Primary 3/4 (2017-18)

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Welcome to P3/4’s class page!

Term 4 April – June

We are looking forward to our final term of P3/4.

Literacy and English – The children will continue to work on reading for fluency and using expression when reading. Comprehension skills will be developed through ‘find it, prove it, talk about it’ activities. The children will be involved in talking about books they are reading to the rest of the class. This will include them summarising the book, explaining their own thoughts and feelings about it and answering questions from others about the books they have read. We will undertake a range of personal, functional and imaginative writing this term and work on grammar and punctuation as we do so.

Numeracy and Mathematics – We will begin the term by working on some ‘real life maths’ problem solving as part of STEM week. We will then work on addition, subtraction, money, measurement and data handling.

Health and Wellbeing –  In P.E. we will be developing our skills in tennis (with Miss Smith) and participating in athletics lessons as we prepare for Sports Day. We will work on the Health and Wellbeing indicators of ‘respected’ and ‘nurtured’. The children will also work on substance misuse (drugs education and the dangers of tobacco/smoking) and undertake sex education lessons.

French – This term we will work on colours and food vocabulary.

Science – Primary 3 will be exploring food chains and learning how animals and plants depend on each other for food. Primary 4 will be learning about the movement of the sun and the moon and how these relate to the length of a day, month and year. They will also be investigating mini-beasts and will be applying their knowledge when grouping different living things.

R.M.E. – In R.M.E. we will be exploring stories told in the bible about the miracles of Jesus.

Interdisciplinary Learning – The main curricular areas we will work on this term will be Social Studies and Expressive Arts as we focus on our topic on ‘Bees’.

Social Studies – As part of their Enterprise work, the children will complete an investigation into the decline of bees. They will examine the school grounds to see how ‘bee friendly’ it is and then plan how we can provide suitable environments for bees around our school. They will raise awareness of the plight of bees through activities such as making leaflets and posters and presenting an assembly to the rest of the school and parents/carers on Friday 8th June.

Expressive Arts – Most of our work in Art and Design, Dance, Drama and Music this term will be linked to our ‘Bees’ topic. We will be working on our class assembly and incorporating these curricular areas as we prepare for this.

Technologies – At the beginning of this term, we will finish our topic on ‘The Romans’ during STEM week. This will involve the children in activities including weaving, finding out about Roman engineering e.g. roads, bridges and buildings and weapons. The children will be asked to make their own catapult. As we work on our ‘Bees’ topic, the children will find out how honey is harvested and brought to our tables. They will prepare food with honey as an ingredient. They will also research bees in ICT and create a powerpoint to show what they learn about bees.

Term 3 January – March

P3/4 are looking forward to another busy term!

Literacy and English – We will be continuing with Active Literacy to develop our phonics and spelling skills. In reading we will continue working on developing fluency, expression and our comprehension skills, looking at how to infer from the text in particular. We will also be undertaking the ‘First Minister’s Reading Challenge’ where the children will be encouraged to select and read a wide variety of texts. The children will continue work on the ‘Big Writing’ adventure started last term and also be involved in writing activities related to our interdisciplinary topic. In our talking and listening work, the children will have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills as they present a ‘talk’ based on their research on ‘The Romans’.

Numeracy and Mathematics – This term we will complete our work on multiplication and division before starting work on fractions. We also plan to work on addition. Telling the time using both analogue and digital clocks will also be worked on this term.

We practised our times tables when playing games.

We practised our times tables when playing games.

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We worked outdoors when learning about division.

Health and Wellbeing – This term we will work on the Health and Wellbeing indicators of ‘active’, ‘safe’ and ‘responsible’. In P.E. we will undertake blocks of hockey and fitness and also develop our skills in gymnastics with Miss Smith. We will continue to take part in the ‘Monday Mile’ each week. Substance misuse (drugs education and the dangers of tobacco/smoking) will also be tackled.

