Friday, 19th November 2021

This week in Year 4, the children spent time revising their knowledge of the use of speech punctuation in English, whilst in Maths, they have learnt a new mental strategy for addition called the equal sum or rebalancing. In Science, they have used their understanding of how far sound spreads and thought about volume in order to use the school’s floor plan and decide where to put fire alarms to ensure,  that in case of an emergency, everyone can hear them. In RE, the children designed a Liturgy of the Word based on the second Advent reading  and later put some of the Gospels into a historical context linking their two subject areas. In Design and Technology, the class designed and built their second prototype, now using two levers and four linkages to create a mechanism. Very well done!

During the week, the children also had a special focus on anti-bullying, being National Anti-bullying Week. Following on from their workshop from last week, they further distinguished between conflict and bullying, they evaluated given scenarios and came up with strategies to solve them. They also applied this year’s theme, ‘One Kind Word’ when they created ‘Kindness Booklets’ to give to each other in class, celebrating each other’s gifts, talents and uniqueness. The children really enjoyed this activity and it was heartwarming to see how much they appreciate one another other and their class community. I couldn’t be more proud of them.

On Wednesday, in Karate, Sensei Michael thought three blocking techniques to the children who then practiced those in pairs. Well done!

Also well done for the members of our Tuesday Sewing Club, who finished their first full project of creating their very own bookmarks. Beautiful work everyone!

I wish you all a restful and safe weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 23rd November 2021
Spelling Please use your personal log in details to practice this week’s spelling words before testing yourselves on them.

Spelling rule 8, the suffix-ly

https://spellingframe.co.uk/

Well done for Nikola, Siena and Christoph who are at the top of the leaderboard 🙂

 

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 tasks. Please also update your reading log and be ready to present them on Wednesday morning in class.

https://readtheory.org/auth/login

Multiplication Thi9s week as an alternative to ‘Hit the Button’, I would like the children to try out another online resource, called ‘Maths Chase’.

https://www.mathschase.com/

It is a free website and does not need login details. Depending on their existing knowledge, the children can set specific tables to practice or can practice their facts mixed, up to 12×12. They can increase the challenge by setting themselves a ‘chaser’ or just start first completing the questions and up the level later. They can also choose their characters and the number of points, they can gain. The website also enables other procedures to practice, such as addition and subtraction, which are also beneficial to maintain fluency, however it is important to keep in mind, that we as a school follow specific strategies for both of those that are not necessarily included on this platform. You can also further challenge yourself by practicing not only your multiplication facts but the corresponding division facts. Have fun!

Science project This term, the children are learning about sound in Science. In order to carry out a practical enquiry in class, I would like the children (in the next 3 weeks) to design and make an instrument using, if possible, recycled materials. The instrument needs to make at least 2 different tones. Here are some possible examples:

Please be ready to present your instrument on Monday, 13th December 2021.

Friday, 12th November 2021

The children in Year 4 had a really busy week, with lots of practical activities.

On Monday, the class participated in an anti-bullying workshop as a lead up to next week’s Anti-bullying week. During their workshop, the children learnt about bullying and understood the difference between 1 isolated, unkind incident and something that would happen intentionally, over a period of time. They also learnt about ‘power imbalance’ as a new terminology and used freeze frames and acting to work on solving different scenarios. Very mature and responsible answers from everyone!

Throughout the week, the children also participated in ‘Maths Week England’, solving Maths Mysteries such as the Bullion Heist and also competing in the Maths World Cup against other schools and classes nationwide. Well done, fantastic work on your multiplication facts!

On Wednesday, the children had the amazing opportunity to work with Sensei Michael. Throughout this half term, they will learn basic karate skills like stances, kicks and punches, in a safe, non-contact environment every week.

In RE, they have carried on their Advent learning focusing on Luke as a Gospel writer and the most important Sunday readings. In Science, they started their new unit, Sound whilst in History, they put the Roman invasion of Britain in context when looking at timelines and events happening around the world in that time.

Thank you for sending in some cardboard, we now have enough to finish our project prototypes. The children completed their first prototype this week, called the ‘waving hand’ and had great fun designing their mechanisms.

Please remember to send in one white item for our class hamper! Thank you.

