Year 4

Welcome to Year 4 Otters!

The class teacher is Miss Gallagher and we are very lucky to be supported by Mrs Ali and Mr Briggs!

We are expected to read, at home, three times a week and books will be changed when children have finished them. Children are expected to bring their reading packs in to school every day.

Children are encouraged to be creative with home learning and this is to be linked to our current afternoon topics. These are shared via Class Dojo at the start of each term.

In Year 4, we will be carrying out the Multiplication Check. This is a test, towards the end of the year, that challenges children by setting them numerous times tables questions. In Otters class, we are practising hard for this by learning a new set of tables each week and practising on Times Tables Rockstars each day. We would love it if this part of our learning journey could be continued at home! The login page can be found using the link below and all children’s login details can be found in the back of their home reading journal.

 https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth

Our Daily Routine:

In the morning we have:

Spelling, Guided Reading, Maths and Literacy

In the afternoon we have: 

Worship and Wider Curriculum (Science, Art, DT, French, Music, History, Geography, PSHE and RE)

Our PE lessons will be on Friday afternoons. Please ensure that full PE kits are in school on this day and that all jewellery has been removed, including earrings.

 

Achievements

We love to see what you have been up to outside of school. If you have received any achievements in your out of school activities, please feel free to bring them in for our celebration assembly on a Friday!

 

Our Learning Journey:

Autumn

We have had a very busy Autumn term in Year 4.

In History, we have been looking at The Roman Empire and The Anglo Saxon invasions. We have learnt how each period of time changed in Britain and whether there were actually invasions after all.

In Science, we have been learning about Living Things and their Habitats, as well as Animals including Humans. We took our learning outside of the classroom and looked closely at minibeasts and their habitats. In our second topic, we have looked at the digestive system and have completed some very exciting (and gruesome) experiments to help us to visualise our learning!

In Literacy, we have created a magazine article about the Loch Ness Monster. We have displayed our new skills in this piece, such as conjunctions and adverb starters.  We then created our own modern fairytale based on Rumaysa. These were very imaginative and the children were able to build upon their Year 4 skills.

In Maths, we have been recapping and extending our Place Value knowledge, as well as adding and subtracting four digit numbers using our formal written method to aid us with exchanging. We have built our confidence with our times tables and our Unofficial Multiplication Check results were impressive! 

In RE, we have looked at Prayer, what it means and how it can mean different things for different people. We looked at prayer in different faiths and compared how prayer is done in different religions. In our Christmas unit, we took a closer look at Christmas and how Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world. Following on from this we learnt about the Jewish festival of light, Hanukkah. 

This year, Miss Gallagher is teaching us PE! So far, we have developed our skills in Tennis and Handball. We have enjoyed competing with one another and giving constructive criticism.

 

Spring

In Spring, Year 4 are learning about the Vikings - were they invaders? Were they settlers? Stay tuned to find out!

In Science, we are looking at states of matter. We will be completing a range of experiments which will help us to understand how matter can change its state. As well as recapping our knowledge on the water cycle. 

In Literacy, we will first be writing a dilemma story based on Wallace and Gromit! These are going to be very excited - some may be posted here! The children will then write a piece of persuasion linked with Wallace's inventions!

In Maths, we are building our confidence when working with fractions and developing methods to use for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

In RE, Year 4 are looking into why Christians believe Jesus is the son of God. This unit will show many events which demonstrates ways in which He is the son of God. Our next unit will look at the Easter story - a story of betrayal and trust.