The children have been getting stuck into their final project in Year 4: Unearthing Angle-Land. This history-led topic will lead them on a journey to discover what life was like in the Anglo-Saxon times as well as being able to compare this era to that of Roman Britain. Please find our Topic Web and Knowledge Organiser below for more information about the learning for this half term.
Year 4 had an exciting start during their first week back with a ‘Hook’ to introduce their next project which is called ‘Quivers, Quakes, Eruptions and Shakes’. The children began by taking part in an interactive seismic version of ‘minesweeper’ by using their skills of reading coordinates to choose a square and attempt to avoid volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Following this, the children went outside and observed an eruption as the teachers demonstrated a volcanic science experience (one we’ve suggested you try at home on our Knowledge Organiser!)
Later in the week, the children started to learn about the different layers of the Earth and used their learning behaviour of ‘Creativity’ to present the information they had learned about in their books. Take a peek at Kayla’s Earth flip book to learn about the crust, mantle, outer and inner core of our Earth.
In English, the children will be writing an explanation text over the coming weeks called ‘Beneath our Feet’ which will explain all the different finds below the surface we walk upon – from animal burrows, to electricity wires, dinosaur fossils and even as deep down as molten magma! To immerse the children in their English work, they had a go at ordering some layers of the Earth and made notes on their findings.
What an interesting week we’ve had already and there’s so much more to come! Below you will find the Knowledge Organiser and Topic Web for our current project. We will also be sending home a paper copy of the Knowledge Organiser.
Homework
The children have settled back into their normal routines and our homework systems are back in place. Here are a few reminders about our expectations for homework. Each week, your child is expected to complete:
We are looking forward to meeting with you during Parents’ Evening next month but as always, don’t hesitate to contact us for any support in the meantime.
Year 4 Team
As the Easter holidays are here, we wanted to end the term by saying just how lovely it has been being back together as classes. The children have come back to school with their hard working, enthusiastic attitudes – we wouldn’t expect any less of them of course!
We are looking forward to sharing their recent stories they have written with you based on the narrative of ‘Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp’. The children will be publishing these stories after Easter to make a brand new Year 4 display, so we’ll make sure we take some photos and share them with you.
Usually at Easter time, the pupils of St Mark’s would put on a performance of the Easter story filled with acting and singing. Although this hasn’t been possible this year, the children have still been able to apply their knowledge of Holy Week to create stop-motion animations using their computing skills. Each Year 4 class has produced their own stop-motion film, and used their creativity in different ways. We thought it would be a perfect end to the term to share these with you…
For half term homework, we ask that the children continue to read frequently at home, either a book or on Bug Club. Additionally, it would be hugely beneficial for the children to practise their times tables, especially if they haven’t received their ‘Diamond Award’ yet. It is becoming increasingly evident in Maths lessons that not knowing their times tables facts creates barriers in their learning, so log onto RockStars now and again over the half term holiday to embed these important facts.
Have a wonderful Easter from the Year 4 Team.
Dear Year 4 Parents,
Thank for you bearing with us and for your support over the last couple of days. We have been astounded by how quickly you and the children have adapted to online learning. The Google Meets have been a delight and have helped us all to stay connected within our communities. The Year 4 teachers have been thinking about online learning for this term and we would like to give you some information which we hope will support you going forward:
Weekly Timetables – We will be creating a weekly timetable so that you are aware in advance of all the lessons and Meets which we have planned. We will post this on a Friday for the following week, so you can digest the information over the weekend. We know that a good routine helps many children, so where possible, sticking to this timetable would be beneficial and would tie in with any live teaching or Meets which we have planned.
Daily Lessons – We will always aim to have the day’s lessons prepared on Google Classroom by the evening before to give parents the opportunity to prepare and print work if necessary. Some lessons will have written instructions, some may be a follow-on from a live teaching input and some lessons may have an accompanying video from the teachers to support them.
Lesson Priorities – We understand that each household is different, and that sometimes there may be barriers to learning. The most important thing is that the children continue to stay in touch and feel connected, so try and join Google Meets where possible. Continuing with English and Maths is a priority and will also support the children academically. We have also provided some Topic lessons for the afternoons to keep learning varied. Each lesson follows on from the one before, so where possible, try to ‘catch up’ with any missed learning. We know these are tough times, so ultimately, do you best with your situation.