Have a lovely and safe weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see below your Home Learning:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 16th November 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame, using your individual passwords and complete the practice tasks and test for Spelling Rule 7 (the suffix-ation).

https://spellingframe.co.uk/

Well done for Nikola, who is now leading the leaderboard! 🙂

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 tasks. Please update your leading logs and be ready to present them on Wednesday.

https://readtheory.org/auth/login

Multiplication Please log onto ‘Hit the button’ and spend 10-15 minutes on practicing your mixed multiplication facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

English The children are currently working on a narrative unit based on Angela McAllister’s book, Leon and the Place Between. I included a video link, if you wish to listen to the story at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjAtvxA3xE

This week, I would like the children to create a plan for their final writing piece in about a week’s time.

They need to think (and probably talk to an adult) about their own idea for a ‘Place Between’ using their imagination. How would it look like? How would it smell like? What would they see there? What would they hear? Could they taste anything in their magical world? Who would be  one suitable character to meet there?

This is a very personal ‘Place Between’. As I explained it in class, for some, it might be a happy place, with bright light and a rainbow. With trees that look like candy floss and unicorns jumping from one fluffy cloud to another.

For some children, it might be magical, a bit like the world of Harry Potter. They might see magical animals, and potions floating in the air. They might see sparks from spells, capes turning and twisting. Maybe brooms flying by, etc.

For other children, it might be a bit more mysterious. Shadows and whispers filling a dark, candle lit hall. Maybe ghosts of magicians from the past floating by. Forgotten tricks stuck in their universe.

The only limitation I need to set is that their plan cannot include computer game images or existing themes like Pokemon, Minions, etc. It needs to be the children’s own idea building on their interests. They are also only allowed to meet with one character.

Please can you create an A4 poster, where you draw a picture of your ‘Place Between’ and add key words or phrases to describe the sights, sounds, tastes, feelings. Also include and clearly name the character, who you are going to meet there. DO NOT WRITE A STORY PLEASE! This is just a plan, that we are going to build on and add to it. I only need key words or phrases! Please be ready to present your poster on Tuesday.

Planning ahead will give the children a very clear, solid base to build upon when we get to our final writing stage, therefore the children will be able to focus on sentence structure and vocabulary and work on their specific targets.

Friday, 5th November 2021

This week in Year 4, the children published their persuasive travel brochures which went on display in the classroom and started their next English unit, a narrative, based on Angela McAllister’s book, ‘Leon and the Place Between’. They liked the story, which is set in a circus and includes all sorts of dark and mysterious magic.

In Maths, the class moved onto addition and subtraction. We will spend the next week going through all the strategies learnt for mental calculations in the previous years before moving onto formal written calculations (column addition and subtraction with/without exchanging).

We also launched our first design and technology unit for the year, which is moving mechanisms-levers and linkages. Please may I ask if you have any cardboard boxes from packaging (amazon deliveries, cereal boxes, etc), please would you be so kind to send them in, as the children will go through a lot of card to make their mechanism prototypes before designing and creating their final product.

The children started their new Topic unit as well, which this term will focus on an ancient civilisation- The Roman invasion of Britain. They designed their own games in PE whilst writing beautiful remembrance prayers and decorated poppies to create our new RE display.

Thank you for those of you, who already sent in items for the Christmas hamper. Our class colour is white this year.

Have a restful and safe weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning Due in by Tuesday, 9th November 2021
Spelling I have created individual accounts for all children to access Spellingframe in the future.

Please click here to see your individual login details, then access this week’s spelling list and spend some time to practice them before you test yourself on them.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/59/6-More-prefixes-3-of-3

(Please let me know if you have any technical issues)

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Please also update your reading logs and be prepared to present them on Wednesday, next week.

https://readtheory.org/

Multiplication Please log onto ‘Hit the button’ and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your multiplication facts.

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Study Ladder Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the activities in your assigned pod.

They are all consolidating, 2 and 3 digit mental addition strategies. Please remember what we have covered in class. Which method would be the most efficient to use:

  1. Counting on and back (149+4=)
  2. Place Value (70+40+20=)
  3. Finding complements/ number bonds (12+28)
  4. Doubles, near doubles (£0.99+£0.99)
  5. Regrouping/Think10, 100 (134+79)

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/

Friday, 22nd October 2021

The children in Year 4 had yet another very busy week with One World Week activities, a Class Mass and a big writing to complete!

In English, they finished their brochures explaining the benefits of their chosen attractions and using persuasive techniques such as rhetorical questions, over-eggaretation and persuasive openers. The pieces all read very well and sound convincing so well done class!

On Wednesday, we celebrated Mass in our classroom lead by Father Shaun, during which we reflected on Harvest-the gifts of God’s Creation and talked about our responsibilities to keep that Creation safe and sustainable for the next generations to come. The children read with great expression and showed reverence and maturity during Mass. They also learnt a new song, ‘Thank your lucky stars’ from scratch and performed it beautifully on the day. I was and am very proud of you all!

