Kingfishers
Welcome to Kingfishers Class! We are a class of Year 3 and Year 4 children and we love learning together – especially when it involves books and stories! Below is some information about the class, as well as what we are learning about each term. If you have any questions, then please let us know!
Overview
In our Year 3/4 class, we follow the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2, providing children with a broad and balanced range of learning experiences. We encourage children to become confident, independent and curious learners, with lots of opportunities to learn through practical activities, discussion, teamwork and being active.
A key focus in Year 3/4 is developing secure times table knowledge, with regular practice and fun activities to help children build speed and confidence in preparation for the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check. We also place a strong emphasis on reading for pleasure, encouraging children to discover new authors, explore different genres and develop a love of books.
PE days
Wednesday & Thursday
Book of the term
The Firework Maker’s Daughter
PSHE focus
Me & my relationships
Additional information
The children will bring home a reading book and reading record so that we can work together to help them to enjoy books and develop as readers. We would like them to read at home every day. Please make sure their folder is brought to school every day.
We encourage you to read to your children at home, in addition to hearing them read their individual books.
The children’s spelling will be assessed and they will either continue with Read, Write Inc (RWI) phonics or they will move to RWI spellings. In due course, we will introduce spellings to be taken home each week.
What we're learning this term
Art
In art, we will be learning about different sketching techniques. Our final piece will involve drawing a portrait of our favourite authors.
Computing
We will have a weekly computing lesson on animation. We will be following a unit of work from Purple Mash. The children can access Purple Mash at home if they wish.
English
In English this term, we will be using the picture book “The Wolves in the Walls” by Neil Gaiman to inspire our writing. The children will write their own stories on a similar theme. Later on in the term, they will write a report about another tiny creature found living in walls!
We are continuing to focus on accuracy in spelling, handwriting and punctuation and learning that redrafting and editing are a key part of the whole process of writing.
The children have been assessed and will either continue with Read, Write Inc (RWI) phonics or they will move to RWI spellings. Children in both groups will have spellings to practise
Mathematics
Both Year 3 and Year 4 will be exploring multiplication and division this term. Year 3 will be starting this term by learning to subtract with renaming and year 4 will start by looking at word problems.
Every day, children in Year 3 and 4 have a dedicated times table lesson. More information about how we teach times tables is available on our school website.
We ask that the children spend regular (ideally 5 -10 mins daily) on both Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots to embed and maintain their times tables, addition and subtraction facts. If you have any problems logging in, please let us know.
PE
This term, we will be focusing on social skills within our PE sessions using Real PE. This will include encouraging others, showing and telling others about our ideas and also organising roles and responsibilities.
PSHE
Every term, we will start with a PSHE unit. We will be following the SCARF scheme of work and this term’s unit is entitled “Valuing Difference”.
RE
The children will be continuing to learn about Hinduism through ‘The Story of Diwali’ by Malachy Doyle.
Science
Our Science focus this term will be ‘forces and magnets’. We will start by learning about what a force is. Throughout the unit, children will develop their scientific enquiry skills by making predictions, carrying out fair tests, recording results, using evidence to draw conclusions, and communicating their findings.
Supporting Working Families with Wrap-Around Care
Breakfast Club 7:45am & Tea Time 3:00-5:15pm
Find Out More
Times tables
At Staverton, we recognise the importance of our children having a secure grasp of times table facts. In Key Stage 2, children are taught times tables every day.
We use the Wiltshire Time Tables Challenges to teach times table, this is taught throughout Key Stage 2 and as an additional intervention in Years 4 and 5. The scheme focuses on teaching children 45 core times table facts and 21 ‘red’ facts that are taught towards the end of Year 4 and consist of the 11x and 12x table facts (see below). From Term 4 of Year 2, children learn the 2x, 5x and 10x tables.
Core facts are those times tables that are frequently used in formal written methods of multiplication and division. As these are more regularly applied in other areas of maths, they are the main focus of times table teaching. 11x and 12x tables facts (red facts) are taught last as they are not used when completing written methods of multiplication and can be derived if needed.
By developing a solid knowledge of times tables facts, children are able to solve mathematical problems in other areas such as division, formal written methods, fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio. The overlearning aspects of times tables also enable children with special educational needs to retain facts better and access the same learning as their peers.
At the end of Year 4, children sit the Multiplication Check. This is a National test undertaken in June. The test is computer based and consists of 25 multiplication questions. Children have 6 seconds to answer each question. There is currently no official pass mark for this test. As a school, we have taken the decision to set 25 as our pass mark. Those children not achieving this by the end of Year 4 will receive an intervention in Year 5.
