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St Mary's Rickmansworth Church of England Primary School Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing; together shining a light

Year 4

Friday 25th October 2024

It has been yet another busy week in Year 4!

In English, we used our toolkit (similes, two adjective clauses, dialogue to show character, power of 3 and powerful verbs) to plan and create independent stories. It has been such a pleasure to see the writing that has been produced. 

Maths has had a focus on area this week. We worked out the area of rectangles and rectilinear shapes using the measurement of ‘squares’. Later in the year we will find an area using centimetres and metres.

DT reached peak excitement this week as we finished constructing our catapults. Then we were able to aim and FIRE! across the Hall. Mrs Maxwell and Mrs Bartram have been very impressed with the skills involved in creating the Roman-inspired catapults. We evaluated our creation.

Science has been rather grotesque, to put it mildly! We have experimented with eggs (in place of real teeth) to see what happens when they are left submerged in water, coca-cola, milk, orange juice and vinegar. Each day we have checked the progress that has been made. It has been interesting to see the egg in the vinegar’s shell disappear before our very eyes. The staining as a result of the coca-cola has also been eye opening. Hopefully an experience that will reinforce the importance of oral hygiene. 

In R.E we have been philosophers. We reflected on the messages from the stories we have been studying and how we can put those into action.

In Guided Reading we were looking at the poem ‘My Shadow’ by Robert Louis Stevenson. We discuss key vocabulary from the poem and talk about the expression and intonation needed to perform.  

During Spellings we have been focusing on the -ly suffix. Thinking carefully about if the root word stays the same or has to be changed. The spellings have been sent home as a paper copy or they can practise via Doodle Learning.

Wishing you all a restful half term.

 

Friday 18th October 2024

In English we finished hugging the text to create our own version of the model text. After completing the story we edited our writing in pairs, reading the sentences aloud and suggesting corrections for punctuation, spelling and uplevelling. 

We have come to the end of Addition and Subtraction in Mathematics this week. We have been looking at efficient methods for solving calculations. When using column subtraction, we talked about changing 3,000 - 1,427 to 2,999 - 1,426. By changing the calculation by one (still keeping the difference the same) then it avoids having to borrow tens/hundreds/thousands. We also thought about finding the difference between two numbers that are close together, for example, 1,602 - 1,593 we can see that the two numbers are only 9 apart. Looking for patterns and the relationship between numbers is really helpful.

In Geography we were looking at earthquakes - how they happen and the impact they can have.

During our Music lesson this week we were combining all the elements we have looked at in our Rock and Roll topic to create a performance: the lyrics, the steady beat and the sequence played on the glockenspiel. 

It was our final Swimming lesson of the first half term this week. It has been a joy to see the confidence in the children growing week on week. A reminder that swimming is not taking place next Thursday.

In R.E this week we were developing our thinking skills by creating thought maps to track the learning we have experienced this half term. Reviewing what Christians believe about the sort of world Jesus wanted from the passages/stories we've read. 

It was lovely to welcome Mrs Patel into our classroom on Monday. She is a St Marys parent and also a dentist. She talked in depth about her job as a dentist and the importance of oral hygiene. The class had prepared probing questions to ask.

 

For Spanish, Mrs Bennett has asked the children to use Linguascope to keep up regular practise of their spanish skills:

Linguascope login

Username: stmarys 

Password: sunhat13

 

Spellings were sent home today. They can either be practised on the sheet or on Doodle Learning. Every Monday a Maths and English assignment is set on Doodle Learning for homework.

 

Friday 11th October 2024

As we reach the end of another busy week in Year 4, it has been lovely to see so many children putting an effort into their handwriting. Focusing on the neat presentation and legibility.

In English we have been ‘Boxing Up’ - this is the planning stage of our writing. We have looked at the breakdown of the model text and then planned each paragraph according to what has taken place. Yesterday, we began ‘Hugging the Text’ - we begin by creating a ‘shared write’ so that the children can see how each sentence has been carefully constructed. Then they write their own paragraph based on the plan they have made.

Mathematics this week has focused on the column method for addition and subtraction. We start by using counters in a place value chart, to give the pupils a visual representation of what is taking place. Then we move on to the abstract: numbers.

DT was a hands-on experience! We designed our catapults, inspired by those used in the Roman times. We were measuring the wood needed and using hacksaws to cut the pieces to size. Luckily, all fingers are still intact!

Geography was focusing on the extreme impact a volcanic eruption can have. We looked at what happened in Pompeii in 79AD due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

In Science we reflected on the learning we experienced at the Science Museum. We then started to learn about different types of teeth we have: incisors, canines, premolars, molars and wisdom teeth.

