W/C 22nd April

We started the week in Year 4 with an exciting Earth day where we learnt about biodiversity. We created informative posters about what humans can do to support biodiversity. In the afternoon, we made our own bug hotels out of recycled materials and decorated them to attract insects. It was a wonderful way to start the week.

In Maths this week, we have been making wholes with tenths and hundreds and partitioning decimals, including flexibly. We have used place value charts and different coloured counters to help us and had time to discuss our reasoning. Next week, we will be comparing, ordering and rounding decimals and towards the end of the week we will half and quarter decimals and find equivalent fractions. 

We have written some truly amazing non-chronological reports this week in English about pets. We have used our learning from computing to complete efficient searches. We organised our research into sections and used many features of non-chronological reports. We used commas and apostrophes accurately in our reports. Next week in English, we will continue our learning on Varjak paw and create a missing poster. We will make comparisons and predictions as we hear more of the story. We will compare the character Varjak Paw to the well-known cat Mcavity!

In science this week we have learnt all about teeth. We know the names and functions of the different types of teeth. We have also set up an experiment in the classroom with eggshell in various types of liquid. We are making observations each day and will find out if our predictions are correct next week.

W/C 15th April

Welcome back and wow! What a spectacular first week of the new term! 

In English, we have started learning linked to our familiar text, 'Varjak paw' by S.F.Said. This is a book the children have been enjoying as their class read over the last term. We are now focusing the next 3 weeks of our learning in English around the powerful and incredible tale of Varjak Paw. This week we have written character descriptions and comparisons. We also enjoyed a conscience alley where we had to persuade Varjak Paw to venture outside the familiar territory of his home on a dangerous mission or stay and face an uncertain future in his domesticated home. We all wrote incredibly persuasive letters using a variety of conjunctions to persuade Varjak what he should do. Next week in English, we will be researching and then writing a non-chronological fact-file about a chosen animal.

In Maths this week, we have consolidated our learning on the 4 functions. We have reviewed our learning on formal written methods for each function and applied this knowledge to word problems. Next week we will be continuing our learning on decimals. We will make wholes with tenths and hundreds and then partition decimals.

On Thursday, we were very fortunate to attend a performance run at Weald of their variety show which will be held at the EM Forster theatre next week. We enjoyed watching the wonderful talents being showcased through dance, singing and drama. We joined in with the finale song with enthusiasm and felt privileged to be their first audience.

We finished the week with our stunning start linked to Tourism. We loved coming to school in our holiday clothes and trying to get others to guess our destinations from our holiday items! In the afternoon, we defined what a tourist and tourism is and the sources of income for the tourist industry. We sang, watched a seaside puppet show, took holiday snaps, had ice lollies and decorated pebbles as souvenirs. A truly stunning start to Term 5. 

W/C 25th March

We have had an amazing last week of Term 4!

It started with a thought provoking and joyful Easter church service by Year 3. We then had our wonderful trip to the park to support our learning in English. We had a quick rest and a snack when we arrived at the park and then we embarked on our planned activities with our partners. We paid close attention to how our partners were feeling and placed a lot if importance on making sure our partner was having fun. We then had some time to play freely before stopping for lunch. After lunch we had a quick game of rounders and showed some excellent team work skills. It was a long walk back but we encouraged each other and used the walk for more time to talk. We were very lucky with the weather and it was wonderful to see new friendships being built. Our trip also inspired some fantastic writing of our own version of 'Voices in the park' using inference, the past progressive tense and some ambitious adjectives. Next term in English,  we will be focusing on Varjak Paw and in the first week we will be writing a character description and a persuasive letter using conjunctions.

In Science this week, we made circuits to light a bulb and then added a variety of materials. Using our circuits, we identified whether the materials were conductors or insulators. We could explain, using correct scientific vocabulary, how we knew whether the material was a conductor or insulator. 

In Maths, we have continued our learning around decimals. We have learnt how to represent hundredths as decimals and how to represent hundredths on a place value chart. We have used our reasoning skills to explain mistakes such as confusing hundreds with hundredths. After the Easter break, we will spend a week consolidating the 4 operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. 

We finished the week with a thoroughly enjoyable DT day that also consolidated our learning on electricity. We were set the problem of designing and making a night light. We worked hard to think about what makes a good night light and what we would need to make it. We spent time creating wonderful designs which we drew onto black card. The next task took patience and perseverance, as we had to punch out our design in holes using a pin and then a cocktail stick to make the holes larger. We found it was easier to do this with the soft background of the carpet. The final step was to glue gun in the lights and then staple and glue the card to make a cylinder. The night lights looked very effective and there were some beautiful designs. We are looking forward to using them at bedtime.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter and hope you have an enjoyable break.

W/C 18th March

In Year 4 this week, we have had lots of opportunities to work with others in groups and pairs which has developed our learning and improved our communication skills. 

In Maths, we have continued our learning on decimals. In pairs, we used place value charts and counters to divide numbers by ten and write it correctly as a decimal. Next week in Maths, we will be representing and identifying  hundredths.

