NB- Miss Evans’ Year 4 please see ‘Year 5’.
Your child’s learning:
Mathematics
Children need to continue to learn times tables – x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, and x10. These can be found in your child’s Gnoll-Edge books.
Please learn to tell the time using both analogue and digital clocks, including 12 hour and 24 hour format.
Recite numbers to 10,000 forwards and backwards and from different starting points e.g in 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s, 100s.
Look at fractions using physical objects – cut pizza/chocolate/fruit etc.
Practise collecting and displaying data using bar graphs, line graphs, pictograms and tally charts.
When cooking or baking, practise measuring with your child.
Look at the shapes in your home and garden, can your child identify the shape? Please practise the operations of number – adding, subtracting, multiplication and division.
Please practise the operations of number – adding, subtracting, multiplication and division. Links to our school’s 4 operation Mathematics Mats can be found below:
Gnoll Addition Placemat Year 4
Gnoll Subtraction Placemat Year 4
Gnoll Multiplication Placemat Year 4
Gnoll Division Placemat Year 4
Literacy
Reading
Keeping up with reading is vitally important for children who are away from school for a period of time. If children aren’t in school, they are expected to read daily for at least 20 minutes but please read for longer if possible. It is important that you listen to your child read, or they read to you. In addition pupils are encouraged to read books they have at home for pleasure (e.g. Roald Dahl, Julia Donaldson, David Walliams) or read magazines, comic books, recipes etc.
Comprehension skills are a vital part of a child’s learning- when you are reading with your child ask questions about what they have just read to check their understanding.
E.g Who are the main characters? What was the main event? How was the problem resolved? How do you think a character feels? What do you think will happen next? What was your favourite part and why? If you were to write a different ending, what would you write?
Oracy
Speaking, listening and presenting information are skills which we practise regularly in class.
Watch a film together, who was the main character? Where was the film set? Do you have a favourite/least favourite part – why?
Build a den – talk about the steps needed. Tell stories over torch light when you are inside.
Use HWB to create a presentation – can you child present it to family members at home? Pupils have been learning how to use PowerPoint and Sway and have used it to create presentations in class.
Discuss and debate topical issues with your child – e.g Should animals be kept in zoos? Do you believe that aliens exist? Do you think children should be allowed mobile phones?
If you have an iPad use apps like iMove, Clips, Book Creator or Puppet Pals to record your voice over your creations. Remember to use the correct tone, use good words and speak in a clear voice.
Writing
Write a story based on the ‘Toto’ story the children have been using in class. Change the main characters and the setting to make every story different.
Write letters to different organisations e.g The Queen, Prime Minister, Mr Harris to practice writing in a formal tone.
Write a non-chronological report on a subject of their choice e.g Bushfires, Neath, Wales
Create a fact file based on a topic of interest e.g an animal, a country etc.
Write poetry – we have been learning Haiku’s, Acrostics and Free Verse. Use published poems as a stimulus for learning.
Encourage children to write a daily diary entry based on what they have been doing and learning at home.
Spelling
The children’s Gnoll-Edge books containing lists of High Frequency words. Please help your child learn to spell these important words. There are many different ways you can make spelling fun:
- Use items such as Play-Doh to spell out words
- Use felt pens, bubble writing etc. to make practising writing the words more interesting
- There are many apps such as Spellosaur you can install on mobile devices which allow parents to input spelling words and games are then generated to make learning to spell these words more engaging
Children are also encouraged to spell the words in the following lists:
Next term…
Our theme for next term is ‘Heroes and Villains’
Here are some ideas for you to complete at home…
- Research Andy Warhol’s Pop Art
- Create and write your own Comic Strip
- Research space and space travel – what is in our solar system? Who was the first man to walk on the moon?
- Can you research any local heroes?
- Describe a Superhero using Welsh phrases – Dw i’n…Dw i’n byw yn…Dw i’n hoffi/mwynhau, Dw i’n Demi yn hoffi/mwynhau…Mae gwallt _______ gyda fi…Mae llygaid _______ gyda fi.
- Debate – what Superhero do you think is the most powerful? If you had 3 superpowers – what would they be and why? What evil in the world do you think should be eliminated?
Useful websites and programmes:
Twinkl
Twinkl is a resource site containing thousands of resources for pupils on a wide variety of topics. In order to access these resources free of charge, please visit www.twinkl.co.uk/offer and enter the code UKTWINKLHELPS
Navigating this site can be a minefield due to the vast array of resources available however there is a “Parents Hub” with links to the most useful resources: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/parents
First News
As a school, we subscribe to the children’s newspaper First News. It provides well-written, up-to-date articles about current world events and it is very well liked by pupils in the school. Parents are currently able to sign up for free at https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/free-downloadable-issue/
TTS
TTS has put together downloadable “Learning at Home” packs for KS1 (ages 5-7) and KS2 (ages 7-11) and an Early Years edition is coming soon. They include a wide variety of activities covering all areas of the curriculum, some written and some practical. Visit https://www.tts-group.co.uk/home+learning+activities.html for more details.
HWB
All children have their own HWB username and password. All children can access J2E which has a variety of different programs such as JIT and J2Office which allow your child to write, draw and create graphs online. J2E also has a “J2Blast” program which provides games for children to practise spelling and maths skills.
HWB also allows all pupils access to their own Office 365 account. Pupils can use Microsoft programmes such as Word, PowerPoint and Sway and can save and retrieve work using their OneDrive.
If your child is unsure of their HWB username and password, this can be given from the class teacher with parental consent.
Top Marks
There are a range of games available on this website. The games are aimed at the correct age groups and cover a range of topics.
Classroom Secrets Kids
This website provides lots of interactive games and programmes for maths, reading and spelling and are categorised in year groups.
https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/
TT Rockstars
As a school we have signed up for access to the TT Rockstars programme. This helps pupils learn and practise their times tables in a fun, challenging way. Pupils have got their own usernames and passwords. If your child does not know their password, please contact the class teacher and this can be given with parental permission.
Numbots
This is a new learning programme from the creators of TT Rockstars. Currently they are offering a 1 month free trial if you sign up on their website. It focuses on number facts and using the 4 operations.
BBC Bitesize – Key Stage 2
This website offers learning and revision tools for all the Key Stage 2 learning areas. It provides pupils with information to read, videos to watch and games/quizzes to play.
We use the ‘BBC Bitesize Welsh Second Language Key Stage 2’ videos to support pupils with their Welsh oracy and reading skills.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/levels/zbr9wmn
We hope that you find this information useful and look forward to seeing you all back in school very soon.
Mrs Parfitt, Mr Thomas, Mrs Gibson, Mrs Hurst and Mrs Edwards