A Year 3/4 classroom
Welcome to year 3/4
Willow Tree Class, Juniper Tree Class and Mountain Ash Class
Here are some of the things you might find in a year 3/4 classroom.
Literacy
In literacy we have been learning about the Place Value of Punctuation, ensuring we have a really good understanding of the building blocks of sentence construction. This will mean that we can become both extremely creative AND accurate writers.
After this we have moved onto story-writing, inspired by the classic storybook, "Sam and Dave Dig a Hole" by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. In our own versions of the stories out new characters have been finding all sorts of incredible things in their back gardens: really showcasing incredible imagination!
Some examples of recent literacy work.
Maths
Maths at The Grove is taught using a mastery approach. The intention is to encourage all pupils to participate and contribute, and to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts through depth, not acceleration. The importance of connecting one are of maths to another is recognised in the way the sequences are planned throughout Year 3 and 4. The Autumn term starts with Place Value and the Number System before moving into Addition and Subtraction and then on to Multiplication and Division.
The Number System in action!
Music
We have been using Charanga as the basis of our musical learning, acquiring technical terminology and musical skills. We always ensure we listen to a wide range of high-quality music and use this to inspire compositional or improvisational work.
Some of the piece we've listened to this term have been classical, like "Aquarium" from the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyFpZ5MZ7kk
Some have been pop, like "Treat People with Kindness" by Harry Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0X03zR0rQk
Some have been Disco and Soul like "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGY2NfYpeE
We don't always have to add them to our class playlists but we can always learn something from them!
Science - Autumn 1
This half term we looked at what Light is, different sources, both natural and artificial and how we can create shadows. We discovered how we need Light to see, how light travels and how we can change shadows depending on how close we are to the light source, the type of material the object blocking the light source is (transparent, transluscent and opaque).
We experimented with shadow puppets and creating mirror mazes, reflecting the beams of light to make it travel around an object.
Computing - Autumn 1 & 2
The first part of the term we will be looking at Networks, how they form the Internet and help us to sending messages or find information across the World Wide Web. We will also explore how we can change and add content to the Web.
The second part of the term will focus on Creating Audio Media using an online programme to create a short podcast. We will learn the record, save and edit audio content before planning and recording a podcast about an aspect of our learning this term.
History
Our history topic this term has actually been prehistoric! We visited the Stone Age - amongst other things we have been learning about stone age tools and weapons, animals, hunter-gatherers and the first Neolithic farmers. We even enjoyed a fantastic school trip to Kent's Cavern in Torquay. If you haven't been, it is highly recommended!