In History, we worked in groups to create an article about culture in the Byzantine Empire in the 6th Century. We found out about the ancient Greek city of Byzantium and looked at a variety of sources to evidence what life was like in the Byzantine empire. We looked at a beautiful mosaic that depicted Emperor Constantine gifting the city to Baby Jesus and thought about what this meant about Christianity at the time. 

In English, we have started our new text 'Voices in the park' which is written from 4 different perspectives. We have developed our inference skills to understand and write about the characters and used evidence to support our character descriptions. At the end of the week, we have worked with partners across the year group to plan our trip to the park. We used fronted adverbials related to time to order our planned activities at the park. We built on our conversation and enquiry skills to find out how we can make sure our partner really enjoys their visit to the park. Next week, we will write our own narratives about our time at the park from our own perspective and from our partner's perspective. We are very excited about our park visit and hoping for dry weather!

W/C 11th March 

What another jam packed week of learning we have had in Year 4! 

In English, we worked well in groups to re-enact a scene from Alice in Wonderland. We really enjoyed using our dramatic skills and it has supported us with ideas for our writing. 

We used a template with key questions to plan a narrative about Wonderland. It could folllow the traditional story of Alice in Wonderland or we could write our own tale of Wonderland. We tried to balance speech with dialogue in our narratives and captivate the reader. Next week in English we will be exploring our new text 'Voices in the Park' by Anthony Browne. We will be analysing characters in the book and identifying the inference that might show how they are feeling. We will also be planning our visit to the park. If there are any parent volunteers that are able to accompany us to the park after the church service on Monday, please speak to Mrs Reynolds or Mrs Crook. 

In Maths, we have continued fractions and have learnt to subtract fractions from mixed numbers. We have also developed our understanding of tenths and applied this knowledge to work out problems with money. Next week, we will be continuing our learning on tenths and then be working with decimals by dividing single and two digit numbers by 10. We will also also represent hundredths as a fraction. 

This week was science week and we enjoyed an experiment linked to time and used our knowledge of circuits to create a clock powered by potatoes! We found out that we could replace a normal battery with potatoes and we will be exploring if other materials will work as well. We then remembered how to make our circuits from our last lesson to power a lightbulb. We could do this independently and remembered all the components. We added a switch to our circuit and learnt how they work and why they are needed. 

In computing, we are developing our confidence when coding. We used the software 'logo' to write coding to draw letters. We learnt to use the pen up and pen down command and how it is easier to spot errors in code when using multi line coding. 

We have been learning how to avoid a 'no ball' in rounders by practising our accuracy and we are looking forward to putting our rounders skills to the test at the park on the 25th.  We were also extremely lucky to have Razmataz host a workshop for Year 4 in PE this week.  They kindly offered a workshop linked to our learning and taught us an energetic and motivating carnival dance. Within an hour, we had all learned all the moves to perform the lively dance and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. 

W/C 4th March

Wow! What an amazing week we have had! We have crammed in so much excitement and have loved all the fun activities throughout book week. On Monday morning we arrived at Wonderland! There were many characters from the book 'Alice in Wonderland'  greeting us and handing out invites to an afternoon tea party. The Queen of hearts kept everything in order without chopping off anyone's head! Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum came very close due to their rather silly antics! 

We were very inspired by the author Alex  Wharton on Tuesday. He is an amazing poet and he really inspired us to write poetry...which we have been doing. We have enjoyed reading nonsense poems in English and identifying the rhyme and other features in them. We have all written our own nonsense poems which are making their way to our 'WOW Writing' display in the corridor because they are so good. Next week we will be planning and writing a narrative inspired by Alice in Wonderland. 

In Maths this week, we have continued our learning on fractions. We had a 'Maths through stories' lesson on Wednesday especially for book week where we designed our own cakes and then divided them into fractions and calculated the mixed numbers when we had more than one cake. We also visited Year 1 and designed our own potions using accurate measurements. Next week we will be subtracting from mixed numbers and identifying tenths as fractions and decimals. 

Throughout the week we have had several magical visits to forest school which we have loved. We sang songs and told our own stories around the campfire, experienced a sensory walk around Wonderland and then completed a search for all the Wonderland flowers. We had to match them to quotes from characters and identify the name of the flower. 

It really has been a magnificent week and we have loved seeing everyone dressed up in costumes from our favourite books and dressed ready for bed on Wednesday! We had a lovely bedtime story from Mr Lucas and we also enjoyed reading with siblings and family members on Thursday. There have been so many special moments this week to encourage us to keep reading and keep loving books. Happy Book Week!

W/C 26th February

What an exciting week in Year 4. There has been so much to cram in. As well as our usual learning we had a engaging show about mental health awareness, we have have been leaping around wearing green for leap day and we have had own clothes day with some yellow for St David's day. A giant leaping frog, going by the name of 'Fenton' has also been spotted, a raffle has been held and we have been working with real sweets to learn about fractions in Maths! It really has been a lot of fun this week and we are very much looking forward to the even more exciting 'book' week, next week. Please remember pyjama day on Wednesday and dressing up on Thursday as a book character. There are lots of other events happening next week that have all been detailed on a letter sent out. It is going to be a wonderful week.

