4W Gabriela	4S  Imogen	4C Greeshma

 

Year Group Information – Topic maps, homework and newsletters

Meet the teacher presentation 2019  

Year 4 yearly overview 

Autumn 1 Topic: Intrepid Explorers
Topic map	Homework	Newsletter

 

Autumn 2 Topic: Mighty Beasts and Crazy Creatures
Topic map	Homework	Newsletter

 

Spring 1 Topic: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
Topic map	Homework	Newsletter

 

Spring 2 Documents Topic: Predator (food chains, teeth, digestion, Leeson House)
Homework	Newsletter to come out at the end of term

 

  Frimley has a twitter account so you can keep up to date with all our latest news: https://twitter.com/frimleyjunior

 

Non-negotiables

(objectives that the children are working to within each year group)

 Writing

Reading

    

Maths

English Support

Year 4 spellings

Year 4 grammar glossary

Grammar Coverage

   Maths Support – Progression ladders   

Addition progression ladder

Subtraction progression ladder

Multiplication progression ladder

Division progression ladder

Spring 2 2019/2020

[gdlr_styled_box content_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”#a901db” corner_color=”#4c0b5f” ]Spring 1 2019/2020[/gdlr_styled_box]

Homework

Autumn 1 homework and topic map:

  

In computing we have started to warm up each lesson by completing a 5 minutes touch typing activity.  As most junior and secondary schools use iPads or laptops in their lessons it’s important that children gain speed and accuracy while typing and we are hoping that typing little and often will help the children in this area.  The children are already looking at their own accuracy percentage and words per minute and are striving to beat their previous target.  

Here are the websites we currently use for touch typing;

TYPING STUDY

TYPING.COM

TYPING CLUB

TYPING CAT

SPEED TYPING

On the iPads we use an app called Ghost Type

Roman Wordles

In Topic we are learning about how the Romans ‘invaded’ and ‘settled’ in Britain. We created Wordles to express our understanding of what these terms mean.

 Maths – Angles

In maths we have been looking at shape and angles. We went on a walk around school to find as many right, obtuse and acute angles.

 

Keeping Healthy

Last week, Year 4 had a visit from our school nurse team. Laura and Katy came in to school to teach each Year 4 class about food and nutrition, the benefits of exercise and how to stay healthy. The children had to make a nutritiously healthy and balanced packed lunch before learning about the importance of looking after your teeth and body.

They used the ‘Change4Life app’ to firstly guess, and then measure the amount of sugar cubes in everyday food items and drinks. This app is not only fun to use, it provides a very insightful picture of how much sugar is consumed on a daily basis. You can find more information about this app, healthy recipes and other activities from the Change4Life web site: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/

 

Use our twitter page to see what Year 4 have been learning this half term and to see our adventures at Leeson House.

E-safety/Passwords

In Year 4 children play many online games which involve creating accounts, passwords and purchasing online items.  Our children are so lovely and trusting that in our first lesson they said they would happily share passwords with friends – we spent the next few weeks discussing why we shouldn’t share passwords (even with our best friends).  We made a list of password rules, we turned these rules into raps and posters.  

Our Rules

Don’t share your password with anyone except a trusted adult

Don’t save your password on your device or write it down

Make it at least 8 characters long

Have a mixture of lower/upper case letters, numbers and symbols

Change your password if you think someone knows yours

  

  

SCRATCH

In computing we created a project in scratch called ‘Slug Trail’  We looked at creating sprites by using the drawing tools available.  We then looked at how we can use move the slug in different ways to how we learnt in Year 3.  The slug needed to leave a trail, once again we looked at how we could progress from Year 3 and make the slug change colours automatically.  Towards the end of the learning the children had the chance to show me how the games could be improved – some added a timer, others added a score board and some of us added a consequence of the slug went off the track. 

We had to fix our games as we went along because we realised our slugs were too big to fit on the track or our slugs moved too fast, we call this ‘debugging the game’.  

