Larch Class - Year 3 & Year 4 2025 - 2026

The adults in our class

Miss Costelloe - Class teacher

Mrs Berry - Teaching assistant (AM)

Miss Hewitt - Teaching assistant (PM)

What are we learning in Spring 2?.

Pathways

In our Writing sessions this half term, we will be reading Wisp: A Story of Hope by Zana Fraillon. It is a story about a boy called Idris who lives in a refugee camp. Then, one day a wisp appears and brings with it hope and joy for those who see it. As we explore the story, the children will be continuing to develop their writing using a range of sentence structures and descriptive vocabulary. 

In our reading lessons, we will be reading This Morning I Met a Whale by Michael Morpurgo. As the children read the book, they will answer a range of comprehension based questions to develop both their fluency and understanding.

Maths

We will be continue through the Oak National Academy scheme of work, focusing our term on adding and subtracting. The children will be taught a range of methods, including a focus on the column method this half term, and they will use a range of techniques to support and scaffold their understanding. Throughout our problem solving lessons, the children will be given ample opportunity to solve a range of problems using their learned methods. 

In addition to this, we will be practising our multiplications regularly, in preparation for the Year 4 Multiplication Assessments, as well as supporting the children's understanding with further fluency sessions, to help develop their maths mastery.

Science

During Spring 2, the children will be exploring light and shadows. They will learn about light sources and describe different ways of protecting our eyes from the sun. They will also be able to describe what happens when light reflects and how shadows form. When working scientifically, children will be able to ask relevant questions, make predictions and record their findings using results tables.

Geography

In Geography this half term, the children will be answering the question Are all settlements the same? They will be describing different types of settlements and they will be looking at physical and human features in the local area. We will then look at land use in New Delhi and compare the two different locations.

Spanish (MFL)

In our Spanish lessons, we will be learning classroom objects in Spanish. The children will be taught how to recognise and respond to classroom instructions as well as describe what is in your school bag, using un and una correctly. 

Physical Education (PE)

In Spring 2, the children have PE on Tuesday and Thursdays. On Tuesdays, the children will be doing their swimming lessons. On Thursdays, the children will be doing cricket with the lessons being taught by a cricket coach.

Children are to come to school in their PE kits (white t-shirt and black joggers/shorts) on these days, as in accordance to the School Uniform Policy.

Religeous Education (RE)

Our RE lessons this term will be about Christianity. The children will be discussing Christianity its principles. They will be learning about different parables and discussing how the concept of 'Love your neighbour' is shown throughout stories in the Bible.

DT

Our DT lessons this term will be focussing on designing and making torches. The children will learn how to create circuits with switches to make their torch light up. They will be designing their torch for their chosen target audience and making it out of different materials to ensure that it reflects the light.

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Home Reading

Our school aim is to complete at least 5 reading at home sessions each week. We will be monitoring reading at home closely by checking Boom Reader (replacing reading diaries) each day and changing children’s books once a week, if required. We encourage children to develop their own sense of 'reading for pleasure' and would love to see the texts that children are also reading at home.

Online Learning Resources

Our children have access to a range of online resources to aid their learning, including TT Rockstars, Spelling Shed and Century, and have been given their login details.  All children should be familiar with how to use these.

Sacred Story

Each day, we take time to share a story read aloud in class — a moment we call Sacred Story. This is a cherished part of our day, when we pause, listen, and lose ourselves in the magic of a great book together. Hearing stories read aloud is not only a joyful experience but also a powerful way to develop language, imagination, empathy, and a love of reading. It helps us connect — with the story, with each other, and with the wider world of books.

Take a look at the wonderful stories we’ll be enjoying during Sacred Story this year - this can be found in the files list below.

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Many thanks,

Miss Costelloe