a dramatic animation called ‘Rock, Paper. Scissors,’ into a narrative. At the start of the story, the characters live in an idyllic setting until a vicious villain called Snip interrupts their utopia. Will the characters live happily ever after, or will he destroy their lives forever?
Making writing lively and interesting is key. Therefore, the children are always encouraged to use carefully chosen fronted adverbials, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and similes to bring their writing to life. Throughout, the children are encouraged to use ARMS and COGS to edit their work.
It is important that the children apply what they have learnt in their daily spelling lessons, so please don’t forget to keep practicing the spelling rules identified within their logbooks each week.
Maths
Year 3 are going to complete several units linked to Shape, space and measure including length, volume, mass and money. Year 4 will learn about fractions, including finding equivalent fractions, simplifying fractions and finding improper fractions. The children will apply what they have learnt to help them to tell the time. Throughout, the children in LKS2 will continue to use mental arithmetic, structural apparatus, jottings and column method to solve one step and two step word problems.
During their fluency lessons, the children will also revisit a range of strategies they can use to solve mixed calculations with speed, efficiency and accuracy.
We are keen for the children to become fluent with all their times tables, so extra practise at home is essential.
History
We’re exploring how crime and punishments have changed over different periods of time, including the Middle Ages, Victorian times and modern Britain. Throughout, the children have tried hard to identify similarities and differences between each and use a range of secondary resources to extend their understanding further.
Science
The children enthusiastically used several working scientifically skills to help us solve our crime scene. This included, using a magnifying glass to look closely at the evidence, spot key patterns, make links and to ask key questions.
We had lots of fun!
PSHE
The children have started to learn about drugs, alcohol and tobacco in PSHE. During their unit, the children have discussed the risks of smoking tobacco and explored the help available for people who want to stop. They will also learn that drugs (including medicines) can be harmful to people, while understanding that they can also be used to manage and treat medical conditions such as asthma.
Music
We have been busy practising numerous songs for our Spring assembly on Thursday 28th March 2024. During these sessions, the children have learnt how to use their voices effectively to sing in harmony, parts and rounds!
We can’t wait to show you what we have learnt.
Computing
The children have enjoyed putting their editing skills to the test to crop, rotate and adjust the colour of images. They are currently having lots of fun trying to copy and paste images to different platforms.
Art
The amazing artist ‘David Hockney’ has inspired our artwork this half term. During their lessons, the children have described the similarities and differences between his work and have started to use his style and techniques to create their own scenic landscapes. They have also created a colour wheel to explore primary, secondary and complementary colours.
Spanish
The children have worked hard to use key words and phrases to talk about families. This has included identifying different family members, talking about where they live and the pets they may have.
PE
The coaches have taught the children the basic principles of dodge ball including moving around a space with agility and coordination, whilst throwing a ball with precision. We’ve also had lots of fun playing team games which have required the children to listen carefully, share their ideas respectfully and to identify the next steps in their learning.
