January news from Primary 4

Happy New Year from Primary 4! We have been very busy in recent weeks. We are pleased to have our student teacher Miss Sheerin back with us and look forward to learning with her over the next few weeks.

Topic                               

Our topic this term is Scotland. This will be mostly a literacy-based topic but will offer opportunities to learn about Scotland in other curricular areas. We have been learning about the Scots language and have written some fantastic poems on the Loch Ness monster.

             

In gym lessons, we have been learning some traditional Scottish ceilidh dances in preparation for our school ceilidh on 31st January.

We created some beautiful artwork with Miss Sheerin inspired by some famous Scottish artists such as Charles Rennie Macintosh and Steven Brown.

Over the next few weeks we will be learning the poem “Circus” by J.K. Annand. We look forward to showcasing our learning on Friday 2nd February.

Maths

We have been learning about money this term, identifying coins and notes, combining totals and working out change. We have had lots of active learning opportunities in the classroom to explore our topic. Daily experiences with money can help consolidate the children’s learning at home such as counting the change received in the shops and adding up the cost of different items in brochures.

Literacy

We will continue to have phonics and spelling lessons every morning, exploring our sounds and tricky words. In grammar, we have been looking at syllables, contractions and alliteration. As the children are taking part in the “First Minister’s Reading Challenge”. We have tried to create a classroom that fosters a love of reading, taking time each day to read a book. Children are encouraged to think up their own reading challenges and visit their local libraries where they can choose from lots of lovely books.

 R.E.

Preparations for First Holy Communion are well under way. “I belong” books are used every day in the classroom so please ensure your child has it in school with them each day. This lovely book supports our conversations about the sacrament at school and at home.

Music  

We are very lucky to have Mr Dawson taking us for music classes this term. Before Christmas we learned how to play the recorder and had great fun learning new notes and some short tunes. This term we are learning to play the ukulele.