Trotts Hill Primary School and Nursery
Welcome to Year 4
Welcome to Year 4.
Mrs Cornish and Mrs Burr are the class teachers and Mrs Murrill is the classroom assistant and will be supporting in class every morning.
Year 4 is the second year of Lower Key Stage 2 and we continue to build upon the foundations developed in Year 3 whilst preparing the children for Upper Key Stage 2. The children will be encouraged to continue to develop their independence and further develop their responsibility for their personal belongings, learning in school and with their home learning.
Year 4 is a very exciting and busy year where children will be continuing to develop a range of skills and knowledge alongside discovering and learning lots of exciting new things. The children will be encouraged to develop their 'Behaviour for Learning'. We will work very hard but also have lots of fun learning together.
This year we will cover a variety of skills, knowledge and understanding including the following topics:
The children will continue to have the opportunity to be involved with many pupil groups around the school.
We look forward to helping Year 4 develop and grow.
In maths, we have been working on multiplication and division. We often start maths lessons by singing times tables songs. Our favourite fact is, "Seven eights are fifty-six," often sung at high volume to the tune of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep.' This week we've been looking at the 9, 7, 11 and 12 times tables, but we always go back and sing other tables to keep them in our heads.
LI: To identify a wider range of body parts.
After carrying out a definition matching activity, Year 4 cut out internal organs and tried to place them in the correct places. They were very successful. Some future doctors and nurses perhaps?
This week in science, the children simulated food moving through the digestion system. This hands-on activity will help them to remember the order and what each of the organs does.
In English this week, we have been learning the story of Beowulf. In dance, we worked in groups to tell different parts of the story through movement. Mr Sapsed taught some stage combat moves so that we could make it look like Beowulf was battling Grendel and his mother.
In English, we have been looking at non-chronological reports. We used our learning in history to help create books about the Anglo-Saxons. We thought about the questions we wanted answering, then researched using books and the internet to find the answers. Next, we planned how we wanted to present the information. Finally, we set to work creating our own books. We are all very proud of our publications!
In Art this half term, Year 4's featured artist is Pablo Picasso. The pupils drew self-portraits, looking at proportion, and over the half term are using these to mimic various periods of Picasso's work, such as blue and rose. They will be moving on to cubism at the end of the unit, where proportion will not the rule!
In RE, we have been learning about the Diwali story. Diwali celebrates light and the children created their own lanterns. They compared Diwali to other festivals they have learned about in RE in other year groups. Our lovely lanterns are hanging in the classroom as part of our RE display and, as you can see from the photographs, the children were very proud of their creations.
In science this week, we investigated evaporation and answered the question, "Does temperature affect how towels dry?"
We dried some wet tea towels in the sun and in the shade to see if this made a difference to the amount of time it took them to dry. We had to measure the water to make sure it was a fair test.
In History, we have been looking at the arrival of Christianity in Britain. We used a variety of sources to prove theories as to how Christianity grew in Britain during Anglo Saxon times. We then carried out some extra research in our reading corner.
In PSHE this week, Year 4 read the story, 'What the Ladybird Heard' and discussed how the characters were able to work together towards a shared goal. They talked about the skills needed for successful teamwork and took part in an activity which used their knowledge of compromise, co-operation, encouragement and listening.
We started the week with some lessons on "Inspirational Maths" and reminded ourselves that we are all mathematicians! We began by discussing what we like and dislike people saying to us when working in a group and came up with some excellent ideas to support one another. After watching some thought-provoking videos about how our brains make links, Year 4 worked in groups to solve problems and find patterns.
LI: To know that water moves in a cycle.
