Mr Chanter's Spelling Group

 

illegal

illegible

illogical

illiterate

illicit

irregular

irrelevant

irresponsible

irrational

irresistible

Mrs Friedmann's Spelling Group

 

use

right

next

after

then

began

found

really

two

suddenly

Week Ending 26.9.25

 Hello everyone,

I hope you have all had a lovely week.

To help us prepare for our half-term project The 500 Word Challenge we took part in the BBC’s live introductory lesson where we even received a shout-out from Sir Lenny Henry! The children were very excited by this and it really motivated them to get started. The session explored how to create interesting characters, develop settings and build up tension in a story. It gave the children lots of ideas to take away and use in their own writing.

In English this week we have been exploring the features of playscripts. We have looked at how plays are structured into acts and scenes, how dialogue is written without speech marks and how stage directions help the actors understand what to do. We have practised turning short stories into scripts and next week we will be writing our own playscripts inspired by Tar Beach. We will think carefully about how to bring the characters to life on stage and how to use dialogue to show their thoughts and feelings.

In maths the children have been working with numbers up to 10,000 and they have done a brilliant job. They have compared and ordered numbers and practised using number lines to understand place value. Next week we will be focusing on rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1,000 which will help strengthen their number sense and mental maths skills.

In science we will be learning all about teeth. We will look at the different types of teeth humans have and the roles they play in eating. Our investigation will involve using eggs as a model for tooth enamel to see what effect different drinks such as water, juice and fizzy drinks have on them. The children will observe the changes over a few days, record their findings and discuss how we can make good choices to protect our teeth. I am sure it will be an egg-cellent experiment!

In geography we will be looking at where some of our favourite foods come from. We will discuss the concept of ‘food miles’ and explore how far certain items travel before they reach our plates. The children will have the chance to map the journey of foods such as bananas, rice and chocolate and think about the impact that transporting food has on the environment.

Next week we also have our Harvest Festival taking place on Friday which we are very much looking forward to seeing you at. In addition, we are excited to welcome this year’s Book Fair which will be open in the school hall after school from Thursday 2nd to Tuesday 7th October. This is always a fantastic opportunity for the children to explore a range of books and find something new to enjoy.

Have a lovely weekend

Mr Chanter

Mr Chanter's Spelling Group

 

immature

immeasurable

impossible

immortal

imperfect

impatient

immovable

impolite

important

improper

Mrs Friedmann's Spelling Group

 

here

hear

heel

heal

main

mane

mail

male

knot

not

Hello everyone

I hope you are all well and have had a lovely week. We have had a fantastic week in Year 4 with lots of learning taking place. Here’s what we have been working on:

Maths
In our place value topic, the children have been working with numbers up to 10,000. They have been partitioning numbers in different ways, representing them using place value charts and dienes, and finding 1, 10, 100 or 1000 more or less. This has really helped to deepen their understanding of the value of each digit in a number. Next week, we will be creating number lines up to 10,000 and using these to compare and order numbers accurately. The children will also be learning how to use inequalities (< and >) to compare numbers and explain their reasoning using mathematical vocabulary.

English
In English, we have been continuing to read Tar Beach, a beautiful and thought-provoking book that has inspired our writing. The children have been using expanded noun phrases to create vivid setting descriptions and have written persuasive letters from the perspective of characters in the story. We have also discussed the meaning and purpose of modal verbs such as might, should and must and how they can be used to show possibility or certainty in writing. Next week, we will continue to explore modal verbs in more depth through short writing tasks and look at how apostrophes are used correctly for possession and in contractions within dialogue. The children will then begin writing their own short pieces of dialogue linked to Tar Beach, focusing on punctuating speech accurately and making sure it sounds natural.

Science
Our science topic Animals Including Humans has focused on food chains this week. The children have learned how energy passes from producers to consumers, and how prey and predators are connected in a simple chain. We have also discussed what might happen if one part of the chain is removed. Next week, we will be learning about the different types of human teeth — incisors, canines, premolars and molars — and what each one is designed to do. We will also talk about why it is important to take care of our teeth and how to make healthy choices to keep them strong.

