Puffins - Year 3 and 4

Welcome to Puffin Class!

Hello, my name is Mrs. Palfrey and I am Puffins class teacher!

Our teaching assistants are Mrs. McDowell, Mrs. Merchant and Mr. Jones teaches us P.E. on a Thursday.

In maths we will be focusing on multiplication, division and fractions.

 In English we will be exploring stories in imaginary worlds. We will be reading ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S.Lewis.

 In science we will be learning about light, reflections, and shadows. We will learn about different sources of light, and that we need light to see. The children will work scientifically and collaboratively to investigate reflective materials, in the context of designing a new book bag. They will work in a hands-on way to play a range of mirror games, finding out more about reflective surfaces. Furthermore, they will learn that the sun’s light can be dangerous and will create an advert for a pair of sunglasses or a sun hat that they have designed. The children will have chance to test which objects are opaque in an exciting investigation to design the most effective curtains and will find out how shadows change when the distance between the object and light source changes. They will develop their scientific enquiry skills, making observations, predictions, and conclusions

 In history we will be learning about the Viking and why this period in history is important. Not only do we learn that our stereotypical view of the Vikings needs to be challenged we also draw on our knowledge of sources to help us explain why the Vikings had such a bad press and how recent archaeological finds can be used to restore the Vikings’ reputation as settlers, skilled craftsmen and traders, and not just raiders.

 In PSHE our focus is Dreams and Goals. In this Puzzle we look at examples of people who have overcome challenges to achieve success and discuss what we can learn from these stories. We will identify our own dreams and ambitions and discuss how it will feel when we achieve them. We talk about facing learning challenges and identify our own strategies for overcoming these. We will talk about obstacles which might stop us from achieving our goals and how to overcome these. We will reflect on our progress and successes and identify what we could do better next time.

 In computing our unit is Data Handling: Comparison cards databases. We will be using the theme of a ‘Comparison card game’ to understand what a database is. We will be learning the meanings of records, fields and data. Further exploration will lead to the development of the ideas of sorting and filtering.

 In RE our focus religion is Hinduism. We will learn what Hindus believe God is like.

 In art we will explore sculpture, focusing on the life and work of Barbara Hepworth.

 In Spanish, we will be using the programme ‘Language Angels’.

• Colours and Numbers - Los Colores / Los Numeros 

 Year 4: Greater focus on writing and spelling. We will extend to numbers to 31, days and months to write and read the date.

Homework will be set on a Friday and will include weekly spellings and an additional learning task. The tasks need to be completed and handed in by Friday of the following week at the latest.  

Additionally, children need to be reading frequently (ideally daily) and consolidating their mathematical skills on Times Table Rock Stars and Mathletics each week. Please have a look in the weekly home communication section for details of each week's homework.     

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Mrs. Palfrey