This link should allow you to try some of the Year 3 and 4 games online

 https://scratch.mit.edu/users/FCOEJS

(I’ll try and put more online soon)

Fractions

In 4S we have been exploring fractions using Lego. We started by finding equivalent fractions and then moved on to adding and subtracting fractions using Lego bricks. Challenge your child to explain how this works at home.

  

Hobgoblin Theatre – Greek Myths

Many thanks to the wonderful hobgoblintc for a fantastic performance of Perseus and the Gorgon Medusa, followed up with a drama workshop. Year 4 were captivated by the excellent Hobgoblin team for the entire morning!

Christmas Snowflakes

Wow Year 4!  In computing you produced some amazing snowflakes on MSW logo.  Look at the wonderful video we made of your snowflakes.

#Year4 have been programming using Logo. Watch and enjoy their amazing Snowflake designs below. #coding #LetItSnow pic.twitter.com/6PrB0AEkZ5

— Frimley Junior School (@frimleyjunior) December 13, 2018

Maths, English and Science

In Maths we have been working hard learning the ‘grid method’ when multiplying 2 numbers together.  We used resources to help us visualise and understand the process.

Our Progression in Multiplication ladder can help explain the Grid Method further: Multiplication progression ladder

  

In English we were learning about ‘The Polar Express’.  One of our activities was to decide how the boy would be feeling when he discovered the train and we had a debate; Should he or shouldn’t he get on the train and why?

We then created freeze frames using our body language to show if we would get on the Polar Express or not!

In Science we built circuits and made our own switches.  We put our circuit learning to use to design and make a light up characters.

 

Shackleton Super start

We had the challenge of building ships and completing a dangerous journey across Antarctica.  On our journey we found out many facts about Shackleton and his expedition.

              

Year 4 Netball Tournament 

Year 4 played a fun inter-house tournament with Endurance being the overall winners. 

     

LOGO

This half term we are using MSW logo in our computing lessons. We have explored creating shapes and have navigated round mazes.  In the most recent lesson, we explored the REPEAT command.  We used it to draw basic shapes such as squares and triangles then we explored further – What happens if we keep the same repeat command but change the size each time?  What happens if we change the number of repeats and the angles?  The children loved exploring and were so excited each time they found a new shape or pattern.

      

RESPECT online

In Computing Year 4 read ‘Troll Stinks’ which lead onto a discussion about how we need to be respectful and kind online as well as offline.  We made moving memes to demonstrate our thoughts.  

Please see our Twitter links to see the moving memes in action:

Moving Meme 1    Moving Meme 2

  

  

 

Poetry

In Year 4, we have been reading the poem ‘The Eagle’

‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,

Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

At the start of the week we made predictions about the poem before exploring some of the tricky language. We worked together to gather vivid vocabulary to describe the Eagle and looked at the meaning before writing our own poems called ‘From Wrinkled Sea to Crag’.

          

Positive and Negative Numbers

In Active Maths, we were looking at positive and negative numbers, ordering them accordingly. We had to look at whether the line was increasing or decreasing, establish what the numbers were jumping in and then fill in the gaps. We worked in pairs, moving around 15 different stations and completing the gaps.

    

Europe Trip

 

Sequencing

In Active Maths, we were looking at counting in steps of 25. We each had to write the next number in the sequence, looking at the pattern 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 and so on. Then we made a class number line with numbers that are multiples of 25. We had to look at the place value and order them correctly.

 

 Active Maths

Today we were doing ‘Maths’ on the go. There were random 4-digit numbers placed in a hoop. In teams, we had to run up to the hoop and bring the numbers back where our team had to order them according to place value.

  

 Narrative Writing

In Year 4, we have been reading the book ‘Fortunately, the milk..’ by Neil Gaiman. The children have learnt this by heart, discussed the story and then attempted writing it, with some awesome results.

     

     

Computing

Year 4 have been looking at ways we can use search engines effectively, here are our top tips:

Fantastic Finish

Year 4 were so excited about the trip to Leeson house that they decided to invite their parents into for a presentation to tell them about their adventure.  It was a fantastic presentation, there was story telling, acting, funny anecdotes, photos, animations and demonstrations.  Wow!

