Welcome to Year 4 with Miss Pierides and Miss Bennett
Here is some information about the upcoming term and ways you can help accelerate your children’s learning!
Autumn Topics
English
Learning
During Spring 1 the children will be writing an explanation leaflet and a narrative based around their topic, Burps, Bottoms and Bile. They will learn how to extend their sentences by using a wider range of conjunctions, expanded noun phrases and fronted adverbials.
During Spring 2, the children will be writing a setting description
How you can help at home
Talk about our topics. Any additional research will make them better writer! Practise looking up words in a dictionary and choosing the relevant meaning. Reading for at least 30 minutes each day makes a huge difference.
Checking your child’s syntax, grammar and spelling rather than editing their work for them try and have a discussion with your child about what they need to improve.
Talk about new and interesting vocabulary that they come across and make sure they understand the meanings. Use a dictionary to look them up.
Encourage them to use new vocabulary, especially words related to the topic.
Your child should take as much care with their homework, as they with their work in school.
They have started editing their work so any work completed at home please encourage children to re-read and rectify any mistakes made or explore ways it can be improved.
Make sure that anything they write is in joined up handwriting (except for capital letters), the spelling is correct and the sentences make sense. Practise makes permanent.
Phonics/Spelling
Learning
Spelling is taught as part of an English lesson most days of the week.
Year 4 spellings further what they learnt in year 3 by the further use of prefixes and suffixes, a wider range of homophones, words that are often misspelt and using possessive apostrophes for singular and plural words. Children are taught to use the first 2 or 3 letters of a word to check its definition or spelling in a dictionary. Spelling tests take place once a week on Fridays in the form of simple sentences dictated by the teacher.
How you can help at home
Practice the common exception words as well as the words they have been given for their spelling tests.
Discussing the meaning of any new word your child comes across while reading or in their spellings.
Here is a list of spellings that all children in Year 4 should know by the end of the year.
Creative Curriculum
Learning
Burps, Bottoms, and Bile
In Spring 1, our topic is mainly a science based and the children will learn about the teeth and the digestive system.
In D&T, they will be learning to sew. Then they will design and create a t-shirt.
Invasion
In Spring 2, our topic is mainly history based as they will be learning about the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings in Britain after the Romans left.
How you can help at home
Please talk about the topic and encourage your child to do additional research to help improve their knowledge, using scientific and historic words and feel more confident to contribute in class.
Burps, Bottoms, and Bile
- Visit the local library to find non-fiction books about the body. Look for information using contents, glossaries and index pages. Write down any new facts they have learnt.
- Look at their teeth, how to keep them healthy and clean.
- Discuss healthy eating and a balanced diet
- Discuss how the body breaks down their food.
Invasion
There is a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village in West Stow, in Bury (an hour and a half drive away!), if you are able to visit.
Visit the local library to research the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings in Britain and history of your local area.
Discuss the understand of the British history timeline.
Research what they eat during these times. Can you still find them in your local shops?
Discuss where the Vikings came from – look at maps
The British Museum has some great artifacts if you are able to visit.
Maths
Learning
The children will continue to work on multiplication and division facts. Firstly, multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100. Then moving on to solving multiplication and division of 3 digit by 1 digit.
We will also be working on fractions and decimals later in the term.
Each week, they will be challenged on their times tables. They will complete 30 questions on a specific times tables, in 5 minutes. To pass and move onto the next challenge, they need 30/30. After they complete six challenges, they will receive a badge in assembly. This is a Monkfrith School Challenge. Children can be quite competitive and it has been a successful way to get children to learn their tables.
How you can help at home
By the end of year 4, they are expected to know all times table and division facts. Ready for the SATs assessment in the Summer term.
E.g. 3 x 4 = 12
12 ÷ 3 = 4
Practicing times tables is crucial for your child’s mathematical development as it helps and relates to so many of the maths topics. They need to know both multiplication and division facts.
