Ciao! Year 4 have had an exciting and enriching summer term exploring the wonders of Italy, past and present. We journeyed back in time to discover the fascinating world of the Ancient Romans, learning about their daily life, architecture and inventions. Alongside this, we explored modern day Italy, focusing on the stunning region of Campania and the Amalfi Coast. A highlight of our term was our residential trip to Ufton Court where we stepped into the shoes of Roman citizens. In D&T, we applied our science knowledge of electricity to design and build working volcano warning systems inspired by Mount Vesuvius.

Writing highlights

This term’s writing has seen the children really flourish in applying all of the skills they have been taught throughout the year! We began by watching a short video clip of a slightly modernised version of Pinocchio before writing a recount of the events. The scene was set in a secluded wood and involved a robotic project being brought to life by fairies while its creator was sleeping. Our recounts included the thoughts and feelings of the inventor as he battled to make himself a working companion. After this, we moved on to the beautifully illustrated book ‘The Glassmaker’s Daughter’ which is again based on a sad character seeking happiness. This story is set in Venice so has also linked to our Geography learning which was useful when describing the setting. Our newspaper articles follow the dramatic events of an exploding glass palace and also feature mask makers, tart bakers, trumpet players and dragon slayers to name a few…

Reading highlights

Our Reading lessons have contained the usual fascinating mix of fictional narratives as well as quirky non-fiction texts. We started summer 1 by exploring ‘The Wild Robot’ by Peter Brown which the children loved; especially when we compared it to the newly released film adaptation. ‘Chariots and Champions’ then gave us an opportunity to examine and act out play scripts which have very different structures and writing styles to any other texts we have looked at this year. In the second half of the summer term, we looked at two non-fiction books ‘Your Guide to a New Life in Ancient Rome’ and ‘Truth or Busted’ which are both rammed full of interesting facts that we used in a variety of different ways.

Maths highlights

Firstly, I cannot comment on any other aspect of Maths without further congratulating all of Year 4 for their phenomenal Multiplication Tables Check scores! In fact, this cohort achieved the best MTC scores in WJS history which will certainly take some beating – well done to all of the children and thank you for the home support along the way! In our lessons, we continued to convert between fractions and decimals before moving on to applying the decimals to money. Finally, we have spent a few weeks learning how to tell the time and change between a 12 and 24 hour clock as well as collecting and interpreting data using pictograms, bar charts and line graphs.

Science and foundation highlights

As mentioned, our science topic of Electricity has been thoroughly enjoyed. We started off by exploring complete and incomplete circuits before adding in a switch to give us control over a buzzer or a bulb. Next, we tested various materials to work out which were conductors and which were insulators. This involved a great deal of trial and error but was a lot of fun. All of this knowledge was then vital in creating a volcano warning system that would sound an alarm if it felt the earth start to tremble.

Wow, what an action-packed spring term we’ve had in Year 4! Each and every member of the cohort should be incredibly proud of themselves for their sheer hard work and determination across all areas of the curriculum. The children have built on their brilliant autumn term and it’s been a joy to watch the progress they have made. Finally, 4LR and 4RF loved demonstrating their wealth of knowledge and all of the information they have learnt about water, the water cycle and changing states of matter during their class assembly and radio show respectively.

Writing highlights

After Christmas, we were very excited to introduce the children to our new, shiny writing unit which was a bit different to usual! We spent a few weeks working through the ‘Place Value for Punctuation and Grammar’ scheme. These lessons explored important literary skills such as capital letters for proper nouns, various uses for apostrophes and fronted adverbials with the idea being that this intensive focus would then feed into and improve their writing going forwards. Having now finished our ‘Rags to Riches’ tales about a young girl called Zahra and her struggles with a weak water pump, we can definitely see that the punctuation and grammar lessons have had a positive impact.