In our usual learning this week we have continued to explore our text, 'circle', in English. We have recapped fronted adverbials and used them to vary sentence openers. We have learnt the correct punctuation for direct speech and know dialogue should be used to move the story on. We have written our own narratives as sequels of the 'circle' and used dialogue and varied sentence openers in our stories. Next week in English we will be focusing on rhyme and syllables and their use in poems. 

In Maths this week, we have continued our learning on fractions and we are becoming confident at identifying mixed and improper fractions and converting them. We have used number lines to understand and work out equivalent fractions. Next week we will be learning to add fractions and mixed numbers. We will also learn to subtract fractions and subtract from whole numbers. 

Our science investigations went well this week and, with some perseverance, everyone managed to complete a simple circuit to light a bulb. There was a huge sense of pride that could be seen on our faces when the bulb lit up. We investigated what happened when the circuit was broken and if the order of components mattered. We were able to identify complete and incomplete circuits and have started to learn how to draw simple circuits and label them with the correct terminology. 

Year 4 always enjoy their PE lessons with both classes together on a Thursday afternoon. This week was particularly fun as we also incorporated some leap day fun together. We thought of different animals that leap and then chose four to focus on, frogs, kanagroos, deers and hares. In our house groups, we had races with each house being a different animal. The kangaroos felt they were the best leapers but each animal had unique leaping qualities! It was lovely to see excellent teamwork and hear the encouragement and praise the children had for each other.

W/C 19th February

Year 4 have had a fantastic first week of Term 4. It is hard to believe we are halfway through the school year and we have so much more learning to cram in.

We have started a lot of new topics in our foundation subjects and particularly enjoyed learning about electricity in Science. We learnt the different types of electricity and their sources. In computing we have started a new unit on coding and were able to use code to draw shapes on the the software 2Logo.

This week in Maths we have started our learning on fractions. We have learnt what a unit fraction and non-unit fraction is. We have learned to count beyond one in fractions and we are developing a good understanding of mixed fractions. We have applied our knowledge to a variety of problems involving ordering and calculating missing fractions.

Next week we will be continuing our learning on fractions. We will learn to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions and then improper fractions to mixed numbers. We will recognise equivalent fractions and their families. 

In English this week, we wrote a diary entry about our half term and focused on the simple past tense and using first person. We have started our new text, 'Circle' by Jeannie Baker. It is a really thought-provoking text with beautiful illustrations. We have written a postcard from the 'Godwit' bird featured in the story. Amazingly, in its lifetime, a Godwit flies more than the distance from Earth to the Moon! We also wrote a reply from the boy in the story. We thought carefully about our responses to make sure they were relevant. Next week in English, we will be writing our own narratives inspired by 'Circle'. We will be focusing on using varied sentence openers and using dialogue accurately. 

W/C 5th February

We are feeling very proud in Year 4 for our church service on kindness yesterday. We know how important it is to be kind to all and enjoyed sharing this message with everyone in our service. The videos from the service are now on the website.

In Year 4,  we have also enjoyed experimenting in Science this week. We finished our learning on ‘states of matter’ by exploring gas and its properties. We found out how carbon dioxide is put into drinks to make them fizzy and investigated whether gas weighs anything. We followed instructions in groups to carry out a fair investigation and tied an inflated and deflated balloon to a hanger to demonstrate that gas has a weight.

In netball, we consolidated the skills we have been learning this term to play mini games in small groups. We used chest passes, bounce passes and shoulder passes to move as a team with the ball and then shoot successfully. We showed great teamwork skills and resilience in the wet weather!

In Maths, we have continued our learning of perimeter and have developed efficient strategies to find the perimeter of regular and irregular polygons. Next term, we will start with fractions and learn to partition, compare and order mixed numbers. 

In English, we have been writing instructions for games using imperative verbs. We have enjoyed finding out about Roman games and learnt how to play ‘Morra’ and ‘Terni Lapilli’. The instructions for these games on documents below and the children would love to show you how to play in half term. Enjoy!

Next term in English, we will explore our new text, 'Circle' by Jeannie Baker. We will start by using the past tense, first person and  informal language to write postcards and diary entries. 

We finished the term by completing and evaluating our piece of artwork.  We had a go at sewing a button and this was a great achievement when the button was secure. The buttons have added an additional texture and 3D element to our art and we are very proud of them.

W/C 29th January 

We have entered the month of February with an exciting week of learning. 

In English, we have been reading about Roman Emperors behaving badly in our current text 'So you think you've got it bad? A kids life in ancient Rome'. We have been fascinated (and quite horrified!) to find out some of the awful behaviour by some emperors. We chose a particular emperor and one of their terrible deeds and wrote a recount of it. We have consolidated our understanding of pronouns and conjunctions this week and how to use them effectively. We used conjunctions to compare school life in ancient Rome to our own school lives and definitely appreciate the many improvements in schools since Roman times! Next week in English, we will be identifying and using imperative verbs to write instructions for a Roman game. 

We have been learning all about perimeter in Maths this week. We have enjoyed getting out of the classroom to measure the perimeter of outside spaces using metre measuring wheels. We learnt the most effective way of findiing the perimeter without measuring every length. We have used our knowledge to work out the missing lengths in rectilinear shapes. Next week in Maths, we will continue our learning on perimeter and learn how to calculate the perimeter of regular and irregular polygons. 