During the week, we also focused on OWW and as part of that we covered important topics such as the upcoming COP26 conference is Glasgow, climate change and global warming, the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest in South America and its direct link to climate change and renewable energy sources. The children watched video clips and used the atlases to locate relevant areas around the world, whilst also using Google Earth satellite images to prompt dialogue about the changing of our world and ways to slow that or stop it entirely. We also planted cress seeds as a way to bring something new and green into our classrooms whilst the children also had an opportunity to look at innovative ways the world could look like in a few years time and design their own ‘Future City’ with wind turbines and solar panels, electric cars and drones being used instead of fuel based vehicles for transportation.

As a closing to this week’s activities and learning, the children have also written their pledges that they presented during assembly and answered our big question: ‘Who does the world belong to?’

Thank you very much for your hard work this half term. I appreciate all your efforts and your positive attitude to your learning in Year 4 so far.

I wish all of you and your families a restful and safe half term holiday and see you back on Tuesday!

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Please keep up your reading and log anything interesting you read during your holiday.

Please have a look at our Whole School RE learning: here

(We are expecting a design idea only, not an actual monstrance built)

Friday, 15th October 2021

This week in Year 4, the children finished off a great piece of persuasive writing, arguing that Purple Beard and his trusted crew mates should not embark on a treacherous journey across the sea. We displayed their fantastic ‘Pirate Postcards’ just outside their classroom. In Maths, the class started a new timed multiplication activity, that we are going to carry on completing daily,whilst in their main lesson, we focused on rounding whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand using benchmark numbers and number lines. In RE, we allocated reading parts for next week’s Harvest Class Mass, led by the children and Father Shaun. As next week is also One World Week, their Mass is centred around issues such as climate change and our responsibility to care for God’s Creation. The children completed their first observational art pieces in the form of still life, which are also being displayed in class. Well done, they are looking great!

Have a lovely and healthy weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 19th October 2021
Spelling Please practice this week’s spelling words that follow the previous 2 sets of words with prefixes.

irresponsible, irrelevant, intercity, interact, international, interrelated
Please see the attached sheet, if you would like to use that: Spelling sheet
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Please also update your reading logs and be prepared to present them on Wednesday.

https://readtheory.org/auth/login

Multiplication Please log onto ‘Hit the button’ and spend 15 minutes practicing your mixed multiplication facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Study Ladder Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the activities in your assigned pod. The 4 activities are all consolidation of rounding whole numbers (including 4 digit) to the nearest 100.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/

(Although Study Ladder groups these tasks as Year 5 activities, they are actually covered in the Year 4 Essentials curriculum.)

Friday, 8th October 2021

 

A huge well done to all the children in Year 4 for their beautiful assembly this morning. Great reading and acting! They took on the responsibility with maturity and motivation. Very proud of them all!

This week, beyond practising for their assembly, the children completed learning on number magnitude (the size of a number relative to other benchmark numbers) in Maths, whilst continuing with their English topic of persuasion. They have used Computing tools to write counter arguments, first based on a short picture book, then later based on their home learning research of local attractions. In Science, they interpreted and constructed a variety of food chains whilst in RE they looked at the meaning of monotheism and recalled the details of the Burning Bush story from Exodus. They also worked on their still life adding tones and shades to create a 3D effect and played team ball games in PE to further progress their passing and catching skills.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning Due in by Tuesday, 12th October 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame and practice this and last week’s spelling before testing yourself on them. To access these, you don’t need registration.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/11/4-More-prefixes-1-of-3

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Please also update your reading logs with details about your current reading book. Be ready to present your records on Wednesday.

https://readtheory.org/

Multiplication Please log onto ‘Hit the button’ and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your mixed facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Study Ladder Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the activities on your assigned pod. They will include 2 tutorial videos on times tables and then further practice opportunities plus a Science activity of food chains to consolidate your understanding on producers, consumers, preys, predators, herbivores, omnivores and carnivores.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/

 

Friday, 1st October 2021

This week, the children in Year 4 carried on with their Place Value learning by comparing, ordering and flexibly regrouping whole numbers. In English, they copied up their first final pieces in their neatest handwriting. These are  now displayed in class. We therefore started a new unit of work, still based on persuasion inspired by a story titled, ‘The day I swapped my dad for two goldfish’. The children enjoyed this book and have written great persuasive paragraphs swapping someone in their families for something valuable or exciting like a real life submarine or a pet puppy.

