Here is what we have been up to in Year 4 this week…

Maths

In maths this week, we have been learning about measuring length. We began by estimating the length of items in cm and mm and then learnt how to measure accurately with a ruler to the nearest mm e.g. the felt tip pen was 6.2cm. We then learnt how to convert between units of length, cm to m, m to cm, m to km and km to m. Our key knowledge was that 1km = 1000m and that 1m = 100cm. Using this the children solved problems such as 5km = ? m,  250cm = ? m. We then learnt about perimeter for the first time. The children found the perimeter of rectilinear shapes but adding up the total measurements of the sides of the shape.

Next week, we will be learning about how to find the area of a shape by counting squares and then learning about mass, including converting between units of mass and comparing masses.

English

In English this week we have been writing poetry. We have learnt about and written different forms of poetry. These are haiku, tanka, acrostic poems and limericks. In haiku and tanka poems the children had to stick to a set syllable pattern e.g. a haiku poem has 3 lines, line one has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 and line 3 has 5 syllables. In our acrostic poems we had a go at writing rhyming couplets where two lines of the poem rhyme, then the next two rhyme etc e.g.

Soft snow falling all around,

Noone makes a sound,

On the lake of frozen ice,

We skate around it’s so nice.

In a limerick there is a set rhythm and rhyme pattern and the children did amazingly well writing their own. One of our faves was…

There once was a sprout called Jim,

Nobody wanted to eat him,

He disguised as a carrot,

Nearly got eaten by a parrot,

And then he got thrown in the bin!

Next week we will writing some more rhyming poems and learning to use similes in our poetry.

Thematic

In thematic this week we have been learning some science. We have learnt about the digestive system and what each part of it does e.g. the stomach contains acid that further mushes up the food and in the small intestines the nutrients go into the blood to be carried around the body. We have also learnt about food chains and the key vocabulary producer, prey and predator. We have found out the arrows in a food chain show the flow of energy (not what eats what) and we also learnt about what happens if something changes in a food chain e.g. one of the animals dies off.

We have also been busy making some hot chocolate reindeer sachets that will be on sale at the Christmas fair on Wednesday so please do come along and try and buy one!

Next week, will be RE week and we will be learning about Christianity and why Christians celebrate Christmas.

Spellings

There are no spellings to learn this week.

Love to Learn

For this week’s home learning task we would like you to make a Christmas decoration that we can use to decorate the classroom. Please bring in your decoration by Wednesday 10^th December.

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

Dates to remember

10th December – Christmas Fair 3.15pm-4.15pm

15th December – No PE this week

16th December – Year 3 and 4 Church Performance at 10am at St Laurence Church

17th December – Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 Christmas Party Day – children to wear Party Clothes to school

17th December – Christmas Dinner Day

18th December – Christmas Jumper Day

18th December – Final day at school; school finishes at 2pm and there will be no after school club

We hope you have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Cousins, Mr Cook and Miss Jordan