Welcome to Megan Hine Class!

Year 4 and 5 is taught by Ms Candlish and Mr Gibbons. Mrs Liana-Stellmach supports the class throughout the week.

Our PE days for Term 3 are Tuesday (basketball - outdoors) and Thursday (hockey - outdoors). Please come to school wearing your school PE kit on these days, bringing school shoes in a separate bag to change into indoors.

Our drop everything and read day is Thursday. Parents are invited to come into class and read with their child until the register is taken just before 9am.

This term's Forest School sessions will be on Wednesday 15th January and Wednesday 29th January. Please ensure that wellies and a waterproof coat are brought into school on that day (whatever the weather) and come dressed in comfortable, full-length trousers, and a top with long sleeves. A snack in lidded container would be useful too.

It is very useful to also have a spare change of clothes which can be kept on your peg in the cloakroom. Waterproof coats and wellies need to be in school to maximise play times.

Road Trip USA! is our geography topic in Term 3. We’ll explore the Big Apple and meet the Iroquois tribe: Native Americans with amazing customs and traditions. We’ll use map skills from terms 1 and 2 to navigate the states and landmarks of this vast country.

Our class book is Holes by Louis Sachar. We’ll be focusing on suspenseful story openers and endings with our first narrative unit, the Losing Tale ‘The Red Eye’, before moving on to persuasive writing ‘I-Spy’ gadgets.

Our topic work will also flow through our wider curriculum as we explore:

• In Science we'll hone our practical investigation skills - studying forces, magnets and electricity.
• In E-Safety, pupils will learn about why lots of people sharing the same opinions or beliefs online do not make those opinions or beliefs true.
• In Computing, pupils will sequence sounds, creating sequences in a block-based programming language to make music. 
• In RE, we study Vaisakhi – a major festival in Sikhism. We’ll learn about the Khalsa (and the Five Ks), as well as ways that Vaisakhi – which marks the beginning of the harvest in the Punjab - is celebrated.
• MfL - pupils will learn phrases for activities they may do at the weekend in French as well as being presented with further extension on telling the time and opinions/justifications. 
• In art and DT, we’ll be studying the art and culture of Native America and use weaving and textile skills to create dream catchers and woven motifs and in music we’ll be learning to play the toot each week and composing with friends.
• Our maths learning this term covers the following topics:
  • Time
  • Statistics
  • Place value
  • Perimeter and length
  • Multiplication through area
  • Division
  • Fractions

Useful links to support spelling at home:

BBC Bitesize

DoodleMaths and DoodleTables

Practise times tables with Sumdog

Homework

Reading

Please read at least five times a week with your child. If they are a scheme reader, they will bring a school book home. This will be sent home on Thursdays and reading records/homework books are due in on Wednesdays in order to be checked. 

Spelling

Spelling Shed - children will have access to Spelling Shed’s online platform where weekly spelling lists can be found, as well as games and activities to learn the spellings learnt in class. A whole-school document listing all spellings can be found on this page. Spelling tests will take place on Wednesdays and spelling practice is set to run from Thursdays to Wednesdays.

Maths

DoodleMaths – pupils are set 2 assignments each week to complete, based on in-class learning that week and the learning they will complete the following week. They should also do additional practice to stay in the green zone. The recommendation is 10 minutes 3/4 days a week.

Doodle Tables - Regular practice on Doodletables (use will be monitored) - no written materials will be sent home for this.