Latest News
Term 3
Year 4 have started our new Geography topic, ‘Misty Mountain, Winding River’. We have begun by focusing on rivers. The children have studied the different sections of a river as well as how rivers change the landscape around them. We have used atlases to locate famous rivers around the world. As well as thinking globally, we have turned our focus locally to discover more about our local river, the River Medway. In the last week of term, we got to go on a walk by the riverside. The class observed how people used the river as well as the wildlife that live there.
English:
In English, we have linked our writing to our topic. We began by writing a diary entry for a river trip along the River Nile in Egypt. The children tried to include lots of descriptive features to make their writing more interesting. We are also focusing on improving our presentation and handwriting. After our diary entry, we moved on to studying an information leaflet. We have learned that information leaflets are used to persuade people. We are now planning our own leaflet to persuade people to visit the River Medway.
Maths:
We are currently focusing on multiplication and division in our maths work. We have looked at patterns for learning our times tables and finding different methods to practise and reinforce our learning. We are learning to apply our times tables to reasoning problems and multi-step problems. We will continue to go in to greater depth with our multiplication and division next term. We continue to test times tables weekly. More children have won their times table badge in term 3 for mastering all of their tables – well done!
Science
In science, we are studying states of matter. The class have sorted materials into solids, liquids and gases and thought about the different properties of each state. We have gone into greater detail by exploring particles and how they behave. The children enjoyed demonstrating how particles are arranged in solids, liquids and gases. We have thought about how materials can change state when the temperature changes. This will link to our future learning on the water cycle.
Other news
The Year 4s have had fun in their PE lessons focusing on gymnastic skills. It is great having the hall for our gymnastic lessons. The class have tried to come up with different bridges, both independently and in pairs. They have also practised forward rolls and how to give constructive feedback to each other.
In our art topic, Vista, the class have studied landscapes. The children looked at and studied examples of different artists’ work, making comparisons between techniques. We studied atmospheric perspective, (how objects further away appear lighter, while objects that are closer appear darker). We tried this technique in different mediums. We experimented with charcoal and watercolours.
Term 2
Year 4 have enjoyed continuing their topic work on ‘Invasion’. We moved our focus onto the violent Vikings, as they began invading Britain in 789AD. We looked at the infamous raid on Lindisfarne and why the Vikings targeted monasteries. We studied how the Anglo-Saxons responded to the Vikings, and particularly on how Alfred the Great prevented them from taking over all of England. The class have managed to comprehend a lot of topic-specific vocabulary and studied both primary and secondary evidence to deepen their understanding.
English:
We have continued to link our English work to our topic of Invasion. We began by studying some Norse myths that informed us about Viking life and beliefs. We took the myth of Thor fishing for Jormungand and used this as inspiration to plan our own myth. Each child created their own story map and used this to write a myth. We revised how to punctuate direct speech to make sure we could include it in our writing. The class managed to create some wonderfully imaginative myths!
Maths:
This term we have been studying addition and subtraction using 4-digit numbers. We have practised exchanging across place value columns in order to calculate accurately. We then moved on to word problems and multi-step problems involving addition and subtraction. To help us understand the problems, we have used different diagrams such as bar models and part-whole models to visualise the questions. We are also continuing to practise our times tables in class and have been learning songs to help us remember them. We complete a weekly times table test and some children have nearly completed all their times tables already. Well done!
Science
In Science, we studied sound. The class observed how different instruments produced sound and in each case there needed to be vibrations. We observed sound waves and how the shape varied depending on the type of sound. We then studied the structure of the ear that allows us to hear sounds. The class drew their own diagrams of the inner ear including the pinna, ear drum and ossicles. Lastly, we have learned that sound is measured in decibels and experimented with muffling materials to change the decibel level.
Other news
Year 4s have enjoyed continuing with their swimming lessons at Larkfield Leisure Centre. They have made great progress so far. In our other PE lessons, we have focused on football. We have developed our teamwork skills as well as improving dribbling, passing and turning during a game.
In our Art topic, Warp and Weft, the class learned all about weaving. We began by studying the history and key terminology. We made our own looms from cardboard and used them to weave ‘mug rugs’ to sell in the Christmas Fair. We created some very impressive weavings.
Term 1
Year 4 have got stuck into our new topic – Invasion! We are learning about the different groups that invaded Britain over the years, concentrating on the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. This term, our focus is on the Anglo-Saxons. We have explored why they came to Britain and the kingdoms they established. The class discovered more about the Sutton Hoo burial and what this could tell us about the beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons. We have also started reading our class text, ‘The Saga of Erik the Viking’.
English:
We have focused on Anglo-Saxon poetry this term. We started by reading a section of the famous poem, ‘Beowulf’. The class looked at how the English language has changed and developed over time. We enjoyed acting out the poem – especially the battle between Beowulf the hero and Grendel, the monster. We moved on to drafting our own poems, which also told the story of a battle. The class worked hard to use descriptive language such as adjectives, expanded noun phrases and adverbs.
Maths:
This term we have been studying place value in 4-digit numbers. The class have been looking at the value of digits within a number and focused on how to round number to the nearest thousand, hundred and ten. The Year 4s are also trying hard to learn their times tables. The children complete weekly timed times table tests to prepare for their end of year multiplication check.
Science:
We are currently learning all about the digestive system. We began by studying the animal kingdom and how different animals require different foods. We created food chains and looked at food webs, which show how food is eaten within an ecosystem. We then moved on the specifics of the human digestive system. We learned about the journey food takes through different organs in our body so we can absorb nutrients and get rid of waste materials. We set up a practical (and slightly gross) demonstration of the digestive system, which helped us see how it all works in action.
Other news:
Year 4s have enjoyed the start of their swimming lessons at Larkfield Leisure Centre. Some children are quite new to swimming, and they have shown bravery and perseverance in their lessons. It has been wonderful to see the class growing in confidence in the water already. In addition to swimming, we have enjoyed playing tag rugby in our PE lessons.
We were fortunate to have the opportunity to go on a local trip to a nursing home. The Year 4s went to Pilgrims’ Way Nursing Home to sing their harvest songs for the residents. The staff and residents at the home were very happy to see us and requested an encore of the Potato Song! Hopefully, we will have other opportunities to sing there again in the future.