Primary 4 Curricular Information Letter

Dear Parents,

Here are some of the curricular objectives for the next month. I hope you find these useful.

Mrs. Cuthill

LITERACY – READING

Reading homework will be set during the week. I will aim to hear each group on average four times over the course of two weeks.

You can help by,

Encouraging  fluency and expression when reading aloud.

• Discussing reading tasks and give help where necessary.
• Making sure your child has their reading book and homework diary with them every day.
• Signing homework diaries to confirm reading homework has been completed.

LITERACY – WRITING

We will be revising VCOP in the classroom.

VCOP stands for

• V – ambitious vocabulary or “wow” words. For example, epic, awesome.
• C – Connectives. For example, and, then, but.
• O – Openers. For example, silently, slowly.
• P – Punctuation. For example, speech marks, commas, exclamation marks.

You can help by,

• Encouraging your child to look for VCOP in all reading materials.

We will continue to develop different styles of writing. Our project this term is The Vikings. We will be writing a news report of the Viking raids on Lindisfarne, describing a viking and producing a Viking recipe and menu.

You can help by,

• Discussing different language used in real life situations. For example, news paper reports, recipes, menus.

LITERACY – TRICKY WORDS

Tricky word lists will be issued every week on Monday to be learned at home. The children will be tested on the spelling of these words on Friday mornings.

NUMERACY

We will be revising ordinal number to 1,000 and beyond.

We will be revising digital and analogue clock times for hour and half hour times then continuing with quarter past and quarter to the hour.

We will be revising the two, three, four, five and ten times tables.

You can help by,

• Encouraging your child to count on and back. For example, 1003, 2003, 3003.
• Practise reading time on watches and clocks around the home.
• Revise tables’ facts at home.

PROJECT – THE VIKINGS

We will be researching and learning about The Vikings and their way of life.

We will be making Viking swords and shields in the classroom during the week beginning 2/3/15.

How you can help

• Research The Vikings by using library books or Viking websites – http://www.nms.ac.uk/media/145820/viking-colouring-sheets.pdf 
• http://www.nms.ac.uk/explore/play/discover-the-vikings/unmask-the-lewis-chessmen/
• http://www.nms.ac.uk/explore/play/discover-the-vikings/vikings-training-school/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/sysm/vikings/
• http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/britonsgaelsvikings/vikings/index.asp
• http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/timeline/vikings.htm
• Check homework diaries for information on Viking homework.
• Gather suitable junk and cardboard to make a Viking shield and sword during the week beginning 2/3/15. Please note, cardboard tubes from the inside of toilet rolls are not suitable for hygiene reasons.

HOMEWORK

Reading – set during the week. Please check homework diaries for due dates.

Tricky Word Lists – issued on Monday, tested on Friday.

Viking homework – details in homework diaries.

Maths and Literacy homework will be set on Education City. All children have been reissued with their usernames and passwords.