T3.2 – group reading
Hello!
This week, we’ve begun our final group reading!
The class have been divided into groups and each group has been given a book to read at home. This will last for this half term.
During our Book Club sessions each Friday, each group will discuss what they have read so far and share their reading record activities related to their book. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the children to explore characters and storylines more than they might do normally!
Every Friday during Book Club, each group will be given a new page to read to for the next Friday.
What to remember:
- Your child has a book that they need to read every week (up to a chosen point marked with a post-it notes).
- The reading record activity needs to be completed using their new book.
- A comment from a grown up needs to be written in their reading record.
- Group reading books and reading records need to be brought in every Friday.
Help at home by listening to your child read their new book and asking them questions about the book to help prepare them for class discussions.
I look forward to hearing the children’s discussions next week!
Thanks, Miss Birch
Waterstones!
Yesterday, 9 children from Year 3 and 4 went on a trip into Leeds city centre to visit Waterstones!
The children had a look around and all chose a book to take home. We had great fun looking at all the different choices that were available. It was hard to choose just one!
Your children chose a mixture of books – graphic novels, narratives and non-fiction books.
It was a lovely afternoon out!
Brownlee Triathlon
This week, a group of our Key Stage 2 pupils took part in the Brownlee Foundation Mini Triathlon event at John Smeaton. This is always a popular and oversubscribed event and it introduces the children to the elements of triathlon – a swim, a bike ride and a run.
Well done to all the children for taking part, showing great determination and supporting each other.
If your child is interested in triathlons, please see more details in our physical activity guide or have a look at the bike and run opportunities at the Brownlee Centre.
Some children are also competing in the upcoming junior aquathlon taking place at Leeds University on 1st June. More details can be found here.
Topic and Writing: Leeds West Indian Carnival!
What is journalistic writing?
Journalistic writing is like a newspaper report.
The purpose is to tell the news.
We’re going to be writing an online news article about the Leeds West Indian Carnival. We’re learning about the carnival in our History topic at the moment so we know loads about it! A carnival is a festival that is made up of processions, dancing, music and costumes.
Help at home: Ask your child who founded the Leeds West Indian Carnival? How old was this person when they immigrated to Leeds? How did they feel when they moved here, welcome or unwelcome?
Our news article is going to include:
- a headline
- subheadings
- main facts
- history of the carnival
- quotes
Visit this website to research more about it: https://leedscarnival.co.uk/
Check back here to see how the children get on with their news article…
Living and Learning: hydration
This week during Living and Learning, we’ve learnt about the importance of hydration.
Our body is nearly two-thirds water, so drinking enough fluid to stay hydrated is important. Water is essential for life, and it is important to get the right amount of fluid to be healthy.
We can get fluids from many different liquids:
- Water is a great choice because it hydrates us without adding sugar or potentially damaging teeth.
- Milk is a useful source of nutrients like protein, B vitamins and calcium, as well as being a source of water.
- Fruit/vegetable juices and smoothies provide water plus some vitamins, minerals, fibre and natural plant substances from the fruit. However, they are also high in sugars!
Hydration is especially important this time of year because of the warmerweather (which we’ve been very lucky with lately!) We’ve been bringing our water bottles out with us during lunch times for this reason.
We then did a Kahoot quiz to test our knowledge…
See how you get on with these questions!
Help at home by tracking how much water you have in a day. Children should have around 1 litre of water!
Science: Which materials make the best shadows?
Which materials make the best shadows?
I predict that opaque objects will be the best at creating shadows because they block all the light.
We then tested different materials: tissue paper, cardboard, glass, wood
Our predictions were correct! The objects that were opaque were the best at making shadows.
The translucent materials did create a shadow but the shadow wasn’t as dark (strong) as the other shadows.
Help at home by having a go at this quiz!
Reading: I can infer a character’s feelings.
Last week, we were reading the story called Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett. 
It’s a great picture book that depicts Orion having a huge fear of the dark. The children really enjoyed reading this as there’s loads of little bits to pick a part.
We inferred Orion’s feelings as different points in the story by using clues and hints either in the text or pictures!
“We inferred that Orion was feeling anxious because he had never met Dark before and it’s his biggest fear.”
“I can infer that Orion was feeling content because he’s got a huge smile on her face.”
Help at home by showing an emotion through acting and facial expressions. Can you infer what emotion is being portrayed?
Summer term after-school clubs
Living and Learning: allergies
Last week, Year 3 learnt all about allergies.
What is an allergy? An allergic reaction happens when a person comes in contact with something that their body thinks will be harmful to them (called an allergen).
We discussed how all our bodies are different and something that may not harm us could make somebody else very poorly.
There are 14 main food allergens:
Even though we might not see an allergen in our food, doesn’t mean it isn’t in there. To make sure we’re being careful and only eating foods which are safe for us, we must always look at the packaging. The main allergens are always in bold!
We discussed some signs of an allergic reaction and what we could do if we or someone else was experiencing these…
Mild/moderate signs:
- itchy skin rash
- tummy ache or being sick
- puffy eyes or lips
- itchy/tingling mouth
Serious signs:
- difficulty breathing or noisy breathing
- difficulty swallowing
- feeling dizzy, floppy or sleepy
Help at home: From the fridge or food cupboards at home, choose an item and see what allergens you can find on the back of a pack.
Maths: perimeter
The perimeter is the distance around the outside of a 2D shape.
We’ve spent the last week calculating the perimeter of 2D shapes.
There are a few different ways to do this…
- If we know the shape has equal length sides, we can multiply one length by how many sides the shape has.
- If the shapes are drawn on grids, we can use the squares to count the perimeter. Be careful not to include the corner squares!
- If asked to, we can use our rulers to measure the length of each side and add them together.
We tried to choose the most efficient methods to find the perimeter. For example, when each side is equal length, using multiplication to help us!
Help at home by answering this question:
