It was good to meet so many of you on Thursday. I hope that you found the meeting useful.
For reference, a copy of my presentation can be viewed below. I have also repeated some of the key points that were shared at the meeting.
Reading books
Children are able to change their reading book during the ‘soft start’ each morning. Before selecting a new book from the school reading scheme, I ask children to complete a short book review and add this to their reading folder. Children are encouraged to supplement their reading from the reading scheme with books from home and books borrowed from libraries.
Pen licences
In year four, children progress from writing in pencil to writing in pen. I will let each child know when I think that they are ready. I will also provide the pen when the great moment comes. There are two things that I look for to tell me a child is ready for a pen:
- Their writing is consistent in size and fluently joined.
- Their handwriting style is serviceable and does not hinder the speed of writing.
Multiplication tables
At the start of year four, children nationally are expected to know many of their multiplication tables by heart. These are the 2, 5 and 10, the 3, and the 4 and 8 times tables. We will check the children’s recall of random facts drawn from these multiplication tables each week.
During the autumn term of year four, we will also introduce and secure the rapid recall of 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 times tables. We will add these to our weekly multiplication check as these are introduced.
Children are also expected to be able to count on and back in multiples of 10, 25, 50, 100 and 1000.