Hello,

Wow, it has already been a whole half term and we are so proud of how hard the children have worked. Throughout Autumn 1, they have created fantastic pieces of English work, impressed us with their reasoning in maths, experimented and investigated how to make a torch work in science,  became archaeologists and excavators in History and so much more.

This week, we’ve continued  exploring Stitch Head and have been planning and editing our own diary entries, which we will be finishing when we return from half term. Here we have asked the children to use all the skills they have learnt since September such as relative clauses, speech, subordinating clauses and expanded noun phrases. From what they have already come up with, we are in for an exciting read. The diary entry will include how their own created potion will affect a monster and how it will save Grotteskew, building suspense as it reads on.

During Maths this week, the children were introduced to many different bar graphs. On Monday,  the children explored what a bar graph was and attempted to interpret it using think aloud labels explaining what they thought of it. Tuesday, they were presented addition and subtraction question that linked in to the bar graph (for example, how many more ml of unicorn tears is there than liquid lava?). Kangaroos and Koala bears bought all their addition and subtraction strategies together and found solutions to the answer. We continued to learn how to read a bar graph and solve the calculations. As the children worked so hard this term, on Friday they were treated with creating their own potion (just like in Stitch Head!). The children had to work in teams to work out the bar graph problems. With the information they had found out from the bar graph they were able to measure and create their own potions!

Once again Miss Honeywell, Miss Jackson-Nash and the rest of the year 4 team have been blown away with the creative homework pieces that the children have worked so hard on!

We hope you have a fantastic half term and we look forward to seeing you on Monday 4th November 2019.

Kind regards,

Miss Jackson-Nash, Miss Honeywell and Mrs Cairns

Hello,

We hope that you have all been enjoying the week so far.

In English, Year Four have started their new unit of learning on diary entries, within the context of Stitch Head by Guy Bass. At the start of the week, the children explored a mystery ‘bag of words’ and then made their own predictions about the genre and style of the text they had come from. Well done to all the children for applying their contextual knowledge from our vocabulary homework! As the week progressed, we then began to study the novel in closer detail, looking at the sequence of events for The Siege and plotting them on an emotion graph to compare the build up of tension and suspense between characters throughout a scene. Both classes then enjoyed a creative lesson whereby they designed their own magic potion as part of the resolution to the plot within their diaries – the children demonstrated resilience when they used subordinating and relative clauses to describe and explain how their potions worked. At the end of the week, the children then took part in role play as they began to develop their own dialogue between the two main characters, amidst the action, in the story. Year Four made an excellent effort when using coloured speech bubbles to sequence their ideas.

In Maths, we have continued to learn about addition and subtraction. In particular, we have been exploring a range of strategies that have enabled us to become more efficient when solving number sentences. For example, we have been learning how to use ‘smart jumps’ on a number line (e.g. I know 50 + 38 is the same as 50 + 40 – 2) to support our mental calculations. By the end of the week, the children were able to use bar models, smart jumps as well as the expanded column method (through diennes representation) in order to solve a range of complex multi-step problems. We were impressed by the children’s use of reasoning, bar models and place value vocabulary when discussing problems and comparing strategies amongst their peers. Well done, Year Four! Next week, we look forward to using statistics, and deriving information from bar graphs to compare groups sizes and practise addition and subtraction problems in the context of measure (distance, capacity and weight). Please make sure to  log on to Sumdog this weekend, for Times Table and Measures practise in preparation for next week.

On Friday 18th October 2019, we were lucky enough to take part in Missio’s ‘One Million Children praying’ challenge. As part of our celebrations during the Month of Mary, Year Four gathered in the school hall and joined the Oaklands Chaplain, to pray a decade of the rosary together. Both classes were reflective and respectful during this session. Please see the photos below…

We hope that you all have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next week with more examples of your Anglo Saxon creative projects!

Kind regards,

Miss Honeywell, Miss Jackson-Nash and Mrs Cairns

Hello,

It’s already the end of week 5 and it has gone so quickly!

We want to start by saying a huge thank-you to everyone who contributed to CAFOD Wear it Bright day, raising a very impressive £368!

In English, the children were finally given the opportunity of publishes their character description stories. The detail and effort that was in every child’s work was very impressive. The year four team very pleased to see the skills that they had learnt from the previous weeks being transcribed into their own independent pieces. Here are some beautiful examples.

Kangaroos and Koalas cannot wait to share their stories with each other for a special Halloween treat.

In Maths, we have continued to work hard on our expanded column method but this week particularly focusing on subtraction. The children are still using dienes, place value grids and counters to support their learning, but most children have started to move away from this and are confident enough just using numbers. We have been particularly focused on multi-step maths problems and inverse problems, which they have been working really hard on and getting the answers spot on! Just a reminder that Sumdog homework should be set and should be completed by the following Friday.

In science, we have been exploring at electricity and how battery operated lights work. We’ve conducted lots of different experiments to see what components a light needs and what happens if the circuit is broken.

Lastly, we are so impressed with the creative homework that is being brought in. On display, we have got fantastic Anglo-Saxon models and drawings. A selection of menu’s that include an Anglo-Saxon diet and food favourites. This week we were treated with special Anglo-Saxon cakes and shortbread shields that two children made. They both explained it was important to research what Anglo-Saxons ate to be able to make the scrumptious food. Well done to everyone who has brought something in and we are looking forward to seeing the rest!

Shortbread Shield!

Apple and Cinnamon Flapjacks!

Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you Monday.

Kind regards,

Miss Jackson-Nash, Miss Honeywell and Mrs Cairns

Hello,

We hope that you have all had a lovely week so far, despite the rain!

This week, the children took part in a CAFOD Wear it Bright non-school uniform day on Friday 4th October 2019. Both Year Four classes came to school wearing a variety of bright colours and they also donated £1 to CAFOD to help those in need around the world. Please see our photos below:

In English, the children have been drafting and editing their character descriptions. We have been particularly impressed by the children’s use of vocabulary and self-evaluation when making their own improvements towards the final written outcome: a character description about a peculiar oddity who is part of Fulbert’s circus. It was fantastic to see the children’s confidence and skill when using relative and subordinate clauses, as well as their variety of short and snappy sentences that had been created for dramatic effect. We look forward to publishing and evaluating these pieces of work next week, before collating them in a Halloween book for each Year Four class to enjoy as a spooky present!

In Maths, we have been working hard to use the expanded column method to add four digit numbers together. In particular, we have been using diennes, arrow cards, counters and place value grids in order to support our counting and learning. As the week progressed, the children were then given a series of word problems and multi-step challenges to solve, which involved the addition of large numbers as well as conversions between different measures (e.g. metres, kilometres, pounds and pence). We were delighted to see the children’s use of collaboration when discussing the strategies they had used to solve each problem. Please do log on to Sumdog to see your next Maths homework on Place Value and for your times tables practise.

We would like to congratulate those children who have already started their Autumn Reading passport challenges and their Anglo Saxon creative projects. Please see a couple of examples of Anglo Saxon houses, below…

We look forward to seeing you all next week.

Kind regards,

Miss Honeywell, Miss Jackson-Nash and Mrs Cairns.