In History this week we identified the traditional features of Roman towns and drew our own maps of a Roman Tonbridge. We made sure the roads were straight and added a forum with a temple, Roman baths and a theatre.

We have also been practising a lot this week for our church service on Thursday next week. We are looking forward to seeing lots of parents there.

W/C 22nd January 

What an exciting week we have had in Year 4! On Monday, in Geography, we used squirty cream and crackers to demonstrate the movement of tectonic plates and how this sometimes causes earthquakes. The visual representation really supported our learning and learnt about the San Andreas fault and why it is prone to earthquakes. 

In PE this week we have continued to develop our netball skills and improved our bounce, chest, and shoulder passes. We are making progress with our coordiantion and accuracy. 

In English this week,  we wrote non-chronological reports about health and medicine in ancient Rome. We have enjoyed learning some interesting and often quite disgusting facts! We worked hard in pairs to produce some informative and well-presented reports with pictures and captions.  We have also learnt about the different types of determiners. Next week, in English,  we will be consolidating our understanding of how to use pronouns and conjunctions. We will continue to explore our current text 'So you think you've got it bad? A kids life in Ancient Rome' and use it to write a recount about a Roman Emperor and to write a comparison about education now and in ancient Rome. 

In Maths this week we have used the formal short written method to multiply 1 and 2 digit numbers. We have also learnt how to group a 2 digit number in smaller groups of multiples. We were then able to use known facts to divide it by a 1 digit number. Some of us have found this quite tricky and will return to this later in Year 4 to consolidate our understanding. Next week, in Maths, we will be measuring in kilometres and metres and finding equivalent lengths. We will find the perimeter of rectilinear shapes and learn how to find missing lengths.

The highlight of our week was obviously our truly fabulous Roman Day! We were very excited as we arrived at school in our wonderful costumes and we were ready to be Romans for the day. Phil from 'Those history people' was fantastic at getting us straight into character from the start as our Roman 'Prefect'. We were in a Roman fort and had many jobs to keep it running. We used authentic Roman methods to make lavender bags, wax tablets with a stylus, safety pins, mosaic tiles and clay pots. We had a go at inscribing, making ink, being archers and legionaires. We learnt how to be a Roman army and use their formations and strategies of attack and retreat...and that was just the morning!

After lunch, Phil was now an archaeologist and we became archaeologists too! We learnt how to delicately excavate Roman artefacts and classify them. We plotted our excavation site findings on a grid and created our own museum of Roman artefacts. 

It was a such a wonderful day, packed full of exciting learning and inspiring moments that will have a lasting impact on us all. We hope you enjoy looking at the photos and videos below. Thank you so much to Phil for being such a knowledgeable and passionate Prefect and archaeologist! Also a huge thank you to all the parents who helped on the day, it was your support that made the day such a success. 

W/C 15th January

We have had a fun and icy week in Year 4 which has linked in well for our science this week. We continued our learning on states of matter and looked at frozen water and explored how long it takes to melt. We learnt about the differing freezing points of different materials and observed and drew diagrams of the processes and reversing of melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation. 

In Maths, we have been multiplying and dividing by 100 and looking carefully at place value. We have used place value charts and counters to support our understanding of what is happening to the number. We have identified related facts in multiplication and division and used them to work out the multiplication of larger numbers

e.g. using 6 x4 = 24 to work out 6 x 40. 

We have also just started using the short formal written method to multiply a two digit number by a one digit number. Next week we will exten this written method continue to to multiply two digit by two digit numbers. We will then move on to division with and without remainders. If any parents would like to know more about the methods we are using in Maths in Year 4 then please do ask a Year 4 teacher as we would be more than happy to demonstrate. 

In art, we continued our theme of aboriginal art and put our designs from last week onto material using dot art. We used the primary colours to mix our own colours and then used black and white to make them lighter or darker. We practised on the material first to see how it would be different to paper. We used a variety of tools to create different sized dots including cocktail sticks, cotton buds, the end of pencil crayons and our fingers! There were some fantastic designs, as you can see below. In the next art lesson we will be sewing on buttons to add texture and a 3D element to our artwork. 

In English this week, we have looked at different types of noun and written some descriptive noun phrases. We have then focused on writing for a purpose. We wrote our own songs about Pompeii using features of a song and many of us were able to use irony. In English next week we will start our new Text 'So you think you've got it bad, A kid's life in ancient Rome' by Chae Strathie. We will be writing our own non-chronological report and we will be writing a diary entry on Friday about our fantastic Roman day on Thursday. We are really looking forward to Roman day on Thursday. Calling all enthusiastic Mums, Dads, carers, grandparents... if anyone is able to help on the day either for the whole day or the morning or afternoon, this would be really appreciated. It will be a wonderful experience and is a valuable opportunity to see the children learning. Please email the office or speak to a teacher on Monday so we can accept offers of help and confirm we have enough support for the day to be a success.

W/C 8th January

In Year 4 this week, we are loving our new text ‘Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit.  This week we have focused on fronted adverbials. We have used them to write a chronological report and also in persuasive letters. We have loved writing letters to the Prime Minister to tell him our ideas of what should be in every school. There was a wide range of ideas that included swimming pools, farms and a weekly disco! We also wrote letters to Pompeii in 79AD explaining we are from the future and tried to warn them of the imminent eruption. Next week in English we are focusing on nouns and noun phrases. We will use them to write setting descriptions and to write a song. We will also be identifying and understanding irony. 

