Year 4

As we head into our final term in year 4, we have plenty to look forward to, with our Ancient Egyptian day, our French Café, a trip to Chatham Dockyards, sports day, Party in the Park and many more activities.  Our learning journey continues with scientific discoveries about the digestive system, the historical importance of 1066, data manipulation using weather information, as well as looking at time, shape, coordinates and statistics in maths and our final book of the year, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A busy term lies ahead, take a look at what we’re up to below.

Term 6 Overview

Term 6 Overview – Why is 1066 important to us (PDF download)

Key Instant Recall Facts

This term the children will complete the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) and we continue our focus on 12x table facts, this time looking at the division facts to go with the multiplication facts from last term.

T6 KIRFs Y4 – 12x table division facts (PDF download)

In computing this term, we have been looking at computational thinking, learning how to decompose (break down) problems into smaller chunks, recognise patterns and write clear, simple algorithms to solve problems. We have used Scratch games to identify the key features and have built programs to solve problems using hour of code.

This term, we have been practising our batting and fielding skills and improving our reaction times ready to play rounders.  The children had great fun and everyone really enjoyed playing together and cheering each other on.

Over the course of a 4 days, both classes had the opportunity to spend 2 days and a night at Kench Hill for what for many was their first trip away from home.  The children thoroughly enjoyed all the activities from archery and orienteering, an almost 4-mile stream walk and animal care, to shelter building, bouldering and night-line obstacle course. They had fun in the evening at our camp fire with hot chocolate and cookies. The food was amazing and the Kench Hill staff looked after us fantastically. Truly a trip the children will never forget…

Gardening

The children had an opportunity to harvest some of the vegetables and salads for lunch!

Animal Care and Wildlife Garden

The children learnt how to care for some of the animals at Kench Hill such as the rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens as well as the ponies, Pongo and Chips. They also had the opportunity to try pond dipping and see what they could find in the water, along with bird watching from the hide.

Stream Walk

On the first afternoon for each group, we went on a countryside walk, including wading through a stream running through some local woods. The children absolutely loved this and have talked about it so much since returning to school.

Archery, Bouldering, Nightline and Orienteering

The children took part in various activities on day 2 including archery, bouldering (travelling across a climbing wall), orienteering and an obstacle course with a difference!

Shelter Building

The children absolutely loved building their shelters. They went out in Badgers’ Wood and, using natural materials from around the site along with some tarpaulin and rope, they built themselves a (hopefully!) waterproof shelter. They learnt how to tie reef knots to secure their shelters.

Campfire, Free Time and Food!

Between activities, the children had free time to explore the grounds, play in the playground area, visit the animals, play football – the only rules were “Don’t climb over fences or go through gates.” At the end of the first day before bedtime, we had a campfire and enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies whilst having a sing song together!

This term in science, we have been looking at habitats and how human activities affect them.  We have seen how human actions can have a negative impact and reduce biodiversity across the world and especially in the rainforests. We looked at our own school environment and thought about how we could improve the biodiversity around us.

Welcome back to everyone, we hope you had a wonderful Easter break. This is a short term, but there’s so much to pack in! Our learning in geography, science and English all revolve around rainforests and their importance to the planet. In maths, we will be looking at decimals and comparing them to our previous learning about fractions. In RE, we look at a different world religion – Hindu Dharma. We also have our Kench Hill residential to look forward to as well as swimming. Take a look at the overview for more information.

Why are rainforests so important to us?

Term 5 Overview – Why are rainforests important to us? (PDF download)

Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs)

We will be polishing up our skills across all times tables this term, but our focus table will be the 12x table.

12 Times Table

Term 5 KIRF – 12x table (PDF Download)

We are looking forward to a fantastic term.  Any questions, just ask your class teacher.

The Year 4 team
Mr Houghton, Miss Ryan, Miss Wayland and Miss Ellis

What a fantastic World Book Day we had! The children’s costumes were fantastic, everything from The World of Harry Potter and Wicked, Charlotte’s Web and the Wizard of Oz, Minions and the Cat in the Hat, The Boy in the Dress and Ratatouille, to Gangsta Granny, Soldiers, Fairies and even Walt Disney himself!

We joined in with the BBC World Book Day Live Lesson thinking about our favourite fiction and non-fiction genres. We spent time designing book covers based on the back-of-the-book blurb and the book title.

Hi everyone,

We’ve reached the half-way point and the second half of the year is just as packed with new learning.  We kick off term 4 learning about fractions and decimals in maths. In English, we will be looking at biographies – starting with Shakespeare before moving on to Marcus Rashford, then creating our own biography booklets. In history, we continue learning about the Ancient Egyptians, looking at their beliefs, hieroglyphics and the importance of the pyramids. In science, we will be investigating states of matter, looking at solids, liquids and gases. In computing, we continue nd feel of websites we are familiar with. Take a look at our overview below for further information about these and all our other subjects.

Term 4 Overview

Term 4 Overview – What did the Ancient Egyptians believe (PDF Download)

Our Key Instant Recall Facts this term revolve around the 7-times table.

KIRF – 7-times table facts (PDF Download)

Our PE day will be Thursday this term.

We look forward to welcoming you all back, ready for the new term.

The Year 4 Team – Mr Houghton, Miss Ryan, Miss Wayland, Miss Ellis and Miss Hyder

In music this term, Mrs Vincent has been teaching the children about melody and accompaniment, putting into practice the pitch and rhythm skills they have been learning in previous units. They used music from classic 80s bands such as Survivor (Eye of the Tiger) and Kraftwerk (The Man Machine) and a more recent song by Rachel Platten (Fight Song).

This term we have been lucky to have Kav with us teaching us all about Dodgeball. The children have had a great time learning the skills needed, playing games to practise and develop their skills and techniques, before playing some matches.