Year 4 was so lucky this week to welcome Gulzar and Sarabjit Sahota from the Hitchin Gurdwara. The children listened intently to how the Sikh faith began and what it means to its followers. The children then asked sensible questions and had the opportunity to look at real artefacts (karas, kangas) see a real kirpan (mini ornamental sword) and cover their heads with head scarves bought at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Our guests were so warm and kind hearted. Gulzar summed up the Sikh belief that everyone is equal describing faith like rivers all going into the same ocean. They also told the story of how Guru Nanak (the founder of the Sikh faith) travelled the continents to learn about different faiths and how he spent his father's money on helping the poor and those in need. This led to the founding principles that Sikhs should remember God always, work hard and share with the needy.
I felt very proud of the children today and our visitors commented on how wonderful the class were. Well done year 4.
Year 4 is learning about Spain and Catalonia in Geography and rather than using the internet or books to research, we decided to invite a primary source in: Ruben's mum, Pilar!
Pilar presented us with lots of facts about Spain. The most surprising was that Spain has two cities in Morocco (like the UK has Gibraltar in Spain). We also learnt that as well as Spanish, there are 6 other regional languages. Pilar and Ruben are from Galicia so they speak Spanish and Galician (which is more like Portuguese). Our favourite fact was the Spanish New Year's Eve ritual where they eat a grape on every dong of the clock before midnight. They make 12 wishes. One for each grape!
Following this visit, the children will write a travel brochure persuading people to visit Spain. Thank you so much to Pilar for giving up her time and visiting us.
Hopefully you will have seen lots of photos from our Wymondley Wood residential. I wanted to put up my favourite which was when we each hugged a tree. The children just loved being in the wood and this made us all feel centred and grateful to nature.
LI: To realise the importance of thinking before acting and acting responsibly.
In order to learn about how Sikh's believe that you should live the truth as well as know the truth, the children acted out the story of Sajjan the Robber.
LI: To classify materials.
This week in science, Year 4 classified materials into solids, liquids and gases. They then made a crafty representation of what the particles for each of these materials would like and act like.
LI: To compare, sort and order angles.
After a really great lesson on angles, where the children successfully identified acute, obtuse and right angles, we headed outside with our angle measures to find examples.
LI: To explore the Golden Rule.
Today Year 4 learnt that all religions have one Golden rule they all agree upon. The children tried to guess it and thought about the 10 commandments and other religious teachings and wrote their own. The actual rule was revealed. The children then watched some videos about the rules and carried out a matching activity. Finally, they heard a Sikh story which had this rule as its moral.
LI: To understand the importance of the Sikh holy book.
This week in RE, the class learnt about the Guru Granth Sahib and how it is treated with respect. The children role-played how it is carried from its overnight bed to its throne and water sprinkled in front of it to cleanse its path.
LI: To develop the straight, barrel, forward and straddle roll.
After practising the different rolls, the children put them together with balances and jumps to make a routine and performed them to the class.
LI: To identify circuit components and build working circuits
Year 4 made series circuits for the very first time and drew a diagram using the correct electrical symbols.
LI: To learn the 2s, 5s and 10 times tables
The children did this whilst jumping from hoop to hoop in the hall.
LI: To place hundredths on a place value chart.
Using place value counters, the children worked hard to understand hundredths and tenths, adding and exchanging.
Year 4 enjoyed designing and making savoury quiches this week. This afternoon they all tucked in to their healthy treat! They evaluated their product with some being more successful than others!
We had a wonderful afternoon finishing off our canopic jars as part of our Ancients Egyptians topic. After taking inspiration from Egyptian craftsmen and women, we designed our own jars and sculpted them from clay. Today, we painted them and added on additional detail.
It may be the last week of term, but the children are as enthusiastic as always and have enjoyed some fab maths, eye-opening science and green-fingered RE.
In maths, we have moved from fractions to decimals. We've looked at tenths as fractions and then tenths as decimals. There has been lots of active maths with dice, cubes and games.
In science we found out about how animals adapt to their surroundings. We also looked at endangered species and how humans are effecting the planet. Shockingly, we learnt about a river in Australia where recently millions of fish died due to lack of oxygen in the water supply caused by extreme heat and then extreme flooding.