Reading highlights

Our reading lessons have been nothing short of awesome throughout the spring term! First, we delved into ‘Ariki and the Giant Shark’ which allowed the children to explore concepts such as belonging, being brave and caring for nature. This topic also allowed us the chance to do lots of shared reading aloud which meant we could work on adding expression and tone as well as comprehension and retrieval skills. Just before February half term, we moved on to the fantastic Hampshire Information Book Awards. This is a competition that runs each year and invites children in Year 4 to thoroughly analyse four non-fiction texts and score them on categories such as appeal, accuracy and authority. It was a really tough task as all four books are excellent so the children had to really study each and every page before making a decision. Our winner was ‘Earth is Big’ due to the volume of mind-blowing facts filling every single page. Finally, we have just received a rather intriguing package all the way from Scotland. It contained a large, dark egg; larger than any of us have ever seen before! It is now our task to use a variety of clues to try and work out what might be inside and how best to care for the egg…

Maths highlights

In maths, we have built on the solid foundations that we worked incredibly hard on during the autumn term. The four operations and place value have become highly-valued pieces of knowledge that are vital to solving lots of the learning that we have been tackling recently. As well as honing our formal written methods for multiplication and division, we spent a short time finding lengths and perimeter before manipulating fractions. Of course, there has also been a strong emphasis on improving speed and accuracy with multiplication tables in preparation for the fast approaching Multiplication Tables Check in the Summer.

Science and foundation highlights

We were incredibly lucky to get to observe some of our science and geography learning first hand while at our super Selborne trip. Excitingly, we had the chance to see the river habitat in action as well as thinking about how the water we were seeing (and standing in) plays its part in the water cycle. Throughout the spring term, these two subjects have been closely interlinked and the children have really enjoyed looking at how the different states of matter are all involved in the water cycle. The children have gained so much knowledge on these topics that these ideas were central to both 4LR’s awesome class assembly and 4RF’s fun radio show – we hope you enjoyed both!

Additional highlights since Christmas have included playing tennis in the sunshine with Mr Law; practising running stitch and back stitch before planning, creating and evaluating our very own Easter decorations in DT; programming indefinite loops in computing as well as plenty of fun in art, music and Spanish. Finally, we also loved having so many family members join us for our ‘Fantastic finish’ back in January; I know that the children and staff felt incredibly proud of all the amazing work they were able to show you.

Year 4 have shown incredible dedication and effort throughout the Autumn Term, tackling every challenge with enthusiasm and resilience. Their hard work in all subjects has been truly inspiring, and their teamwork and kindness have made the classrooms a joyful place to learn. From mastering new skills to showing creativity and curiosity, they have embraced every opportunity to grow. It’s been wonderful to see their confidence blossom, and they should all feel proud of their achievements; especially 4LR with their brilliant, informative Radio Show and 4CB with their very knowledgeable Class Assembly performance.

Writing highlights

Back in September, we started with two inspirational writing units that were both closely linked to our Ancient Greeks topic. Firstly, ‘Jeopardous Journeys’ involved us exploring many famous myths and different tools that authors use to build suspense throughout a piece of writing. We then built on this by investigating mythical beasts using the text ‘Hercules and his 12 labours’. This led to us focusing on the use of pronouns and paragraphs to ensure our writing was as cohesive and entertaining as possible while creating our very own creatures. Finally, in the build up to Christmas we have loved using fronted adverbials to add detail to our beautiful leaflets trying to persuade people to pay a visit to a winter wonderland of our own creating.

Reading Highlights

Year 4 LOVED Reading Matters Week straight after the summer holidays, so much so that many colourful posters and activities had to be displayed in our classrooms! Our topic of Ancient Greece allowed us to dive into the ‘Children’s book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Monsters’. We read all about sirens, Odysseus and Gods and Goddesses. Next, we learnt, rehearsed, practised and performed a poem about a three-headed dog! Over the last few weeks, we have used various methods of reading to devour the intriguing story ‘A Night at the Frost Fair’ and we have compared it to the Christmas classic – ‘The Snowman’. All three classes also read Hannah Gold’s highly acclaimed book, ‘The Last Bear’ before enjoying a virtual interview with the author herself.

Maths Highlights

In Maths, we have put a lot of hard work and effort into improving our number skills in the form of both number bonds and multiplication tables. Confidence and competence with numbers, place value and the four operations are the absolute bedrock of Mathematics so it has been really pleasing to see the children build a really strong foundation in all of these areas throughout our Autumn Term learning. Additionally, even our most challenging Area focused tasks proved to be no match for the mighty Year 4 mathematicians! We look forward to applying these skills further in the new year.