French – We will be working on vocabulary for parts of the body and clothes this term. We will also find out how Easter is celebrated in France.

R.M.E. – This term the children will explore the story of Joseph and discuss some of the key themes. They will also think about the people that care for them and how they care for and show kindness to others.

Science – P3 will be exploring magnetism, looking at different materials which are magnetic and non-magnetic. They will also be using their knowledge of magnets to design games and complete challenges. P4 will be learning about electrical circuits and will be combining simple components in a series circuit to make a model.

Interdisciplinary Learning – The main curricular areas we will work on this term will be Social Studies, Technologies and Expressive Arts as we focus on ‘The Romans’.

We borrowed Roman artefacts from Biggar Museum and had to work out what the items would have been used for.

We borrowed Roman artefacts from Biggar Museum and had to work out what the items would have been used for.

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Social Studies –  We will use an atlas and a globe to locate Italy and Rome. We will look at old maps which show the extent of the Roman Empire and discover which parts of the UK became part of this. The children will  learn about the daily life of Roman people including children, soldiers and slaves. They will find out about the language spoken by the Romans and learn a few simple words in Latin. They will also explore the number system used and learn how to read o’clock times using a clock with Roman numerals.                                                                                                                          For our Scottish focus in January we will look closely at the Scots language and read and discuss various popular stories written in Scots.

Technologies –  We will use the internet to research technologies the Romans developed and used and also to find out about various aspects of Roman life. We will make catapults and learn how to weave.                                                                         In ICT the children will work through our internet safety programme. They will also be making their own ‘book’ using Microsoft word to type their text. They will practise changing the font and text size and inserting pictures.

P7 helped us to make powerpoints about the Romans.

P7 helped us to make powerpoints about the Romans.

Expressive Arts – In art and design, the children will help to create a wall display of a Roman soldier. They will design and create their own Roman shield and sword and also make jewellery and mosaics.                                                                                            In drama we will be retelling the story of ‘The Gruffalo in Scots’ which we will perform at the Scottish Celebration assembly. The children will create their own dance sequences to different types of music and in music we will learn how to play on different beats and to explore high/low sounds using percussion instruments.

Term 2 October – December

Interdisciplinary Learning – The main curricular areas we will focus on this term will be Social Studies, Technologies and Expressive Arts as we work on our ‘Polar Regions’ topic.

Social Studies –  We will use maps and a globe to identify and name the polar regions. We will find out about the different type of people who live there and how they can survive such cold temperatures and also how animals are adapted to live in that environment. We will also investigate and keep a record of the weather in Carnwath and compare with weather reports from the Arctic and Antarctic.

Technologies –  We will investigate traditional and modern technologies which allow people to survive in the polar regions e.g. clothing, transport and shelter. We will also relate our findings about the environmental problems to our need to conserve resources. We will use the internet to research the polar regions and the children will use the information found to create their own fact sheets.                                                  The children will also create Christmas cards and decorations using a variety of materials and methods.

Expressive Arts – We plan to make our own papier mache model penguins and collage penguins for our class display. The P3 children will be involved in the nativity this term which will include work in music, dance and drama. The P4 children will create their own dance sequences to different types of music and participate in drama games and role play scenarios.

We started the term with a black line drawing of us kicking leaves in Autumn!

We started the term with a black line drawing of us kicking leaves in Autumn!

Literacy and English – We will be continuing with Active Literacy to develop our phonics and spelling skills. In reading we will be working on developing fluency, expression and our comprehension skills. We will also look at non-fiction books related to our topic and use the contents page, index and glossary to help us find information. The children will work on a ‘Big Writing’ adventure called ‘Planning a Day Out’ and will write detailed descriptions of a place, a formal letter and a list of ‘top tips’. In our talking and listening work, the children will have the opportunity to take part in topic related discussions e.g. making suggestions and sharing what they have learned.

