Peacocks - Year 3/4

Spring 1

Welcome back everyone, we hope that you have had a fabulous Christmas break and are looking forward to the new term.

Please find below an overview of our plans for the first half of the spring term.

Our Pathways to Write literacy unit for this half term will focus on the book ‘Wisp’ written by Zana Fraillon and illustrated by Grahame Baker Smith. Wisp is a refugee story of extraordinary power and beauty. This picture book has really amazing illustrations. The colours are stunning and there is so much detail. The book plays with language and uses a gentle story to teach children about refugees and how it must feel to leave your home everyone you know and love. The characters have sad lives but there is a positive ending, and there is hope that their lives will get better in the future. Our writing outcome for this unit is to o write a narrative from the point of view of the Wisp.

Children will practise their spoken language, building on vocabulary and asking relevant questions. They will be encouraged to articulate and justify their answers by giving well-structured descriptions, explanations, and narratives. Children will study the text closely and discuss words and phrases that the author uses to capture the reader’s interest and imagination. They will draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions and make predict from the details stated and implied. Children will plan their writing by discussing the structure, vocabulary, and grammar of the book. They will discuss and record ideas and compose and rehearse their sentences orally before writing their own narrative using their interpretations of the story.

In Maths this half term both year 3 and 4 will be finishing the White Rose Maths Multiplication and Division unit before moving on to Length and Perimeter.

Year 3’s in multiplication and division, will look at equal groups and the use of arrays to represent these. We will practise using multiples of 2, 5 and 10 in sharing and grouping. We shall be learning to multiply and divide by 3 and 4 securely before moving on to the 8 times table. Children will gain a good understanding of the relationships between the 2, 4 and 8 times-tables. In the measures unit children will learn to accurately measure in metres, centimetres and millimetres and explore equivalent lengths. Children will compare, add, and subtract lengths.

In Year 4, multiplication and division lessons involve lots of practise of facts for firstly 3, 6, 9 and then 7, 11 and 12 times-tables. Children will also gain a sound understanding of what happens when we divide a number by both 1 and itself. Children will then go on to multiplying 3 numbers. The measures unit involves measuring in kilometres and metres and exploring equivalent lengths. Children will learn how to find the perimeter of a rectangle and other rectilinear shapes and polygons, we will be able to work out and calculate some missing lengths of these shapes.

In our science unit this half term we will investigate sound. Children will have a good understanding of how vibrations cause sounds, how sound travels and how sounds can change in pitch and loudness. We shall discover how sound is made and how we can hear sounds, associating some of them with something vibrating. We will recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear. We will find out what we mean by pitch and be able to spot a pattern between the pitch and the object that produced the sound. We will think about how sound can be absorbed and how sounds can change over distance. Children will find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it and begin to recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases.

In working scientifically children will ask relevant questions and use diverse types of scientific enquiries to answer them. They will set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests and make systematic and careful observations. They will take accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment. Children will gather, record, classify and present their data in a variety of ways to help answer their questions. They will record findings using simple scientific language, as well as drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables. Key vocabulary for this unit includes, vibration, sound wave, volume, amplitude, pitch, ear, particles, distance, sound proof, absorb sound, vacuum, ear drum.

In RE lessons, we shall be studying Hinduism. We shall be asking and answering the question, what is a Hindu’s life like in Britain? We shall investigate how Hindu’s worship in the community and will find out more about the festival of Diwali. Children will be able to describe how Hindus show their faith both within their families and within their faith communities in Britain today. Children will raise questions and suggest answers about what is good about being a Hindu in Britain today, and whether taking part in family and community rituals is a good thing for individuals and society, giving good reasons for their ideas. Key vocabulary for this unit will include Mandir, Dharma, Sanatan Dharma, Arti, Diwali, Bhajans, puja.

In Computing this term, we shall be introducing children to coding and computational thinking, we shall be using the program 2Code to create our own playable game. We will develop our computing skills and be able to explain the stages of the design, code, test, debug coding process. We will understand what  selection means in coding and how we can achieve this using 2Code. We will learn about how different variables and if/else statements can be useful when coding programs with selection. We will know the difference between the different object types in 2Code Gibbon level. Key vocabulary for this unit includes, action, alert, algorithm, background, button, code blocks, command, debug, deign, execute, event, flowchart, if/else statement, input, nest, object, prompt, predict, repeat, repeat until, run.

