I am delighted to be Kestrel's class teacher this year and I am looking forward to getting to know all of your children. The information below will hopefully be a helpful guide through the year.

Class Information

Teacher – Mr Suckling                                             Teaching Assistants – Mr Greavner

Reading

Please ensure your child reads their school reading book, ideally daily (recommended 20mins). This can include reading silently to themselves, out loud to an adult or even an adult reading to them. To help promote thinking and check understanding, children should quiz on Accelerated Reader every time they finish a book. We had dedicated time to quiz on Monday and Friday mornings. 

If you wanted to help develop comprehension, the following questions are a good starting point for conversations about your child’s reading:

• Can you find a few words/phrases/sentences that tell you about… (character, setting, atmosphere).
• What do you think about the character?
• Why do you think they reacted in the way they did?
• What does (one particular word) mean? How do you know?
• Can you put the events in order?
• What did you enjoy/find surprising/dislike in this chapter?
• Non – fiction: can you tell me about key features of the text and give me some examples?

Spellings

Alongside daily reading, please ask your child to practise spelling at home in their homework book. The expectation is that they look up any words they are not sure of and practice spelling the words daily. The spelling words are linked to a particular spelling pattern or rule. In addition, some of the spellings are taken from the year 3,4,5,6 statutory spellings list to ensure coverage of spellings.

A new list of spellings will be given to your child each week on a Tuesday and spellings will be tested the following Monday.

A copy of the statutory spellings for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be found in Kestrel’s Class page.

Maths

In Kestrel class, we will be focusing on developing fluency and reasoning skills when solving problems. In order to do this, it is vital that your child is able to quickly recall their times table facts up to 12 X 12 (multiplication and division) and know the addition and subtraction of digits within 20.

Your child will have their own tackling tables log in (https://www.tacklingtables.co.uk/)  which progresses the children through their times table knowledge and eventually moves onto application of tables such as fractions and percentages. Please support your child with practice as frequently as possible.

Homework

Each week, spellings will be sent home which follow a particular pattern or rule. In addition, some of the words are taken from the year 3, 4, 5 and 6 statutory spelling list. These are the government recommended words that all children should know by the end of KS2. 

In order to help enrich their learning and prepare the children for high school and the rapid increase in homework, alternating weeks, there will be either a short reading extract with follow-up questions or maths activity. In addition, there will be a half-term project. The children will have a card of suggested activities. They are encouraged to complete at least two activities each half-term. The activities will be based on previous, current or future learning. 

Each child will receive a homework book. The expectation for each week will be a double page spread to complete the reading/maths activities, as well as the spelling practice sheet.  

Homework will be given out each Tuesday and handed in no later than the following Monday. 

The homework project must be handed in the last week of each half-term so we can present and share with the rest of the class.  

Thank you, we look forward to a great year ahead with your child.

Mr Suckling and Mr Greavner