In Science, as the pictures show, the children used ziplog bags to simulate how the stomach functions and why it has an important part in the human digestion, whilst also learning the names and roles of the rest of the basic parts like the liver or pancreas. In Geography, they started recording some of their ideas creatively about the advantages and disadvantages of living in megacities whilst in RE they looked at the life of St Vincent de Paul and made links between the Vincentian values and their lives.

We also started rehearsing for their class assembly on St Francis of Assisi for next Friday. Great first reading from everyone.

Thank you again for the lovely plants; our class garden looks lovely.

Have a lovely and safe weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 5th October 2021
Spelling Please practise this week’s spelling words by either copying them out or by segmenting them like we do them in class.

disappoint (dis-app-oint), disagree (dis-ag-ree), disobey (dis-o-bey), inactive (in-act-iv-e), incorrect (in-cor-rect), illegal (il-le-gal)
I include a worksheet in case you would like to use that: Spelling sheet
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete two activities. Please also update your reading log with details about the book you are currently reading. Be ready to present your logs on Wednesday, 6th October.

https://readtheory.org/auth/login

Multiplication Please log onto ‘Hit the button’ and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your mixed facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Maths Please log onto Mathletics and complete your assigned activities (5) based on ordering, compering and re-grouping whole numbers of up to 4 digits.

https://www.mathletics.com/uk/

English As a preparation for the children’s next writing piece, I would like them to research a favoured destination.

It can be a holiday location like Center Parks, or a theme park like Chessington World of Adventures or Lego Land. It can be a museum like the Natural History Museum with all its dinos or the London Eye, etc.

I would like them to create a plan where in simple bullet points they have about 10 facts they can include in their writing later.

  • Where is the attraction?
  • How many people visit every year?
  • What is exciting about the attraction?
  • What facilities are there? (restaurants, cafes, pools, etc)
  • Anything that makes it unique?
  • What age range is it suitable for?
  • Why would you recommend that attraction to someone else?

I am NOT expecting the children to write paragraphs. All we need is a bank of facts and ideas that the children can have in front of them, so they can lift those details into their persuasive pieces. About an attraction that they feel excited about to motivate them. Please be prepared to present your facts by Thursday, 7th October 2021

 

 

 

Friday, 24th September 2021

This week in Year 4, the children consolidated their understanding of Place Value in Maths and played a very competitive strategic game using nine sided dice as a finish off to their first unit. In English, they carried on using their inference skills when telling the story of Flotsam, discussing the pictures in the book and posing questions. They also discussed some statements to practice their persuasive skills as a preparation for next week’s big writing task, trying to convince each other about their point of view.

The children absolutely adored David Wiesner’s book, that interestingly has no words, so I strongly recommend his other works as well, which are available on Amazon (used and new copies) as well as on Youtube. Please see the link below for his work titled ‘Tuesday’. (please be aware of the pop up advertisements in the side bars) I think the children would enjoy watching it, if they have time. (It is not part of their home learning and therefore it is not compulsory)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtQ4DdzCZMA

In Science, the children learnt about the different types of teeth and their functions, whilst in Geography, they looked at Brasilia, the fastest growing city in Brazil. This week, the children also enjoyed their first hymn practice as well as their first whole school Mass today. In art, they created still lifes using pencils, thinking about shades and tones, whilst in RE they looked at Human Experience as the third source of Revelation.

Thank you for those of you who sent in plants to go into our class garden which looks lovely already, however more plants would be greatly appreciated as we have lot of space left.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see below your Home Learning:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 28th September 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame and practice this week’s spelling words before testing yourself on them.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/10/3-The-sound-spelt-ou

You don’t need registration to access these activities.

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities.

https://readtheory.org/

Please also update your reading logs with details about your current reading books. Be prepared to show your logs on Tuesday, next week.

Multiplication Please log onto hit the button and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your mixed tables.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Study Ladder Please log onto Study Ladder and access the ‘pod’ assigned.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/

In your pod, you will find 2 multiplication activities and one place value activity, regrouping 4 digit numbers.

Friday, 17th September 2021

The children in Year 4 had yet another busy week.

In English, they spent a few days planning and writing their own ‘Dirty Beast’ poems inspired by Roald Dahl before starting their new unit of work based on David Wiesner’s Flotsam. They became beach detectives on Thursday, opening bags of flotsam left behind, trying to guess who it must have belonged to. They used their reasoning and inference skills well.

