Year 4

The children have settled really well into Year 4 and we have been so pleased with the enthusiasm that they have demonstrated towards their learning. We are really proud of the children and we are looking forward to seeing this continue and flourish over the year!

In History this half term, we have been focussing on the Romans. The children have enjoyed taking a look at some different Roman artefacts to decipher what they may have been used for. They have examined and compared what life was like before and after the Romans invaded Britain. They produced some wonderful work on this and loved adding their creative touches to their double page spread! More recently, the children have imagined what it would have been like during Queen Boudicca’s revolt. They looked at the battles through the eyes of a number of different people including the Roman Governor, a Roman Slave and a Celtic farmer.

In Maths, we have started the year by looking at place value of four digit numbers. The children have been able to use a range of equipment such as Base 10, counters and place value charts to support understanding. We have also recently completed our topic on Addition and Subtraction and it was great to see how confident the children were with using the column method already. Our most recent topic is Perimeter and Area. Despite the poor weather, we were able to get outside and measure the perimeter of 2D shapes on the playground. The children were most inventive and used a range of classroom resources to estimate the perimeter!

During our writing sessions, we have focussed on Fantasy stories followed by Newspaper Reports. The children have demonstrated knowledge of past tense, fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases. We have been particularly impressed with the ideas the children generated for the Roman Gladiator fight newspaper report. Their mock gladiator fights on the playground supported them in producing some very atmospheric newspaper reports! The children have loved combining our History and English topic together.

In Science, our topic has been States of Matter, the children have been very enthusiastic about the experiments and particularly enjoyed melting different solids (even if it did make some of them hungry). They have enjoyed demonstrating their understanding of how solids, liquids and gasses move and how they can change state when heated or cooled.

This half term in Guided Reading, we have been reading ‘Romans on the Rampage’ by Jeremy Strong. The children have thoroughly enjoyed Jeremy Strong’s humour throughout the book so far! Their favourite activity has been designing their own invention like the inventor in the story (Maddasbananus). When answering the questions based on the book, the children have been using the VIPERS (Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise) skills to support them.

In PE this half term the children have been working on their gymnastic skills, in particular, rotations, balances and supported balances. The supported balances have been particularly impressive, as they have had to put a lot of trust in their partner in order to be successful. It has been great to see their teamwork in the classes! They have also enjoyed challenging themselves in the Real PE sessions to find new and different ways to travel from one point to another. They have practiced footwork skills such as hopscotch, skipping, side stepping and hopping!

Year 4 Summer Term 2023

In English, we have been imagining what it would have been like to live in apartheid-era South Africa. In guided reading, we have been reading Journey to Jo’burg by Beverley Naidoo. In writing, pupils practised features of a persuasive letter in order to write a letter to the then President, F W de Klerk, to persuade him to abolish apartheid.

In Maths, we have covered the unit of money, including estimating a total amount, adding and subtracting money and giving change. We have also covered the unit of time, including telling the time to the minute, using a.m. and p.m. and converting to a 24-hour clock. We were also focussing on practicing all the multiplication tables up to 12 times 12 for the official DfE Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), which the pupils took in June. We had daily practise sessions and a weekly quiz which supported them not only with their quick recall but with the format of the official check as well.

Our Science topic has been about Classification and habitats. We have learned why we might classify living things into different categories. We also learned to use a classification key to sort living things according to characteristics. The children were fascinated to learn that all living things can be sorted in to five kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, protista and prokaryotes! Finally, we have looked at how animals are well suited to the environment they live in – their habitat. We have looked at how changing habitats could pose a danger to the living things within them.

In Geography, we have been focusing on map-work skills. We have learned about the equator, lines of latitude, longitude and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. We have been learning to read four- and six-figure grid references and also to label the same features on an aerial photograph as on a map.

Inspired by our English unit of Africa, we created an African sunset using watercolours. We then researched the types of African animals and trees and used black card to create the silhouettes. The children loved practicing their watercolour skills and choosing the colours that they wanted in their sunsets.

In DT, the children designed and made their own hand puppets. They were able to use a variety of stitches including running stitch and blanket stitch to sew two pieces of fabric together. They were then assisted by an adult to use a hot glue gun to attach any details e.g. ears, nose and mouth!

This term year 4 went to West Stow Anglo Saxon village.