Spellings have been given out today - they are able to practise on paper or on Doodle Learning.

With the Multiplication test at the end of Year 4 in mind, the children are being encouraged to practise as regularly as possible. They are mostly completing the TTRockstars games in class. However, there are multiple ways to ensure they are also continuing this practise at home:

  • Flashcards
  • Bullseye (something we have played in class)
  • Online games, such as Super Maths Bowling
  • Asking the multiples of a given number: if my answer is 24, what could the multiplication calculation have been? 1 x 24, 2 x 12, 3 x 8, 4 x 6

Library takes place on a Tuesday afternoon and Reading Records are stamped on a Wednesday morning.

 

Friday 4th October

We have just had the most amazing trip to the Science Museum, the class traversed the underground really well. We went to space, entered the Wonderlab, were horrified by the It Takes Guts workshop and were able to answer the question: ‘Who am I?’

In English we were looking at dialogue to show character, fronted adverbials to show manner and analysing the model text to find all the parts of our Characterisation toolkit.

In Maths we finished off the Place Value topic: learning to round to multiple of 10, 100 and 1,000. Then we started the Addition and Subtraction topic.

In Science we imagined we were an item of food (Sammy the sandwich, Gary the gherkin, etc) and wrote about the journey we take through the digestive system.

In Music we used the glockenspiels, creating a tune called ‘Walking the Bass Line’. 

In RE, following our visit from Gary the vicar the pervious week, we created job adverts for Vicars based on the qualities and roles he shared with us.

Our Guided Reading lessons this week focused on ‘The Wild Agreement’ poem.

In PSHE we were working in collaboration with each other.

Our Library session takes place on a Tuesday.

  Friday 27th September 2024

During our English lessons we have been focusing on: reading comprehension of our model text, using dialogue to show character, two adjective clause (Joe, determined and resolute,).

 In Maths this week we have been looking at Roman numerals. We also started rounding: rounding to a multiple of 10. We learnt a rhyme to help us:

1, 2, 3, 4

Round down to the multiple before.

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Round up on the number line.

Yee hah!

Guided Reading has promoted an excitement for reading with many in the class. The book was ‘Football’s Greatest Moments’. We were looking at Pete and Messi’s footballing achievements. 

Thank you for bringing Reading Records on Wednesdays to be stamped. We will continue with this.

In Science we had a rather grotesque experiment to give us an understanding of the digestive system. We used crackers, bananas, orange juice and water to churn up in the stomach (zip lock bag), this then passed into the intestines (tights). The liquid seeped out of the tights and left with a solid mass. This was squeezed into a cup (the rectum) with a hole in the bottom. With this finally being pushed out of the hole.

  Spellings (focusing on the -ed and -ing suffix) have been handed out today. They are available on the sheet or in Doodle Learning to practise. 

Gary the Vicar kindly came and visited Year 4 yesterday as part of our RE lesson. He talked about his career and the role the vicar plays in the church and the community. 

In Music, Year 4 continued with the Rock and Roll topic. Looking at ‘Rock around the clock’.

Another successful week at Merchant Taylor’s for our Swimming lesson. The children should take great pride in the behaviour they have shown and how the teachers there have recognised this.

We are looking forward to our trip to the Science Museum next week.

Mrs Martin  

In Spanish this term we have focused on building essential conversational skills in, learning how to count to 10 and expressing how we are feeling, 

This term, our PE lessons have focused on improving three key physical skills: agility, balance, and coordination. Each of these skills plays an important role in overall physical fitness and performance in various sports.

So far this term, our computing lessons have focused on understanding how networks connect to each other. We have explored the function of the internet, and how information is shared across the World Wide Web. 

Mrs Bennett

 

   

 Friday 20th September 2024

We have reached the end of another busy week. It has been lovely to hear such positive feedback from other members of staff about the class and their behaviour.

In English we started the week with the discovery of a spade and metal detector which instructed us to go to the dens. When we were there we uncovered a metal box with a sign saying ‘Do not open’. This hooked us into our new Talk for Writing model text: ‘Treasure’. We have been learning the story (paragraphs 1-4 so far) and acting out the sentences. We have focused on: similes, dialogue, power of 3 (3 things to describe the character) and synonyms. These short bursts of writing have produced sentences with rich vocabulary.

In Maths we have been partitioning 4 digit numbers and looking at number lines. A particular concentration has been working out the intervals on a number line.

Science was a real highlight; we learnt about the organs involved in the digestive system and constructed it. We then stuck on tubing to track the route our food would take and injected food dye into the tube to see the journey.