In Maths this week, we have focused on multiplying and dividing numbers. We have been learning about factor pairs and finding out how many factor pairs a number has. We know that a number that only has one factor pair (itself and one) is a prime number and  we have learnt that factors have to be integers (whole numbers). We have found it helpful to use counters to show the change in place value when multiplying by 10. In Maths next week, we will be learning to multiply and divide by 100 and looking closely at place value when we do this. We will be identifying related facts in multiplication and division. At the end of the week we will move on to multiplying a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number.

The highlight of our week has been our stunning start! We had an afternoon of science where we explored states of matter. We identified the properties of a gas, liquid and solid and demonstrated how the particles move in them. We changed the state of orange juice and made some lava (slime!) As we made the slime, we observed the change in state of matter. We described its’ properties and thought about how the particles would be behaving. It was a fun stunning start full of learning.

W/C 3rd January 2024

We have had a busy first week back of the New Year and have enjoyed settling back into routines and catching up on news from the holidays.

In English this week, we started by writing a recount of our Christmas holidays. We used first person consistently and had a focus on contractions to consolidate our learning. We have read our new text 'Escape from Pompeii' by Christina Balit. We have used it to write a setting description from this beautifully illustrated book about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. We have also written a setting comparison by learning about the areas of Naples now and comparing them to Naples in 79AD. Next week in English, we will have a focus on fronted adverbials. We will be using them in a chronological report of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and also in persuasive letters to the Prime Minister and the people of Pompeii.

In Maths this week, we have continued our learning of times tables, and strategies to use, from last term. We have focused on the 7, 11 and 12 times tables and used our number knowledge of multiples of 2 and 10 to work out multiples of 12. We have solved word problems linked to multiplication and used reasoning skills to give explanations for our answers and working out. Next week in Maths, we will be learning methods to multiply and divide numbers. We will use pictorial representations to address misconceptions when multiplying by 1 and 0 and when dividing a number by 1 or itself. We will also learn to multiply 3 numbers e.g. 4 x 5 x 2.

W/C 11th December

We have had a wonderful week in Year 4 and have crammed so much in including a visit to Father Christmas, a Christmas concert, a Christmas dinner, a Christmas pantomime and a Christmas church service! We loved making a video of the 12 days of Christmas and were stunned to have some reindeer dancing in the hall! Amongst all the Christmas activities we have also completed some amazing learning to be very proud of.  

In Science,  we used the sound generators we made to create a sound clip to Bambi. We used different pitches, volumes and tempos effectively and demonstrated fantastic teamwork. 

We completed some cross-curricular learning linked to Fibonacci's sequence. We really enjoyed a lesson that involved Maths, Art and nature and produced some wonderful pieces of work.

In English, we have written some amazing Christmas stories using detailed description and ambitious vocabulary. Our stories have really captivated the reader and we have enjoyed reading them to each other.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all in 2024.

W/C 4th December

This week in Maths, we have continued with multiplication, division and fact families with various numbers. We have become skilled at knowing what strategies to use to work out multiplications using our times tables knowledge. We have learnt to identify whether a number is a multiple of a given number easily, including 4 digit numbers. We will continue multiplication and times tables facts next week. 

In English this week, we have been very busy writing our fact-files about our chosen animal. We grouped the information into relevant sections and have created some amazing and informative fact-files about wide variety of animals including chinchillas, tigers, guinea pigs and pythons. Also in English we finished reading 'Ice palace' and have learnt the features of a script. We then wrote our own script to retell a scene in Ice palace. We remembered to use colons and brackets in the correct places. Next week in English, we will have the opportunity to act out our scenes and to write Christmas stories using captivating plots and ambitious vocabulary.

In RE we learnt about why Christians sing carols and the traditional features of a carol. We had lots of fun writing our own carols and have also enjoyed making christingles today in our house groups.

W/C 27th November

Wow! What a wonderful week we have had in Year 4! In English we have started reading our new text, 'Ice Palace' by Robert Swindells. The story is about a boy called 'Ivan' who decides to go on a long, dangerous and bitterly cold journey to rescue his younger brother. In our classes we held a conscience alley. One child was Ivan and the rest of the class had to persuade Ivan to decide whether to keep going or turn back. There was some really thoughtful and persuasive language used and excellent listening skills demonstrated. 

Next week in English we will be writing a non-fiction fact-file, we would be very grateful if the homework for this is completed and brought to school by Wednesday. We will also be learning about features of scripts and writing a scene from the Ice Palace as a script. 

In Maths, we have continued multiplication and have surprised ourselves at the many different strategies we can use to work out the higher numbered times tables. 

Next week in Maths, we will be using strategies to work out the 7, 11 and 12 times tables and continuing to develop quick recall. 

We enjoyed a cross curricular History lesson this week where we learnt about Mount Vesuvius. We learnt a lot about the eruption of 79AD and used chalks to create artwork of the eruption. Did you know the city of Pompeii was not found until 1,520 years after the eruption?