In Maths, they built whole numbers using Dienes equipment and place value counters to show their understanding of the value of each digit in 3 and 4 digit numbers. They extended this task by re-grouping numbers flexibly, thinking about core facts such as how many tens make a hundred, etc.

In Re, the children looked at the 4 sources of Revelation and reflected on the first one, Creation. They wrote beautiful explanations on what they have learnt about God’s nature through his work of art.

In Pe, we played team building games and moved on in our multi-skill unit by re-introducing throwing and catching. In Geography, the children reasoned about why certain cities in the UK grow faster than others, whilst in Computing they carried on extending their basic Scratch designs from last week. In Science, we looked at types of enquiries and ways of testing.

Thank you for those of you who sent in plants to go into our Class Gardens. We tidied the bed on Thursday and started planting our bulbs and other seasonal plants.

It has been lovely to see the children Tuesday afternoon in Sewing Club. I introduced three basic stitch types (running, back and cross stitch) which the children practiced on pieces of felt. Great progress in just one lesson! I look forward to seeing them again next week.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning bellow:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 21st September 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame and practice your weekly words one last time before testing yourself on them.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/9/2-The-I-sound-spelt-y-elsewhere-than-at-the-end-of-words

(you do not need registration to access these activities)

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities.

https://readtheory.org/auth/login

Reading records were also sent home today with the children’s reading targets set by their previous teacher. The children should record their own reading regularly including a brief summary of what they have read, the date and the title of the book.

Multiplication Please log onto ‘Hit the button’ and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your  multiplication facts. You can start practicing them by tables, however you should try and extend this by practicing them mixed up, as well.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Maths/English Please log onto Study Ladder with your existing login details and access the ‘Pod’ assigned to you.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/

Please start your learning with the ‘Tutorial’ explaining expanded notation. We call that ‘re-grouping’ in class. We identify the value of each digit in a number and re-write it as a number sentence.

E.g.:

1257= 1000+200+50+7

It’s different from ‘decomposition’, which would be flexibly breaking a number up, such as:

1257=800+200+240+17

With ‘regrouping’ the children can prove they understand the value of each digit according to its place within the number so later they can re-group in a more complex way:

1257= (10×100)+(20×10)+57

 

In English, I would like the children to create an A4, colourful learning poster. I would like them to use their learning from this week and think about 4-5 pieces of ‘flotsam’ (debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident) that would represent them the best.

Would it be:

a book, a pair of football boots, a tinful of Pokemon cards, a box of special sweets, ballet shoes, a specific soft toy?

Could I guess who they are just by looking at their chosen ‘Flotsam’? Could their classmates guess?

Please be prepared to present your poster by Tuesday.

 

Friday, 10th September 2021

Happy Birthday Mary!

During a busy week in Year 4, the children revised their key writing tools such as adverbs, conjunctions and noun phrases in English. We put emphasis on handwriting and introduced the first set of spelling words.

In Maths, we introduced Roman numerals and looked at the history of this ancient number system. We put our learning into action by writing the date using Roman numerals, as well, which we will carry on doing in the future. We also introduced Place Value as our first topic beside completing mental fluency tasks and multiplication practice.

In Science, we looked at facts the children already knew about healthy eating, the health of our teeth and digestion whilst in Geography, they started locating megacities around the world, using atlases and satellite pictures.

In PE, we played invasion games and in Art we used different media to create beautiful birthday cards for Mary.

The children really enjoyed this Wednesday’s celebration and completed a lovely piece of learning comparing the qualities of Mary to other contemporary women who changed the world. They also took part in a beautiful class Act of Worship launching the ‘Year of Growth’.

Well done children for a great start to the year!

I am looking forward to see you all for Monday’s ‘Meet the Teacher’ session starting at 2.30pm in the hall!

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning Due by Tuesday, 14th September 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling-Frame and practice your weekly words before testing yourself on them.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/8/1-Adding-suffixes-beginning-with-vowel-letters-to-words-of-more-than-one-syllable

Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete at least 2 tasks.

(New reading records will be given out next week.)

https://readtheory.org/

English In preparation for Roald Dahl Day next week, please use the official website to learn about his life and work. Read the biography and look through his work.

(You might need parent help with that to ensure you understand new vocabulary and please be mindful of the pop up advertisements)

https://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/about

Maths Please log onto Mathletics as usual and complete the assigned activities (4) consolidating Place Value.

https://www.mathletics.com/uk/

Multiplication Please log onto Hit the Button and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your multiplication facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button