Another exciting lesson, where our learning came to life before our eyes, was understanding the parts of a volcano in Geography and then constructing our own! We loved watching the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar’s chemical reaction to depict the lava spilling out of the volcano.

In DT we were continuing to learn about and understand the parts of a catapult. Thinking about the reasons for their use in Roman times.

Spellings this week has had a focus on the alternative spellings of ‘air’ (7 to be exact: ere, eir, ar, are, aire, air, ear). The spellings have been sent home on a sheet, or the pupils can test themselves on the words on Doodle Learning. 

We are moving the Reading Record stamping to Wednesday mornings to try and avoid reading records becoming damp with swimming kit. Thank you for your understanding.

I have spoken to the class about the drive behind learning times tables in Year 4. They are to complete their 15 minutes of TTRS a week, in addition, there is Super Maths Bowling and Hit the Button which are interesting ways to practise times tables.

Home Learning is set every Monday morning on Doodle Learning. It will be checked the following Monday morning and pupils will be awarded house points for completion.

Wishing you all a restful weekend. 

Friday 13th September 2024

In English we have been continuing to look at poetry, focusing on a poem titled ‘A Small Dragon’. We recreated the poem about a different creature. Today we published our poems - writing them up neatly and illustrating them to ‘publish’ our poetry.

In Geography we started our ‘Extreme Earth’ topic. Using 6 colours of playdough we created the layers of the earth:

  • Inner core
  • Outer core
  • Mantle
  • Crust
  • Land & sea

 

Year 4 had the pleasure of a delicious lunch after our swimming session at Merchant Taylors. The teachers made us feel very welcome.

 

In Music we started the Rock & Roll topic. We listened to Rockin’ Billy and Rock Around the Clock. With a brief introduction to acting out the Hand Jive.

 

Our Science topic this week has started with food chains. We thought about the producer who is eaten by the primary consumer, who is munched by the secondary consumer, who is finally consumed by the tertiary consumer. We have produced creative food chains to display our understanding.

 

Spellings this week have been concentrating on the controlled r vowel sounds (er, ir, or, ar, ur) - the class have been sent home with a sheet home with their spellings to practise ready to be tested next Friday.

 

Maths this week has had a Place Value focus. We were thinking about the value of each digit up to a thousand. We placed three digit numbers on a number line between 0 and 1,000. If there are 5 intervals in a blank number line between 0 and 1,000, what does each interval represent?

 

You will receive an email from Mrs Maxwell about the expectations of home learning on Doodle Learning. We will  share more information at our 'Meet the Teacher' session on Wednesday. Please encourage your child to used Doodle Maths, Doodle English and Doodle Spelling along with TTRockstars.

 

Reading records are stamped every Thursday if they have read at least five times.

 

Wishing you all a restful weekend after a busy first week.

 

Friday 6th September

Wishing you all a warm welcome back. It has been lovely to see the children returning from the summer break. Yesterday we started the term by introducing our Poetry topic, it was wonderful to see the whole class participate in either individual or paired performances of 'Overheard on a Saltmarsh', with very entertaining voices for the nymph and goblin. The afternoon was spent in family groups participating in a scavenger hunt to explore the school, outdoor activities and an active session.

Today we continued with the poetry. It was wonderful hear the extensive vocabulary the pupils volunteered to describe an image of a forest. In the Guided Reading lesson we introduced the story of 'The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane'. This afternoon the class were taught Spanish, Computing and PE by Mrs Bennett.

 

The Year 4 Meet the Teacher meeting will take place on Wednesday 18th September - 09:00. The Year 4 team includes Mrs Mcleod, Mrs Latimer and Mrs Bennett.

 

I am looking forward to our swimming lessons at Merchant Taylors begininng on Thursday 12th September. 

Children should come to school wearing their one-piece swimming costume / trunks under their PE Kit. Please ensure that your child has the following items in their named swim bag:

· Swimming cap

· Underwear

· Goggles (optional)

· Towel

 

Home learning will begin next Friday. In the meantime, I have encouraged the class to reignite their love of TTRS and Mrs Maxwell has challenged them to earn some stars by completing some learning on Doodle Learning. The Reading Records along with reading books will be handed out on Monday. The reading records will be stamped every Thursday morning.

 

Next week we will start the following topics across the curriculum:

Science - Animals (including Humans) - this includes learning about the Digestive System and Teeth.

DT - Mechanisms: Catapults

PSHE - Me and My Relationships

Music - Rock & Roll

Geography - Extreme Earth (volcanoes and earthquakes)

RE - What kind of world did Jesus want?

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