As well as our usual lessons,  we were also fortunate to have a road safety workshop. We added to our knowledge of how to be safe when walking and cycling and it was good reminder of the importance of being highly visible, especially now the daylight hours are shorter. 

In the Year 4 lunchtime friendship club we have been developing our social skills while making pom-poms this week. It is a nice way to spend some of our lunchtime on a Monday and the pom-poms are slowly getting bigger!

The highlight of our week was Thursday, which was our DT day. We started the day learning about pneumatics and what is powered by pneumatics. We then designed our own moving monster with a moving part. Once our designs were finished we followed instructions to make our monsters and used pneumatics to move one part of our creation. We wrote instructions to explain how to make our monsters work and then peer and self-evaluated our creations. Everyone one worked so hard throughout the day and we are sure you will be impressed when you see the marvellous, moving monsters come home!

W/C 20th November

This week we have been working very hard in Year 4. In English we have planned and then written a formal persuasive letter. This was an independent task and we used our plans, dictionaries and thesaurus to help us. We used persuasive language and features of a formal letter. 

In Maths, we have been learning multiples of 3, 6 and 9. We have learnt the fact families and found out how we can use our knowledge of one times table to work out another e.g. double threes to help with sixes.

In outdoor PE this week we completed circuits and showed stamina and determination. We did several sets of (reps) repetitions and encouraged each other to keep going.

In music we are learning to play London's burning on the recorder and we are trying hard to play in unison.

Next week in Maths, we will continue learning the 3,6 and 9 times tables and we will also revise our learning so far this year. In English we will moving onto our new text 'Ice Palace' by Robert Swindells and we will be thinking about how to write a script.

W/C 13th November

This week we have continued our learning in English linked to the text 'Romans on the Rampage'. We have all planned our own invention and created a leaflet about them. We had to think about the different features and who the inventions would  would be useful for. At the end of the week the two year 4 classes swapped leaflets and voted on the best one. See below for some pictures of the very creative inventions. Next week in English, we will be learning about different types of nouns with a focus on abstract nouns. We will also be writing informal letters. 

In Maths this week, we have been identifying the area of objects and the properties of rectilinear shapes. We have compared areas and found the difference between them. We have also continued to develop our problem solving skills and have challenged our thinking with several reasoning questions linked to shape and area. Next week in Maths, we will be focusing on multiplication, starting with multiples of 3 and then 6. 

In computing this week, we learnt about plagiarism and the importance of acknowledging when something is not our own work. We discussed the meaning of 'copyright', 'watermark' and 'citation'. We then completed a plagiarism quiz on the Ipads to consolidate our learning. 

As we do each week, we have crammed in so much learning. We have learnt about Octavian who became the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. We have also learnt about oceans and continents in Geography, Incarnation in RE, anti-bullying in RHE, demonstrated the Haka in PE and we have learnt several verbs and their different forms in Latin. Do ask us about our learning at home and see what we can remember!

In music, we have continued to learn the recorder and have also been practising our class songs for the KS2 Christmas concert throughout the week. The words will be coming home soon so please encourage lots of practice!

W/C 6th November

We have had another busy week in year 4 but have also had a lot of opportunities to reflect and think of others. We have created remembrance day displays, discussed the importance of remembrance day and shared what the day means to us and to others. We arranged the coins children brought in to donate onto a large Poppy and Year 4 learnt about the very special service medals awarded to Jacob's Grandad, Captain Samuel DK de Ferrars.

On Thursday it was 'Bishop Chavasse' day and we learned about Bishop Christopher Chavasse and his dedication to his faith and helping others. Year 4 spent the morning in their house groups with year 2. We supported the year 2 children with their learning. We offered words of praise and encouragement as we all enjoyed completing some 'Tinkatinka' artwork. In the afternoon we wrote some letters to the Matongoro school in Tanzania and we were really excited to be raising money for them with the table top sale and our artwork.  This was a wonderful opportunity for us demonstrate the school value of compassion and this value really showed in the letters we wrote.

In Maths this week, we focused on how to check our answers using the inverse and on identifying mistakes and correcting them. We have started learning about area and how to measure area using squares. Next week we will continue to learn about area. We will identify the properties of rectilinear shapes and compare different areas.  

In English this week, we have identified which prefixes and suffixes are added to root words and how they change the meaning of words. We wrote our own poems on Monday using a variety of features and styles. We have now started our new text 'Romans on the Rampage' which we are finding very funny! It is all written from the viewpoint of a raven. We have finished the week writing character descriptions about the rather boastful raven! Next week in English we will be focusing on non-fiction writing and will be planning and writing about our own imaginary inventions for the future. 

W/C 30th October

We have had a fantastic first week back and crammed a lot into just four days. In Maths we have been adding and subtracting four digit numbers with more than one exchange. We have also been developing our problem solving skills.

In History we are learning about the Roman Empire and how it expanded. This week we learned how the Romans claimed new provinces and the number of soldiers ('miles') it took to make a century, cohort and legion.

In PE we learnt about the 'Haka' and had great fun learning to do the first few movements of the dance and it was also an energetic form of exercise!

