Attenborough Class

Wow, where did the spring term go?  Time flies when we are having fun, and what a busy and fun term we had.  We are now ready to tackle the summer with even more challenges and learning!
Our main summer term topic is  “Where is Antarctica” which covers varied Geography curriculum content such as lines of latitude, grid references and using a compass in our school grounds, as well as finding out about Antarctica as a place. 
We will continue with Active Read, which explores a variety of texts to develop various reading skills and extension of vocabulary.  The children will also be sharing some Monty Reads with our early years’ children (our friend class). 
Please continue to encourage reading at home, listen to your child read and ask them about the Vipers for reading, as well as working on fluency if required.  Adults and children should record reads in journals and ensure that this is brought in every day.  We ask that you and your child continue to keep track of the reads by numbering them so that we can check when your child reaches their Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum award.  We will continue to record in the journal when we have the opportunity to hear your child read, as long as they have it with them.  

After morning registration, daily phonics sessions will continue for our children who require these.

In English, we will continue with Rainbow Grammar which is a fun, practical and colourful way of learning how to build different types of sentences. Revision sessions are required to consolidate previous learning.As a reminder for Rainbow Grammar, there are eight colours and each colour represents a different part of a sentence.The children will learn:• How the different parts of sentences work• What different types of words and parts of sentences are called• How to join the different parts of sentences together• How to improve their sentences• How to punctuate their sentences. Most importantly of all, they learn why writers use these different parts and how they help to improve their writing.We will link our Rainbow Grammar to our GPS (Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling), moving on to reading and working on some fantastic texts.
Attenborough Class will be studying a poetry unit titled ‘The Magic Box’ in English lessons as well as a beautiful year 3 text called ‘The Last Garden’.  One of our class books, read by an adult is ‘Oliver and the Seawigs’ which will follow the completion of Gangsta Granny. 
Spellings will continue with new words set after a test on Fridays.  Please see homework books for the weekly words as well as the 3A half-termly overview.  We will continue to set an extra two words per week to include the CEW (common exception words), to support pupils learning the year 3 list before the end of the school year. 

We will continue with our handwriting sessions, as we are always looking to improve letter formation and presentation.  
In mathematics, we will continue with weekly arithmetic lessons and send the test papers home. 
Power maths begins by focusing on mass; working out different intervals on a scale, measuring mass in kilograms and grams, adding, subtracting and comparing masses and solving problems involving mass.  We will then move on to capacity; measuring capacity in litres and millilitres, converting between litres and millilitres, comparing and ordering capacities, adding and subtracting capacities and solving problems involving capacities.  Moving towards the second half of the summer term, Attenborough class will extend their learning on fraction, money, time, angles and properties of shape, finishing with statistics.  

Maths homework will continue to be the weekly mental maths sheets and Times Table Rock Stars (TTRS) 15-minute sessions to develop multiplication and division instant recall.  Please encourage your child to log on to complete their homework as this really supports the multiplication fact learning required by summer of year 4 when the children are required to sit the MTC test.

In science, our topic will be looks at light; recognising that light is needed in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light, to notice that light is reflected from surfaces, to recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect our eyes.  The children will recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object and find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change.

We are very much looking forward to our school trip to the Museum of Power which will support our unit on ‘Light’.  The children will discover how we see light and how we hear sounds, learn about sound waves and light reflection and refraction. 

Our final unit looks at ‘Plants’, discovering how plants absorb water, learn about their life cycles, and different parts of plants and what they do.  Finally, we will study the process of pollination and how plants share their seeds. 

Attenborough will also be covering the following units in other areas of the curriculum;

Music – Traditional instruments and improvisation

Personal, Social. Health Education – Health and wellbeing then Relationships and Changing Me. 

Physical Education – Athletics, Dodgeball, then Tennis and Cricket. 

Religious Education – Why is water symbolic? Why is fire used ceremoniously?

French – French transport and a circle of life in French.

Computing – Video trailers and comparison cards databases.

Design Technology and Art – carrying on with our pneumatic toys work then learning about artists. .  

Reminders: Extended learning (homework) will be set on a Friday and marked the following Friday.P.E days are now Monday and Friday for the Summer 1 half term. Please ensure that extra PE kit is navy blue only Ties must be worn with uniform please.A named water bottle should come into school every day with fresh water only (no juice).A healthy snack can be brought in for break time. We ask for fruits and vegetables please. 

If you would like to speak to one of the teaching team, this can be arranged via the school office or by speaking to us at the door to arrange a mutually convenient time.  However please wait until all children have been dismissed.  Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries.
The Attenborough Team

Class teachers: Mrs Moore & Miss O'Donnell

LSA: Miss Campbell