We were so excited to discover what it was like to be an Anglo Saxon and the children couldn’t wait to put their existing knowledge to the test!

We loved dressing up as an Anglo Saxon and discovering how clothing has changed.

This is a replica of a helmet found in the Sutton Hoo archaeological site.

The children also had the opportunity to explore lots of Anglo Saxon artefacts such as an Anglo Saxon key, knife and board game.

We also had lots of fun exploring the replica houses, hall and workshops which have been built on top of the original archaeological dig site.

Each dwelling was built using similar materials and methods as they would have done in Anglo Saxon times and we could see the progression through the time period as buildings became more complex.

We all had a brilliant day learning and having fun and the children were a credit to Toftwood Federation.

In English this half term, we have been using the short, animated film The Dragon Slayer to explore the topic of myths and legends. The children have loved using scenes from the film to add dialogue and create setting descriptions. They have also been focusing on developing their vocabulary and choosing the most effective words for their writing. The children seem to really enjoy this topic as they can showcase their wonderful imaginations and creative writing skills!

In guided reading lessons, we have been reading Beowulf, which is an Anglo Saxon mythical story. The text contains some archaic language which can be tricky to understand but the children have enjoyed trying to decipher what it means and have even been inspired to use it in their own writing! The story of Beowulf is quite different to anything else we have read in Year 4! A lot of the children have enjoyed the change of pace and have been so engaged with the story and predicting what might happen next.

In maths, we have been exploring fractions. We have recapped the children’s learning from Year 3 including what a fraction is and the difference between unit and non-unit fractions. The children learnt all about improper fractions and mixed numbers and how to convert them into each other. We then looked at how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. The children have also enjoyed finding equivalent fractions by using a number line or a fraction wall. This can be a tricky concept but they persevered and have demonstrated great resilience! We are now moving on to decimals and comparing them to fractions. We will be looking at how to write tenths and hundredths as fractions and as decimals.

This half term, we have been working on a very exciting cross-curricular project. The children have been using their geographical knowledge of maps and mountains alongside their scientific knowledge of electrical circuits to create electrical board games! They have put a lot of thought into the bright, eye catching design of their games and we have discussed how important it is for our “wires” (made from foil and masking tape) not to cross over so that the circuits are complete and the games work properly. The children have loved researching different mountains in Europe and then plotting them on their maps. Some of them were surprised to learn about the mountains we have in the United Kingdom!

In RE we have been thinking about the Big Question “Is being happy the greatest purpose in life for Christians?” We had a visit from Janet Marshall to kickstart our new topic. The children enjoyed learning about Ash Wednesday and how it is celebrated around the world. We also talked about different denominations of the Christian faith and looked at different depictions of Jesus and Mary. The children loved dancing to a modern Christian celebration song and learning some actions to go along with it. More recently, we have been looking at what Christians believe they need to be happy and comparing it to what the children believe they need to be happy!

In Spanish, we have been looking at how to say different parts of the body and even how to put our new vocabulary into full sentences. The children loved singing heads, shoulders, knees and toes in Spanish and trying to keep up with the song, as it got faster and faster! We have also looked at masculine and feminine nouns and how you know whether to use la or el in front of them. More recently we have been starting to look at how to say different animals in Spanish.

In our English lessons, we have covered a range of topics including explanation texts and nonsense poems. The children seemed to particularly enjoy our topic of nonsense poems where they created their own nonsense poem in the style of The Michael Rosen Rap and then had the opportunity to perform their creation to the rest of the class! They were also fascinated to learn all about recycling and its benefits in order to write their own explanation text! They were able to include a lot of the grammatical features that we have learnt about, including fronted adverbials, cause and effect conjunctions, expanded noun phrases and separated all of their writing into paragraphs with headings!

During our whole class reading lessons, we have been reading and discussing The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo. The children loved the story and we have had some wonderful discussions about how the main character, Bertie, might have been feeling at certain points in his life. We were all very surprised by the ending and had lots of ideas about it! Once we had finished the book, the children all created a book review explaining what the book was about (without revealing any spoilers) and what their favourite part was.

