with

Miss Lillis (4 Craufurd) 

4 Field - Mrs Davis (MON -WED) & Mrs McVeigh (THURS/FRI)

supported by Mrs Walta, Mrs Graham, Mrs Hicks and Miss Elliott 

PE in the Spring Term will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays.  The units this half term cover netball and tennis.

If your child is wearing the new uniform, including trainers, there is no need for a separate PE kit.  

We strongly encourage children to complete set homework. This can really help them to embed and extend the learning that takes place in school.

Reading for fifteen minutes every day at home can make an impact on all areas of the curriculum. In Year 4, we have a "STARBOOKS"  reading incentive. Children are rewarded for reading five times a week and having their reading diaries signed. They will have their Starbooks loyalty card signed each week and after eight weeks, will get a reward! Each week, everyone who reaches cup five enters our prize draw and two lucky winners get to a enjoy a hot chocolate treat at the Starbooks bar. We have even invested in a pod machine to make it an extra special treat!  

Tips for reading at home: 

1. Try to hear your child read aloud as much as possible. If this is not possible every day, then ask them to summarise for you, what they have read independently.

2. If your child comes across a tricky word which they can't read, try not to tell them the word straight away. Encourage them to sound it out or re-read the sentence to see if they can work out the meaning. 

3. Always check that your child understands what they have read by asking them questions about the book.

4. Aim to change home reading books every 1-2 weeks. Book change day is Friday in Year 4.

5. Read as widely as possible- not just your school book- read your library book, books from your shelf at home, swap books with friends, read on a kindle device, read magazines, newspapers- whatever you enjoy! 

6. Read to your children as much as possible. Hearing stories really helps them to develop attention and listening skills, imagination and vocabulary. It even impacts on writing skills. Plus, it's a lovely way to spend quality time together. 

7. Look out for the books we are reading in school and treat your child to their own copy at home. We often refer to them on Dojo. 

Children now have their Doodle Learning Username and Passwords.  They can access Doodle Learning from the internet or as downloaded apps on phones, i-pads/tablets or PC's.  

https://doodlelearning.com/

There are 4 areas/apps:

Spellings, Maths, Times Tables and English. 

Evidence shows that practising little and often enables learning to be transferred from the short term to the long term memory.  Therefore, we suggest 5 minutes a day. School homework policy expectations are that children access Doodle Maths, Doodle Times and Doodle Spell each week. Doodle English is there for any children who wish to use it but is only optional.  Children can receive Dojo Points weekly if they stay in the 'Green Zone'.

Our BIG QUESTION is:

What would the world be like if there were no rainforests?

This term we will continue our review of the climatic zones of the world, studying the physical and geographical features of South America. 

We will look at the water cycle and compare the Amazon River to the River Stour- you might be surprised with how much they have in common!

Our science will also have links to the rainforests as we will be looking at animal habitats and food chains .

National Curriculum Learning Targets:

• recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways
• explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment
• recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things
• construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey

In English, we will be looking at non-fiction as our focus to begin with. The children will look at explanation texts and then work as a class to generate ideas for different machines and gadgets that we could invent. When they have come up with their ideas, they will get a chance to ‘pitch’ it to our very own ‘Dragon’s Den panel!

There will be a strong emphasis on the key elements of writing this term. We will work on varying sentence types, using adverbial phrases and conjunctions to make our writing more dynamic. Punctuation will also be looked at such as commas after fronted adverbials and the use of apostrophes.

Later in the term, we look at different types of poetry, such as limericks and sonnets. We are going to be writing at least 3 different types of poems based on a subject of their choice. This will give them the opportunity to read and rehearse poems and plays for presentation and performance. It will encourage them to discuss language, including vocabulary, extending their interest in the meaning and origin of words.

We will also be focusing on Handwriting, encouraging the children to increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting.

In June, children will sit the statutory Year 4 Multiplication Check.  Please continue to practise at home, particularly for speed.  This can be done through Doodle Learning or the following sites:

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

https://www.timestables.co.uk/multiplication-tables-check/

This half term in Maths, the units will cover multiplication and division.  We will continue to develop our skills and knowledge through concrete (practical resources), pictorial and abstract methods.  Once confident through fluency, the children will be stretched through reasoning and problem solving.

Multiplication and Division

• Factor Pairs
• Multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100
• Multiplying 2 and 3-digit numbers by a 1-digit number.  We will introduce the formal written method.
• Dividing using pictorial methods such as whole-part models and place value charts.

  Examples:

The second half term will focus on the units of are fractions and decimals.

• Equivalent fractions
• Adding and subtracting two fractions
• Mixed number fractions
• Converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa
• Tenths as fractions
• Dividing a 1-digit number by 10
• Hundredths as fractions
• Dividing a 1 or 2-digit number by 100

This half term our unit of work is on Salvation. Our key questions are 'Why do Christians call the day Jesus died Good Friday?', 'Why do Christians remember the events of Holy Week every year?' and 

'Why is Jesus called the Saviour?'

By the end of the unit children will be able to:         

• Consider what the narrative of the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial might mean
• Describe how Christians show their beliefs about Jesus in their everyday lives: for example, prayer, serving, sharing the message and the example of Jesus. 
• Raise questions and suggest answers about how serving and celebrating, remembering and betrayal, trust and standing up for your beliefs might make a difference to how pupils think and live.
• Share their own views about what they believe about Jesus death.

Do you want to enrich your learning this term, earn extra dojos and see your work celebrated on Class Dojo? Then why not try one of these activities below:

*Visit the library to explore how many amazing rainforest books there are;

*Visit the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. The tropical house there is humid, just like the Amazon. Why not create a slideshow of your visit to share with the class? 

*Research your favourite rainforest animal. Create a poster or project about it. 

*Look out for Rainforest Alliance and FSC products. Learn about the work they do and encourage your family and friends to make ethical buying choices whenever possible. 

Please note- any links above will take you away from the Oldswinford CE Primary website- we urge you to check ahead for unsuitable adverts on YouTube