Maple Class
Welcome to the Spring Term in Maple Class. We are a Year 3 and 4 class. Mrs Baines is the class teacher, Mrs Hicks and Mrs Waring are the teaching assistants who support learning.
Our Learning:
Our topic this half-term is called Roaming in the Rainforest. This involves identifying the rainforests around the world and locating these on a world map. We will be using atlases and maps to find the Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn and discussing why rainforests are located between the Tropics. We will be discussing the importance of rainforests and what deforestation is doing to the environment. We will be looking at the habitat of the rainforest, the different layers and which living things live in each one.
In Science, we will be focusing on living things and their habitats. Within this unit, we will be learning about the habitats from around the world and how living things have adapted to their environment. We will be conducting our own research into these habitats and forming posters from all the information gathering. We will be using classification keys to sort animals into groups according to their environment.
In PSHE, our topic is Emotions and we will be working on the following:
• Recognise the importance of taking care of mental health.
• Recognise feelings can change over time and range in intensity.
• Identify the everyday things that affect feelings and the importance of expressing how we feel.
• Identify strategies that they could use to respond to feelings.
• Identify how to seek support for themselves and others.
• Identify strategies for dealing with emotions.
In Art, we will be looking at an artist called Henri Rousseau and creating our own mixed media piece of artwork based on one of his most famous painting - A Tiger in a Tropical Storm.
In RE, our key question for this half-term is Why do we Pray? In this unit we will learn the following:
- Know that people pray to communicate and they pray for different reasons.
- Know that prayer is a pillar of Islam and describe how Muslims pray.
- Know some of the varied reasons and beliefs behind Christian prayer.
- Understand the meaning behind the Lord’s prayer.
- Know some different ways that Hindus pray and worship.
- Discuss similarities and differences between prayers from different religions.
Useful information:
On a Thursday afternoon, all children will be learning how to play the Ukulele.
PE is on a Monday and Wednesday afternoon for both Year 3 and 4 this term so please send your child in their PE kit on this day. Please ensure that PE kits meet the criteria of plain t-shirt/their team colour and black/navy/grey bottoms (shorts, leggings or joggers). Please make sure your child has a named water bottle that they bring to school with them every day.
How you can help
Please ensure that your child reads four times a week. On a Friday, reading records will be collected in to check if this has been done since the previous week.
Also, please ensure that your child accesses TTRS (Times Tables Rock Stars) and Spelling Shed throughout the week. This is especially important for Year 4 children as they have their multiplication check in June.
A topic menu (creative homework) involving six challenges will be issued once every half term, where children can choose their own activities. Certificates will be given out depending on the number of challenges completed.
Useful Websites:
https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb/