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 English, we will be writing newspaper articles linked to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot and we will also be looking at the features of instructional text and using this knowledge to write our own set of instructions to explain how to make a wreath for Remembrance Day.

In maths, we will be focusing on addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. We will learn to solve a variety of reasoning and problem-solving challenges.

In science we will learning about ‘Animals Including Humans’. Our amazing planet is teeming with life from the depths of the oceans to the highest mountains. But every living thing is dependent on other living things for its survival. Every animal needs to eat plants or other animals. Plants need rich soil to grow strong and healthy and soil is made rich for growing by the decomposing remains of plants and animals that were once alive. It is an endless circle of life. We will be sharing this amazing never-ending story through dance, music and narration.

In music, we are going to learn how to play the recorder. The lessons will be taught by a musician.

In history we will be learning about Anglo-Saxon Britain. We will learn about the invasions of the Scots and Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. We will find out where the invading troops came from and where in Britain they managed to settle and then we will go on to investigate how life in Britain changed as a result. We will have the opportunity to learn how the Anglo-Saxons influenced the English language, with an emphasis on the origins of some English place names, and also examine artefacts from the period and draw our own conclusions about what it can teach us about life in Anglo-Saxon Britain. In addition to this, we will also learn what life was like in a typical Anglo-Saxon village, what jobs people did and what the houses were like. We will also explore the Pagan beliefs of the early Anglo-Saxons and learn about the many gods they worshipped. Finally, we will investigate how and why the Anglo-Saxons were largely converted to Christianity by the early 7th century.

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.

In RE, we will be learning how and why people try to make the world a better place. We will raise questions and suggest answers about why the world is not always a good place, and what are the best ways of making it better. We will make links between some commands for living from religious traditions, non-religious worldviews and pupils’ own ideas. Children will be given the opportunity to express their own ideas about the best ways to make the world a better place, making links with religious ideas studied and giving good reasons for their views.

In design technology, we will be looking at various forms of ‘Information design’. We will then design and create an electric museum display based on the Anglo-Saxons. 

In PSHE/RSE, we will be following the Jigsaw programme. Our focus is ‘Celebrating Difference’.  We will be able to show appreciation for our families, parents and carers, use the ‘Solve it together’ technique to calm and resolve conflicts with friends and family, be able to ‘problem-solve’ a bullying situation accessing appropriate support if necessary and be able to recognise, accept and give compliments.

In computing, we will be leaning about the concept of networks, learning how devices communicate. We will identify components, learn how information is shared and deepen our understanding by exploring examples of real-world networks.

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