  

  

  

Leeson House

The children and staff arrived back Friday evening from their 3 day trip to Leeson house full of enthusiasm.

Click on the twitter icon to go our twitter feed and see the amazing activities the children packed into their 3 days.

  

Summer 1 2017/2018 River Deep Mountain High

Summer 1 homework

Stop Motion Video

(videos coming soon…)

We’ve been busy in Year 4 computing lessons using our new iPads.  Out first project has been to explore the ‘Stop Motion Video’ app.  We started off making a class video, thinking about keeping the camera still and making 1 small movement for every frame.  Then we used lego to create our own creative videos, there were some very original ideas here such as dancing snowmen and flying spaceships.  Once again the focus was on keeping the camera still, taking a photo 1 frame at a time and making small movements for each frame.

We then made our own whirly birds with split pins.  We are currently using these birds to create our final videos, making sure we remember our stop frame motion skills.

 

It’s lovely to hear the children talking about how they now have the app on their iPads at home and are continuing their learning outside of school. This is the app we use, but any free stop frame animation app will work too.

 

Stop Motion Video

River Deep, Mountain High

Year 4 have started of their new topic by looking at mountains.  They looked at some key vocabulary: edge, summit, peak, valley, slope, foot, range, ridge.  They also located some mountain ranges on world maps.  

The children then enjoyed using the iPads to research a mountain of their choice and wrote a fact file on it.  There were many ‘wows!’ and ‘I didn’t know that!’ comments flying around when the children found fun and interesting facts.

      

Spring 2 2017/2018 The Empire Strikes Back

In the second half of Spring term, we will be continuing to explore our topic The Empire Strikes Back, therefore our topic map and homework will be staying the same.  To see what we have learned so for in our topic please see our newsletter for Spring 1.

Fantastic Finish

On Wednesday 29th March Year Four put on an amazing show for their families.  For the past term they have been learning about Romans, including Roman armies.  We painted shields and practised marching in the The Tortoise (Testudo) formation.

This is one of the Romans most famous formations.  Testudo is the Latin word for “tortoise”. It was used to protect the soldiers. The soldiers in front and on the sides interlocked their shields. The soldiers in the back lines placed their shields over their heads to form a protective “shell” over the top of the men.

After our march we sang a song ‘Just like a Roman’. This song taught us all about Romans.  When we listened to it at the start of our topic it helped us to created a list of questions on what would would like to learn about the Romans, these questions formed our topic learning throughout the term.

 Computing

Year 4 have been working on the ‘iconnect’ program where they have been learning about the World Wide Web, net work and browsers.  We have explored the difference between search browsers and the web address bar.  We’ve also looked at navigating around a website using the icons such as; home, back, refresh.  We explored what hyperlinks are and created our own using Print Screen to create links. Over the next few weeks we are going to use our knowledge of the internet and hyperlinks to create an online cyberhunt for our friends to follow.  

Here are some examples of our cyber hunts, can you use the hyperlinks we made to help you to answer the questions?

aimee and Alex’s smart hunt

SOPHIE AND ANNIKA

RUBY AND AIMEE CYBERHUNT

riley, alfie, jack.

haris and harvey cyberhunt

 Year 4 are very excited that they will be using the iPads in their computing lessons next half term!

World Book Day

On Tuesday 6th March 2018, Frimley celebrated World Book Day by coming into school dresses as their favourite book character.  We had an amazing range of creative costumes and the whole school looked fantastic.

  

This term, our daily reader has been a book called ‘Romans on the Rampage’, by Jeremey Strong.  We have been reading the story along with our teachers and our classmates. We always have an activity which relates to the story. This checks our understanding. We have enjoyed this book because the characters are really funny (especially Croakbag), it’s action-packed with lots of events and it’s helped us to understand about the Romans. 4S

In maths, we have been exploring equivalent fractions. We have tried to make these lessons very visual and practical. The children have been folding strips of paper and colouring parts to find equivalent fractions and then investigating patterns.

