Year 4 have had an amazing return to school for Term 3! They have really impressed us with their attitudes towards their learning and have all worked so hard all week! Well done Year 4!

Here is what we have been up this week…

Maths

In maths this week, we have been learning some more about place value and number. We have been learning to round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000. E.g. 73 rounded to the nearest 10 is 70, 325 rounded to the nearest 100 is 300, 6584 rounded to the nearest 1000 is 7000. The children learnt that if rounding to the nearest ten, they need to look at the ones digit, if rounding to the nearest 100, they need to look at the tens digit and if rounding to the nearest 1000, they need to look at the hundreds digit. We also learnt about negative numbers. The children learnt that numbers continue below zero like this 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2,-3, -4 etc and that these numbers start with a minus sign. Some of us tried calculations involving negative numbers e.g. 9 – 14 =. We finished off the week solving mixed place value problems involving representing numbers using place value counters and base ten, partitioning numbers, rounding numbers and negative numbers.

Next week, we will be adding and subtracting. The children will learn that they can round the numbers before adding or subtracting to get a rough estimate of what the answer will be. They will also learn that they can use the inverse operation to check if an answer is correct.

English

In English this week we have been reading our new text ‘Fly Eagle Fly’, a traditional tale from Africa. Our first text type that we have been learning to write this week is setting descriptions. The children have learnt to use expanded noun phrases to describe parts of the setting e.g. the peachy-brown, tall reeds, the scorching, blazing hot sun, the squelchy, chocolate-brown mud. They have also used prepositions to show where the things are in the setting e.g. on, next to, beneath, beyond, above, in, between, opposite. We finished off the week learning how to use verbs and adverbs to describe parts of the setting.

Next week we will continue reading ‘Fly Eagle Fly’ and learn how to write a good character description.

PSHE

In PSHE this week we have been learning about courage. Our Champion of Courage for Year 4 this term is Alan Turing who cracked the enigma code in World War 2. The children learnt about how he was courageous and how he can inspire us to be brave and not be scared to be ourselves. The children have also learnt about setting goals for the future and how to make an action plan to help us to reach our goals. Some of the key vocabulary we have used this week are; persevere, resilience, motivation, goal, setback, achievement, strategy.

Next week, we will be starting our new thematic unit called ‘Cracking the Earth’s Core’, in which we will be learning about volcanoes and earthquakes. 

Spellings

Spellings to learn this week for a test on Thursday 15^th January are:

division, invasion, confusion, decision, collision, television, revision, erosion, explosion, material, mention, medicine

Love to Learn

For this week’s home learning task we would like you to find out about a volcano and make a fact file about it. You could make your fact file on the computer, write about it or make a video presentation and email it to your teacher. Try to find out where in the world the volcano is, any cities or towns nearby, if it is still erupting, how tall it is and any other interesting facts you can find! You could draw a picture of the volcano or print one and stick it in. Some ideas of volcanoes you could find out about are Krakatoa, Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius, Mauna Loa or Mount St Helens.

Please hand in this home learning task by Wednesday 14^th January.

Please continue to read at home at least 4 times a week and play TTRS as often as possible.

Dates to remember

Friday 6th February – NSPCC number day (Reception and KS1 children to come in dressed in number themed clothes/KS2 to come in dressed as a Times Table Rock Star) 

Friday 6th February – KS2 Countdown assembly at 9am (parents of year group house winners to be invited)

Tuesday 10th February –  Safer internet day 

Friday 13th February – Non-school uniform day 

Friday 13th February - Chilton Fundraisers Winter Disco 

Friday 13th February – Last day of term. School finishes at usual time

 

We hope you have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Cousins, Mr Cook and Miss Jordan