Mr Dunn - 2024/25

Hello everyone.

A new year, a new term, and an exciting array of new learning opportunities for the Year 3/4 class! The children have returned from the Winter Break with a positive attitude, ready to dive straight into their learning.

In IPC, we began a new science-focused unit called Feel the Force. As always, we kicked things off with an engaging entry point to spark the students’ curiosity about their new topic. Following this, we conducted a knowledge harvest to assess the children’s existing understanding of forces. Next, we conducted a hands-on science experiment on friction. The children investigated how far a toy car would travel on various surfaces, fostering both inquiry and teamwork.

In Maths, we started Multiplication Unit B, where the children explored several key concepts: factors, multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100, reasoning about multiplication, multiplying three numbers, and scaling. To support their understanding, they used different arrays to solve problems and played interactive games to reinforce their times tables knowledge.

In Literacy, we introduced a new unit centered on two captivating texts: Winter’s Child by Angela McAllister and Ice Palace by Robert Swindells. By the end of this unit, the children will create their own fantasy narratives. We began with a quick written assessment to gauge their skills, followed by making predictions based on photographs and the front covers of the books. The children then stepped into the shoes of the main character and wrote diary entries from their perspective.

That’s all for the week, have a great weekend everyone!

Hello everyone!

The Winter Show was a fun and exciting way to end the first term! I was incredibly impressed by all the performances, and the students demonstrated remarkable confidence. However, the end of the term was bittersweet as we bid farewell to two students in our class. Ayaka and Yerang are moving on to new schools, and we wish them every success in the future. They will be deeply missed by everyone.

Last week, the students wrapped up their Exit Point for our IPC unit, Scavengers and Settlers. They completed their models, added detailed information, and included labels. In Literacy, they finished their stories and dedicated a lesson to editing and improving their writing. Additionally, we explored poetry together, culminating in the creation of Christmas-themed acrostic poems. In Maths, the children spent the week reviewing key concepts from the first term, reinforcing their understanding and consolidating their learning.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope everyone has a wonderful Winter break.

Hello everyone!

With only one week left of the first term, we are beginning to wrap up various units before the Christmas break. The students have spent a lot of time rehearsing for our class Winter Show performance, which promises to be great fun! For our performance, it would be lovely if the children could wear something festive—this could be in festive colours or designs. However, please do not feel obliged to buy anything new.

Here are some highlights from the week’s learning.

In English, the children planned and began writing their final historical narratives, inspired by the class text Stone Age Boy. They will have additional time next week to complete these. I have been impressed by the children’s independent writing and creativity.

In Maths, the children spent the week exploring the concept of area. For many, this was a new topic, so we started by understanding what area is, counting squares to calculate area, and comparing the areas of different shapes. Although this was a short unit, the children successfully completed the assessment yesterday.

We have also concluded our IPC unit, Scavengers and Settlers. To showcase their learning, the children are creating model settlements representing some of the different periods we studied. They will also add labels and explanations to their models.

In Guided Reading, we finished our unit on The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. As a fun activity, the children participated in a scavenger hunt in the library to discover other classic children’s stories.

Hello everyone!

With only two weeks left in the term, there’s still so much to fit in and the Winter Show just around the corner! Here are some highlights from the week.

The children had a wonderful day at the Kindness Market on Friday, purchasing toys, books, clothes, and sweet treats. A big thank you to the PTA for organizing such a fantastic event.

In Maths, we wrapped up our unit on multiplication and division. Early in the week, the children completed their learning of the 11 and 12 times tables. We ended the week with engaging games to review multiplication and division facts, followed by our end-of-unit assessment. Additionally, we began our new unit on area.

In Literacy, the children spent the week crafting their historical fiction narratives. Each day, they wrote a paragraph, which I reviewed and provided feedback on to help them make improvements. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their creative writing skills!

During IPC, we continued our exploration of prehistory, moving on to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. We examined significant changes in daily life, compared these periods to the Stone Age, and discussed how these metals were made. For the Iron Age, the children also completed a “Diamond 9” activity, ranking the most to least important changes of the era.

Hello everyone!

As we approach the end of the first term, things are getting busier. Alongside continuing with our learning, we are also practicing for our class Winter Show performance. Don’t forget, next Friday is the PTA Thrift Market—I look forward to seeing many of you there! Here are some highlights from the week.

This week, the students planned their own historical stories inspired by our class text, The Stone Age Boy. This activity allowed them to incorporate knowledge from our IPC unit, Scavengers and Settlers, into their writing. After completing their plans, the children began drafting their stories.

In maths, we continued exploring different times tables and strategies to solve them. The children also used base-10 equipment to work on multiplication and division problems. Additionally, they practiced and reviewed their learning using Sumdog, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

During Guided Reading, the children have been engaged with The Iron Man. They’ve used this time to focus on key reading skills such as predicting, clarifying, summarising, and questioning. The children have done well to use evidence from the text to justify their ideas and opinions.

In our IPC unit, the children used their findings from the artifact investigation to answer questions about Ötzi the Iceman and created drawings of what they think he may have looked like. We then explored significant developments during the Stone Age, such as the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. The children also examined the famous discovery of Skara Brae and discussed what we can learn from the evidence left behind.

