This week in Year 4, we have been busy with lots of exciting learning across the curriculum.

In English, we explored the exciting story of Beowulf. We learnt about the main events of the story and worked together to sequence them in the correct order, helping us to understand the plot and the journey of the hero. We then used our knowledge of character descriptions to write a detailed paragraph, applying our Year 4 writing objectives. We focused on using ambitious vocabulary, expanded noun phrases and varied sentence structures to create engaging descriptions.

In Maths, we have been learning how to tell the time using practical manipulatives to support our understanding. Once we were confident reading analogue clocks, we challenged ourselves by converting times into the 24-hour clock.

In Design and Technology, we made our own Viking purses. We carefully learnt how to use the backstitch sewing technique to join the fabric together before assembling our purses. We were proud of our perseverance and the finished products.

In Art, we created illustrations inspired by Beowulf. We practised using shading techniques to add depth and texture to our drawings before finishing them with watercolours. Our final pieces beautifully combined our artistic skills with our learning in English.

It has been a fantastic week in year 4. As we approach the end of the year, 4C began the week visiting their new class and teacher in 5J. I must admit, it was very sad to watch them leave but I am so proud of how much they have grown and flourished over the last year. 

On Tuesday, we had our Routes and Roots celebration. Thank you to every parent, carer or family who came to show their support. 

Today, we began planning and drawing a tapestry inspired by The Bayeux Tapestry, representing the Battle of Hastings in 1066. We started the lesson by learning about the events of 1066 and who William the Conqueror was, before stepping outside to take part in a drama activity, reenacting key moments from the battle. Afterwards, we each drew a section of our tapestry, which we will assemble together next week.

Enjoy your weekend everybody!

Wow, we have had a very hot week. Nevertheless, pupils have worked so hard in tough conditions.

This Tuesday we spent all day with Routes and Roots practising for our exhibition on Tuesday!

In RE, we have been learning about the census. We have a circle time chat and the children then completed an information pack all about these using their computing skills. Take a look!

Wednesday was Sports day! Everyone participated in at least one race and it was wonderful to watch the competitiveness, enthusiasm and sportsmanship displayed by all of the children.

Take a look at some of the action shots…

We have had a great start to our final half term in Year 4.

n Maths, we have begun our new topic on Shapes. We discussed the mindblowing fact that a square is actually a retangle!

Writing introduced our new topic based on an evil character description. During our warm-ups we have been researching and using new vocabulary. The class also had a competition to see who could guess Miss Chadwick’s sentence.

To begin our new Science topic on ‘States of Matter’ we discussed properties and their states. We explored new vocabulary of Solid, Liquid and Gas. Next, we made some Ooblek (cornstarch and water if you want to try at home!) and talked about how it fluctuates between solid and liquid. Ooblek changes its viscosity based on the force applied to it. Here are some pictures of the mess we made…

Today, we visited the Science Fair and had the opportunity to see all of the wonderful experiments made. Some of our class also presented theirs!

On Wednesday, we all wore green in support of Mental Health Week. We also did a circle time where I gave every child a compliment and every child gave another person a compliment!

In Art, we have been practising our fine motor skills and made Roman-inspired mosaics!

Year 4 took part in a fun Geography activity where the children completed an orienteering challenge outside. They worked in teams to read simple maps and follow directions around the school grounds. We enjoyed exploring outdoors while developing our navigation and teamwork skills!

For our summer trip, we visited the Yorkshire Showground for ‘Country Side days’.

We took part in a range of workshops centred on life in the countryside where we explored sustainable Christmas trees and made decorations, learned how to make simple bags, watched birds of prey as red kites swooped over us, visited a mobile farm with goats and donkeys, spent time brushing the donkeys and finished with a hilarious yet insightful sheep show that showed us more about farming and animal care. We also took part in an orienteering activity and had to navigate ourselves around the woodland!

Birds of Prey

Mobile Farm

Christmas Decorations

Orienteering

Sheep Show

Tractors

Bag Making

In Maths, we have started our new topic, Money. Today we explored the value of coins and how to identify them without looking at the number. We had discussions based on their colour, shape and size, and pupils enjoyed comparing the different coins and explaining their reasoning. Next, we connected our learning to writing amounts as decimals, making links to place value. We used lots of manipulatives to support our understanding and had a competition to see how many ways we could make £7.41. It was great to see pupils working collaboratively and explaining their thinking clearly.

In Music and Computing, 4C have been learning how to use the software GarageBand to create a song. Pupils have been practising on the keyboard and exploring different sounds and instruments within the programme. They have begun to experiment with layering sounds and creating simple rhythms, showing great creativity and enthusiasm.

With our multiplication check just around the corner, we have been playing Blooket regularly to secure our multiplication facts. The class have shown excellent determination and are becoming much quicker and more confident. Please do continue to practise at home. Have a game with your family to see who will win!

This week our learning in Writing, Science and reading has been centred around food chains! We have explored the terms ‘prey’ and ‘predator’ and what that means. We also built food webs and talked about what might happen if one part of the web broke down, helping us to understand how living things depend on each other within an ecosystem.

In Maths, we are continuing with our decimals topic and have learnt how to partition these numbers in place value as well as flexibly!

This week we have explored 4-figure grid references in Geography. We practised reading grid squares by moving along the corridor first and then up the stairs, helping us to identify the correct easting and northing.

We welcomed Routes and Roots this week for a photography session and a creative writing workshop. Pupils learned about labyrinths and explored their meaning and structure. They designed and drew their own labyrinths before using them as inspiration for poetry. Each pupil created a poem and carefully wrote it around the path of their labyrinth.

Because of the sunny weather, we took advantage and read our new class novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane outside!