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Sapphire Class

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Sapphire Class is the year 3/4 class and is taught by Mr Kricka. Mrs Beckett teaches Computing and P.E.
We are supported by Mrs Davies.

Our Learning

Summer 2

This half term the children visited Arger Fen to support their learning about habitats and plants. We spent the morning on a bug hunt and managed to find a range of crawling and flying creatures. The children practiced using a key to help them identify each creature. In the afternoon the children looked at a range of skulls and used clues to work out what animal each skull belonged to. They also interviewed a plant, and after carefully observing and drawing it they gave their plant a name. Some were very interesting!

In English, the children have been learning about Anthony Browne. They read a number fo stories written by him and then wrote their own version of Zoo.

In maths, the children have been learning to tell the time. To apply their understanding, they took part in an investigation and used their reasoning skills to explain their answers.

The children have also been learning about the parts of a flowers and about the roles they play in plant reproduction. They produced a labeled 2d model of a flower and wrote desc riptions of each parts role.

In Geography, the children have learned about land use and how urban and rural areas differ. They have produced maps of the local area and created keys. Using symbols they have learned to show a range of landmarks on their maps and the year 4 children even thought about scale and distance. They have studied the differences between urban and rural land uses and discussed how some, like housing can be in both areas but is very different.

In Art, The children have learned how to paint in the style of Georgia O'keefe and have painted a range of flowers. They have also studied the work of J. W. Turner and recreated landscapes using techniques from his work.

Summer 1
We have been busy this half term. Here is what we have been learning:

D.T.- Mechanical Posters
We learned about levers and linkages and made mechanisms that move. We then adapted these to create a recycling themed poster. Have a look at some here:

In Science, we have been studying plants and set up an investigation to test different requirements for growth.

We have been busy writing shape poems in English.

We learned about the nearby town of Hadleigh and its weaving heritage in History.

In Maths we have been learning about money. We used finding the difference or adjusting to calculate change.

Anchor 1

Spring 2

This half term the children have written stories inspired by the film Fantastic Mr Fox based on the book by by Roald Dahl.

They learned about non-chronological reports and wrote insect and plant guides for our bark path area. They enjoyed writing. for a purpose and are looking forward to seeing their texts displayed among the trees and bushes for the other children to read.

In Maths, the parents and children took part in a Maths cafe where they listened to the story of 'SirCumfrence at the Fraction Fayre' and then worked out fractions of varies shapes.

In R.E. this half term the children learned about Sikhism and the concept of being a Guru. They thought of a Guru as a teacher and were able to see how these teachers moved people from darkness into the light. They thought of their own 'lightbulb' moments and who they would go to for help.

In Geography the children have been on journey around the world, learning about where our food comes from. They used maps of the world to study climate zones such as the Tropics and temperate zones. They learned about the Mediterranean climate zone and how this was good for. growing fruit like lemons and olives. All of this talk of food made them very hungry.

In Art, the children developed their understand of collage by creating pieces based on 'The Dance' by Henri Matisse. They then looked at combining different media and creating distorted portraits inspired by Francis Bacon's 'Self Portrait'.

In Science the children learned about classification and characteristics of various invertebrates. They went hunting for some and created keys to help others identify them.

Spring 1 2023

In English this half term, the children read stories in familiar settings written by Francesca Simon. They then planned and wrote a Horrid Henry inspired story based on character they had invented after meeting some of Henry's friends.

As part of their History learning , the children also read and watched a recount of life as an Egyptian slave. The discovered what life would have been like and wrote a diary entry detailing the thoughts and feelings of a worker. After this the children found out about Howard Carter's famous discovery in 1922 and wrote diary entries detailing this.

In science the children discovered the three states of matter and conducted a range of practical investigations to demonstrate changes in state. They observed different coloured ice melting to create a new coloured water. They also created puddles and observed evaporation thought the day. Finally, they made rain of the own and discovered the role that evaporation and condensation played in the water cycle and discussed the question; What if water didn't evaporate?

In design technology this half term, the children took part in the Great Bread Bake-Off. They analysed existing bread products and evaluated their taste, texture and colour. Then they began to create the design criteria based other research. They tasted a range of added ingredients before deciding on a final design which had to be an appealing shape and use added ingredients. The judges were very impressed with the results: