English

In English this week, we began reading our new text ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. The children love the story so far! They are starting to find out that a large, iron robot might be a gentle giant after all…

Alongside reading, we have been looking at character descriptions. The features we have been focusing on are expanded noun phrases, show not tell, prepositions, similes and interesting adverbs.

Next week, we are creating our own characters and writing a character description about them! This will include their appearance and personality. We can’t wait to see their creativity shine!

Maths

This week we have looked at multiplication using concrete, pictorial and abstract learning strategies. We have multiplied by 10 and 100, as well as used the column method (3d x 1d) and grid method (2d x 2d) to multiply numbers.

Times tables knowledge is extremely important when it comes to multiplying and dividing numbers and additional times tables practice at home is very appreciated! Whether the practice is verbal, written or on TTRS, everything is beneficial!

Next week, we are looking at division!

FACT OF THE WEEK...      8x6

Thematic curriculum

Continuing with our thematic unit ‘Make Some Noise!’, we carried out an experiment this week! First we were posed with the question, ‘Will the volume stay the same if an object is dropped from different heights?’.

We planned our experiment and chose only 1 variable to change to ensure a fair test. As the question suggests, the variable that we changed was height. We spoke about equal height intervals and needing a measuring device like a meter stick or tape measure to ensure accuracy. Then, we discussed which object we were going to drop. Ideally, we needed an object that was the same on all sides, so it wouldn’t affect the volume of the drop. Therefore, we decided that a tennis ball (sphere) would be the ideal object! Next, we needed to drop the object on something that wasn’t going to absorb the sound. After testing some objects around the room, a metal bowl was best as the sound vibrations were clear! Finally, we discussed how we were going to measure the volume difference. Using our ears would be subjective, and we concluded that they wouldn’t be very accurate – especially if the sound difference was very small. After some research, we discovered a device called an audiometer which measures volume in decibels (dB).

The second day, we performed the experiment above and recorded our findings. We had to make sure that we were extra quiet, so the audiometer only picked up the sound of the ball dropping. Team Turquoise had consistent results (as the height increased, so did the volume) whereas Team Cyan’s results were a little random. Finally, we drew conclusions from our data and presented our findings in a bar model.

Love to learn

Your love to learn challenge this week is… English!

We would love you to write an acrostic poem about harvest. This links with our harvest festival assembly next week, as well as National Poetry Day on Thursday 5^th October! You can choose words, phrases, sentences, or a mixture!

H-

A-

R-

V-

E-

S-

T-

Please send completed homework in by Wednesday 4^th October.

Spellings

This week we will be focusing on words beginning with ‘auto’.

Words to practice for a spelling test on Wednesday 4^th October:

autograph, automaton, autobiography, automobile, automatic, automatically

Challenge: autonomous, automation

 

Reading at home

Please can we ask that children are reading at home at least 4 times a week. This can be their school book in their ZPD level, or one for home. We want to promote a love of reading, so we never want to limit their enjoyment of different genres.

When reading at home, please can an adult sign their reading record with a signature to confirm that they have read. The child is more than welcome to clearly write in the date and book(s) read, but a parent/carers signature next to it would be amazing!

 

Other News

Please remember to check the school’s uniform policy. Hair accessories and PE jackets should be black, navy or blue.