In RE, we have been thinking about the Easter Story. Today, the children made a model of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was entombed. The children also made Easter baskets decorated with Easter symbols. We learnt that hollow eggs (real and chocolate) represent the empty tomb. Interesting.
Please lightly water the garden and send us some photos of the garden when it has grown.
We are on the final few lessons of fractions (before we move on to decimals). Today we were looking at fractions of amounts and the children really enjoyed playing an online game. Below is a link to the game. Although we didn't quite understand all the rules!
Think about the unit fraction first then multiply it by the numerator to get the fraction of the amount needed. Good luck!
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/264/Crystal-crash-fractions-numbers
Three quarters of the children really enjoyed the lessons. One eighth used multilink and one tenth needed a little more help. What are we talking about? Fractions of course! We've looked at both mixed and improper ones (how rude!).
Year 4 has worked really hard. It's not easy converting fractions, but with the help of some active maths and lots of practice, the children have been very successful. Well done! Next week...more fractions. And the week after... well we'll keep that as a surprise.
Year 4 had a fabulous time enjoying the story of Hansel and Gretel by Michael Morpurgo. In the morning, we made gingerbread houses, gingerbread men, candy canes and cupcakes to decorate our door. We watched the pantomime of Hansel and Gretel and joined in with the songs. In the afternoon, we made up outdoor games with a Hansel and Gretel theme. Finally, we finished the day with our class book 'Secrets of a Sun King'. Perfect!
Our science unit this half term is Living Things and their Habitats. We have been recapping what living things need to survive. Do you know what Mrs Gren stands for? We then moved on to classifying animals using Venn and Carroll diagrams. We looked at the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates and then the five different classifications of vertebrates. Each classification has something that makes them unique and the children used this fact to use branching databases. In groups they made classification keys. It was really tricky to make them work, but every group achieved the objective. Well done Year 4.
Following our visit to the Fitzwilliam earlier this term, we produced leaflets to try and persuade people that it is a place that they must visit.
This was part of our English unit on persuasion where we spent three weeks finding out about the different techniques that writers use to hook people in.
Year 4 have been learning about sound in science and this week carried out an investigation to find out how sound travels over distance.
We discovered that sound in measured in decibels and travels been through a solid than a gas as the particles are closer together.
To carry out our investigation we headed outside. We laid out metre rulers and then struck a triangle over difference distances and measured how the sound changed. We talked about how the accuracy could be compromised with striking the triangle differently and cars and outside noise effecting the decibel reading. Nevertheless, the children clearly demonstrated how sounds get quieter the further they travel. They presented their results on impressive line graphs. Well done Year 4.
We kept the metre rulers out and made good use of them in our maths lesson today. We have started a unit on length, converting measurements into different units. We started by talking about the metric system as the children had heard of inches, feet, yards and miles and were interested in how these differ.
We then started this series of lessons by converting cm to m and vice versa. We ended by measuring lots of items in the hall. We even measured the width of the hall. It's 12m 73cm wide.
This week we have been looking at persuasive writing in English. We started by reading a hilarious book called 'The Day I swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish'. We then looked at different persuasive techniques, including rhetorical questions, exaggeration, opinions, facts/statistics, emotive language and alliteration. Don't be surprised if you are persuaded into late bedtimes, extra sweets or TV time!
Computing was so much fun this week. We have been looking at photo editing and using lots of different tools. Today we were 'Combining'. This means cutting out one image from a photo and then adding it to another image in order to create something new. It fitted in really well with our English topic as we could discuss how advertisers manipulate images. Attached below are some examples of what the children created.
We've started learning short division using the bus stop method this week. The class are doing really well. However, if you'd like to practise a little more at home, here are some slides for the adults to refresh their memories. Also below is a link to a little video. I have sent home a sheet for those children who would like to try a few more.
Thank you for those parents who attended the timestable workshop today. We hope you found it useful. Below are the links for the websites and resources discussed.
Remember, you don't need to buy anything new to make maths fun. Use playing cards, dice, post it notes and music.