In English we have read the book 'Rhythm of the rain' by Grahame Baker-Smith. We also analysed two river poems, one by Edgar Allan Poe and the other by Caroline Anne Bowles. We have written some wonderfully descriptive poems in the style of these poets.

On a musical note, we are learning how to play the recorder and have started learning finger positions for some of the notes.

The highlight of our week was our stunning start to our new topic, 'Spectacular Systems'. We held this on Thursday and spent the whole day as engineers. We learnt what engineering is, what engineers do and all about the engineer design cycle. We engineered our own mathematical problems in pairs and then tried to solve them. We scrutinised a pen and discussed the design features and why they were necessary. We were set out own problem and had to use the engineer design cycle to make a piece of paper travel across the classroom. Our limitation was one piece of paper and two minutes! The screwed up piece of paper won! In the afternoon we carried out different experiments to explore how to change the volume and pitch of a sound. We really enjoyed our stunning start and will be able to use our new knowledge to make our own sound generators later in the term.

Next week, in English, we will be writing our own poems about rivers and rain, and then we will start our next reading adventure by exploring the book 'Romans on the Rampage' by Jeremy Strong and writing a character description. In Maths, we will be checking the strategies we use, spotting mistakes and making corrections. We will then move on to understanding and identifying area.

W/C 16th October 

We have had a brilliant last week of term in year 4. In English we have finished reading Tiger Tiger and we wrote our own sequels. We thought about story structure when writing our stories and used an exciting opening sentence. We organised our writing into paragraphs and, as always, did our best to use ambitious vocabulary. 

In Maths this week, we have been adding and subtracting 4 digit numbers using the column method. We have looked carefully at problems and used our reasoning skills to identify when we will need to exchange and when we won't. 

In Geography we learnt about the Mediterranean sea and its features. We learnt that it was an enclosed sea and labelled a map identifying where the Gibraltar Strait and the surrounding continents of Europe and Africa were.

In History we learnt about Roman society. We learnt about the important 'Patricians' who were allowed many more roles and privileges than the 'Plebians' who weren't even allowed to wear togas. We then learnt how slaves were not allowed any privileges and had to do all the jobs.

In Science this week we consolidated our learning on sound and had a carousel of experiments to explore sound, how it travels, how it can be changed and how it can be absorbed. We listened and watched intently to a tuning fork both in and out of water and could then use scientific vocabulary to explain what we had observed.

After half term, in Maths, we will be adding and subtracting 4 digit numbers with more than one exchange used. In English we will be reading the Rhythm of the Rain book by Grahame Baker-Smith and using it to inspire us to write expanded noun phrases and poems. We will be comparing poems and then using the features and style of a poem to write our own poem about rain and rivers.

W/C 9th October

We have had another busy and enjoyable week of learning in Year 4. In English we started the week with a 'conscience alley' and the teachers were 'Boots' the tiger and the children were the voices telling Boots, the tiger, to turn back to the palace or to run free. For the rest of the week we have planned and written persuasive letters to Emperor Caesar to convince him to grant Boots his freedom. 

In Maths, we have been rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. We have also been adding and subtracting tens, hundreds and thousands. We have found it challenging to remember which numbers change and it has been helpful to use place value mats and counters to support our understanding. 

In Geography we reviewed our learning from our trip by writing facts that compared the river Rhine with the river Medway. We also explored manmade and natural changes that occur on the Rhine. 

In History we are still excited about learning more about the Romans. This week we learnt about Scipio and  compared Hannibal and Scipio. 

In science we are continuing to learn about sound and how soundwaves travel. We used a slinky to demonstrate a soundwave and learnt about compression and rarefaction.

In art we have been learning about shape and shading and the children are using this knowledge to draw a tiger. 

In music we have continued to practice our harvest samba and we are looking forward to the harvest festival on Monday. 

Next week in Maths, we will be adding and subtracting 4 digit numbers with and without exchange. In English we will planning and writing a sequel to Tiger Tiger. We will think about story structure and when to use paragraphs. 

W/C 2nd October

Wow what an exciting week we have had in year 4! 

In Maths, we have been learning Roman numerals to 100 and rounding up to the nearest 10. In English we have continued reading 'Tiger Tiger' and in groups thought about an imaginary pet that we thought we could persuade an audience was the best pet ever! The speeches used lots of persuasive language and were very compelling. They were presented to a group of willing year 5 children who had the tough job of deciding on the best pet! 

Next week, in Maths, we will continue rounding numbers to the nearest 1000. Then we will move on to subtracting 1s, 10s, 100s and 1000s. In English we will be writing a persuasive argument using imperative (bossy) verbs and the persuasive language we have been using this week.

In history we learnt more about Hannibal from Carthage and how he was determined to defeat the Romans. The year 4 children were also very lucky to have the opportunity to hold a Roman sword and were surprised at how heavy it was. 

The highlight of our week has been our wonderful school trip to Tonbridge to continue our learning in geography about rivers. We were very fortunate to have lovely weather which definitely helped our walk there and back! When we arrived we learned some facts about the River Medway and some of the history of the river. This also linked to our learning about the Romans. The ‘Battle of the Medway’ was the first major recorded battle of the Roman invasion of Britain under the Emperor Claudius in 43AD. We learned about how the River Medway was the reason the castle was built there and how it was used for imports and exports. We thought about the positive and negative impacts of the river on the town of Tonbridge. We used wool to compare the length of the River Rhine and the River Medway and then, for a fun science fact, compared this to how long the veins are in the human body if all put together. An impressive 100,000 kilometres!

