Hello Year 4.
I can't believe we are nearly at the end of January! We have been very busy in Year 4 and have had lots of fun with our learning this week.
Highlights of the week:
This week in numeracy the children have worked really hard on developing their reasoning skills to prove they are correct. The children are learning that in order to think mathematically, you need to be able to orally articulate your answers. In English, we have been reading more of 'Stig of the dump'. We looked closely at descriptive language used in the text, and we even reenacted parts of the text, focusing on the sounds that are in the book. In History, we transported back to the early civilisations and created a drama piece based on what trade would have been like in these times. The children created a diary entry based on a day in the market square. This week half of the class went to Stormont school to complete some Art work. They began using clay which they will turn into early civilation inspired pottery. The rest of the class went outside and completed some mindfulness photography. The children learned how to use a camera and produced some fantastic nature pictures with a range of different angles and zooms.
Next week:
English:
We will be finishing Stig of the dump, looking closely at how the characters have gone on a journey through the book, and we will also be writing an alternative ending.
Spellings:
This week the spelling focus is homophones. You will probably know most of these spelling, but the focus this week is knowing when to use each one in the correct place.
-I'll/Isle/aisle
-to/ two/too
-sent/cent/scent
-road,rowed,rode.
Maths:
We are exploring symmetry, both through our bodies practically, drawings and shapes.
Science:
We will be completing our chocolate experiment next week, as this week we needed to consolidate the findings from our science experiment.
Choir:
I am so excited to go with the choir to the O2 arena on Tuesday afternoon! The children have been practicing so hard and they cannot stop dancing and smiling in rehearsals, which is an absolute delight to be apart of.
The children are working so hard on their timetables and are becoming so much more confident. The whole class are now secure on their 2, 10, 5, 11, 3, 9, and we have been focusing on our 6 times table. The children have been working on using the most efficient method to reach their answer. For example, for 2x6, it is a lot quicker to count up in 2's than to work out 2x3 and then double it. Please practise these times tables with your children at home to ensure that they are reaching the answer with speed. If you children are secure with their times tables they need to now work on the inverse and work into the higher multiplication sums.
Just to remind you that there will be a sharing assembly on 11th February at 9am. All of the information is on the sharing assembly tab at the top of this blog. The children taking part in this assembly are:
- Aliya
- James
- Edward
- Albert
- Harry
- Luis
Have a lovely weekend (hopefully we will see some more snow!)
Miss Bradford
Friday 25 January 2019
Friday 18 January 2019
18/01/19
Hello Year 4!
It was really nice to have a full week of learning, and you have worked really hard in all areas of the curriculum.
Highlights of the week:The week started with the children reading the story of "Salt in his shoes" all about hopes and dreams. The children created a class book of their goals for the future, what barriers they have put in the way of these dreams, and how to overcome them.We also had a really fun science lesson where we were investigating the weight of different gases by weighing fizzy drinks before and after we shook them to release all the carbon dioxide. The children really enjoyed doing this!
We have been code detectives in History as we have been looking at the Phoenician alphabet and using it to write messages to each other. This proved to be a challenge, considering there are no vowels in the Phoenician alphabet! In English, the children have been really enjoying "Stig of the dump" and have been answering lots of comprehension questions based on the text. They have also been working on their summarising skills, so please tell your family at home all about the text so far, and share with them your predictions about what you think might happen. In maths, we have been looking at different properties of shapes and using verbal reasoning to explain and compare these shapes. The children have been working really hard on explaining their answers to develop their mathematical language and skills.
Next week:
English:
We are finishing off 'Stig of the Dump' and using drama to act out some of the key moments in the text.
Spellings:
The spelling focus for this week is 'ture' spelled words.
-mixture
-adventure
-departure
-feature
-moisture
-expenditure
-picturesque
-vulture
-sculpture
-agriculture
Maths:
We are finishing off looking at different properties of shapes and then exploring symmetry.
Science:
We are investigating heating and cooling with chocolate!
All of the children have been working really hard on their times table learning. Please ensure they are practising at home. They have all told me which times table they are working on, so they know what they need to practise.
Have a lovely weekend and I am looking forward to seeing you on Monday.
Miss Bradford
It was really nice to have a full week of learning, and you have worked really hard in all areas of the curriculum.
Highlights of the week:The week started with the children reading the story of "Salt in his shoes" all about hopes and dreams. The children created a class book of their goals for the future, what barriers they have put in the way of these dreams, and how to overcome them.We also had a really fun science lesson where we were investigating the weight of different gases by weighing fizzy drinks before and after we shook them to release all the carbon dioxide. The children really enjoyed doing this!
