Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs Routines & Behaviour:

In Hedgehogs, we know the importance of having clear rules and routines to ensure that the classroom is a happy and safe environment for everyone.

Emotional regulation:

When children come in each morning, they move their name card into the ‘zone’ that best describes how they are feeling that morning:

-        In the green zone, children are feeling happy, calm and ready to learn.

-        In the yellow zone, children are feeling a bit ‘wobbly’, perhaps because they are excited, frustrated or restless.

-        In the blue zone, children are feeling low, perhaps because they are feeling poorly, tired or tearful.

-        In the red zone, children are feeling angry and out of control.

The class teacher or TA will then check in on any children who are not in the green zone and discuss how they can get back to feeling ready to learn. For example, by taking a time out to have a drink or talking about what is bothering them.

Our worry monsters:

Hedgehogs don’t just have one worry monster, they have two! Our worry monsters sit by our book corner and zones of regulation table with paper and pencils ready. Children can write down a worry for our monsters at any point in the school day and an adult will then discuss it with them. If a worry might be common throughout the class, then it is discussed anonymously at the end of the day to reassure everyone.

Class jobs:

Every child in Hedgehogs class has a job to help keep the classroom running smoothly. We have book monitors, table monitors, cloakroom monitors etc.

Visual timetables:

There is a large visual timetable at the front of our classroom so that all children can see what we are doing each day. All children also have a small visual timetable on their desks that shows what they do each day of the week. This is laminated so if something does change, children can amend it with a whiteboard pen.

Class Rewards:

Every lesson, I give out at least one “What super work, Miss Mulcahy is so proud” sticker to someone who has produced exceptional work.

Every day, I give out at least one teacher praise card to tell adults when a child has been fantastic at school.

Dojos are given out to children who are working hard, showing kindness, listening and following instructions, as well as being given out to children who bring back homework, read at home or receive certificates. The Hedgehog who gets the most dojos in a week receives a treat from the class prize box.

Y3/4 Spelling words.
Children need to know how to read and write the First 100 words, Next 200 words and Y3/Y4 Statutory Words. Children will be sent some words home each week to practice as part of their homework and then tested on these the following week.

Y3 / Y4 Maths
During the Autumn term children will be learning about Place Value, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division.   Maths is taught daily and follows a daily routine of a short 10 questions based on timetables, a toolkit covering previous learning and 4 questions related to the day’s topic.  From September, children started using a work booklet to show progression in their learning.

Each Tuesday after maths we practise our times tables using a variety of strategies to help quick recall. Children can access Times Tables Rockstars at home using the login in their yellow reading diary.

Each Wednesday after maths we complete key instant recall facts such as number bonds (6 +4, 5+5) and related facts (60 + 40, 50+50).

Writing
During the Autumn term, Y3/Y4 children are building on their understanding of purpose and audience by writing simple sentences for a variety of text types.  They are working to ensure all their sentences begin with a capital letter, have finger spaces between words and include a range of punctuation types (full stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, apostrophes etc.) We are looking a different word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, determiners, conjunctions, adverbs, verbs and prepositional phrases.  Children are learning how to identify and apply these word class types into their sentences to add detail.  A big learning curve at the moment is how to independently correct their own work to show the skill of revise and edit, for example, checking they have written in the correct tense, amending spellings and altering nouns/pronouns to avoid repetition.

Handwriting
After dinner, we practise our letter formation, sizing and letter joins using cursive handwriting.  We encourage children to use the LETTER JOIN application at home.

Homework
Homework is handed out each Friday in children’s orange homework books (if these have been returned) and should be returned by the following Tuesday. It covers three challenges:
Do more – spellings to practise for the following week’s test.
Share more – reading activity.
Be more – Maths and English tasks following up on the week’s learning.

All Hedgehogs receive dojos and a sticker for returning their homework.

Accelerated Reader
Children complete a STAR reading quiz each term at school.  Questions are asked based on their level of reading comprehension.  Children are given a range of reading books to choose from to improve their fluency, expression and comprehension skills.  Children have the opportunity to read quietly each morning during registration.  We also expect them to take these books home to read with an adult at home. Once children have finished a book, they take an Accelerated Reader quiz on it before choosing a new book. Children can access Accelerated Reader at home or at school using the first letter of their first name and the first four letters of their surname as their username and then abc as their password.

Hedgehog Reading
Every Thursday we celebrate reading for pleasure and a child who has shown a love for reading will receive a certificate in assembly. We also record how many reads each Hedgehog has read at home during the week and children are moved along the class reading race track accordingly to receive a raffle ticket to enter the school’s reading competition with a chance to win a £5 Amazon voucher. The child who has read the most at home that week will receive dojos.

Whole Class Reading
Every day after morning break the class focus on different text each week.  Every Monday we predict what the text will be about using information / pictures presented and explore vocabulary.  On a Tuesday, we use retrieval strategies to answer questions about the text.  On a Wednesday, we look at specific vocabulary choices and discuss alternative meanings then we practice summarising the text.  On Thursdays, we use strategies to explain the main points of the reading and infer the answers to questions.  On a Friday, children use a mixture of these skills and enjoy sharing their ideas especially with think, pair and share sessions with their table partners.

P.E. Days

Hedgehogs have 2 PE days each week.  All children are expected to bring the correct PE kit (Black shorts, white t-shirt and trainers) and remove/cover any earrings.

Indoor PE is every Monday after lunch.

Outdoor PE is every Friday after lunch.

Curriculum

Each week children get to do a variety of learning in PE, topic, computing, RE, Spanish, music, art or DT, science and PSHCE. Families can see what we are learning each week on our class Facebook page and then continue this learning at home.