Mr Chanter's Spelling Group (test on 16.10)

 

division

invasion

confusion

decision

collision

television

revision

erosion

inclusion

explosion

 Hi everyone,

The temperature is starting to feel a lot colder now! I think I’ve become so used to the warmer weather we’ve had over the last few months that I’m noticing the change even more. I can’t believe we’ve only got two weeks left until the half-term break! I’m also looking forward to seeing you all at our parent consultations soon.

This week in English, we’ve been imagining what it would be like to fly around New York City, just like Cassie Lightfoot in our story Tar Beach. The children have been developing their descriptive writing by creating expanded noun phrases to describe what they might see and experience as they soar above the city. We’ll be using these ideas next week to write diary entries, capturing the excitement and wonder of flying over New York!

In maths, the children have been learning how to add numbers with up to four digits. We’ve been focusing on lining up the place value columns correctly and adding the ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. Next week, we’ll be building on this by introducing exchanging. This is when the total in a column reaches 10 or more, meaning we need to exchange ten ones for one ten, ten tens for one hundred or ten hundreds for one thousand. We’ll be using practical resources and written methods to help the children understand this process and apply it accurately when solving calculations.

As part of our science topic on the human digestive system, we’ve been focusing on our teeth this week. The children have been learning about the different types of teeth, including incisors, canines and molars, and exploring how each type has a specific function in helping us eat and digest food. We’ve also discussed the importance of looking after our teeth through regular brushing and making healthy choices. To investigate this further, the children conducted an experiment to explore the effects of different sugary drinks on our teeth, helping us understand why good dental hygiene is so important.

In RE, we began by revisiting what we remembered from our previous lesson about Christian pilgrimage. We then travelled to Lourdes in France, where Saint Bernadette reported having visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The children explored the significance of holy water and discussed what Christians mean when they talk about a miracle. We also looked at how Saint Bernadette’s experiences led to the development of important religious sites, including churches, a statue and a chapel. It was great to hear the children sharing their ideas and thinking carefully about why these places are so meaningful to Christians today.

In art, we’ve been experimenting with a new technique to create tone in our compositional drawings. The children started by using soft pencils to create a grey background, which they then smudged to achieve different shades and textures. They used rubbers to mark out the outlines of their objects before working back into their drawings with art pencils to add finer details, depth and further shading. The children have been developing their understanding of how light and dark can be used to make objects appear more realistic.

A quick reminder about our half-term project: the BBC 500 Words Challenge! The children should be working towards writing their own original story of no more than 500 words (the title doesn’t count towards the total). Stories need to be typed electronically so that they can be uploaded online. Please could children also bring in a copy of their story to share with the class? The deadline for our school submissions is the week commencing Monday 19th October, so please make sure your child’s story is ready by then. I’m really looking forward to reading all their imaginative ideas!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! I look forward to another great week of learning next week.

Class Blog 2.10.26

 Hello everyone,

I hope you have all had a lovely week. I wanted to start by saying a big thank you to everyone who came along to support the school’s Harvest Service on Friday. I know it meant a great deal to the children to have you there supporting them. Some children even told me that they almost enjoyed seeing you all as much as they enjoyed the singing and, of course, eating the food afterwards – which is certainly understandable!

Another big thank you to everyone who has supported our Book Fair this week. Every purchase helps to raise valuable funds for our school, with purchases contributing towards free books for our classrooms. A reminder that the Book Fair will run for two more days, Monday and Tuesday, after school at 3:25pm. Both cash and card payments will be accepted. Please enter through the School Office. If your child cannot find the book they are looking for, we can easily order it in for them.

This week in English, we came to the end of our work on The Mermaid of Zennor. The children have produced some lovely pieces of writing linked to the story, which I am sure you will enjoy reading when you come in for our parent consultations over the next couple of weeks.

Next week, we will begin our new book, Tar Beach. We will explore the theme of freedom, discussing what freedom means to us and how it can be represented through stories and characters.

In Maths this week, we have been learning how to round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1,000, using number lines to help us identify which multiple a number is closest to. The children have worked incredibly hard on this and are becoming much more confident.

If possible, please continue practising rounding at home, particularly with larger numbers. Next week, we will move on to adding numbers up to 4 digits, including using formal written methods and developing our understanding of exchanging where necessary.

In Computing, we have continued our topic ‘What is the Internet made of?’ We have been exploring different websites and identifying the features that make up a webpage, such as text, images, links, menus and navigation buttons. We also discussed the difference between a webpage and a website, understanding that a website is made up of a collection of webpages.

