Welcome to Year 4’s blog!

Happy New Year to all families – even though the new year seems like a distant memory now! Our second blog of the year, and since our last one, we have been very busy! We had some fantastic fun at the end of the autumn term in the run up to Christmas. This seems like a distant memory now that we are almost in February! There have been lots of learning opportunities for the children this term, and we are very much counting down the days until our trip to the Science Museum! Have a read below to see what we have all been up to, and immerse yourself in your child’s learning by seeing the work they have produced.

From the Year 4 team: Mrs Clarke, Miss Connolly & Miss Shah

Maths

We started the term learning about multiplication and division. We were learning different methods of multiplying and dividing such as using the part-whole model, using place value charts, place value counters and the column method. These methods have helped support their understanding in working out 2×1 digit calculations, 3×1 digit calculations and looking at dividing using remainders. This has really tested the children’s times table knowledge! It would be great if they continued to practise these at home as it will help them in almost every area of the maths curriculum, not to mention the times table test they will have in June. Our next unit that we will be learning about is length and perimeter. The children will be introduced to new concepts such as rectilinear shapes, and understanding how to find the perimeter of these. We explore key vocabulary in every lesson, and often we introduce the children to key words that they may not have heard of before. We encourage the use of these through our class discussions, their use of talk partners and when doing work in their books. There is a variety of different practical resources that are used within the lesson that support the children, which are readily available in class.

 

Writing & Reading

We kicked off the term in our writing by showing the children a clip from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, where Harry and Hagrid discover Diagon Alley together. This hooked the children into the topic nicely, and they were able to use their knowledge of expanded noun phrases and fronted adverbials to write some excellent setting descriptions. We also used dictionaries, thesauruses and synonyms display boards to help us extend our vocabulary choices. In this unit, the children were preparing to write their own portal story. They had to imagine they had discovered a world behind something mysterious and were able to use their imagination to come up with what their new setting would be like and how they would be transported there. We had some excellent ideas and the children showed off their creative writing skills well. The teachers also loved being taken back in time to when they used to watch Harry Potter! In our reading lessons, we have been looking at a variety of different genres. We started off the term by reading ‘The Wolf’s Footprint’ and we are now reading ‘The Wild Robot’. The children have been using their skills of predicting, summarising, commentating, making inferences and sequencing through role play. They have very much enjoyed this and are looking forward to reading the rest of our current book!

We have had many children receiving certificates for achieving their reading milestones which is fantastic! We encourage reading every evening and for the children to bring in their reading records each day to help them on their way to their next milestone! Badges and certificates are handed out each Friday in the classrooms to celebrate the efforts made.

Science

This term we have been learning about living things and their environments. We have learnt about the acronym MRS GREN which allows us to work out the characteristics of a living thing. Each of these letters represents something a living thing can do. Our second lesson saw us being more practical, going out into the school environment to look at different living things out there and what their habitats are like. To support the learning in this topic, we are very excited about our upcoming trip to the science museum after the half term. We will be watching a 3D interactive film about habitats in the Antarctica and how they are so different to habitats of living things around us. Look out for some photos in our next blog of the children having fun on their visit! Below are some great resources we use to support the children’s learning such as visually displaying vocabulary, reflecting on previous learning and ensuring children are referring to their knowledge organisers each lesson.