All Saints’ and St Richard’s Church of England Primary School
Topic Overview Year 3/4 Cycle A (2014-2015) Term 2
LIGHT AND DARK
THE BIG IDEA
Without light from the Sun, all life on Earth would come to
an end. Green plants need sunlight to make food and we
depend on plants for food. We will be looking at sunlight
and the artificial light produced by means of electricity.
As we carry out experiments on how light travels,
shadows, and materials light travels through we will form
a better understanding of light and dark. From this we will
begin talking about electricity and how we would set up
our own circuits.
Light is linked to some festivals, one is the Diwali festival.
Why do they use light to celebrate?
OUTDOOR LEARNING
In Outdoor Learning we will be
weeding the herb garden and
researching what herbs we could
plant and the best time to plant
them.
We will tidy up our courtyard and
plant some bulbs then making a
sketch of what the area looks like
now. We start to make some of the
designs we have planned in our
outdoor learning books.
Class worship will be held outdoors
throughout the term.
Art projects can be completed
outdoors.
We will be doing some work on
eight points of the compass.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
In RE we will be continuing to learn
about Christianity with a focus on
Mary and the Annunciation. We will
also be looking at how Christmas is
Celebrated around the World.
PERSONAL SOCIAL HEALTH &
ECONOMIC EDUCATION
In Science we will be:
 Exploring different light sources
 Looking at how light travels
 Noticing that light is reflected from surfaces
 Discovering why shadows are formed and find
patterns in the way that the sizes of shadows
change.
 We will be setting up electrical circuits and naming
the parts required and how they work
 We will be looking at conductors and insulators
In D.T we will be:
 Making Diwali lanterns
 Designing a water feature for our courtyard
 Creating a functional electrical product
In Computing we will be finding out about:
 Interesting and innovative ways to present our
ideas using a range of multimedia
 The children will be using Powerpoint to present
their research findings
 How to present our ideas using sound, music,
video, animation, text and images
In Art we will be continuing to develop our drawing skills.
 We will be making a sketch of our herb garden
and sketching how we could arrange our herbs
 We will be designing Christmas cards
 We will be making Christmas decorations
In PSHEe we will follow the East Sussex
Scheme of Work for Year 3. This term
we will be focussing on:
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Getting on and Falling Out
Say No to Bullying
Tobacco Education
TRIPS AND EVENTS
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Christmas Pantomime
Church Nativity
CURRICULUM RISK ASSESSMENTS

Pantomime visit
Dance will also be taught in P.E. using the Val Sabin
Scheme of Work. The children will be learning to:
 Move their bodies to rhythm
 Work in groups making up dance routines
 We will be linking our dance to the Festival of Light
Music is being taught by a music specialist
 Throughout Year 3 /4 the children will have the
opportunity to learn to play the recorder.
French is being taught following the West Sussex Mixed
Age scheme of work which runs over two years. This year
we are following Cycle A and this term the children will
be learning to:
 Count to 12
 Say and ask someone how old they are.
 Read a traditional French tale.
 Looking at Christmas
ENGLISH:
 In Literacy there will be the opportunity to explore a range of
stimulating texts and the planning will be supported by the ideas
produced in ’Book Power’, the text type papers and the
progression papers.

Texts include:
o Tales of Wisdom and Wonder:
This book has a variety of tales from around the world; we
will be exploring the meaning behind the tales. Children
will make plans of the stories and discuss the dilemmas of
the characters, putting them103selves in the position of a
character. The class will also be looking at different ways
they can retell the story.
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We will also be looking at the features of instructional texts and
children will be preparing their own instructions.
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In grammar and spelling there will be a focus on homophones
and use of the possessive apostrophe.
MATHS:
 The children will be looking at ordering numbers and place value.
 The children will be looking at multiplication methods and practising their multiplication targets.
 We will also be looking at Perimeter, Capacity, Angles and 3D shapes.
 Once a week the children will be focussing on applying their mathematical learning to solve
problems.
CLASS ROUTINES:
HOMEWORK:
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The children will have weekly homework tasks linked to learning in class. The homework
will be sent home on Friday and is due back in school on Wednesday.
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Children are expected to be heard read at least three times a week. Please make sure
that you record each tie your child reads or is heard read in their homework diary. The
children can then collect stickers towards their reading certificate.
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Spellings are sent home each week and need to be practised at home daily. Little and
often is the best way to learn spellings. Children will be tested on their spellings each
Tuesday.
P.E. LESSONS:
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The children need to have their P.E. kit in school each day and it should be taken home
each Friday so that it is kept clean for lessons.
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Jewellery must be removed so if your child has their ears pierced they will need a small
pot in their bag to put their earrings in to keep them safe.
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Long hair should be tied back for school, but it must be tied back for P.E. lessons so a
spare hair band is a good idea.
COMMUNICATION:
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Please encourage your children to speak to me if they should have any concerns, and
of course I will always be available at the end of school if you wish to speak to me
directly.
I will continue sending home ‘ASK me about …’ cards so that you are able to talk
about the children's learning at home. Please look out for these.