Handing in Work – When we create an assignment on Google Classroom, then your child can let us know when it has been completed by ‘Handing in’ work. In order to receive teacher feedback, then you will either need to edit the Google Doc/Slide; attach any digital work; or take a clear photograph of the work and attach this. If parents have the flexibility to support the children in marking and feedback at home, then this would be beneficial.
Notifications – There are a few parents who have let us know that they have missed information or Google Meet times. We are hoping that with the introduction of the timetable, it will help you to know these in advance, but it may also be worth looking at your Google Classroom settings as you may want to adjust these so that you get a notification when something is posted on the stream or classwork.
Google Meets – Going forward, we are going to have two Google Meets a day. We will endeavour to keep these at the same times every day for consistency. Next week, we will be having a Google Meet each day at 9:00am and also at 1:10pm (just after our school lunch). During both these Meets, we will be taking the register as we want to keep a record and ensure that all children are engaging with Google Classrooms. Of course we would love to see the children attend as many as possible, but don’t worry if you miss them occasionally.
Google Meet Links – We will post the link for each Google Meet around the time they are planned for. We cannot post them in advance as the meeting has to be ‘live’ before a link can even be created. We will always try and be punctual with our Meet times, but do have a class in school as well so keep your eyes on the stream and refresh you page every so often.
Google Meets and Online Etiquette – We completely understand that learning from home is very different, but where possible we would like to keep this learning environment professional, especially as there are still children in school. Most children are already showing excellent respect and responsibility, but we have written a few school rules to follow from now on:
Contact – For parents, please remember that we have a Year 4 email address. This is the best way to contact us and the teachers are checking this multiple times throughout the day. If your child would like to contact us, then they can attach a message to work which they hand in or comment on an assignment or stream post. Of course, we can arrange individual Google Meets with them if you feel that this would be beneficial.
LSA ‘Drop In’ Sessions – We understand that sometimes your child may get stuck on their work so we would like to offer the opportunity for ‘Drop In’ sessions with our Year 4 learning support assistants. Starting from next week, there will be a drop in session from 10:00am – 11:00am and also one in the afternoon from 2:00pm – 3:00pm. A Google Meet link will be open during this time and your child can pop along with any questions or queries which they have. In order for us to support you, please have a go at the work or worksheet first so you can let us know specifically how we can help.
School Packs – We understand that equipment and resources may be limited at home so would like to offer school packs to those who require them and will set a date next week when you can come and pick one up. If you would like a school pack, then please let us know what you would like from the list below so we can organise this over the next couple of days.
Celebration Worship – We know that celebration worship is such a special time for children, so we are going to continue this going forward. When we meet for our Friday morning Google Meet, this will be as a year group and the teachers will continue to award a Star Learner certificate to a child who has stood out that week, either at home or at school.
Thanks once again for your support. We feel that this provision is best for Year 4 at this current moment in time, however the way we teach online may change and adapt as we continue on this journey. Please feel free to email us with any feedback which you think may help us to refine and improve what we are doing.
Many thanks,
Miss Goddard, Miss Hardy and Miss Pettitt
Year 4 Writing
This week, we sent home the children’s Mr Benn stories which we produced in the first few weeks of term. The children worked incredibly hard on these and were very eager to share the adventure which Mr Benn went on with you at home. We included an evaluation form with this and would be grateful for it to be returned to school once we are back. It’s lovely for the children and the teachers to receive the feedback about their progress in writing. Please keep and enjoy their actual stories.
The last few weeks have been very exciting as the children have continued to enhance their history knowledge of Ancient Egypt by learning about the discovery of Tutankhamun. From this, the children then drafted and published a newspaper article about this significant event. We have focused hard this term on using technical vocabulary, fronted adverbials and speech. Please take a read below….
End of our project
The children have fully immersed themselves in this term’s project, ‘Raiders of the Lost Cities’. They have gained a wealth of knowledge, showed curiosity and have developed a range of historical skills. At the start of our project, the children found out that our concept question was ‘What are the similarities between Ancient Egypt and modern day Britain’. We have been revisiting this question this week and the children have been making comparisons. They found that some elements of life are very similar, some are somewhat similar and some are different. Take a look at some work which was produced which shows their thinking about this concept question:
What a wonderful half term it has been. We have thoroughly loved teaching the children and getting back into the flow of school life.
It’s been lovely seeing and meeting some of you this week in our Parents’ Evening. We are looking forward to the remainder of our appointments after half term.
Thank you for your continued support and please have a restful half term holiday.
Miss Goddard, Miss Pettitt, Miss Hardy and Miss Crow
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