In English this term, the children will be exploring the book Frindeswylde by Natalie O'Hara. This story will broaden our horizons by making links with other texts e.g. the Snow Queen in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. 

"When the mysterious boy Frindleswylde enters Cora and Grandma's house in the woods, he steals the light from their lantern. Without it, Grandma will not be able to return home after work in the dark. Cora is determined to get the lantern back, but first she must follow Frindleswylde down a hole in the pond that leads to his magical frozen kingdom, where he sets her three Impossible Tasks."

Children begin by entering the classroom to find a mysterious crown symbol and message.  After developing their prediction and inference skills through discussing who could have left the message, children begin exploring the characters, settings and plot of the story. They will write messages in role to Granny to describe what Frindleswylde has done to the cottage and take part in a decision alley to help Cora decide whether she should follow him through the ice pond to the world below. They will explore the author’s use of figurative language and develop this to write poetry. As they continue the adventure into the frozen kingdom, children will practice how to show feelings through dialogue and write birds-eye view descriptions in role as the stork. Stepping into Frindleswylde’s frosty boots, they will write persuasive speeches using figurative language to convince Cora to stay with him. Finally, after unpicking the themes of the narrative, children will plan and write their own sequel – Frindleswylde Returns.

Reading

Children will take part in guided reading sessions each week in which we explore and respond to a variety of quality texts, including activities which will build our verbal and written comprehension skills.  Those children who are still learning the fundamental skills of decoding will continue to take part in Read Write Inc. phonics sessions and will take home books linked to their development and learning from these sessions. Children who are fluent and confident readers will have access to a wide range of books to choose from for their reading.  Every child will visit our wonderful library and take home a book of their choice to read independently or share with their family each week.

Reading is an integral part of our learning in Dolphin Class. We love our class story time as it is really cosy when we all sit together and share a story.  We like thinking about the characters and plots and discovering new vocabulary that we can use in our own writing.  We have a wonderful reading area full of a wide range of quality texts outside our classroom that children are encouraged to explore freely, voluntarily and with delight.  We use Wise about Words techniques to share and explore stories and to promote a deeper love of stories amongst our children. It helps us to develop a richer vocabulary, build confidence and increase emotional literacy. Immersing our children in stories and drama will help them to overcome barriers to their learning.  We want our children to love to read and explore books because reading is an adventure that never ends.

This half term we will continue our learning about addition and subtraction. In Year 3, your child will use a range of strategies for calculating addition and subtraction problems. They will need to be able to explain how they have solved problems, especially when using mental maths. In Year 4, your child will learn to solve addition and subtraction problems involving numbers up to four digits. They will use lots of different methods, including using objects, diagrams, and formal written methods. They will be learning to use vocabulary such as commutative, inverse and difference.

We will also learn about multiplication and division, exploring how arrays can be used for both operations and noticing the links between them.  We will be using lots of different manipulatives to explore these concepts to enable us to 'see' our learning before moving towards the written methods.

This half term we will have a geography focus, learning all about the water cycle.  We will learn about the water cycle and explore the processes of evaporation and condensation through a range of practical activities. By considering water as a finite resource, the children will be introduced to the ideas of conservation and consider some of the issues surrounding supplying clean drinking water to a growing global population.

This half-term we will be learning about states of matte. We will explore the differences between solids, liquids and gases, classifying objects and identifying their properties. We will work scientifically and collaboratively to investigate the weight of a gas and to find the ideal temperature to melt chocolate. We will explore in-depth how water changes state, exploring melting, freezing, condensing as well as a particular focus on evaporation. This will link seamlessly with our geography learning this half term about the water cycle.

This half-term we will be focusing on the question, 'What do we mean by truth? Is seeing believing? We will explore and discuss different philosophical answers to questions relating to meaning and existence including God as truth and the concept of pantheism.  We will be using philosophical vocabulary when discussing issues relating to truth, reality and knowledge such as axiom and proof.

Pupils in Dolphin Class will be learning about 'Our Relationships'. We will learn to recognise a wide range of relationships and identify the attributes of positive, healthy relationships. We will also think about what types of physical contact are acceptable and unacceptable and ways in which to respond.

This will also be a focus in our Wise About Words sessions where we learn to portray their different relationships.  These are important skills because when children are more socially and emotionally aware and skilled, they find it easier to manage and maintain relationships with others, stay regulated and calm down and develop their resilience and problem-solving skills for when challenges arise.

In Art, the children will be focusing on drawing. They will learn to use different materials to draw, e.g. pastels, chalk, felt tips and to show an awareness of space when drawing. They will learn key vocabulary to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in this strand: portrait, light, dark, tone, shadow, line, pattern, texture, form, shape, tone, outline. 

In D.T., children will be focusing on design. They will learn to identify the design features of their products that will appeal to intended customers. They will use their knowledge of a broad range of existing products to help generate ideas. They will use this knowledge to help them to design innovative and appealing products that have a clear purpose and are aimed at a specific user.  

This term, children will have the opportunity to build upon the knowledge and skills gained in KS1 and compose different rhythm patterns and transfer these to tuned instruments. They will learn to rap and play rhythmically and explore dynamic contrast. They will also be developing their listening skills by identifying the notes in a simple melody. They will listen to music by different composers, broadening their horizons outside the music they may usually listen to.

We will be focusing on learning how to use Google Classroom this half term. This is a very important skill as Kittiwake Class use Google Classroom for learning, as do the high schools.  We will learn how to access Google Classroom, how to access and complete assignments and how to hand in work.

We will continue our MFL journey into learning Spanish this half term.  We will be learning how to give and respond to classroom instructions, name parts of the body, identify colours and name items of clothing.

Outdoor learning will take place on Thursday afternoon. It is important that your child comes dressed in long sleeves and trousers and has a change of footwear.  We are so lucky to have our own woodland on-site and so the children have the opportunity to access outdoor learning every week.  Having our own woodland gives children the opportunity to develop their respect for the natural world, which ties in with our core values.  They develop resilience and problem-solving skills through challenges and wild play in the woods, as well as broadening their horizons by learning and developing their outdoor survival skills such as shelter building and fire lighting.  

P.E. lessons take place twice a week, with Tuesday afternoon sessions being led by Miss Clarke (Mrs Morrell will be leading these this half term) and Wednesday morning sessions led by Mrs Morrell.

In P.E. on Tuesdays, children will be developing their gymnastics skills, learning how to use apparatus safely and develop sequences of actions using balance and control.  In their Wednesday sessions, children will be developing their hockey skills, learning how to pass, dribblem receive and shoot as well as working co-operatively with their team.

Class Dojo is our main form of communication with parents. If you have not yet signed up for Class Dojo and would like to, please do not hesitate to come and see us.  We are more than happy to help if you are having difficulty accessing this.  It's a great space where you can view photos, videos and information about all the amazing things that are happening in our classroom and around the school. It gives you the chance to see what your children have been learning in school each week, giving you the opportunity to talk to them at home about what they have been doing.

Home learning in Dolphin class is about reading every day either to an adult, a sibling or to themselves.

The year four children will be undertaking the National times table check in the summer term and it is essential they practice their times tables regularly (they can use TT Rockstars for this).

There is a pick and mix homework menu which enriches the discovery learning we are doing in class. Pick a task, complete it and post your work on Dojo by Wednesday.

Please make sure all of your child’s possessions are labelled. Children do not need to bring toys or pencil cases into school. Children should wear PE kit to school on Tuesday and Wednesday. Woodland is on Thursday and children need to wear sturdy, outdoor clothing.