Class 3 (Y3 and Y4)

Class 3 – Summer term 2026! 

I hope you all had a great Easter break. I am so pleased to be back this term and looking forward to another busy and exciting Summer term, including swimming lessons, Sports Day, Year 4 Multiplication Check, transitions and lots more!

Across the Carey Federation, we pride ourselves in the way we: ‘Aim High, Be Resilient and Take Care Of Each Other’ and strive to consider the Carey qualities ‘Be Respectful, Be Resilient, Be Resourceful, Be Reflect and Build Relationships’ in all that we do.

Class Routines

Homework will be posted on Dojo on Tuesday. This will be:

• Maths challenges through Doodle Maths usually linked to work covered that week in class. I will also continue to encourage times tables practise and number facts. By the end of the Year 3, pupils are expected to have quick recall of the 3, 4 and 8 times tables. Year 4 pupils are expected to recall all the times tables facts (up t0 12 x 12 within 6 seconds). Hit The Button is an excellent, free on-line resource and as a Federation we subscribe to NUMBOTS and Times Tables Rock Stars to support pupil’s home learning. There are lots of games which will help prepare pupils for the Year 4 Multiplication Check. The Multiplication Check will take place in the first two weeks of June.
• Learning spellings. Children will write their 5 words into spelling journals each week based on the common exception words, (spelling rules will be taught and practised in school). The words will be specific to your child according to assessment. The spelling journals are for use at home to practise spellings but it is vital they are bought into school each for new spellings to be written and practised. There will be no formal ‘test’ of spellings each week, we look for evidence within class written work. However, I will carry out spelling checks to see how children are progressing with their year group list. A copy of this assessment will be sent home. The highlighted words are the words the children spelled correctly in the check.
• Reading five times a week with an initial from a parent in reading records. Reading regularly to develop fluency, comprehension and stamina is essential to enable pupils to make progress across the curriculum, not just within reading. The five reads will be counted each week on a Friday. So that we can support those pupils not reading regularly, they will have additional opportunities to read to an adult. This is not seen as a ‘punishment’ – it allows us to ensure all pupils make progress. It is really important that pupils bring their reading books and record with them every day. If your child has finished the RWI (Read Write Inc) program and therefore an independent reader, they can bring in books from home as their home/school reader or I can help them choose a book from our class library.

Curriculum

We plan the curriculum carefully to capture the interest of the children and build upon prior knowledge. Forging cross curricular links, where possible, helps to provide context and meaning to children’s learning.

In English, we will begin by making links with our Science topic through exploring the book Stone Girl Bone Girl – A story of Mary Anning of Lyme Regis by Laurence Anholt and write newspaper reports and biographies. As the term progresses, we will look at the narrative genre with the book The Most Wonderful Thing In The World by Vivian French. Followed by applying our Geography learning by writing information texts on Italy using the text Everest by Sanma Francis and Lisk Feng to support us. The grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting content is taught alongside our writing sequences. We use the resource Spelling Shed to teach spelling rules.

Reading is a high priority. Pupils will have daily opportunities to read and develop the skills within the reading curriculum through Whole Class Reading. We use VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Predict, Explain, Retrieve, Summarise) including written comprehension activities. Our novel this term is The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Q Rauf. Children have already stuck a WCR ‘guide’ into their reading records.

Please support your children’s learning by hearing them read, reading to them or discussing what they have read five times a week and initialling in their reading record. Please can records and books be bought into school every day.

Across the term, in Maths, children’s learning will start with area, followed by time, shape, position and direction and mass and capacity. We will also be developing our understanding of the four rules (+ – x ÷) within these topics. Fluency in number facts including times tables are a priority. Quick recall of number facts is a crucial skill that supports learning in all areas. Therefore, this is an area we regularly consolidate. Please support your children by regularly practising their times tables, + and – single digits, + and – multiples of 10, pairs to 10, 20, 100 and basic doubles and halves. Of course, this will vary according to year group.

In Geography, we will be comparing Wales and Italy. We will begin by using atlases and maps to locate the countries, surrounding seas and their capital cities before comparing: Physical landscapes and mountains (linking prior knowledge of mountains last term), weather and climate zones, human settlements and landmarks, industry and land use.

‘Rocks’ will be our first Science topic, with opportunities to work scientifically within the content taught. We will investigate different types of rocks and classify according to properties, look in more detail at sedimentary rocks, fossils and soil. We will progress to ‘States of Matter’ and investigate the physical properties and characteristics of solids, liquids and gases, including exploring molecules and particles, changing state and the water cycle.

Our Art work will have a focus on printing. We will learn about the artist Andy Warhol and Pop Art, using sketchbooks to record thoughts and develop ideas before creating our artwork.

We will be practising our cooking skills in DT by making pizzas. The topic begins with exploring the history of pizza (linking to our Geography) and the science of dough and yeast before researching, designing, making and evaluating products. It includes considering nutritional value of ingredients and the global impact.

For Computing we will learn about branching databases in the data and information unit followed by repetition on shapes within the programming topic. We include lessons on internet safety within each unit.

In Music, each unit adapts an integrated approach where games, elements of music (pulse, rhythm, pitch etc.), singing and playing instruments are all linked. The instrument children will be using is glockenspiels. In addition to this, we have designated singing time for the whole school each week.

In our Religion World Views, we will explore what matters most to Humanists and other faiths including an opportunity to look at Rastafarian beliefs. After half term we will consider how and why people mark significant events of life. This will have a Christianity focus but will make comparisons to other faiths.

Within RSE (relationships and sex education) we will be discussing ‘Being my Best’ and ‘Growing and Changing’.

PE will be delivered by Mr Hayler on Tuesday afternoons in addition to a session on another day. This may vary so please can children have their PE kits in school every day. Sports will include Basketball, Athletics and Orienteering. Pupils will also have swimming lessons the first half term.

French will continue to be taught by Mrs Bailey on Tuesday afternoons.

 

Children receive House Points and stickers as a reward. These link to our Carey Qualities. It may be for listening well, being independent, showing kindness to others, checking work carefully or home learning, ….the possibilities are endless! Pupils receive a sticker but it is not just an individual reward. They also receive a point for their team (Bells or Owls) which get counted up as a whole school each week, and a counter in our ‘working together’ jar. When the jar is full the whole class receives a treat.

 

In Key Stage 2 we no longer have ‘show and tell’ or a special bear….but we do have ‘Fluffy Friday’!! Where children can bring in one soft toy to join them in class for the day.

Children are encouraged to bring a water bottle and healthy snack for break time. We have a water fountain for pupils to re-fill their bottles and encourage drinking throughout the day. Please can water bottles only contain water.

 

The children’s well-being is of the utmost importance and I aim to create a happy, kind and healthy environment for all. If you have any worries or questions, please do not hesitate in coming to see me. You can message via Dojo but this is not checked regularly, so I suggest emailing the school office to ensure I receive it straight away.

Many thanks,

Mrs A Rothery (Class Teacher)