Otley and Witnesham Partnership

Welcome to Class 3 (Years 3 and 4)                                    

Mrs Wrenn teaches in Class 3 with Mrs Dye and Mrs Whiting 

Please make sure your child has:

1. A book bag/ folder to protect school library books and reading diaries.

2. A named PE kit.

3. A named water bottle which they can access and top up during the day.

4. A healthy snack for morning break.

Welcome back to an exciting Autumn Term. We hope you are refreshed and ready to learn!

Our history topic this term is Through the Ages, and our science topic is Animal Nutrition and the Skeletal System.  

In English this term, we will be exploring both fiction and non-fiction books related to our history and science topics. We will be studying shape poetry, exploring portal stories, and looking at the structure and language used in non-fiction texts about diet and nutrition.  

In maths we will continue to follow the White Rose scheme of work and use Times Tables Rockstars to help with learning times tables. All children are required by the government to know their times tables up to 12 x 12 before they reach year 5. During the summer term, year 4 children will have a times table test. We will prepare the children for this by doing regular practise in school, but we ask that you support and encourage your child to practise regularly at home too, including by using Times Table Rockstars.

Class information

Class 3 Spellings

As part of their homework challenges, children will be given ten words each week which we would like them to practise spelling.  These will be words following a rule we are looking at in school that week.  There will not be weekly spelling tests but we will assess the children’s spelling of these words throughout the year.

At school, the children will be following the ‘Sounds and Syllables’ spelling scheme to help them remember how to spell these words correctly. At home, they should be given time to practise spelling these words independently, as well as spending time going through them and practising with an adult.

This approach aims to give the children more ownership of their learning and focus more on the rules and strategies of spelling, rather than simply memorising words for a weekly test.

Homework 

Every Friday, children will be given either an English or maths worksheet to complete at home.  The maths homework sheets are divided into three sections (A, B and C) with increasing difficulty.  The children only need to complete one of these sections, and it is up to them to decide which of these sections they would like to complete.

Please could the children bring their homework books into school on Thursdays so that we can check their homework, and set new homework for the following week on Friday.

Reading

Please listen to your child read as often as you can. Just ten minutes every night can really help your child to progress in their reading. (Even fluent readers may need help with difficult words.)

When you have listened to your child, please sign and date the pages read. Reading diaries will be checked weekly.

PE

Tuesday – with Mrs Kingston

Friday – with Mrs Wrenn

If your child wears tights to school that day, they will need white socks to change into. Long hair will also need to be tied back and earrings removed. Earrings must be removed before the start of the day or independently by the child, as school staff are not able to remove earrings.