With one big term down we are now  we are ready to jump into another term of learning in Maple Class.

Across the Spring Term we will be learning about many things in different subjects. The highlights of our learning can be found below.

PE

PE in Maple is on a Tuesday morning being lead by Mr Padley, who is a PE Specialist. This is very exciting and we ask that all PE kits are in school for Tuesdays with long hair being tired back and earrings removed. Mr Padley is supported by Mrs Fensom and everybody has enjoyed their learning so far.

As the majority of PE will take place indoors, please ensure that your child's PE kit has got  plimsols, shorts and a t-shirt as well as joggers a jacket and trainers to be prepared for indoor or outdoor PE lessons.

Swimming 

Year 4 are very excited to be taking part in swimming lessons until Easter. Please ensure that if your child is in Year 4 that they have their swimming kits on a Thursday and bring a jumper for when they have finished swimming. The National Curriculum expects all children to be able to swim 25m by the end of Year 6.

If you would like to send a snack for your child to eat on their return to school after swimming please put this inside their lunchbox or in their book bag.

Writing 

Writing in Maple this term is all about using the handwriting patterns that the children have been learning to form sentences and paragraphs about a given topic. The writing will have the purpose of explaining and persuading the reader to do something with the children thinking about the audience they are writing for. 

Maths 

Maths in Maple is all about becoming more confident with column addition and subtraction and fluent with their times tables. The children will also be developing their understanding of multiplication and division which will support them in their learning about area and fractions. In Maple we promote the deeper understanding of how children know that they have got the right answer through reasoning and problem solving so we promote the child being able to show their working out, and talk about the journey to get to the answer.

As a class we are working on our problem solving strategies, thinking about what the question is asking and what information is being given.

Science

Science in Maple this term is looking at light and shadow and what plants need to grow. The children will be investigating how light is reflected off some surfaces and cannot pass through others using words like opaque, transparent and translucent. The children will be learning about what how shadows are made and thinking about what they have found through experiments.

The children will also be learning about what plants need to grow. The children will be experimenting with plants, finding out the importance of water and light on helping a plant to grow. The children will be experimenting with growing plants and observing how they grow differently with different conditions. 

History

Our history topic for the term is looking at The Egyptians. The children will be learning about the artifacts that have been found and how this informs historians about the lives the Egyptians lived. The children will be looking at the time period and looking at how this links to the Stone Age that they have already looked at. 

Geography

The geography learning in this term will be about rivers and the water cycle. The children will be learning about the importance of the water cycle, the uses of water and how this still impacts our lives today. The children will also be learning the names and locations of some of the longest rivers in the world.

French

The children will be learning about months of the year and being able to count to 31 in French so that they can talk about when their birthdays are in French. The children will also be learning about colours and animals to give short descriptions about colourful creatures that they create, saying these out loud and writing them down. 

Design and Technology

The children will be learning about making nets for boxes and thinking about how to make these so they could be used to hold something. The children will need to think about what shapes make a 3D shape and how to cut these out accurately so they will go together. The children will also need to think about how to attach sides together.

The children will also be learning about making a product with a fastening such as a button. The children will need to use the skills of threading a needle and sewing, which they may wish to practise at home beforehand. 

Computing

The children will be learning about touch typing this term and thinking about how to use a keyboard. They will be learning about the different keys on a keyboard and how to identify the home keys to know where to put their fingers. This is skill that will support your child when using a keyboard and speed up their typing to be able to write extended pieces on a computer.