Year 4 returned from an incredible day at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. They spent the morning exploring the exhibitions, looking at ancient artefacts and discovering many new facts about the Egyptians. In the afternoon, they used papyrus to paint their own Egyptian inspired painting.
We limped to the finishing line! Well done to those children who made it to the last day.
To finish off, we made some beautiful sparkly chalk pictures.
Have a safe and restful festive season.
Year 4 has finished the year off with a flourish. They performed their dances brilliantly in the Christmas show and also sang their hearts out. We are very proud.
For the final few days, we have been finishing off our DT project. The children have worked so hard on their felt stockings and they are amazing. They are really creative and finished to an excellent standard.
We have also completed work on Christmas-themed co-ordinates as well as learning about King Herod's role in the Christmas Story. The children hot seated the main characters and looked up the correct passage in the bible to find out what happened.
Well done year 4. It has been a pleasure teaching you. Have a fab Christmas. From Mrs Burr, Mrs Kramer and Mrs Murrill.
This week in RE we looked at how advent is celebrated around the world. We discovered that many different cultures, religions and countries celebrate it. There are common themes of light, stars and circles. We made a Mexican Advent pinata, Chinese lanterns, Danish bread wreaths and UK candle wreaths.
This week in science, Year 4 investigated how well they look after their teeth. We discussed what is needed for good oral hygiene. We decided that regular trips to the dentist, twice daily brushing (for 2 minutes) and toothpaste with fluoride are essential, whilst floss and mouth wash are added extras.
Then came the real test! The children all crunched on a plaque reveal tablet. Pink dye on their teeth indicated new plaque (which can easily be brushed away) but blue dye shows old plaque. Many of the children discovered that the opposite side of their mouth to their dominant hand had less blue plaque as it is easier to brush. Whereas the other side and the backs were bluer.
The children then brushed their teeth and repeated the investigation. Some of the children pledged to change their habits and brush more regularly and more thoroughly. It was an important life-lesson as we really need to look after our teeth (plus it was loads of fun!).
WARNING! GROSS PICTURE ALERT
After reading this, you may never drink fruit juice again!
Year 4 undertook an experiment in science to discover which drinks were worst for our teeth. We used hard boiled eggs to replicate our teeth. The shell was enamel and the hard-boiled egg underneath, dentin.
To make the experiment a fair test, only the liquid was changed (the variable) and it was measured out accurately.
The eggs were left in water, milk, coffee, Pepsi Max, Coke, orange juice and apple juice for a week.
Over the course of the week, the class used their ‘working scientifically skill’ of observation to see what changes were occurring.
Almost immediately, the apple and orange juice eggs started to bubble and peel. The Pepsi Max and coffee started to stain.
By the next week, they were all rather smelly (especially the milk!) and the results were surprising and shocking.
The children observed all of the eggs to gather their results and then write a conclusion.
We concluded that the apple juice damaged the enamel the most – rotting down to the dentin. This is because the apple juice contains the most sugar. Water was the best for your teeth. Well done Year 4 you carried out the experiment excellently and used lots of scientific vocabulary.
Year 4 really enjoy their weekly computing lessons. We start by playing timestable games. This week we are looking at the 6 times table and building up our speed at recalling the facts.
Then we moved on to our current topic which is spreadsheets. We use PurpleMash and their 2calculate tool which is a lot like Excel. The children had to plan a party. They selected which items they would like and how many people they wanted to invite. Of course the cost was astronomical. Obviously, you need soft play, a disco and an animal charmer! So, we imposed a budget of £300. Pizza needed to be swapped for cheaper sandwiches. Milkshakes were ditched for squash. It was a great lesson where the children competently used the total tool and the formula wizard.
This week Year 4 have started their new unit on poetry in English. On Friday, the children took turns to be the two different characters from one of our poems 'Overheard on a Saltmarsh' by Harold Munro. Each child was either the nymph or the goblin, they used body language and the dialogue to portray character.
