Football Coaching Fun
We enjoyed joining together this afternoon for some football coaching.
Check out our brilliant ball skills!
Didn’t we have a lovely time …..
It was an absolute pleasure to take KS2 to Filey beach last week.
The children showed respect, followed instructions and represented our school admirably. Throughout the day, all of the adults were impressed with the social skills the pupils were using. We observed and overheard: cooperation, good manners, teamwork, listening to each other, patience, good communication, compliments and lots of encouragement for each other (especially in the sea!).
Many thanks to all of the adults who helped to make the day such an enjoyable one!
This has been one of the best trips I have ever had the pleasure to attend. The look on the children’s faces, when arriving on the beach, will be etched in my mind for a long time! Mrs Freeman
Construction Using Techcard
During our D.T lesson, years 3 and 4 joined together to explore how to create models using Techcard. They did a fantastic job at using the resources to construct stable models.
Science: How do my teeth work?
We’ve been learning about teeth in our science lesson. After exploring our own teeth and how we can take great care of our teeth, we learned about the jobs of each type of teeth: incisor, canine, pre-molar and molar.
Help at home: Why not try timing your child’s teeth brushing – it’s recommended to be two minutes each morning and evening. Chat about the importance of taking care of our teeth and ways in which we can keep our mouths healthy.
Football skills
This half term, Year 4 are lucky to have a football coach teaching them in PE. The children have been focusing on acquiring, developing, using and applying skills.
This week’s football focused on passing and receiving the ball. The children will complete a range of drills and games to help their develop the correct technique for passing and receiving the ball both with and without pressure.
Living and Learning: I know the ingredients of a happy and healthy friendship.
We LOVE to read!
A love for reading can be hugely valuable for children. Each week, we have a ‘Book Club’ lesson. During this, the children are given opportunities to develop a desire to read. The children are able to select their own reading material and enjoy spending time in our relaxed and comfortable book area.
Help at home
Children who may not be interested in reading will have subjects and topics that they are excited about, such as sports, movies or animals. Discussing books on a topic or subject that the child finds exciting will likely whet their appetite for that book. When children find reading fun and enjoyable, they are likely to repeatedly spend time with books, become engaged readers, and gain the benefits of leisure reading.
Please note that, if your child is reading as part of a group, it is essential that they have read to their given target page before the next session. If this has not been completed, it has an impact on the rest of that particular group and can create unnecessary embarrassment.
Help at home with times tables
By the end of Year 4, all children are expected to be able to recall their multiplication tables up to 12 x 12, fluently (being able to answer times tables questions accurately and quickly, without having to work out the answers). In class, we rehearse these in many different ways and it really helps children if this learning is continued at home.
How can I support my child in learning their multiplication tables facts?
Little and often is best and make times tables learning fun. Some ideas include: climb stairs counting in multiples, play verbal times tables games; listen to and learn times tables songs; take it in turns to
say different times tables in funny voices, i.e. a lions voice; play on-line maths games and use times tables grids.
Times Table Rock Stars is a fun, interactive way to support your child in learning their times tables.
Times table grids – no technology needed!
Multiplication grids are an essential feature in the classroom. These can be used at home and a free template can be downloaded here. https://thirdspacelearning.com/resources/resource-ks1-ks2-times-tables-grid-printable-pack/
The children are very competent at using these grids and could use them to test someone at home!
Start with columns and rows headed in numerical order. Children race to fill in their blank times tables grid as quickly as possible (noting down the time taken to do so to allow them to see if they can improve on their time during future times table grid races). Once your child has mastered the
times tables in order, randomise the column and row headings on the children’s blank times tables grids. There are lots more ideas about how times tables grids can be used on the internet.
Using arrays
Multiplication arrays provide a simple visual model that helps children to understand the concept of multiplication. A multiplication array is simply an arrangement of rows or columns that matches a multiplication equation. You can make arrays out of objects or pictures, and you can use any sort of shape. Look around your home. Do you have any household objects that show arrays?
We made amazing magnet games!
To finish our forces and magnets topic, Years 3 and 4 created some games using magnetic force.
Their favourite was the fishing game where they put some magnetic tape onto a rod and a paperclip inside a fish. They explained they knew that the tape would be attracted to the paper clip, so we could catch some fish!
As we did such a great job, we went and showed Reception our work.
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Help at home: Can your child explain how they created their game? Can they explain what we mean by magnets and how they attract and repel?
Meeting an author
Tom Palmer virtual visit
Today, the children had a virtual visit from Tom Palmer (and his dog Finn) who is an author that writes children’s books.
Tom began by talking about how he got into writing…
As a child, Tom didn’t enjoy reading, didn’t think he was any good at it and didn’t like it until his mum tricked him into it by using football! He began to read comics and newspapers about football and this helped him practise his reading. Tom found that the more he read, the more he enjoyed it!
His love for reading then inspired him to become an author and his ideas for different books come mainly from football, animals and war. “Write about what you love,” said Tom.
Question time!
Some of the children had the opportunity to ask Tom a question such as;
How long does it take for you to write a book?
It depends! Some books take 6 weeks to write and some take 6 months… it depends what I’m writing about and how long the book is.
What gave you inspiration for ‘Arctic Star’?
My wife used to work on HMS Belfast so her stories about the ship inspired me to write about a warship.
Why have you set some of your stories in Leeds?
I set some of my stories in Leeds because I’m from Leeds! Writing about somewhere that I know makes it easier as I can add more detail to my stories.
Have you travelled to the places you have written about?
Yes, I have been inspired by the different countries I have visited. However, travelling around the world is very expensive!
Help at home by researching Tom Palmer’s website. Find out more about the author and explore some of his fantastic books. https://tompalmer.co.uk/