In Maths, the children began the new year by finishing off our multiplication and division topic. We looked at multiplying and dividing 3 digit numbers by 1 digit. We also developed our ability to find factor pairs of certain numbers. This is a very valuable skill in maths and will continue to help us with all of our maths topics. We then moved on to looking at length and perimeter and found that the children could recall a lot from their learning in Year 3 – which is fantastic!

During our Geography lessons, we discovered some budding geography experts in Year 4! Our focus was all about mountains and mountain ranges in Europe. The children enjoyed finding out about all the different types of mountains and how they were formed. They also loved using Google Maps to explore different locations and then mark them on their own maps.

In Art, the children learned about Islamic patterns. The children researched different elements of Islamic art such as calligraphy, geometric patterns, vegetal (relating to plants) and repetition of patterns. They particularly enjoyed discovering that most Islamic art will have a small deliberate mistake to show that nobody is perfect! After creating their final design, the children then made a printing tile out of string and card and used it to print a repeating pattern into their books. We have all enjoyed this topic as we have been able to use a range of different mediums such as pencils, string and printing ink! The final task involved evaluating their work by recognising what worked well, what could be improved next time and what they had learned throughout the project.

In Science, the children have loved learning all about electricity and creating simple circuits out of bulbs, wires and cells. We even tested which switch works best in order to switch our light bulb on the quickest! The children are looking forward to applying their new found skills to creating electric board games next half term!

On Thursday 12^th January, we had a very special visitor come to talk to us. The published, author, Julia Edwards, whose books we have in our school library, came to work with everyone. Firstly, we were told all about her story-writing and how she got into it. She really got us interested in all of her exciting historically accurate books. There was tales of Vikings, Romans and even Victorians using unspeakable things in order to dye their own eyebrows! Her book depicting the Great Fire of London sounded amazing. Did you know that there was only 6 recorded deaths from the great fire because there were only 6 bodies found? Julia, posed the question of why didn’t they think about all the missing people whose bodies must have been burned, which got us all thinking!

After this, Julia visited our classrooms for a workshop to help us improve our own writing skills. Year 4 have been getting in a muddle with tenses lately and we were able to pick Julia’s brain for help and tips. The children all got involved thinking of different actions to be doing; then, now and in the future. This was an enormous help and enjoyed by all.

English:

In English we focused on applying descriptive techniques to write an alternative ending to a traditional tale. It was amazing to see all of the children’s innovative ideas. They were able to confidently demonstrate all they had learned and were proud of what they had created, with lots of children wanting to share their own version of the story ‘Lost Happy Endings’ that included fronted adverbials and adventurous adjectives.

We also focused on persuasive writing; the children worked incredibly hard to persuade others to buy their ‘Toftwood Trifle’. The children really enjoyed creating their own slogans and were able to use techniques such as alliteration, similes, metaphors and rhyme to make persuasive and effective adverts.

Maths:

Our mathematical work had a large focus on multiplication and we have been able to apply our times tables we have been practising – many of the children are competently able to speedily recall most facts up to 12 x 12. Our confidence has grown through practising our times tables and we can now apply these to a range of reasoning and problem solving questions.

Science:

The children have been looking at how we can hear sound and have learnt how to label lots of the different parts of the ear. We thoroughly enjoyed trying out the different experiments to discover that sound is made by a series of vibrations. The children’s favourite experiment was using the tuning fork in the water (even if the vibrations from the tuning fork did make the water splash a little).

Music:

This half term we have continued to work on our musical application of playing notes on the glockenspiel. The children built up the difficulty of the sequence of notes they were playing as the term went on and supported their partners to perform too.

Spanish:

The children have built on their Spanish knowledge from year 3 by applying their knowledge of numbers and months to be able to converse about their birthdays. They created a pretend invitation to their birthdays and made Christmas cards to their friends in school.

History and DT:

This half term we have been busy working on our cake stands. This combined our Roman mosaic art pieces and our new DT skill of lamination. We used this skill to make our cake stands strong. The children had some fantastic designs and it was great to see the cake stands being put to use once the children had made their Roman honey cakes.

PE:

This term we have focussed on gym work, specifically sequencing balance and flight. The children recapped the 5 main gym shapes and applied these to different jumps before exploring these in balance and travel on and around the large apparatus.

The children in Year 4 had a very special visitor on Monday 7^th November. To link in with our history topic, pupils were immersed in all things Roman. 