    

Science was great fun this week. We were learning about the digestive system. This involved a very smelly and squishy experiment. We had to squashed Wotsits and white bread into a food bag and then we poured lemonade into the bag. Finally, we poured our mixture into the mesh bag and we had to squeeze the bag very hard. This was to demonstrate food entering and leaving our bodies and the importance of chewing!

Boudicca

In Year 4, we have been learning about how the Roman’s and Celt’s fought in battle. We demonstrated this by re-enacting a battle scene in class.  This helped us to ‘think like a Roman’ and ‘act like a Celt’. During the week, we have been learning about Boudicca. We are beginning to understand who she was and what she fought for. We are doing this in preparation for the Battle Cry, which we will be writing next week!

   

LightBot

In computing we have continued our learning of coding using a new program – LightBot.  LightBot helps us  to plan, program, test and debug whilst using sequencing skills, repeat functions and conditions.

       

The children were allowed to challenge themselves by creating a range of sequences for LightBot to follow, but they learnt they had to make all 4 edges the SAME for the REPEAT function to work.

Next week we will be looking at what the different colours mean and how that affects the final outcome.

The Empire Strikes Back

This week, Year 4 started their new topic- ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. Each class was introduced to the song, ‘Just like a Roman’ and through exploring the lyrics and their meaning, they learnt a little bit about how to eat, drink, dress, think, pray, build, slay and party like a Roman. The song was an instant hit and the children have already started learning actions to the song for a special performance in the future.

Each class generated questions for further lines of enquiry during the topic and all children were excited at the prospect of taking an active role in their learning journey this term.

Autumn 2 homework

Robomind – Logo continued

Following our work on Turtle Art, we moved onto Robomind.  This program allowed the children to continue coding but also allowed them to extend their thinking by creating “if and then” conditions e.g. if a white dot is in front of Robomind then turn right or if a beacon is in front then pick it up.

    

Turtle Art – Logo

In computing we have been learning that a program is a sequence of statements written in programming language and these statements can be adapted and changed. We have been programming a screen Turtle to execute a sequence of statements, firstly to create basic shapes and letters using a 90 degree turn then moving on to a range of angles, colours and the use of ‘repeat’ to create patterns.   The children have been amazed at what they have produced and have been showing their work to each other with great pride.

      

We then extended ourselves and used our logo skills to create Christmas snowflakes, thinking carefully about our colour choices and the repeat function.

      

Shackleton’s Superstart

Year 4 started their new topic this week on ‘Journey into the unknown’. In our SUPERSTART, we learnt about Shackleton’s Incredible Expedition to Antarctica.

The children read Shackleton’s advert and luckily everyone decided to join the expedition! Once assembled into our crews, it was time to ready the boats. Working together, they made boats using sheets, string and wooden sticks for the mast, with skipping ropes for the boats.

Each child was assigned a job on board the ship, before the navigators led us around the school site looking for hidden clues. On the journey, we learnt about the expedition, the failures and the successes of the Shackleton and his crew.

The children had a great afternoon, actively learning about Shackleton but also working co-operatively together in their crews. Nobody abandoned ship, and nobody was left behind!

R.E

The children in Year 4 have been looking at Christian beliefs about God. Our enquiry led us to the Trinity – The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. We explored the belief that there is one God, but three parts. We talked about each part, exploring artwork, symbols and bible passages that are used to represent each. Finally, we made a Trinity Flexagon to represent – The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, three parts but one God.

 Autumn 1 homework

E-Safety

We have been learning our SMART rules, focusing on keeping ourselves and others safe online and on mobile technology.

Click on the links to read our full power points and learn about our SMART rules

 SMART by Emily

 SMART by Chelsea

 SMART by Haris

Harvest Festival

We have been busy in Year 4 preparing for Harvest.  We helped Frimley celebrate Harvest by performing the play ‘The Little Red Hen’.  On Wednesday we walked to St Peter’s Church, along with the rest of the school, to perform our play to the local community.