We are now officially half way through Year 4! The weeks are flying by and we have already learned a lot, but there is a lot more to come.

In Maths we have recently moved from our Statistics topic (pictograms, bar graphs and line graphs) to Fractions.  Fractions is a big topic and will always be revisited but it is a very important basis for lots of our Maths going forward.  As always, times tables fluency helps and we are simultaneously going back over all of our times table to support this. We have also continued with our Mastering Numbers lessons to increase our fluency, confidence and vocabulary.

In English, we have been reading Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths and have used this as the starting point for various writing journeys.  These have included a character description which we then used to create an AI image, and a non-chronological report on China.  We have also been lucky enough to take part in a National Storytelling Week live lesson hosted by a rap artist, and have written our own superhero themed raps.

In History, we have been learning about the changes in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period and have been fascinated by the treasures found at Sutton Hoo, as well as debating whether King Alfred really was 'Great'. 

In Science, we have been investigating States of Matter - solids, liquids and gases. We have done our own investigations around how temperature affects melting and also made our own Water Cycle in a jar. 

Our RE topic has focused on Christianity and the significance of attending a church for Christians. We have considered where our own special places are and how these make us feel.  We have also thought about reasons why Christians might go to church and ways that Christians may choose to demonstrate their faith even if they do not attend a church.

Our Computing topic has been coding with LEGO Spike - which has been enormous fun and very lively. We have learned how to include conditional loops and sequences to make quirky creations such as a High-Tec Playground with lights and movement.

In Art, we have been focusing on still life compositions. The children have looked at traditional and contemporary artists in the genre, created their own still life from personal objects and have sketched and painted this.  We all very much enjoyed the process and the end results look fantastic!

We are gearing up for the Year 3/4 Production of Spring Chicken - to be performed at the end of the term (Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th March 2026). Please help your child to learn the songs (all lyrics and music are on Google Classroom). We have begun allocating parts: if your child does have a speaking part please do help them to learn their lines! 

Have a lovely half term break. Ms McCrossan and Mrs Griffiths.

Year 4 will be again be taking part in the statutory Multiplication Tables Check in the summer term. This is done in all Year 4 classes in the country. All children are expected to know their tables up to 12 x 12 by the end of year 4, as this will support their Maths going forward. We use TT Rockstars to help us to practice for this, as well as other printed and online games etc and the children have all been asked to practice daily using the Garage/Studio games and the Soundcheck on TTRS (as the Soundcheck is almost identical to the actual MTC). The children have also been shown how to find their 'heatmap' on TTRS which shows them the tables they need to work on. Once they have done 2 or more Soundchecks a day (which take only a few minutes) they can then focus on the times tables they need to work on.

Please support your child to become as fluent as possible in their times tables as this will increase their confidence across every area of Maths. 

Thank you for your continuing support with homework and with reading for pleasure. Our Reading Cafe 3rd February was another big success.  It was lovely to see so many of you there.

Reminder: Our Homework in Year 4 consists of fortnightly Maths/English assignments on Century plus a Topic homework each half term.  Spellings are now done through the Emile Spelling website - soon to be an app on the LEO homepage. Children have a weekly spelling lesson to introduce the rule/pattern and they also do a 'Learn' lesson and a 'Practice' lesson in school each week. There are additional opportunities to practice through spelling sheets and games throughout the week - usually in our Early Work time from 8.30 am. We ask that children also practise at home to consolidate this. 

The children can access Century via their LEO Homepage on their chrome books. The Century homework usually gets assigned on a Wednesday and children have two weeks to complete it. Unless we have had a message from parents with a reason, any children who have not completed the Century homework by the due date will be asked to complete this during their lunch time. If you or your children have any problems with homework, please let me know as soon as possible and I will help. 

Our topic homework follows our History or Geography topic. The current assignment is based on our History topic of the Anglo-Saxons and is based on the justice system. It has been posted on Google Classroom (look under Topics - Spring Topic Homework). This is due in after half term on February 25th. As always, please let me know if there is an issue with completing this.