Class 4
Welcome to Hawkings Class!
Teacher: Mrs Singh
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Bunting and Mrs Dunmall
Term 3
We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas break! It has been brilliant to hear the stories from the children about their holidays. Below is an overview of our learning journey for this term.
In Maths, we will be focussing on Fractions and Time. Children will be learning about proper fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers. They will explore equivalent fractions and will learn strategies to find fractions of shapes, amounts and set of objects. They will also add and subtract fractions with the same denominators. They will have opportunities to sharpen their reasoning skills by solving problems involving fractions. They will read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12 and 24 hour clocks. They will also solve problems involving converting from hours to minutes to seconds and from years to months to days.
In our English learning journey, we will be looking at Anthony Browne's book called "Zoo" as a discussion text and children will develop skills in writing a balanced argument and using language for a diary entry. We will also be reading book called "The Firework Maker's Daughter" by Phillip Pullman to understand stories from different cultures. Children will investigate how fireworks have been represented by well-known artists, e.g. Nocturne in Black and Gold and Nocturne in Blue and Gold by James McNeill Whistler and will create their own versions of the art.
In Science, our focus for this term is Sound. Children will be taught to work scientifically and identify how sounds are made. They will recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear and sound gets fainter as the distance from the sound source increases. They will also find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it. It will also include finding patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it.
In Topic, we will be developing children’s knowledge of Britain’s early invaders and settlers with our focus in history of Viking culture, chronology and key events. Within this topic we will go back in history to understand Viking life, their beliefs and weaponry.
Music/Art and DTwill be linked to Topic and science. Children will explore music across a range of historical periods and cultures. They will listen to various instruments, decide which ones they prefer and understand how music is created, produced and communicated. The children will be using a range of materials creatively to design and make a Viking boat
Key information/dates
PE will be on a Monday and Tuesday. For this term, children will have swimming on a Monday morning from 9.45-10.45 am and we will return to school in good time for lunch. They will need a waterproof bag for their swimming kit with named trunks/swimsuits, towels, hairbrush, hair bands for long hair, a swimming hat and goggles. If they have a verruca, they will need verruca socks. Please note earrings need to be removed before school on that day and no jewellery is allowed.
Homework will be sent once a week on Wednesday, it will include spelling, reading task, English worksheet and Maths activities. The children should bring the completed homework the following Monday. In addition, Topic homework will last over the term in the form of a project. At the end of each term we will have a ‘Topic Gallery’ where children will have the opportunity to share their hard work and be praised for their efforts! Your support is greatly appreciated with all of these homework activities. We will always be available to support them should they need any help.
We will continue to use the Home School Contact Book as a main method of communication. We very much have an ‘open door’ policy in our class room, so please do not hesitate to come in if there is anything you would like to discuss.
In addition, we will have our open day on 7th February 2020, when you will have an opportunity to see your child's work and celebrate their efforts and achievements!
Upcoming Residential Trip!
Term 2
We’re on a voyage of discovery to investigate the busy world inside our body. This half term, we’ll find out about different dental procedures and learn new scientific vocabulary and use this information to write toothy fact files. There will be lots of investigating as we learn about our different teeth, how to brush them and how sugary drinks affect them. We’ll examine the amount of sugar in different foods and create images of ourselves with healthy and unhealthy teeth. In science, we’ll learn about the organs involved in digestion, using our own wearable digestive systems.
As part of our learning journey this term, Year 4 has been very busy cooking healthy recipes. The topic for this term is Anglo-Saxons, hence children are also going to explore how food and diet differed in Anglo-Saxon times. They are thoroughly enjoying cooking lessons and have extended their learning by trying the recipes at home.
Young Chefs at work!
Scrumptious Stir Fry!
Year 4 cooked Chinese stir fry with chicken and vegetables, which was the most favourite dish so far! Everyone relished the noodles and chicken coated with soya sauce. It was the perfect way to warm us up on a cold Wednesday morning.
Term 1
Welcome back to an exciting new year! We hope that you all had a wonderful summer break!
This term , we will focus on ‘Number’ with learning challenges surrounding ‘place value’ and ‘addition and subtraction’ in Maths. The children will be encouraged to use mathematical manipulative such as 100 squares and number lines in class to support their calculations so please feel free to reinforce this at home. There will be a big focus this year on development of reasoning skills in Mathematics.
In our English learning, we are going to work on handwriting and grammar in this first term. We will be looking at adventure stories in our writing lessons to develop a ‘flair’ for writing creatively in this genre. We will also look at various strategies to learn spellings and run focussed guided reading sessions to develop comprehension skills. The children will be writing and performing poetry in class to broaden their learning experience.
We will have a topic theme for each new term and this term our topic is ‘The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain!’. Within this topic we will go back in history to understand the changes The Roman’s brought to Britain. We will deep dive into the life of a Roman soldier and also explore the Celtic warrior queen ‘Boudicca’. The children will be learning the Roman numerals in Maths. We will become archaeologists examining and sorting artefacts. Art will be linked to our topic, as we will be creating mosaic art work in which the children will be making shields. In Science we will understand different state of matter and learn to differentiate based on the properties. The children will investigate different materials and perform experiments to see how materials change their state when heated or cooled. We will also learn the water cycle and its importance.
Homework will be sent out on Wednesday and is expected back in school by following Monday.
PE is on a Monday and Tuesday so please make sure children have their PE kits on these days
Wonderful Topic homework by children!