Year 4

Welcome to Year 4

Term 5

Welcome back to Term 5. We hope you have had a relaxing break over Easter and are ready for the Summer Term.

Miss. Walker (4W) , Miss. Moody (4M) and Mr. Fox. (4F)

Routines - Term 5

PE is on Monday (Athletics) and Friday (Football).  Children will need to wear their full PE kit to school. This consists of: House T-shirt, dark shorts and/or jogging bottoms, trainers and school jumper.

Forest School will be on Mondays during Term 5. Children will need old trainers or wellies in a named carrier bag as well as appropriate wet weather gear (waterproof coat and trousers).  We advise that Forest School kit remains in school for the duration of the term as we may take advantage of other opportunities for outdoor learning within our timetable.

Homework Expectations:

Homework will be set on a Monday and completed by Friday.  Homework tasks should be completed neatly (using a pencil) in orange Homework books. This will consist of a main task linked to English, Maths or Foundation subjects, as well as a spelling activity related to our weekly rule.

Introduction of Times Tables Homework Task – Week beginning Monday 17th March

As you may be aware, Year 4 pupils will complete the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) during the Summer Term. The MTC consists of 25 timed questions, testing pupils' recall of multiplication facts up to 12 x 12.

Therefore, to support children in learning their times tables, a short weekly task will be introduced as part of homework. Children should practise the times table facts given to them by their class teacher in preparation for a quiz, each Friday. Children will also be given time to learn and revise these facts in school throughout the week.

Please speak to your child’s class teacher if you have any questions.

Reading is crucial to every child's progress across the entire curriculum and we expect that every child reads to an adult at home at least 3 times a week.  Please record this in their blue reading record and ensure it is brought to school every day.

Communication 

If you wish to contact your child's class teacher, please do so via the school office or written note handed by your child to the class teacher.  Please note: all absences must be reported to the school office directly.

 

Term 5 Learning:

What are we learning this term?

Maths

In Maths this term, children will initially build on their knowledge of fractions and decimals, recapping dividing whole numbers by 10 and 100 before rounding, comparing and ordering decimals. After that, our focus will turn to time and money. During our unit on money, our previous learning of decimals will be key in supporting the children in writing money as decimals and converting between pounds and pence. When we focus on time, we will first recap prior learning on minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years before converting between analogue and digital clocks as well as 12 and 24 hour clocks.

Times Tables are an important part of our mathematical teaching and learning throughout the whole of year 4. Please support times table learning and speedy recall of multiplication and division facts, at home.

English

In English this term, we will be reading a story called A Hero Like Me by Angela Joy & Jen Reid. As part of our learning, we will explore the author’s style of writing, understand Jen’s character and retell the story from her perspective. We will then begin a non-fiction unit linked to A Hero Like Me.

In addition, we will continue to develop our reading skills through regular Guided Reading sessions. We will introduce, explore and apply our new spelling rules and patterns, weekly.

Foundation Subjects

In Science this term, we focus on ‘Animals including Humans’ – a series of lessons that explore the human digestive system, different types of teeth and food chains. We deepen and broaden our knowledge of these topics throughout the term and develop our scientific enquiry skills with a particular focus on making predictions.

In PSHE, pupils will explore the life of Chiwa, a girl from Malawi. Through her story, the children will explore and discuss inequality, stereotypes and ways to promote fairness. We will also consider the impact of climate change, fair trade and organisations that support communities like Chiwa’s. Pupils will reflect on their role as global citizens and how their actions can impact the wider world.

Computing develops our Scratch skills and will teach us how to adapt commands to enhance instructions and games produced.

In Art, we learn about the life and work of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth and create a clay sculpture that represents one of our own journeys through the playscape. Forest School this term will therefore directly link to this project. 

In PE, we are building upon our skills and tactics employed when playing Football. Athletics is our second P.E. lesson in the week. We will practice athletic skills relating to jumping, running and throwing and have mini-athletic challenges, throughout the term, to produce our personal best for each discipline.

French focuses strongly on the spoken skill of making conversation – understanding what is being said and responding appropriately.

Finally, Geography explores Volcanoes and Earthquakes. We understand why and how a volcano is formed this term and explore how earthquakes shake!

What a fantastic term of learning ahead!

 

Art Research Links:

https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-barbara-hepworth

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbd9jfr

Geography Link: 

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=11.3508,-148.44727&extent=58.1707,-41.57227