Welcome to the Year 4 page!
2020-2021
In Year 4, we have 31 brilliant children who are all kind, caring and loving. We love to learn and find out new things. We have lots of different and unique talents that make us an extremely interesting bunch of people.
Our teacher is Mrs Holmes, and our teaching assistant is Miss Earley.
Summer Term 2
English
Year 4 have all worked hard to write interesting fact files about the Amazon Rainforest. They have thought carefully about the presentation of their work and come up with some excellent ideas to make the reader interested! We have also been practising using apostrophes for contractions. The Queen visited us and spoke in a 'posh' standard English voice, but as soon as she took her crown off, she started to use the contracted forms of words. We completed a puzzle by matching the standard forms with the contracted form.
Maths
This half term, we have been practising using money. We have used different strategies to find totals and practised working out change. We have also been looking at statistics. We have learnt how interpret charts, make comparisons and how to read and plot line graphs.
RE
We have enjoyed studying the religion of Judaism this half term. We learnt about the Jewish custom of Shabbat. Shabbat is the Hebrew word for the Sabbath. Shabbat starts on Friday evening and ends on Saturday evening. We also found out that you are not allowed to do any work over Shabbat. Some people carry out Mitzvahs, which are good deeds.
Summer Term 1
English
In English this half term, we have enjoyed reading ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’. We looked carefully at each character and discussed how the characters felt at each stage of the story. We then wrote in first person as Hermia. We have been formed opinions about the character Bottom and used evidence from the text to back up our opinions. We found that he is a little bit foolish, but a friendly fellow!
Maths
This half term, we have found fractions of amounts in Maths. We used base 10 to help us find different fractions and worked hard to build our understanding of the method needed. We have also been looking at making one whole, using tenths and hundredths as both decimals and fractions. We found that our number facts to 10 and 100 helped us with this. We have also been ordering, rounding and comparing decimals using <, >, and = symbols.
RE
In RE, we have been looking for and discussing the symbols of Pentecost. We read the story of Pentecost and then looked at different pieces of art based around Pentecost. We discussed why different symbols were used, there links to Pentecost and how they were shown in the art work. We also began to paint our own pieces of art, which followed on from our work about Peter. We thought carefully about how the disciples might have felt when Jesus told them about the Holy Spirit and the questions they may have asked Him. We also thought about how the Holy Spirit gave the apostles new skills and strength. We had an excellent discussion about the apostle Paul. We learnt about Paul and Silas being put in prison for what they believed and how they told the jailer all about Jesus.
Science
Spring Term 2
RE
Our Re topic the half term has been ‘Jesus the Saviour’. We learnt that Jesus is truly God and, as man truly human and learn that Jesus came to share our life so that we can share his life. They thought reflectively about when Jesus died on the cross he took away our sins, learnt what happened in Holy week and what happened on Easter Sunday.
Mathematics
We worked extremely hard this half term in Maths. We have been finding out about fractions. We started by learning the difference between unit and non-unit fractions and how the numerator can change to show the number of parts. We then moved on to learn about tenths through ordering and counting in tenths and positioning them on number lines. We also learnt about how to find equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting fractions.
English
In English , this half term, we have been developing our descriptive writing skills. We created our own imaginary animals and described them in details using adjectives and adverbs. We then wrote a diary entry as if we were an explorer and had just discovered this new, strange creature. We used fronted adverbials to add variety to our sentence openers. We also continued to implement ‘Show, don’t tell’ to help us with our descriptions.
Spring Term 1
R.E
This half term we have been focussing on ‘Celebrating the Mass’. We have reflected on the importance of Sunday and why Catholics go to Mass. We have learnt about different parts of the Mass like the Liturgy of the Word, the offertory, words of consecration and sign of peace. The children have then created presentations and booklets about the different features in the Church, which are important during the Mass.
Mathematics
We have been working hard to develop our multiplication and division skills this half term. When multiplying 2 and 3 digit numbers by 1 digit, we have been using our place value counters to help us understand when we need to exchange 10 ones or 10 tens. We then show this exchange on our column multiplication.
When dividing 2 and 3 digit numbers, we have been partitioning the whole number into more manageable parts. We had to think carefully about the divisor and whether or not each part could be divided equally.
English
In English, we have been working very hard to be descriptive in our writing. We have been using a short film clip called ‘The Lighthouse’, to help us describe the setting and the lighthouse keeper. We have used ‘Show don’t Tell’ to describe how the lighthouse keeper was feeling. So instead of saying ‘he felt tired’ we could write ‘As the keeper dashed up the steps, he huffed and puffed and gasped for air. Slowly, he staggered towards the chair to take a much needed rest.’.
Everybody worked really hard with their descriptions. Please enjoy reading the examples below.
Science
Our Science topic this half term was all about living things and their habitats. We discovered what vertebrates and invertebrates were and the differences between them. We found out that vertebrates and invertebrates can be classified into specific groups. We used classification keys to find out which group different animals belonged to.
As it was still quite cold, it was quite tricky to find many invertebrates, but some of us managed to find a few woodlice!
We also discussed the different kinds of environments in which animals live. We discussed why different animals live in a particular environment to suit all of their needs.