We spent time sitting by the river comparing the town of Tonbridge to the city of Cologne in Germany. We used maps and pictures to help us as well as good observational skills. We sketched the River Medway and labelled the key features. We enjoyed our lunch in the historic castle grounds and then had some much needed ‘running around’ games. After lunch we learned about the flooding that Tonbridge has suffered throughout history and observed the modern day defences to prevent damage. We learned about the flood barrier and flood storage area and talked about how we might feel if our home was at risk from flooding and what action we would take. It was a day crammed full of cross curricular learning, we were lucky enough to see a Heron and we even managed to fit in a fleeting visit to the play area!

The children built on friendships across the two classes and it was also a valuable opportunity to form relationships between school staff and parents. Thank you so much to the parents who accompanied us on our trip as, being able to discuss and work in small groups, really enriched the children’s experience and learning. It was lovely to hear comments from the children such as "This is the best day ever", a parent helper who commented, "I have learnt so much", and also a member of the public in the castle grounds who commented "How wonderful it is to see children playing so happily together".

W/C 25th September 2023

This week in year 4 we have started reading our new text ‘Tiger Tiger’ by Lynne Reid Banks and the children are very excited by it already. We have been inspired to write a setting description about the jungle and a character description about Princess Aurelia. We have used relevant adverbs and some ambitious vocabulary to capture the readers interest.

In Maths, we have been comparing numbers to 10,000 and consolidating our knowledge of place value. We are becoming confident at finding 10, 100 and 1000 more and less then a given number.

We are continuing to enjoy our science topic on sound and played ‘keeper of the keys’ this week to explore how we hear sound. We learnt how sound travels through our ears to send a message to our brain and we labelled a diagram of an ear.

In PE on Tuesday we continued with gymnastics. We have been practising cat leaps, straight half turns and full half turns. This week we also attempted pike and straddle jumps. We focused on our landings and pointing our feet.

Next week, in Maths, we will be ordering and rounding numbers to 10,000 and learning roman numerals up to 100. In English we will be using persuasive language to present an argument.

W/C 18th September 2023

This week in Maths we have continued our learning on place value and have been partitioning numbers to 10,000. We have been developing our use of mathematical language to be able to explain the difference between numbers, using 10’s, 100’s and 1,000’s. 

In English this week our learning has been based on the text 'The Comet' by Joe Todd-Stanton.  We have written a newspaper report about a comet and have been using adverbs, adverbial phrases and fronted adverbials. Today we used these to write some beautiful poems either about being by the sea or in the city. 

In Geography we started our topic on rivers and a letter has been sent out about our upcoming trip. We would be very grateful for parent volunteers. 

There is also a letter coming home with log ins for 'Times Tables Rock Stars' which the children were very excited to learn about today. They are looking forward to using this and there is a parental guidance sheet uploaded on the Year 4 letters. Do please ask if you have any questions. 

We finished the afternoon with music today and the children may come home singing the 'Harvest Samba'! This is the song year 4 will be singing at our harvest festival so we would love them to practice at home. The words will be coming home next week!

W/C 11th September 2023

Wow! What a busy week we have had! We have worked really hard to complete Maths and English assessments in the mornings. For our writing assessment we wrote a descriptive diary entry about entering a magical land. We had to remember to use informal language and share our thoughts and feelings with the reader.

In PE this week we started gymnastics and learnt how to do straight jump half turns, straight jump full turns and cat leaps. In science we started our topic on sound. We learnt how sound is created and how it travels.

We finished our week by introducing our Topic 'The Romans'. 4R were the Sabines and 4CP were the Romans led by Romulus. We made shields and laurel wreaths for our tribes and then reenacted the battle between the Sabines and Romans. We learnt how eventually the Sabine women intervened to stop the fighting and the Sabines and Romans united. We then enjoyed a Roman feast together to celebrate the new union.

We finished the afternoon by creating mosaics that reflected our new and old identities.

W/E 8th September 2023

Year 4 have had a wonderful first week back. The children have enjoyed catching up with old friends and have made some new friends as we have welcomed several new students.

We have written and signed Class charters and reminded everyone of the high expectations we have for them at Bishop Chavasse. All the children have settled into school life quickly and have been working hard already.

We have had a lot of RHE based learning to support children in their return to school. They have been thinking about the skills and qualities that make them special and what strategies help them to learn well and stay on the green zone of regulation. 

In English, the children have all written a recount of a favourite memory from their holidays. They used first person and past tense as well as some rich vocabulary for description.

In Maths, we have focused on place value and partitioning numbers. The children have been able to identify how many hundreds, tens and ones in a 3 digit number and are developing their use of mathematical language and reasoning skills.

We have also had an RE focus this week based around the parable of the Wise man who built his house upon the rock. The children have drawn their own comic strips to retell the story. We also had fun using sugar cubes to represent the sand the foolish man built his house with and watching his house fall as the 'sand' was washed away!