In Spanish, the children have been learning how to say and understand different dates. We have been practising the vocabulary needed to talk about days, months and numbers and applying these to real dates.

In RE, we have been exploring the meaning of a pilgrimage and why Christians may choose to visit significant religious places. The children used their prior knowledge of Bible stories, symbolism and holy places to share their ideas. We then matched different Christian holy places with their special meanings and worked together to check and develop our understanding.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I hope you have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Mr Chanter

Mrs Meadow's Spellings (test on 16.10.26)

The video links for these spellings can be found using the following link: https://app.sirlinkalot.org/d/id-com.sirlinkalot.0034

ice

key

knife

out

read

school

thumb

tie

too

wants

were

you

your

 

Mr Chanter's Spelling Group (test on 9.10.26)

 

excited

they’re

knew

new

scene

seen

your

you’re

there

their

Class Blog 25.9.26

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you all had a lovely week and have been enjoying the weather. We've had another busy one in Year 4!

In English, we read to the end of our class book, 'The Mermaid of Zennor', and we have been discussing how a story can change when it is told from a different perspective. From these lessons, the children have started to write a different version of the story from the perspective of the mermaid. As part of this, we have been thinking carefully about how the mermaid might have felt and what she might have thought throughout the story. The children have been using age-related grammatical features such as fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and first-person pronouns to help develop their writing and make their version of the story more interesting for the reader.

In maths, the children have been continuing to develop their understanding of place value by comparing and ordering numbers up to 10,000. We have been looking carefully at the value of each digit within a number and using this to decide which numbers are greater or smaller. The children have also been practising using the <, > and = symbols and explaining how they know which number is greater or smaller. We have been encouraging the children to use their understanding of thousands, hundreds, tens and ones to help them explain their reasoning.

In science, the children have been developing their understanding of the digestive system and created a model to learn about the journey that food takes through our bodies. In this lesson, they started off with a piece of bread and watched this bread transition into (artificial!) poo! It was a pretty messy lesson but I'm sure the children would agree it was an exciting one and a great way to help them understand the different stages of digestion.

For RE, we spoke about significant symbols of Christianity. As a class, we discussed their importance to Christians and shared any prior knowledge of Christian symbols. We went on to choose our favourite Christian symbol, sharing our reasons for making our choice. We then drew the chosen symbol against a meaningful background, thinking carefully about how the background could help to show the importance of the symbol.

In art, we practised shading different tones from light/white to dark. We discussed how we need to press harder to create a darker tone, use the side of the pencil and shade carefully in a certain direction. Next, we started to talk about proportion by looking at a collection of objects and beginning to sketch them roughly, paying attention to their size in relation to one another.

Book Fair

Just a reminder that this year's School Book Fair will be taking place in the school hall from Thursday 1st October to Tuesday 6th October, starting each day at 3:25pm.

The Book Fair is a wonderful opportunity for children to explore a wide range of books and develop their love of reading. It also helps to raise funds for our school, as every purchase contributes towards free books for our classrooms.

Both cash and card payments will be accepted. Please enter via the School Office.

We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for your support.

Half Term Project – 500 Words

Due in the week commencing 19th October 2026

500 Words Challenge

I would like all Year 4 children to enter the BBC's 500 Words Challenge. All they need to do is write a story they would love to read in 500 words or fewer. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not marked – it is all about creativity and imagination!

500 Words celebrates children's creativity, encouraging young writers from across the UK to create an original story. This year's celebrity judges include Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon, Sir Lenny Henry, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

The bronze, silver and gold winners in each age category will be revealed by the BBC in early March 2027. The winning stories will also be read aloud by celebrities on the BBC.

There are lots of prizes to be won too! Winners will receive a bundle of books, while the gold winners will also win 500 books for their school library. Each winning story will also receive a framed, illustrated cover created exclusively by a top children's illustrator.

Children can only submit one story each. There are very few rules, but please remember that stories must:

• Be 500 words or fewer (the title is not included)

• Be written by an individual, not a group

• Be the child's own original idea

• Be prose, rather than a rap or poem

Stories must not:

• Include any personal details about the child, including their name

• Recount a historical event (although real people or historical characters can be used as inspiration)

• Be created, written or developed using AI

Stories are judged on:

• Characterisation

• Plot

• Originality

• Language

• Enjoyment

Please note: stories can only be submitted electronically, so they will need to be typed and sent to me rather than handwritten.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Have a great weekend!

Mr Chanter's Spellings (test on 2.10.26)

 

illegal

illegible

illogical

illiterate

illicit

irregular

irrelevant

irresponsible

irrational

irresistible