Welcome back, I hope that you have a peaceful Christmas. It has been great to see Primary 4 back, ready to learn and enthusiastic about all the wonderful learning that will happen in term 3.

We will continue to explore the UNCRC Rights of the Child, and refer to the Class Charter which we created together, to ensure that our classroom is a place where we feel safe, where we can learn and grow together.  This term pupils will be looking at articles and rights involved and associated in Holocaust Memorial Day in late January, Safe Internet Day and Children’s Mental Health Week in February, as well as World Book Day and World Water Day in March.

Literacy

In addition to our Bug Club readers, we will access a range of texts including ‘Inside Edinburgh Castle’, which will link into our writing and Social Studies learning this term. We will investigate the features of a range of types of text and will continue to develop our reading fluency and reading with expression skills. We will also use a range of comprehension strategies as we show our understanding of the texts we have read and will talk about implied messages from clues in the text as we answer literal and inferential questions.

During writing, we will explore report and explanatory writing, looking at the structure of these genres and creating our own pieces of writing.  To support us with our writing, we will be looking at the difference between fact and opinion and the importance of notetaking.

Spelling will take the form of active spelling activities, and the children will experience phonemes and blends at their working level.

 Numeracy & Maths

The class will continue to participate in daily Number Talk activities, to assist in developing a range of strategies for solving mathematical problems.

We will look at multiplication and division, using a range of strategies and materials as well increasing our mental agility when recalling the 2,3,4,5,8 and 10 times tables. We will look at the patterns and links between these and use this knowledge to solve multiplication problems. We will also show our understanding of the concept of division, making connections with multiplication facts, as well as showing understanding of the concept of a remainder.

Health and Wellbeing

As we continue our PATHS programme for P4, we will be reflecting on friendship. We will also investigate ways of staying healthy and having a healthy lifestyle. This will link with our learning in Science, during which we will look at the human body and some of the important organs and their functions.

We will continue with the Do Be Mindful programme which will allow us, through the use of a range of strategies, to look at ways that we can take a mindful moment each day.

PE

PE is on a Wednesday and Friday. This term we will be covering;

• basketball
• gymnastics

Children will require PE kit each PE day.  Please make sure your child is not wearing jewellery on these days as they will be asked to remove these items. Jewellery is not allowed during PE for health and safety reasons. If your child cannot take part for any reason, please contact the school.

IDL

We will look at all things Scottish this term, beginning with the geography and landscape of Scotland, as well as our culture including music, poetry and food. We will then move on to focussing on Scottish castles, looking at the importance and features of these historical buildings. We will use our developing digital skills to help us research and present our findings using Microsoft word.

Expressive Arts 

As we explore Scotland, we will be looking at some traditional Scottish music, investigating instruments and some well-known Scottish songs.

We will also reflect on the work on well-known Scottish artists, and will create our own pieces focusing on presenting a range of visual information using various materials.

Religious Education

We will be exploring Palestine at the time of Jesus and will compare the features of a synagogue with that of our Catholic Church. We will also begin to look more closely at the significance of the Sacraments as we being our preparation for First Holy Communion. As the term progresses, we will consider the Holy Season of Lent, as we look forward to the great Feast of Easter.

During assembly, the children will reflect on Jesus as a teacher and healer and will become more familiar with some examples of Jesus teaching and healing in the Gospels.

The children will take part in class prayers and School Masses, and we will continue to build on our knowledge of common prayers and Mass responses.

Homework will be distributed on a Monday to be completed and returned by Friday.

Keep an eye on the School App and your child’s Learning Journal profile for a snapshot of some of our wonderful learning!

Thank you for your support, I am looking forward to a really great term 3 with Primary 4!

Mrs. MacKinnon.