Geography
In our topic Where Does Our Food Come From? we have been thinking about what it means to trade responsibly and the impact that fair trade can have on farmers and communities around the world. The children thought carefully about how the choices we make when we shop can affect others. Next week, we will be exploring the fascinating journey of chocolate — from the cocoa bean to the chocolate bar — and learning about the people and processes involved along the way.

Spanish
In Spanish, we have been asking and answering questions about the months of the year. The children are becoming more confident with their pronunciation and recall of the vocabulary. Next week, we will be learning how to say specific dates such as birthdays and important events, practising our listening and speaking skills in short conversations.

I am looking forward to another great week ahead.

Have a lovely weekend

Mr Chanter

Mrs Friedmann's Spelling Group

 

can’t

didn’t

hasn’t

couldn’t

it’s

wouldn’t

shouldn’t

wasn’t

Mr

Mrs

Mr Chanter's Spelling Group

 

inactive

incorrect

inaccurate

insecure

indefinite

incomplete

infinite

inedible

inability

indecisive

Good afternoon everyone,

I can’t believe we are already at the end of our first full week. The children have settled in brilliantly and we’ve had a wonderful week of learning across all subjects. Here’s a little round-up of what we’ve been up to:

English

We have begun exploring our class text Tar Beach. The children have really enjoyed discussing the themes in the story so far, as well as making predictions about what might happen next. Next week, we’ll continue to dig deeper into the book, thinking about the author’s intentions and the messages we can take away.

Mathematics

In maths, we started our work on place value by focusing on numbers up to 1,000. The children have worked very hard to read, partition and compare numbers with increasing confidence. Next week, we will be extending this further by applying the same skills to numbers up to 10,000 – a brilliant challenge for everyone!

Science

Our science topic this week was animals and their diets. The children learned how to identify and classify carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. Next week, we will be building on this by constructing and interpreting food chains, exploring how animals and plants depend on one another for survival, and considering the importance of balance within an ecosystem.

Computing

We began our computing lessons by looking at how networks connect through the internet. We also discussed how important it is to stay safe online and to be careful about who we communicate with. Next week, we will be looking more closely at what the internet is actually made up of, including servers, data and how information travels.

Religious Education (RE)

This week we compared Christianity and Islam, identifying both similarities and differences. The children had thoughtful discussions about significant people, holy books, festivals and beliefs.

Art

In art, we explored how tone can be used to make drawings appear three-dimensional. The children practised using sketching pencils to shade light and dark tones, producing some very realistic results.

Geography

Our geography topic this term is Where does our food come from? This week we looked at different types of food and discovered which biomes they typically grow in. Next week, we will consider the idea of ‘trading responsibly’, including fair trade, food miles and how our choices can impact communities around the world.

Half-Term Project – The 500 Word Challenge

For this half term’s project, I would like all children to take part in the 500 Word Challenge. The task is simple: write a story they would love to read in 500 words or less. This is all about creativity – spelling, punctuation and grammar are not judged.

Stories should be handed in by Thursday 23rd October, with a copy also brought into school.

Some key details about the competition:

50 finalists will be invited to a grand final in February 2026, supported by Her Majesty The Queen.

Winning stories will be read aloud by celebrities on TV as part of a special 500 Words programme on The One Show.

Judges include Sir Lenny Henry, Malorie Blackman, Francesca Simon, Charlie Higson and Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

Winners will receive a bundle of books, with gold winners also winning 500 books for their school library. Each winning story will also be given a beautifully illustrated cover.

Rules to remember:

-        Stories must be 500 words or fewer (not including the title).
-        They must be written individually, not in groups.
-        The story should be an original idea, in prose form (not poetry or rap).
-        No personal details (such as names) should be included.
-        Stories cannot be based on recounts of historical events, although inspiration from historical figures is fine.
-        Stories must be created without the use of AI.

Stories will be judged on:

-        -        Characterisation
-        Plot
-        Originality
-        Language
-        Enjoyment

I am really excited to see the creative ideas the children come up with.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone again next week.

Best wishes,

Mr Chanter