These should be practiced out of order and discussing your child’s method in finding the answer is more beneficial than them simply “knowing” the answer.
Identifying patterns within and across timetables is beneficial.
Exposing your child to real world opportunities to use maths such as money and time.
Monkfrith encourage them to learn all their tables through the weekly times table challenge.
Time Table Rock Stars is a great way to learn their tables and it records the facts they know and do not know. Sound Check is a replica of this years SATs assessment.
https://play.ttrockstars.com/
MyMaths.co.uk homework will be set weekly but can also be used to anytime to practise anything they have learnt.
The website below has lots of great maths games. Choose the area you want to work on at the top and select a game to play. The link takes you to the problem solving games.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/problem-solving
Hit the button is one of the children’s favourites.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
Other good websites:
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/category/22/most-popular
Learn the number of day in each month
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drH3_Flt85g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYshA2ybFdY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Ma0D-fN38
If your child enjoys song, try learning times tables through these songs:
3 times table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XzfQUXqiYY
4 times table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ue9Kux95H0
6 times table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9os1VUUp5io
7 times table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEnQbnxWtqM
8 times table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X620IeUkYE
9 times table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGsrC6ZPVGM
Exposing your child to real world opportunities to use maths such as money and time.
RE
Learning
The children will cover a range of religions, religious festivals and sacred texts.
How you can help at home
Open-mindedness to these topics will only benefit your child’s understanding of them.
They will be exploring and learning more about sacred texts at the British Library.
PE
Learning
Non-stop Action, our provider of physical education.
PE lessons that are on a Tuesday are inside and Lessons that are on a Thursday are outside.
How you can help at home
Encouraging your child to stay active in their spare time is essential to their physical development (not necessarily competitive sport).
60 minutes of exercise a day is recommended.
30 minutes of this to be complete outside of school!
Spanish/Music
Learning
The children take part in Spanish and music lessons on a Tuesday or Thursday delivered by our experienced visiting teachers.
How you can help at home
Engaging your child in music on any level, from why they like a certain song to having them compose their own piece is very beneficial. Sing in the car/ and embrace your singing voices, good or bad; we want our children to enjoy their singing!
Practicing words, they have learned in Spanish and how some words sound similar will help their development.
Computing
Learning
In Spring term, we will be teaching the children the importance of how to be safe online. Ensuring they remember what they have learnt in previous years.
The children will be continuing to understand what a network is and what the internet is.
They will design a program that includes count-controlled loops, make use of the design to write a program and develop the program by debugging it.
How you can help at home
Please talk to them about the importance of being safe online. Ask them to tell you the Monkfrith online safety rules. Ensure that they are using these rules at home too. The following websites have more information and advice for parents on how to help your child stay safe online.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/
http://www.netsmartzkids.org/
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/
Algorithms can be used every day when giving or following instructions and directing objects, not only through online games but with describing the movements of practical objects.
They will be using https://turtleacademy.com/playground to design and write programs using the repeat function. They are welcome to explore, practise and show you what they have learnt at home.
Encourage them to use word processing software and a keyboard to improve the speed and accuracy of their typing. This website teaches them how to use all their fingers on the keyboard:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr
Reading
Your child will be reading each week during their whole class guided reading sessions and independently reading daily, encouraging reading a range of genre, including non-fiction text, from the class book corner or a book of their choice from home.
These websites below recommends books for year 4.
https://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/recommended-reads/year-4/
Homework
Your child will be reading each week during their whole class guided reading sessions and independently reading daily, encouraging reading a range of genre, including non-fiction text, from the class book corner or a book of their choice from home.
These websites below recommends books for year 4.
https://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/recommended-reads/year-4/
In addition
Any tissues would be greatly appreciated! As would any unwanted newspaper, as we use these frequently during our art lessons.
If you have any queries or questions, please do not hesitate to write us a note or make an appointment to see us.
We look forward to the term ahead.
Miss Pierides, Miss Bennett and their teaching team.
