Our topic this term - Pollution

This term, we will be developing our knowledge of tenses, suffixes and morphology. We will be exploring Ancient Rome, learning about how it was created, what effects the Romans have on its empire and their beliefs. We will learn about Roman Gods and Goddesses and the stories and myths that the Romans believed had a significant impact on their actions, architecture and history.

Our whole class Book this term is Song of the Dolphin Boy which links to our concept of Pollution. We will be reading and exploring the themes in the book daily and we are looking forward to lively discussions about the topics raised in the book.

We will also be preparing for our school Eisteddfod by looking at different poetic techniques such as similes, personification and metaphors.

Children should continue to read daily at home, both independently and with an adult. Teachers will keep their own records of children's reading. Children are continuing to access Accelerated Reading books and quizzes in school.

During the first part of the term, we will be looking at length and perimeter. We will be applying our measuring skills to authentic problems when exploring our surroundings and the outdoor environment. We will also focus on fractions using practical resources within lessons and encouraging the children to work systematically to solve mathematical problems.

Throughout the second half of the spring term, we will be looking at measurements in more depth, with a focus on time, weight, capacity and volume. We will also explore statistics by representing data using bar charts, line graphs and diagrams.

Children should continue to practise times tables at home to ensure they can recall these rapidly (up to 12 x tables).

During this term, we will be focusing on the concept of Pollution. The children will be learning about what pollution is, the types of pollution and what causes it. We will be exploring how plastic is made and will be debating the positive and negative aspects of plastic. We will also learn about choices, actions and consequences and the impact of these on our local environment, as well as the wider world. The children will be learning about persuasive and emotive language and will be using this to create an informative stop-motion video encouraging others to reduce, reuse and recycle.

In Expressive Arts, the children will be creating a graphic score as a soundtrack to their movies and will be looking at how music can make us feel different emotions. At the end of our concept, we will be premiering our movies in the 4D room for our classmates.

In our physical Health and Well-being lessons, we will be taking part in circuit fitness activities. With a focus on endurance and strengthening our core muscles, we will be completing a range of fun activities that encourage the children to persevere and be determined to improve their skills in each lesson.

Welsh lessons involve lots of games, role-play and fun activities based around everyday language. We have daily "Helpwr Heddiw" sessions where the children engage in group questioning activities and are then encouraged to use these within day to day conversations. This half term, we are focusing on the weather (y tywydd), recycling (ailgylchu) and the use of the past tense. We will be using Welsh across all subjects using our new vocabulary to develop our confidence.

During all of our lessons, we are continuing to encourage the use of technology. The use of our Google Classroom is ongoing and children have had the opportunity to use Google Slides, Jamboard, Flipgrid and research a variety of questions based on their topics.

Within our Year 4 classrooms, we encourage the children to be responsible and determined. We will continue to provide a supportive environment in which the children can become confident and independent individuals.

This term we will provide opportunities for the children to recognise and understand that people have different opinions and perspectives. We will also learn about consequences and how our actions might impact someone else.

We will be spending time in the Learning Lodge and using our outdoor environment as much as we can.

Each morning the children will complete their wellbeing check-in on their Chromebooks. This will identify pupils who need a 1:1 conversation with their teacher if needed. At the end of each day, the pupils will share something they have done that has made them feel proud of themselves. This is a fantastic initiative to support the pupil's development of self-confidence and belief in their abilities.

PE will take place on a Wednesday and children should wear their PE kit to school on this day.

Children should bring a water bottle with them each day.

Children should bring their Accelerated Reading books to school every day.

Download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School. Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon. The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.