Primary 4 – Term 2 Blog Update

 

Welcome back, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Primary 4 have spent the first week settling into our class routine and are preparing for a busy term ahead!

 

Literacy

 

Spelling –

This term pupils will continue to have a different phoneme focus each week. They will also learn common words that we use frequently in our writing (for example words like: friend, because, cousin etc.). They will learn different spelling words related to the phoneme focus and take part in activities in class to help reinforce these words. At home they are expected to practise these words for homework and take part in a spelling test on a Friday.   Pupils are being introduced to using ELKONIN boxes, when spelling words with joined phonemes and also are learning how to use diacritical marking.

 

Reading –

Pupils are currently reading different books in class using the core resource Bug Club. They work in different reading groups and complete comprehension tasks related to the texts. They are encouraged to read, discuss and answer different types of questions in sentences.   Pupils are expected to spend at least 30 minutes a week reading at home. Books are assigned to their Bug Club accounts along with comprehension questions. I can see lots of pupils are doing this, so keep up the good work!

Pupils are also encouraged to read for enjoyment in class for at least 15 minutes a day. We visit our school library weekly and the school book bus fortnightly. Pupils are allowed to select a book of their choice and are given the opportunity to read in class when possible.

 

Writing –

This term we will continue with our weekly writing lessons. Pupils will write stories using a range of different genres for example: instructions, imaginative, newspaper articles, letters etc. We will continue to build on our use of punctuation. Also considering connectives, openers and vocabulary to help expand our writing.   Children will be encouraged to write neatly, with finger spaces, full stops and capital letters. They are encouraged to use strategies when writing such as sounding out their words, using their personal dictionary, school dictionary and at times a thesaurus. Pupils are also encouraged to use commas, exclamation marks, questions marks and speech marks when possible.

 

Maths

In maths have been working hard to learn our times tables. We are also looking at how multiplication and division are inverse operations. This term we will have a big focus on learning how to multiply a two digit number and then moving onto division with a 2 digit number. In beyond number we will be learning about Information Handling. We will continue to build on our mental maths strategies and revisit skills we have previously learned such as addition and subtraction, place value and 3d shapes.

 

Topic

Our new topic for this term is ‘The Vikings’. We will be learning lots about how they lived and how they invaded Scotland and why they chose to live here.

 

R.E.

This term we will be preparing for our Sacraments. Starting with our Confirmation and then in term 3 our Holy Communion. Pupils will complete work in class, with some tasks being sent home to be completed. Pupils will visit the church when possible to deepen their understanding and allow them to ask questions.

 

Expressive Arts

This term we are looking forward to putting on the show ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ with Primary 5. We are very lucky to be practising with Miss Donnelly on a Friday morning and she has kindly agreed to help us learn our songs for the show.   Our art, drama and music lessons will be heavily based around our show and topic this term.

 

French

In French we will continue to practise simple greetings and phrases. Continuing to count and use our days of the week and months of the year. We will also reinforce colours and practise animals names.

 

Health and Wellbeing

In P.E. this term pupils will be taking part in gymnastics, fitness and also basketball lessons.   In Health pupils will be learning about physical activity and health. Also the importance of a healthy diet and exercise.

 

Outdoor Education

Every second Thursday pupils will take part in Outdoor Education lessons. This term pupils will be working towards their Heritage Heroes award.   This will involve pupils visiting the local churches and comparing and contrasting them. Also looking at our local area.

 

I.C.T.

In I.C.T. pupils will continue to develop their skills. We will be using the internet to search for information related to our topics. Also to reinforce our learning when possible with websites such as Bug Club and Sumdog. We will continue to use PowerPoint and Microsoft word. We will also try to use the iPad more often, with apps such as Clips for making short films and the Sphero to learn how to code