Numeracy and Mathematics – We are going to be working on multiplication and division this term. P3 and some P4’s will be learning 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables and the other P4’s will be developing quick recall of all the times tables. Both mental strategies and written skills will be taught as the children apply their knowledge when solving multiplication and division calculations.

Health and Wellbeing – This term we will focus on the Health and Wellbeing indicator of ‘included’ and will discuss ways in which the children feel included at school, at home and in the community. In P.E. we will learn how to play benchball and take part in social dance as we prepare for our Christmas parties. We will also take part in the ‘Monday Mile’ each week.

French – We will be working on weather vocabulary this term and how to say the days of the week, months of the year and when our birthdays are. We will also find out how Christmas is celebrated in France.

R.M.E. – This term the children will find out about some special journeys as they explore the stories of Abraham, Moses and Mary and Joseph. They will also investigate rights and responsibilities and how these are relevant to their school life.

Science – P3 are learning about germs and exploring ways of preventing germs spreading. P4 are exploring inheritance and genetics and looking at characteristics which are passed down from parents to children and animals to their young.

Term 1 August – October

Literacy and English – This term we will be undertaking a book study. We are reading ‘The Hodgeheg’ by Dick King Smith.  Reading skills such as predicting, skimming, connecting and summarising will be taught. The children will write imaginative stories and functional pieces of writing related to our book study and complete personal writing about themselves as we get to know each other. In talking and listening lessons we will focus on body language, delivery and content. The children will have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills as they present a ‘talk’ based on a topic of their choice.

Numeracy and Mathematics – We will be working on place value and estimating and rounding. We will learn about the properties of 2D shapes and 3D objects and we will investigate patterns and relationships. We will also work on developing mental maths strategies and our problem solving skills.

P3 enjoyed making 2D shapes.

P3 enjoyed making 2D shapes.

We used the CTouch for our work on shape.

We used the CTouch for our work on shape.

P4 used straws and plasticene to make 3D shape models.

P4 used straws and plasticene to make 3D shape models.

Health and Wellbeing – Road safety will be a focus this term as this links to our book study. We will learn how to manage our feelings and emotions in school and the differences between aggressive, cool and weak responses. In P.E. we will be taking part in team games and developing our ball skills. P4 will also enjoy a block of rugby. This term we will work on the Health and Wellbeing indicators of ‘achieving’ and ‘healthy’.

We talked about healthy packed lunches and drew our own.

We talked about healthy packed lunches and drew our own.

French – We will be having short conversations in French including greetings and personal information such as names, ages and where we live. The children will also order their lunch in French every day!

Expressive Arts – In Art we will be working collaboratively with the P7 children to plan, design and create outdoor mosaics for the Peace Garden. The children will create their own dance sequences to different types of music and participate in drama games and role play scenarios. In Music we will learn how to play on different beats and to explore high/low sounds using percussion instruments.

R.M.E. – The children will develop their understanding of Ramadan and why it is important to Muslims. They will also explore the values of persistence and working hard.

Technologies – In I.C.T. the children will learn how to use Microsoft Word. They will consider how they can use technology to help them with their learning and will investigate a number of different websites across the curriculum. The children will also be involved in food technology as they make their own healthy sandwich.

Social Studies –  As part of our work on ‘The Hodgeheg’ we will be investigating wildlife and thinking about how many wild creatures are dependent on humans to preserve their habitats. We will also think how our climate affects the plants and animals which live here. We will look closely at the lifecycles, habitats and food chains of hedgehogs.

Science – In Science we are learning about materials and their properties. Primary 3 are learning about dissolving and will be carrying out experiments to investigate which materials dissolve and different factors which will affect the rate at which materials dissolve. Primary 4 will be learning about the differences between natural and man made materials and will be considering the reasons why specific materials are used to make certain objects.

Interdisciplinary Learning – The main curricular areas we will focus on this term will be Literacy and English, Social Studies and Health and Wellbeing as we carry out work on our book study. We also plan to visit the forest as part of our work in this area.