That’s all for the week, have a great weekend everyone.

Hello everyone!

This week has flown by as we get closer to the end of Term One, but there’s still plenty of fun, learning, and exploration ahead! Here are some highlights from this week.

This week in English, we finished reading our class text Stone Age Boy, which inspired much of our learning. The children explored prefixes and how we can use them to determine the meanings of words. We also examined similes and how to use them to create vivid descriptions inspired by the book’s setting. Lastly, we studied how to write direct speech, paying close attention to how tenses can shift within a paragraph.

In maths this week, we continued working on different times tables and their related division facts, focusing on the 3, 6, and 9 times tables. The children practiced counting in each times table and used a 100-square chart for support. We also explored connections between these and strategies for solving them using known facts.

For IPC this week, the students researched life in the Stone Age, learning key facts about homes, clothing, and food. They then conducted an artifact investigation on Ötzi the Iceman, a mummified body found in a glacier along with many of his belongings. The children worked in groups to examine photos of the artifacts, identifying each item and discussing what it could reveal about Ötzi’s life.

Hello everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing half-term break. We’ve had a busy and productive week in Year 3/4 as we started new units that will carry us through to the winter break.

In Literacy, we continued exploring our class text, The Stone Age Boy, which ties in perfectly with our new IPC unit, Scavengers and Settlers. The children created a glossary of new vocabulary from the text, compared and contrasted life in the Stone Age with life today, explored the present perfect tense and applied it in their writing, and wrote descriptive pieces inspired by a hunting scene.

In Maths, we started a new unit on multiplication and division. The class practiced using arrays to support their understanding of multiplication, division, sharing, and grouping. We then worked through various times tables and related division facts, focusing so far on the 2, 5, 10, 4, and 8 times tables.

In IPC, before the holiday, the children had been working on the Exit Point for our previous unit, How Humans Work, and had nearly completed it. This week, they spent some time finalizing and rehearsing their scripts for presentations on Friday. Our main focus for IPC lessons was our new unit, Scavengers and Settlers. We began with a Knowledge Harvest to assess what the children already know, followed by an exploration of fossils. I shared fossil samples for the children to examine, and they drew and wrote about the process of fossil formation. We also began investigating what life was like during the Stone Age.

Hello Everyone!

We had an incredibly fun week, with our class trip on Thursday and followed by a Halloween party on Friday. The children were excellent on the trip, and I hope it sparked their interest in our new IPC unit, “Scavengers and Settlers.” They had a fantastic time at the party and looked amazing in their costumes. A big thank you to the PTA and all the parents who helped organize such a wonderful event!

Here are a few highlights from the rest of the week:

In Maths, we focused on using inverse operations to check answers, as well as exploring different strategies and methods to improve efficiency. We also dedicated a day to reviewing key concepts from the unit before completing the end-of-unit assessment.

In English, we began a new unit on historical fiction, which ties in nicely with our current IPC unit. The children will explore the text “Stone Age Boy” by Satoshi Kitamura to deepen their understanding. They made predictions based on images of artefacts from the Stone Age and illustrations from the book. We also examined how to use direct speech to illustrate the relationships between characters.

In IPC, the children were divided into groups and created posters as an Exit Point to showcase some of their learning. They also developed a script and will present their work after the holiday.

Hello everyone!

I have an important update regarding next week’s trip. Due to the weather, I have moved the trip from Tuesday to Thursday. I was informed that the activity would be canceled in the event of heavy rain.

We’ve had a super productive week filled with fun and exciting new learning experiences. Here are some highlights:

In Literacy, we concluded our unit on “Seal Surfer.” To wrap up, the children independently wrote letters about an event from the story to assess their learning. To support them, we developed a careful plan, thinking about the features of a letter and ensuring they included examples of the key concepts we focused on in the unit.

In Maths, the children continued to work on subtraction using the column method. Gradually, we built upon this method to understand how to borrow or exchange when the top number in a column is smaller than the bottom number. Later in the week, we also explored estimating to assist with addition and subtraction, applying our previous knowledge of rounding numbers.

In IPC, we covered a lot this week, exploring the skeleton, muscles, and what we need to keep our bodies healthy. The children created visual aids to help them learn about key bones and their functions. They also drew diagrams to explain how muscles work, sorted foods into different food groups, and started to creat a guide on healthy eating.

Hello everyone!

Our first trip of the year is approaching, and it will serve as an entry point for our next IPC unit, “Scavengers and Settlers.” For more information and to fill out the permission form, please click here.

Here are some highlights from this week’s learning:

In English, we used our plans from the previous week to write our own letters inspired by the text “Seal Surfer.” We dedicated each day to writing a paragraph, allowing us to focus on applying all our recent learning.

In maths, we wrapped up our exploration of addition and transitioned to subtraction. Today, students tackled the more challenging concept of exchanging when there aren’t enough ones to complete the subtraction—this involves exchanging a ten for some ones. Some students took on the role of teachers, helping and guiding their peers through this process.

In IPC, we completed our poster on the digestive system and began learning about the heart and lungs. While exploring the heart, we checked our pulses and observed how they change after exercising. The students also created a model using a bottle, straws, and balloons to demonstrate how lungs work.