4ST

I hope you are all looking forward to our Spring Term. We have many exciting things lined up, including a river walk, a visit to a Hindu temple and World Book Day! The Year 4 staff include: Miss Ogunyemi, Mrs Salik, Miss Thomas, Miss Rourke, Miss Patrick and Mr Warner who teach the class on a Tuesday afternoon.

This term our History theme is The Romans. This is such an exciting topic where the children will gain a greater knowledge of how the Roman Empire grew, the life of a Roman soldier, battle tactics, Queen Boudicca’s rebellion as well as the Roman Legacy. In Geography, we’ll be learning all about rivers and the water cycle.

In English we use our Talk4Write scheme, where children rehearse with actions and get to know the text well, drawing and following the text map so they are able to produce an imaginative final piece of writing at the end of each unit. Our non-fiction text types will include a report. In the report we will be focusing on the addition of interesting facts and information, ensuring each paragraph has a subject focus. Our fiction text types include a portal story. In the portal story, we will be focusing on alternative endings, creating drama and suspense to make the reader want to continue reading. We will also use a kennings poem focus to help children write descriptive sentences as part of clues for the reader to guess that it is about.

In Maths, we will be learning about perimeter in our measurement unit, including finding missing lengths, working out the perimeter of rectilinear shapes, regular and irregular polygons. We will be moving onto fractions, where children will learn how to count beyond whole numbers in fractions, what a mixed number is and how to partition it into whole number and a fraction. Also, we will be learning about improper fractions, how to convert them, equivalent fractions as well as adding and subtracting fractions. In year 4, all children will take an official times table test which will be taken in the Summer term. We will be continuously practising our times tables in class and it would be a great help if you could do this at home too. There is a useful website that can be accessed at home called ttrockstars.com. Your children should know their password but I will provide each child with their login again, in case it has been forgotten.

In our Guided Reading lessons, we will be reading a variety of text types and books by a variety of authors. Fluency and comprehension is very important. To help children with their vocabulary, we will introduce two new words each week related to our reading text. This is to improve their understanding and encourage them to use these words in their writing. Children will then practise their comprehension skills by answering a range of questions that focuses on different skills: retrieval, meaning of words, summarising, inference and prediction. To support your child’s reading at home they should be reading for at least 10 minutes every day. Please could you  ask your child some questions to improve their understanding of the book. Your child will have their banded/level reading book and are encouraged to take an additional book home to read for pleasure. Please sign their reading records to acknowledge they have read at home.

In Science we will be learning about animals and humans and comparing their teeth and digestive systems. Additionally, we’ll be learning about food chains and how animals adapt to their environments. This will involve an investigation to find out which drinks are the best for keeping teeth healthy.

We will continue with our weekly PE sessions, this will be on a Monday afternoon for 4ST and Friday afternoon for 4FO. Additionally, it is compulsory and part of the curriculum for year 4 to have swimming lessons; ours take place at Broughton Swimming Baths. Swimming will take place on a Wednesday afternoon for both classes, please ensure they have the correct kit on the specific days.

Our school PE kit is:

A white t-shirt, black shorts or tracksuit bottoms and black trainers or pumps. Black trainers can be worn as part of your child’s school uniform. No jewellery should be worn on either of these days, girls should only wear stud earrings that they can take out themselves.

Swimming kit:

Girls: a swimming costume, a swimming cap (which can be purchased from the office for £3) and a towel.

Boys: tight-fitting swim trunks (not shorts), a swimming cap and a towel.

Homework:

In Year 4 we will send your child spelling work that follows on from the spelling rule they have learnt that week. They will also get a piece of homework each week which will have a Maths or English focus. This will need to be completed and returned by the following Wednesday so it can be marked. Please use TTrockstars to practise times tables whenever you can as well.

If you’d like to talk to any of the Year 4 team, please look out for us in the playground after school. Please wait until all the pupils are dismissed if you require us after school. We are always happy to speak to you about any concerns you may have. If you need a little bit longer then we can arrange a meeting. We aim to keep you updated about the general learning taking place on Class dojo. If your child is poorly please contact the office to let them know.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic year with your children.

Thank you all for your support.

Year 4 team: Miss Ogunyemi, Mrs Salik, Miss Thomas, Miss Rourke