In our geography topic this half term will be investigating Spain. By the end of this unit, we shall be able to locate Spain and places within Spain, identify human and physical features, and be able to compare Spain to the UK. We shall research some facts and learn about the distinct types of human and physical features that are found in Spain. We shall use the  eight points of the compass to locate different places in the country. We will use 4-figure grid references to locate various cities in Spain. Children shall investigate the climate and discuss how the climate of Spain compares to the climate in the UK. We will find out about Madrid and think about the things we would include in a guided tour of the city. Key vocabulary, capital city, landmark, currency, mountain range, grid reference, arid. climate, frigid climate, population, head of state (monarch or President), Iberian Peninsula, island, climate, temperate climate, temperature, cardinal points, ordinal points.

In Music, this half term our unit is entitled ‘Compose with Your Friends’ Children will work collaboratively to compose a piece of soul/gospel music. Children will be able to name some of the style indicators of some songs. We will be able to tell the difference between pulse, rhythm, and pitch. We will practise finding the pulse in songs and other musical dimensions when we listen to them. Children will begin to improvise with the songs we have learnt. We shall compose a simple melody using the notes G, A, B, C, D + E on the glockenspiel. Key vocabulary includes, unison, by ear, notation, improvise, melody, pitch, rhythm, pulse, composition, backing vocal, piano, bass, drums, organ, pulse, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, texture structure, compose, improvise, hook, riff, melody, solo.

Our PHSE unit for both year groups is Dreams and Goals. Children in year 3 will consider what challenges some people have to face and why having dreams and ambitions is important. We will discuss how to face new challenges, how to overcome obstacles and how to improve our learning process for the future. Children in year 4 will think about the new year, resolutions, hopes and dreams. We will discuss how to manage feelings of disappointment and how it helps to think positively and reflect on our experiences. We will discuss how we can make changes and set new plans by taking small steps to achieve our goals. Key vocabulary for our Dreams and Goal unit includes, co-operation, motivated, excited, enthusiastic, efficient, responsible, frustration, solutions, review, evaluate, respect, determination, resilience, disappointment, positive attitude, positive experiences, self-belief, commitment.

Children will use Languagenut  for our French lessons this term. The Year 3 unit focuses on ‘Family and Pets’. Children will continue to practise and expand their French vocabulary and be able to describe which family members they have  and how many. They will learn, recognise, and pronounce the sounds E and E. Children will be able to count from 1-20.

Year 4’s unit is entitled ‘How I look’. Children will learn the words for the various parts of the face. We will use ‘ j’ai’ or ‘I have’ to talk about our faces. We will be able to describe your hair and eyes. Children understand how to use adjectives in French and investigate, recognise, and pronounce the sounds UN and ON. This term also includes revision of animals and colours and other taught French vocabulary.

This half term we shall be engaging in both an art and a design technology project.

For our Art topic, we shall be studying the drawings and paintings of Pablo Picasso. Our outcome is to create our own portraits in the cubist style. We shall find out who Picasso was and about the styles he used in this art. We shall research and investigate cubism. We shall then create our own piece of art using Picasso’s cubism technique. We will explore how to indicate facial expressions in drawings and consider the choice of pencil grade we use. We shall develop an awareness of representing texture through the choice of marks and lines we make and learn to control the types of marks made. We shall experiment with other different effects and techniques such as blocking in colour, washes, and thickened paint to create other textural effects. Using the skills that we have practised we will start to develop a painting from a drawing using complimentary and contrasting colours for effect. Key vocabulary includes, Picasso, Cubism, Modernist, painter, artist.

For Design and Technology this term  we shall be focusing on clothing and textiles and embarking on a loom-woven project. Children will create a hand-crafted, woven, and durable textile product using yarn and a simple loom. We shall investigate  different textiles and materials and how they can be made by using a loom or by knitting. We shall look at the importance of pattern and how pattern can be incorporated into weaving. We will make a simple loom and create a weaving. We will use our sketchbooks to design a hand-crafted product made from woven yarn. Children will select and use materials, tools, and equipment safely and appropriately. We will write and follow a process to record each stage and evaluate our end product.

Our PE focus this half term is Rugby. Children will learn some different techniques of how to throw and catch a rugby ball. We will practise throwing, catching, hitting, kicking, and rolling a ball, accurately, with control, when under pressure. We will be able to execute a successful pass whilst on the move and learn how to keep possession of a ball in a game. Children will be able to use and apply the rules of tagging and follow these rules fairly. We will demonstrate teamwork, passion, determination, respect, self-belief, and honesty. We will learn how to gain possession by intercepting a pass and how to use attacking and defending skills to make tactical decisions. Children will be able to apply their attacking and defending skills in a game of tag rugby and use different tactics to support their team. Key vocabulary, passing, scoring, offside, tag, dodging, handling, pitch.