In Year Three and Four, children are learning about Prophecy and Promise. This unit continues the theme of the Eucharist (as it is throughout the year) which is all about thanksgiving. They pay particular attention to Mary and Joseph’s trust in God through The Annunciation as in the Gospel of Matthew.

In this particular unit, children will learn about and understand Mass including recognising and naming some of the objects found in Church and exploring why Catholics go to Mass and the structure and roles there are within Mass.  Closer to Advent, children will recognise and describe a range of symbols that help Catholics live out the season of Advent and respond to words of an advent hymn to think about the meaning of this.

Year 3 and 4 children will start their Maths with number and place value, including understanding and recognising numbers up to hundreds (for year three) and thousands (year four). The next unit is Geometry; Properties of Shapes.

Next term, the children will be learning Multiplication and Division and Year 4 children will also be learning Addition and Subtraction: Mental Methods.

Please make sure that your child is practising their times tables at least three times a week. They can practice these through a fun interactive game on the following website: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button . Alternatively they could practise their times tables on times tables rockstars (ttrockstars.com), where they each have their own log in details and they can even win certificates at school for this. and it is a great resources to practise times tables

In the first part of the term, we will develop our English skills by using a narrative text called ‘The Last Bear’ by Hannah Gold. Some of the skills they will be including in their writing include adjectives, conjunctions, personification, action verbs, commas in a list and speech. They are also reading this as their ‘Class Reader’.

The second text we will be focusing on is a non-fiction piece, a newspaper. The unit is called 'The Creature' and children will create a newspaper article of their own. 

Children are learning about Plants and Animals Including Humans in the Autumn Term. Within the unit of plants, children will learn how to: identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers. They explore the requirements of plants for life and growth (air, light, water, nutrients from soil, and room to grow) and how they vary from plant to plant. They learn how to investigate the way in which water is transported within plants and finally they learn how to explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal.

Within the unit of Animals including Humans, children will be learning how to: describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans; identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions; and finally, construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.

The three classes have PE on different days. Gazelle’s PE day is Wednesday, Lemur’s is Tuesday and Crocodile’s is Wednesday and Thursday. Please ensure your child is wearing the correct PE kit. The units we will be covering up to Christmas are Netball, Football, Tag Rugby and Outdoor Adventurous Activities.

We follow Charanga and within this we will be completing 'Lean On Me' by Bill Withers in the first term and will focus on the Christmas Carol Concert next term.

Within 'Lean On Me', children will be listening and appraising and engaging in musical activities including learning to sing the song and performing it, improvising and play the glockenspiel.

Children's word level and comprehension skills will be developed through whole class guided reading sessions and one to one reading.

This term, some children will be having phonic sessions twice a week as well as small intervention groups based on the ability of the child. These are regularly assessed and we follow Little Wandle for these. 

The first unit is called 'The Internet'. Children will apply their knowledge and understanding of networks to appreciate the internet as a network of networks which need to be kept secure. They will learn that the World Wide Web is part of the internet, and will be given opportunities to explore the World Wide Web for themselves in order to learn about who owns content and what they can access, add, and create. Finally, they will evaluate online content to decide how honest, accurate, or reliable it is, and understand the consequences of false information.

 Children start by learning the key sounds in French and then move on to colours (focusing on learning ten common colours) and numbers (up to 20). Next term, they will be learning about shapes.

We are studying 'Why are rainforests important to us.' Children who are secure will be able to;

• Describe a biome and give an example.
• State the location and some key features of the Amazon rainforest.
• Name and describe the four layers of tropical rainforests.
• Understand that trees and plants adapt to living in the rainforest and give an example.
• Define the word indigenous and give an example of how indigenous peoples use the Amazon’s resources.
• Name one way in which the Amazon is changing.
• Articulate why the Amazon rainforest is important.
• Give an example of how humans are having a negative impact on the Amazon and an action that can be taken to help.
• Use a variety of data collection methods with support.
• Summarise how the local woodland is used and suggest changes to improve the area.

Next term we will be studying History. The unit is called 'Why did the Romans settle in Britain?' Children who are secure will be able to;

• Explain the meaning of empire and invasion.
• Understand the chronology of the Roman invasion of Britain.
• Identify the consequences of the Roman invasion.
• Create an interpretation of Boudicca using sources.
• Explain why the Romans needed a powerful army.
• Identify a soldier’s equipment.
• Explain how the Roman army was organised and perform simple manoeuvres and drills.
• Make observations about an artefact.
• Explain the meaning of legacy, identifying how the Romans changed Britain and ordering legacies by their significance.

We are doing DT in the first term. The unit is called 'Structure- Pavilion.' Children who are secure will be able to:

• Produce a range of free-standing frame structures of different shapes and sizes.
• Design a pavilion that is strong, stable and aesthetically pleasing.
• Select appropriate materials and construction techniques to create a stable, free-standing frame structure.
• Select appropriate materials and techniques to add cladding to their pavilion.

The children will then be learning about Art. We will start the unit by focusing on our Artist of the Term, Georgia O'Keeffe. The unit is called 'Painting and Mixed Media' and the children who are secure will be able to:

• Share their ideas about a painting.
• Describe the difference between a tint and a shade.
• Mix tints and shades by adding black or white paint.
• Discuss their real-life experiences of how colours can appear different.
• Use tints and shades to paint an object in 3D.
• Try different arrangements of objects for a composition, explaining their decisions.
• Produce a clear sketch that reflects the arrangement of their objects.
• Create a final painting that shows an understanding of how colour can be used to show light and dark, and therefore show three dimensions.
• Paint with care and control to make a still life with recognisable objects.