We have been code detectives in History as we have been looking at the Phoenician alphabet and using it to write messages to each other. This proved to be a challenge, considering there are no vowels in the Phoenician alphabet! In English, the children have been really enjoying "Stig of the dump" and have been answering lots of comprehension questions based on the text. They have also been working on their summarising skills, so please tell your family at home all about the text so far, and share with them your predictions about what you think might happen. In maths, we have been looking at different properties of shapes and using verbal reasoning to explain and compare these shapes. The children have been working really hard on explaining their answers to develop their mathematical language and skills.
Next week:
English:
We are finishing off 'Stig of the Dump' and using drama to act out some of the key moments in the text.
Spellings:
The spelling focus for this week is 'ture' spelled words.
-mixture
-adventure
-departure
-feature
-moisture
-expenditure
-picturesque
-vulture
-sculpture
-agriculture
Maths:
We are finishing off looking at different properties of shapes and then exploring symmetry.
Science:
We are investigating heating and cooling with chocolate!
All of the children have been working really hard on their times table learning. Please ensure they are practising at home. They have all told me which times table they are working on, so they know what they need to practise.
Have a lovely weekend and I am looking forward to seeing you on Monday.
Miss Bradford
Friday 11 January 2019
11/01/19
Happy new year Year 4!
I hope you all had a lovely break and have come back feeling refreshed for the new year.
Please see below for an overview of the topics we are covering this half term.
Maths:
The units of work for this half term are;
-shape
-symmetry
-decimals and fractions
-money
Literacy:
Science:
Investigating solids, liquids and gases.
Spanish:
We are learning different vocabulary for restaurant settings in Spanish.
Art & DT
Half of the class will be completing pottery art work at Stormont school each week, while the rest of the class will be doing a unit of work on photography and water colours at school. The groups will be swapped around after half term so everybody has the chance to do both units of work.
PSHCE:
Hopes and dreams.
RE:
The children will be looking at belonging, commitment and different types of worship.
History:
Researching early civilisations.
Highlights of the week:
We have had a fantastic start to the new year in Year 4. I certainly had an exciting start to the week when I found out that the children who had entered the Young Writers poetry challenge right at the start of the year have been chosen for their work to published! Over 20,000 entries were sent in and I am so proud of all of your hard work which has certainly paid off!
The children have come back to school really engaged and eager to learn. As always, we have been very practical this week! The children performed drama scripts based on an ice cube baby in a hospital that was melting. They really showed their understanding of the different properties of solids, liquids and gases through their physical drama. The children also created some songs and raps to do with their RE learning on belonging. These were performed and shared with the class and the children worked really hard on making a catchy song to showcase their learning. We have also begun a new text 'Stig of the dump' in English. The children recorded their predictions based on the front cover and blurb of the book, and we read the first chapter as a class today and met the mysterious character Stig. The children really developed their predicting and retrieval skills by unpicking information from the text to form views and record facts about Stig. I have also been really impressed with how well the children worked together on their maths detective challenge. They had to find out different clues by answering maths problems to discover the culprit who stole the chocolate from the chocolate factory.
Next week:
Maths:
We are looking at different properties of shapes.
Timestables:
Before the end of term, I gave each child an A3 sheet with all of the times tables on it. This is the order that the children should be learning the times tables in. They are split into 3 chunks.
- 2 times table.
- 5 times table
- 10 times table
- 11 times table
- 3 times table
- 6 times table (double 3 times table)
- 4 times table ( double 2 times table)
- 8 times table ( double 4 times table)
- 9 times table ( hand trick)
- 7 times table
- 12 times table
I have shown the children the importance of learning them in this way to make it easier. Today I taught the class the 9 times table trick on their hands. This is a fast and simple way of knowing the 9 times table. Please ask your children to show you this over the weekend. Here is a video clip to refresh your memory.
9 times table video clip
Next week we will be starting our times table challenges. The children will chose which chunk they are focusing on and will be tested on these times tables. Remember you can use your fingers or count on in your head to help you! Those children who are confidence with their tables up to 12 x 12 will be given an extension multiplication challenge.
English:
Continuing our work on 'Stig of the dump' focusing on the effect of the language choices made by the author.
Spellings:
The spelling focus for this week is 'gu' spelled words with the sound 'g'. ( not 'spelt'! There was a typo on the sheet that went out at the end of the day, sorry!)
-guardian
-guest
-guess
-guide
-guitar
-guarantee
-guard
-baguette
-disguise
-Portuguese
We will be doing spelling activities, including dictionary and thesaurus skills around these words every morning from 8:40-9:00, so please make sure you arrive promptly for school to ensure you get the most out of these sessions. If the children get all of these words correct in the pre-test on Monday, they have the extension challenge of finding more words that follow the same rule in the dictionary.