Science and Foundation Subject Highlights

Science has proved to be its usual mixture of fascinating and awe-inspiring as firstly we delved into ‘Living things and their habitats’ before exploring ‘Animals including humans’ up until Christmas. Both of these units gave us the chance to compare and contrast various creatures of the animal kingdom with us human beings. A highlight of this learning was definitely observing how eggs react to being submerged in different liquids as it was a stark reminder of the importance of brushing our teeth!

Other notably enjoyable experiences have included our Greek dress up day which was full of drama, food tasting and craft activities. On the subject of food, we also loved the process of investigating, planning and reviewing Greek salads in DT. In PE, a great time was had by all during some excellent whole Year 4 netball lessons on the playground, as well as the expertise of Mr Law helping us all to improve our hockey skills. All of the children are incredibly lucky to have expert Spanish, Music and Art teaching every week too as some of the work produced in these lessons has been nothing short of outstanding!

It has been another busy and exciting term in Year 4! The children have immersed themselves in our overarching topic ‘Water, Water, Everywhere’ where they have explored rivers from around the world, how they form and gained perspective about how rivers impact the land around them. As well as our river studies, the children have worked incredibly hard on developing their multiplication tables knowledge and tackling how to calculate with fractions. One of our highlights this term was our visit to Selborne River where the children carried out a range of geographical field studies to learn more about river processes. This was a fantastic opportunity to be geographers and see the river environment first hand.  

English highlights:
Linking with our exploration of water, the children used the film narrative clip ‘Zahra’ to understand landscapes that suffer with water poverty. For our first writing piece of the Spring Term, the children used inspiration from Zahra to write their own ‘Rags to Riches’ stories. Within our Reading, we delved into the book ‘Ariki and the Giant Shark’ and developed our reading skills through an exploration of Ariki’s life on an island in the middle of the ocean. We used our inference skills to comprehend how Ariki felt based on key events and were excited when Ariki learnt more about her past and where she came from! Using the award-winning text ‘The Thames and Tide Club’, the children learnt about the wonders of mud larking and all of the treasures that can be found along the banks of a river. They then used their knowledge to write their own instructions of how to go mud larking for others to follow. We can’t talk about the English curriculum in the Spring Term without mentioning the children taking part in the Hampshire Information Book Awards. This year, the children studied 5 different books about food, animals, the weather, seasons and astronauts!

Maths highlights:
Our focus throughout the Spring Term has been to develop the children’s recall and fluency of multiplication tables and application of this knowledge to written methods. The children have worked hard on developing this through practise on TTRockstars, chanting and singing of multiplication tables and continued determination. Following on from this, Year 4 applied this learning to their units on Area, Fractions and Decimals.

Foundation subject highlights:
Within our Science learning, Year 4 have investigated different states of matter and the science behind this. This has included acting in the role of molecules and comparing how they would behave differently as a solid, liquid or gas. Continuing their learning, the children explored the Science behind how we hear as well as how our ears work. We had great fun making a variety of paper ear shapes as well as sizes and seeing how these impact on what we can hear. The children also investigated how to change the pitch of a sound through the creation of paper pan flutes with straws! Within DT, we improved our sewing skills as we designed, created and evaluated Easter decorations. We focused on the stiches of running stitch and back stitch in order to seal our felt decorations. Within our Art lessons, Year 4 have been developing their painting techniques.

It has been another busy and exciting term in Year 4! The children have immersed themselves in our overarching topic ‘Water, Water, Everywhere’ where they have explored rivers from around the world, how they form and gained perspective about how rivers impact the land around them. As well as our river studies, the children have worked incredibly hard on developing their multiplication tables knowledge and tackling how to calculate with fractions. One of our highlights this term was our visit to Selbourne River where the children carried out a range of geographical field studies to learn more about river processes. This was a fantastic opportunity to be geographers and see the river environment first hand.  