We then looked at the environmental changes which may occur which would affect the animals habitats. Some changes are natural, such as: volcanoes, floods, hurricanes and droughts,. However some are caused by humans, such as: deforestation and pollution.
Autumn Term 2
R.E
This half term we learnt about Jesus’ teaching on the importance of trusting in him. We explored the importance of trusting in God as well as the difficulties it brings through the stories of Zechariah, Mary and Joseph. Key figures, such as Zechariah, Mary and Joseph, placed their trust in God, despite understanding the challenges this would bring.. We made links to our own lives, and how we face the same challenges of trust, like the Holy Family. We compared two pieces of artwork of the Annunciation. We discussed the reasons why the Angel Gabriel is kneeling down to Mary.
Mathematics
In our maths work this half term, we have been practising our multiplication and division skills. We have been learning how to multiply and divide by 10 and 100. We have also been making links between our multiples of 3, 6 and 9 to help become more proficient at these times tables. We continue to use lots of different strategies such as place value counters, bar models and part, part whole models to help us to solve problems reasoning questions.
English
We have had lots of fun in English this term! We have been learning about writing instructions linked to our History topic ‘The Romans in Britain’. We learnt about how the Romans built roads. We followed a set of instructions on ‘How to make an edible Roman Road’, using custard, digestives and custard creams! A rather tasty road!
We then continued on the Roman theme and created our own set of instructions about how to be a Roman Gladiator! We studied sets of instructions to see what we liked and what could be improved. With this in mind, we wrote our own instructions.
Science
We have had lots of fun investigating the properties of both solids and liquids in science.
We asked the question- Do liquids always change their shape? We discovered that yes they do! it doesn't matter what shape container they are put in they always change to fit the container.
We found out about different solids and if they could be squashed, cut and bend. We also found out that different solids have different melting points.
We carried out an investigation to find out how quickly we can melt chocolate. We used lots of different methods such as rubbing in our hands, placing near a radiator and placing over some warm water.
History
Our History topic this half term was The Roman invasion in Britain. We found out that the Roman Empire started in Rome, in Italy. The Romans had a strong army and were able to invade and conquer lots of European countries, including Britain. We discussed why the Roman army were so good at invading. We found out that they were very organised and had Centurions to lead them. Year 4 enjoyed making our own Roman soldier shields as part of our art and design work. We looked carefully at Roman shields, which had been found on archaeological digs. We then used these designs as a starting point to create our own. Once our shields were finished, we became Roman soldiers! We practised making the formations used by the Roman Army, such as the Tortoise (testudo) and the Wedge! We had to listen to our Centurion Leader, Mrs Holmes, carefully so that we didn’t get into trouble!
P.E
In P.E this half term, we have been working on our fitness. We have enjoyed doing a circuit with lots of different exercises. We also discussed the different effects on our bodies that exercise has.
Autumn Term 1
R.E.
This half term, we have been finding out about The Bible. We started by learning how to find references within the bible, thinking about what they mean and why they are in The Bible. We learnt about the some of the important figures in the Old Testament, such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David. We discussed the challenges these people faced and their strength and faith in God. We also learnt the promises God made to them. Finally, we reflected on how we can still learn today from their experiences.
As always, we continue to challenge ourselves on Times Tables Rock Stars!
Mathematics
Year 4 have enjoyed developing their Place Value knowledge this half term. We have been counting in 1,000’s, rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1,000, comparing 4-digit numbers and using inequality symbols to show more than and less than. We have also been introduced to negative numbers!
We are also working really hard to learn our Times Tables. We love do TT Rock Stars are trying to beat our last score!
English
In English, we had some exciting news. We were amazed to find what looked like a robot arm on our school field! We put on our detective hats and began asking and answering investigative questions about the arm. Where had the arm come from? How did land on our field? Who does it belong to? When did the mysterious event happen? We ensured we used modal verbs such as 'could' or 'might' to answer our questions, as we were given limited information. Following this event we thought it would be a good idea to read ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. Using this text we have done lots of descriptive writing about what the Iron Man looks, the kind of food he likes to eat and also written suggestions to the characters to advise them what to do with the Iron Man.
Reading at home
If you are struggling to think of some questions to ask your child about the book they are reading, then please refer to the handing help sheet below.
Science
We have been investigating all about Sound this half term. We have learnt about how different instruments make sounds. We explored how to make different sounds with certain instruments, for example for a drum you need to bang and a guitar you need to pluck the strings. We now know that sound is made by vibrations. We investigated this by putting some rice on a drum to see what what happen when the drum was hit. We also used a pitch fork. We struck it on the table and placed in a container of water. The vibrations made the water splash.
Geography
In our Geography work, we have enjoyed learning about rivers. We have learnt about how they are formed and the different features of a river. We have also discussed about how humans use rivers and the effect this has on rivers. We even had a very interesting debate about the Three Gorges Dam in China and the impact it has had both on humans and the environment.
PSHE
As part of our PSHE work, we started the year creating some artwork all about ourselves. We had to think about what makes us unique. We answered lots of different questions such as; What is your favourite colour? What would you like to be when you grown up? If you could be an animal what would it be?
We then created a background in the style of Kandinsky’s Concentric Circles. Mrs Holmes took a photograph of us which was then placed on the paintings and our sentences were stuck around our photo.
