with

Miss Lillis (4 Craufurd)  Mrs Seker & Mrs Davis (4 Field)

supported by Miss Cooksey and Miss Tolson

PE in the summer term: 4 Craufurd on Wednesday and 4 Field on Monday.

Forest School will take place for 4 Craufurd on Thursday and for 4 Field on Wednesday.

Children are still required wear their PE kits (with trainers) to school on their PE days.

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. Check Rising Stars online to see if there is a comprehension to complete for home reading books. (Not every book has one linked online, but many of them do, so please check each one)

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

6. 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! 

7. 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. 

8. 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. 

Spelling - weekly spelling lists will be set on Spelling Shed. Please try to complete the assigned games each week as this consolidates the spelling pattern we are covering in school. The more games you play, the better chance we have of winning the school competition for the class with the most points. It would be great to see Year 4 on the winner's board! 

Maths - Children each have their own Mathletics account with the same log in as last year. The tasks will compliment class work, and are usually set on a weekly basis. If you  have a mobile device, there is a free app to download. It is also available through most web browsers. Your child will have opportunities to practice on school equipment if you are having technical problems.

This year we will be concentrating on counting and tables facts. In Year 4, children are expected to be able to recall all the facts up to 12 x 12. We will be learning these regularly in preparation for the statutory Year 4 Multiplication Check. For a challenge, you can even learn the division facts to match! You might like to use Mathletics or Hit the Button to help you learn your tables as well as Supermovers times tables

Update: Try this fab new app! My team of tables novices have been trying this out, and the verdict- it is great! It's called Ten Minutes a day Time Tables from DK- here's a link. You can download it on android link and Ios (link).

This section of our webpage will be updated every term. Please check back to find out what we will be learning as well as suggestions for enriching learning at home including projects  and competitions!

Our BIG QUESTION will have a history focus this term:

Would you rather be: a hunter-gatherer,

a Celt,

or a Roman? 

We will be travelling back thousands of years to discover prehistoric times, investigating how Britain changed from the Stone Age to the Romans. We will be using a range of historical skills to find out how we know about life long ago. Archaeological digs, artefacts, land use and remaining clues will provide helpful sources for us to analyse. We will be studying key historical sites such as Skara Brae, Stonehenge and Bath.

Our trip to the Roman Baths on 15th June will be a fantastic opportunity to step back in time and immerse ourselves in Roman life. 

Our learning will culminate in a fantastic finish at the end of term where we create our very own class museum. We will be your tour guides as we invite you to visit and explore the past with us.

In English we will be writing a portal story where our character touches a mysterious object and travels back in time. I wonder where we will end up and whether we'll ever return? We will also be writing newspaper reports about Boudicca's battle against the Romans, as well as a Roman mystery story. 

 Our new class reader is 'The Wild Way Home' by Sophie Kirtley. 

When Charlie's longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie's world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It's become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins. For Charlie has unwittingly fled into the Stone Age, with no way to help the boy or return to the present day. Or is there?

What follows is a wild, big-hearted adventure as Charlie and the Stone Age boy set out together to find what they have lost - their courage, their hope, their family and their way home. 

Design and create a Roman mosaic from small squares of paper, tiles, ceramics or even digitally. You might even want to create a mosaic onto a photo frame, place mat or stepping stone. 

Please bring your entries in by Monday 5th June so that they can be judged. There will be dojos for each entry and special prizes for the winners! 

These links might be helpful for ideas and inspiration:

https://www.bakerross.co.uk/craft-ideas/teachers/roman-mosaic/ 

https://www.ehow.com/how_7761919_make-roman-mosaics-kids.html

https://teachinglondoncomputing.org/roman-mosaics-and-computing/ 

This half term in Maths, the units will cover decimals, money and time.  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.  

Here are some examples of the types of questions children will be working on:

The second half term will cover units on shape, statistics and position and direction. 

Shape learning points

Angles: obtuse, acute, right angle.

Triangles: Isosceles, equilateral, scalene.

Polygons: Quadrilateral, trapezium, rhombus, parallelogram.

Lines of symmetry.

Statistics learning points

Pictograms, bar charts, line graphs.

Finding the sum and difference.  

Reading and plotting graphs.

Position and direction learning points

Describe position using coordinates on an axis.

Plot coordinates on a graph.

Translating points and shapes on a coordinate grid.

The children will be completing the government required times table check in June.  The children are working hard on this in school but it is important that they continue to practise at home.  Here are some links to some useful websites:

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

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

https://www.mathsisfun.com/timestable.html

In Science this term, we will be investigating electricity and magnets.  The children will be making their own circuits out of wires, batteries, bulbs and switches.  They will be investigating conductors and insulators.  

Take a look at BBC Bitesize for some videos and games:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zj44jxs

In Art this term, we will be working creating our own printing blocks with designs inspired by Celtic patterns. We wil experiment with repeating patterns for different effects. 

Our DT project will be linked to our learning in science. We will design a game or quiz with an electronic or magnetic feature. Some of our products may well appear in our Roman museum at the end of term! 

In RE this half term we will be looking at a unit of work called Kingdom of God. Our key question will be 'When Jesus left, what was the impact of Pentecost?'

What can you spot in this artwork that you know links to the events that happened during Pentecost?

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:

*Find a large rock or stone and decorate it in the style of  stone age cave paintings;

*Create a 3D model of an iron age hill fort;

*Visit Stonehenge, take photos and/ or videos to share with the class;

*Write a diary entry from a day in the life of a hunter-gatherer, Celt or Roman

*Design a game using Roman numerals

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