English highlights:

Linking with our exploration of water, the children used the film narrative clip ‘Zahra’ to understand landscapes that suffer with water poverty. For our first writing piece of the spring term, the children used inspiration from Zahra to write their own ‘Rags to Riches’ stories. Within our reading, we delved into the book ‘Ariki and the Giant Shark’ and developed our reading skills through an exploration of Ariki’s life on an island in the middle of the ocean. We used our inference skills to comprehend how Ariki felt based on key events and were excited when Ariki learnt more about her past and where she came from! Using the award-winning text ‘The Thames and Tide Club’, the children learnt about the wonders of mud larking and all of the treasures that can be found along the banks of a river. They then used their knowledge to write their own instructions of how to go mud larking for others to follow. We cannot talk about the English curriculum in the spring term without mentioning the children taking part in the Hampshire Information Book Awards. This year, the children studied 5 different books about food, animals, the weather, seasons and astronauts!

Maths highlights:

Our focus throughout the spring term has been to develop the children’s recall and fluency of multiplication tables and application of this knowledge to written methods. The children have worked hard on developing this through practise on TTRockstars, chanting and singing of multiplication tables and continued determination. Following on from this, Year 4 applied this learning to their units on area, fractions and decimals.

Foundation subject highlights

Within our science learning, Year 4 have investigated different states of matter and the science behind this. This has included acting in the role of molecules and comparing how they would behave differently as a solid, liquid or gas. Continuing their learning, the children explored the science behind how we hear as well as how our ears work. We had great fun making a variety of paper ear shapes as well as sizes and seeing how these impact on what we can hear. The children also investigated how to change the pitch of a sound through the creation of paper pan flutes with straws! Within D&T, we improved our sewing skills as we designed, created and evaluated Easter decorations. We focused on the stiches of running stitch and back stitch in order to seal our felt decorations. Within our art and design lessons, Year 4 have been developing their painting techniques

Introduction to Year 4:
Wow! What a term it has been… As we reflect on our Autumn adventures, it brings immense joy to recount the varied learning experiences that we have shared. The first week saw the beginning of a new chapter as our Year 4 children settled into routines and built relationships with their class teachers and LSAs.  Diving deep into our learning journeys, Year 4 embraced the wonders of ancient history with our captivating topic on the “Groovy Greeks.” From unravelling the tales of ancient Gods to exploring the Greek culture, we delved into a world rich with myths, traditions, and the legacy of this fascinating civilization. Following on from this, we celebrated the importance of reading during our Reading Matters week, where we explored the benefits of reading for pleasure.

Curriculum Highlights:

A highlight of our term was the Year 4 Greek Creative Day! From savouring delicious Greek foods to mastering the intricacies of the Greek alphabet, our students immersed themselves in the Greek culture. Our action-packed day included practicing Greek plays, designing Greek vases and exploring the origins of the Olympics.

This term, 4VH took to centre stage as they dazzled us with their fantastic Class Assembly linked to our Greek learning. 4MP also showcased their creativity in a Class Radio show that captivated all.

Year 4 have worked hard this term on developing their multiplication tables fluency through a range of activities including chanting, singing, problem solving and use of technology such as TTRockstars and Blooket. We are looking forward to continuing to improve this over the Spring Term ready for our Multiplication Tables Check in June!

Our DT project in the Autumn linked with our history learning of the Greeks as we explore and then made our very own Greek salads. We learnt how to cut safely and applied this learning to creating delicious Greek salads.

During our shared reading time, one of the books explored by all classes in Year 4 has been Last Bear by Hannah Gold. We were really lucky to take part in a video call with her where she described her inspirations for writing and talked us through her writing process. We are looking forward to reading the sequel, Finding Bear soon!

Festive Fun!

Towards the end of the Autumn term Year 4 immersed themselves in the Christmas fun. Our reading lessons focused around the book ‘The Snowman’ by Michael Morpurgo as well as ‘A Night at the Frost Fair’ by Emma Carroll which really got us into the Christmas mood! We must also mention our fantastic Christmas hoops which were displayed in the hall and the Christmas games that we created and shared for our annual Christmas Extravaganza.