Welcome to Year 4

Welcome to Spring 2 and Year 4! 

As always we will continue to adhere to our school values of Respect, Good Manners, Patience, Perseverance and Honesty. We will understand the school rules of 'Be Safe, Be Kind and Be the best you can be!'  We will continue with our 'Brookhouse Dojo' rewards scheme to acknowledge positive attitudes and behaviours that are consistent with our values.  Homework will be collected in on a Wednesday to be marked and returned by Friday.  There will also be online tasks to complete on Purple Mash, SPAG.com, Reading Plus and Times Tables Rockstars. 

Our topic for this half term is 'Passport to Europe'

English

The unit for this half term is Novel as a Theme. Pupils study the classic novel Gulliver's Travels. Through the story of Lemuel Gulliver and his adventures in strange lands such as Lilliput, we will explore themes of adventure, imagination, and different perspectives. The text supports the development of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills, as we describe settings, write diary entries from Gulliver’s point of view, and discuss the characters and events. This study also encourages pupils to think critically about how stories reflect ideas about society while enjoying a classic piece of literature. We will develop our use of fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases and begin to use figurative language techniques. e.g. alliteration, imperative verbs and rhetorical questions. We will think about classic stories written in the past using archaic language.  We will develop our understanding of the layout and composition of these texts and the purpose. By the end of the unit, pupils will write an short story.

Reading is a priority of ours at Brookhouse therefore Whole Class Reading sessions take place everyday, where children are expected to read a range of texts and answer questions by summerising, retrieving, making inference and explaining.  We also have a specific focus on vocabulary, which will be sent home to learn before the lesson.  In school, we will continue to use the online reading resource called 'Reading Plus' and encourage children to complete lessons at home.  It is imperative for you to support your child with reading, please use the question stems to ask your children questions to check for understanding.  Also, ensure your child is learning their spellings for ten minutes daily. 

Oracy - Voice 21

As a school we are developing our Oracy, learning through talk and learning to talk.  In class, we provide opportunities for discussion in all areas of the curriculum.  We encourage children to fully participate by taking on a range of roles and utilising the discussion guidelines created at the start of the academic year.

Mathematics

In Maths, our aim is to improve Maths Fluency, Reasoning and Problem Solving.  We do this through concrete, pictorial and abstract models. Pupils will be introduced to hundredths. They will learn about mixed number fractions and improper fractions. They will learn how to convert between mixed numbers and improper fractions. They will learn how to add and subtract fractions and will solve addition and subtraction word problems. Pupils will learn about the 24-hour clock. They will learn how to use both the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock. They will convert between units of time, such as minutes and seconds, and hours and minutes. Pupils will learn how to solve time problems involving conversions and will calculate durations of time in relation to word problems.

In Year 4 we will be focusing on our multiplication tables with a view to the MTC Test in the summer term. Please do support your child at home to learn the multiplication tables. 

Science

The strand of science we will be focusing on for the whole spring term is Biology. We will learning about animals including humans focusing on the digestive system, teeth and food chains. We will look at what happens in each part of the digestive system and know the functions of: the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. We will sequence the journey our food takes and we will draw the main parts of the digestive system onto a human outline. We will then focus on teeth and learn humans have 2 sets of teeth, and that teeth can be classified into different groups. We will know about the number, location and function of the incisors, canines, pre-molars and molars. We will learn about the stages of tooth decay and how it can be caused and how to prevent it. We will then focus on other animals including humans and learn about food chains; focusing on consumers and know that they can be prey, plus,  predators and suggest why they are at the top of the food chain. We will construct different food chains and know the differences between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, Pupils will be expected to work scientifically by setting up simple practical enquiries including comparative and fair tests, making careful observations, identifying similarities and differences, gathering, classifying and presenting data, recording findings using scientific language, drawing and labelling diagrams. They will use scientific evidence to answer questions or support their findings. Please encourage your child to learn their knowledge organiser which will assist them with their weekly quizzes.

DT

We will make a prototype of a passport wallet. We will begin by planning and designing for a passport wallet We will then explain why we chose a particular material or method of joining or fastening by linking their choice to the design criteria, such as making the passport wallet strong, secure and easy to use. We will describe how our passport wallet closes, for example using a button, Velcro, or string, and explain why this fastening method works well for their design. We will demonstrate a running stitch to join materials together and show how this helps make out wallet sturdy. Using our model, we can show that our passport wallet is robust and able to hold a passport safely. Finally, we can reflect on our work and suggest one improvement we would make next time, such as using stronger fabric, neater stitching, or a different fastening method.

Physical Education

P.E sessions will take place on a Monday afternoon, our unit this half term is Gymnastics. We will continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. We will be working as teams, communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. Perform balances including one-footed, shoulder stand, arabesque, dish and arch with some control. • Perform basic rolling actions. We will perform two footed jump, jump ¼ turn and jump ½ turns. We will create a sequence of up to 6 elements with changes of level, direction and clarity of shape. With a partner we will create and combine a short sequence using the floor and mats showing fluency and clarity of movement.  

Please ensure your child comes into school wearing their full P.E kit.  The kit should include a yellow P.E top with the school's logo matched with black shorts, joggers or leggings and black pumps or trainers.  Over the top, children will wear their school jumper or cardigan. All jewellery must be removed, ensure earrings are taken out before the session or covered with plasters.

Geography

We will name and locate up to eight European countries and five capital cities. We will be able to name three major cities in Italy and three human and physical features of that place, - comparing northern and southern with western and eastern cities. We will then identify three differences (e.g. human, physical features) between northern and southern France. We will then name three human and physical features of Estonia, and discover why its population is decreasing and how this is impacting the country. We will look at three similarities and differences between the UK and one place in Europe of our choice.

PSHE

Sessions will take place on Thursday afternoon, our unit for this term is, Families and Friends recognising what constitutes a positive, healthy relationship and develop the skills to form and maintain positive and healthy relationships. We will explores different types of relationship, including those between acquaintances, friends, relatives and families. We will understand the skills when listening and responding respectfully to a wide range of people, to feel confident to raise their own concerns, to recognise and care about others people’s feelings and to try to see, respect and if necessary constructively challenge others’ point of view. We will understand the nature and consequences of discrimination, teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours including cyber bullying, use of prejudice based language, ‘trolling’, how to respond and ask for help. We will understand how to recognise bullying and abuse in all its forms. We will learn how to recognise and challenge gender stereotypes, to understand personal boundaries; to identify what they are willing to share with their most special people; friends; classmates and others; and that we all have rights to privacy. 

If you have any queries, do not hesitate to discuss these with us at the end of the school day or arrange an appointment through the school office.

Thank you for your support.

All the best from the Year 4 team!

Miss Woodhouse (Class Teacher)

Mrs Khonat (Higher Level Teaching Assistant)

Mrs Matador (SSA)

Mrs Sadia (Teacher Assistant) 

Mrs Saleem (Teacher Assistant)