Starting the day, the children were introduced to our Roman visitor – Markus. He helped them to recap and extend their learning by looking at key historical figures, significant places, weapons and battle techniques and important dates relating to Roman Britain. After splitting into the three classes, each group participated in themed activities. These included playing a Roman board game called ‘Ludus’ which was a game similar to noughts and crosses; learning about real Roman artefacts such as a personalised wine glass; and finding out lots of facts as part of a Roman quiz. All three activities were popular with the children but they particularly enjoyed being able to explore all of the wonderful Roman artefacts that Markus had brought with him. It gave us all a fantastic insight into how the Romans lived, what they ate and even how they went to the toilet!
In the afternoon, we experienced the thrills and excitement of the Colosseum.  This included the infamous battle between the Roman and Boudicca’s army. The children enjoyed learning about how gladiators fought, and especially about some of the very strange helmets, they wore for their contests. We ended the day by watching our very own gladiators battle, showing off their skill and daring before the Emperor (Aidan) decided who would live or die. The children thoroughly enjoyed these experiences and meeting Markus. Their excellent learning behaviours during the day were a real credit to them. What an excellent way to enhance our Roman topic! 

Quotes from the children about the day – 

Poppy “It was very exciting due to lots of re-enacting like the fight of Boudicca and the gladiator fight!” 

Dorothy “It was really fun because we learned how to chant in Latin like the soldiers in history!” 

Leighton “It was interesting to learn about all the types of weapons like the swords of different sizes”.

The children have settled really well into Year 4 and we have been so pleased with the enthusiasm that they have demonstrated towards their learning. We are really proud of the children and we are looking forward to seeing this continue and flourish over the year!

In History this half term, we have been focussing on the Romans. The children have enjoyed taking a look at some different Roman artefacts to decipher what they may have been used for. They have examined and compared what life was like before and after the Romans invaded Britain. They produced some wonderful work on this and loved adding their creative touches to their fact files! More recently, the children have imagined what it would have been like during Queen Boudicca’s revolt. They looked at the battles through the eyes of a number of different people including the Roman Governor, a Roman Slave and a Celtic farmer.

In Maths, we have briefly recapped on the children’s previous knowledge of Place Value from Year 3 and then continued with Year 4 Place Value using a range of equipment such as Base 10, counters and place value charts to support understanding. We have also recently completed our topic on Addition and Subtraction and it was great to see how confident the children were with using the column method already. Our most recent topic is Perimeter and Area. Despite the poor weather, we were able to get outside and measure the perimeter of 2D shapes on the playground. The children were most inventive and used a range of classroom resources (and themselves!) to estimate the perimeter!

During our writing sessions, we have focussed on Fantasy stories followed by Newspaper Reports. The children have demonstrated knowledge of past tense, fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases. We have been particularly impressed with the ideas the children generated for the Roman Gladiator fight newspaper report. Their mock gladiator fights on the playground supported them in producing some very atmospheric newspaper reports! The children have loved combining our History and English topic together.

In Science, our topic has been States of Matter, the children have been very enthusiastic about the experiments and particularly enjoyed melting different solids (even if it did make some of them hungry). They have enjoyed demonstrating their understanding of how solids, liquids and gasses move and how they can change state when heated or cooled.

For Spanish, we have been focussing on learning our numbers to 31 and the days of the week. The children have enjoyed practicing their Spanish numbers through games such as dominoes and bingo! More recently, we have looked at the story of Cenicienta (Cinderella) and the children did a great job of translating brand new vocabulary into English.

This half term in Whole Class Reading, we have been reading ‘Romans on the Rampage’ by Jeremy Strong. The children have thoroughly enjoyed Jeremy Strong’s humour throughout the book so far! Their favourite activity has been designing their own invention like the inventor in the story (Maddasbananus). When answering the questions based on the book, the children have been using the VIPERS (Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise) skills to support them.

In PE this half term the children have been working on their gymnastic skills, in particular, rotations, balances and supported balances. The supported balances have been particularly impressive, as they have had to put a lot of trust in their partner in order to be successful. It has been great to see their teamwork in the classes! They have also enjoyed challenging themselves in the Real PE sessions to find new and different ways to travel from one point to another. They have practiced footwork skills such as hopscotch, skipping, side stepping and hopping!