Science:
Investigating gases in a fizzy drink experiment.
PE:
Our PE timetable has changed as swimming has now finished.
The children will still have PE on Monday, where they will need trainers. They will now have football on Tuesday afternoon and normal PE kit on Thursday morning. Last term there were a lot of children regularly forgetting kit or trainers. Please ensure that you have your kit on the correct days so that you can get the most out of your PE lessons.
Please make sure you are reading, completing mathletics and practising your times tables at home. I look forward to a full week of learning next week.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Miss Bradford
I hope you all had a lovely break and have come back feeling refreshed for the new year.
Please see below for an overview of the topics we are covering this half term.
Maths:
The units of work for this half term are;
-shape
-symmetry
-decimals and fractions
-money
Literacy:
We will be studying the text 'Stig of the dump' as well as completing a unit of work on different story settings.
Investigating solids, liquids and gases.
Spanish:
We are learning different vocabulary for restaurant settings in Spanish.
Art & DT
Half of the class will be completing pottery art work at Stormont school each week, while the rest of the class will be doing a unit of work on photography and water colours at school. The groups will be swapped around after half term so everybody has the chance to do both units of work.
PSHCE:
Hopes and dreams.
RE:
The children will be looking at belonging, commitment and different types of worship.
History:
Researching early civilisations.
Highlights of the week:
We have had a fantastic start to the new year in Year 4. I certainly had an exciting start to the week when I found out that the children who had entered the Young Writers poetry challenge right at the start of the year have been chosen for their work to published! Over 20,000 entries were sent in and I am so proud of all of your hard work which has certainly paid off!
The children have come back to school really engaged and eager to learn. As always, we have been very practical this week! The children performed drama scripts based on an ice cube baby in a hospital that was melting. They really showed their understanding of the different properties of solids, liquids and gases through their physical drama. The children also created some songs and raps to do with their RE learning on belonging. These were performed and shared with the class and the children worked really hard on making a catchy song to showcase their learning. We have also begun a new text 'Stig of the dump' in English. The children recorded their predictions based on the front cover and blurb of the book, and we read the first chapter as a class today and met the mysterious character Stig. The children really developed their predicting and retrieval skills by unpicking information from the text to form views and record facts about Stig. I have also been really impressed with how well the children worked together on their maths detective challenge. They had to find out different clues by answering maths problems to discover the culprit who stole the chocolate from the chocolate factory.
Next week:
Maths:
We are looking at different properties of shapes.
Timestables:
Before the end of term, I gave each child an A3 sheet with all of the times tables on it. This is the order that the children should be learning the times tables in. They are split into 3 chunks.
- 2 times table.
- 5 times table
- 10 times table
- 11 times table
- 3 times table
- 6 times table (double 3 times table)
- 4 times table ( double 2 times table)
- 8 times table ( double 4 times table)
- 9 times table ( hand trick)
- 7 times table
- 12 times table
I have shown the children the importance of learning them in this way to make it easier. Today I taught the class the 9 times table trick on their hands. This is a fast and simple way of knowing the 9 times table. Please ask your children to show you this over the weekend. Here is a video clip to refresh your memory.
9 times table video clip
Next week we will be starting our times table challenges. The children will chose which chunk they are focusing on and will be tested on these times tables. Remember you can use your fingers or count on in your head to help you! Those children who are confidence with their tables up to 12 x 12 will be given an extension multiplication challenge.
English:
Continuing our work on 'Stig of the dump' focusing on the effect of the language choices made by the author.
Spellings:
The spelling focus for this week is 'gu' spelled words with the sound 'g'. ( not 'spelt'! There was a typo on the sheet that went out at the end of the day, sorry!)
-guardian
-guest
-guess
-guide
-guitar
-guarantee
-guard
-baguette
-disguise
-Portuguese
We will be doing spelling activities, including dictionary and thesaurus skills around these words every morning from 8:40-9:00, so please make sure you arrive promptly for school to ensure you get the most out of these sessions. If the children get all of these words correct in the pre-test on Monday, they have the extension challenge of finding more words that follow the same rule in the dictionary.
Science:
Investigating gases in a fizzy drink experiment.
PE:
Our PE timetable has changed as swimming has now finished.
The children will still have PE on Monday, where they will need trainers. They will now have football on Tuesday afternoon and normal PE kit on Thursday morning. Last term there were a lot of children regularly forgetting kit or trainers. Please ensure that you have your kit on the correct days so that you can get the most out of your PE lessons.
Please make sure you are reading, completing mathletics and practising your times tables at home. I look forward to a full week of learning next week.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Miss Bradford
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