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What can you do to help your Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 4) child with subjects like religious education, maths and languages?
Religious Education
Your child's school is required to teach religious education (RE) but the manner in which it is taught is up to the local education authority. Some schools, church schools for example, may follow a different programme - there are no national guidelines for RE teaching. However, state schools teaching RE must:
- Reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are mainly Christian.
- Teach children that there are other important religions in this country.
Signs and symbols - When you are out and about, stop and look at words with religious meaning, for example street names (Worship Street), sports stadiums (St Mary's football ground). Look out for religious buildings, churches, synagogues, mosques, and talk about the different symbols associated with them (crosses, stars, crescents).
Guess who? - If you are on a long drive and you want a game to break the boredom of the journey a bit, take it in turns to describe a close friend or family member - the other passengers have to guess who you are talking about. The purpose is to get your child thinking about what people are really like, not just their physical attributes, but their characters and personalities too.
Numeracy
All schools now have a daily maths lesson. The National Numeracy Strategy: Framework for teaching mathematics (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/numeracy/) gives a detailed breakdown of what your child will be learning each half term.
Maths teaching has changed a lot over the years, so your child may be taught very different ways of working things out than you were, for example, long division. With this in mind, schools often prefer you to help your child practice their mental maths but leave the more complicated techniques to the teachers. There are plenty of things that you can do to enhance your child's basic mathematic skills.
Newsagent numbers - If you are at the newsagent picking up a couple of Sunday papers, ask your child to work out the total cost. Don't make things too difficult, but adding together the cost of a broadsheet paper and a tabloid should be fairly straightforward for them.
Supermarket statistics - After a shopping trip, let your child have a look at the receipt but don't let them see the total. Ask them to estimate the total cost of the bill by rounding each item up or down to the nearest 50 pence.
Learning other languages
Schools do not have to teach foreign languages, but some do, often in Year 6. However, by the end of the decade, all 7-11 year-olds will be given the opportunity to learn a foreign language. Teaching professionals advise that Years 3-4 are the ideal time to start introducing your child to a new language. You could try talking about what different nationalities say after a sneeze. Instead of bless you, the German ‘gesundheit' means ‘good health'. You could also stick notes on objects around the house with the name written in another language, e.g doors, cupboards, fridges, etc.
Learning from television
Television isn't necessarily a bad thing! Certain programmes, for example wildlife shows, can help reinforce what your child has learned at school in science and geography. Schools may not have the time to show these kind of shows during teaching, so letting them watch some TV will be beneficial to them and back up what they have learnt in the classroom. Remember, homework is important too, so have time when the TV is switched off, and offer your child some support with books, internet research, and other ways of learning!
