2019 - 2020

Welcome to Year 4! 

Teaching Team 

Miss Mitchell (Picasso class)

Miss Blundell (O'Keeffe class)

Mrs Herbert ( Target group teacher)

Mr Haig ( Teaching Assistant)

Class information

Year four PE lessons will be on Thursday afternoons and Steel Pan lessons will take place on Tuesday afternoons.

Home learning

Home learning tasks (spellings, my maths and maths fluency) will be set on a Friday. We encourage children to read daily and this can be recorded in their reading records. Also, the children will have access to books on bug club and we will check this on Fridays, however, they can notify us during the week if they need more books added.

Year 3/4 Statutory Spellings: 

In the link below, you will find the National Curriculum Year 3/4 Statutory Spelling List  document. On page 16 of the document, you will find the Year 3/4 spelling list. The previous pages of the documents also explain the spellings rules that we teach in our weekly spelling practise. Each week, alongside a spelling rule, we send home two statutory spellings from the list to keep children practising them regularly.

Children are assessed on all the words from the list each term, throughout the years. The document also contains the Year 5/6 Statutory Spelling List and rules which children will move onto next year.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239784/English_Appendix_1_-_Spelling.pdf 

Recommended Texts

Hi Year 4,

We had a few requests for book recommendations during our phone calls so we have compiled a list of ones we love! There is a range of levels here as we know you are all on different book bands. 

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers

The Lorax by Dr Seuss

The Day the Crayons Quit By Drew Daywalt

Slime by David Walliams

The Peski Kids by R.A Spratt

Percy Jackson By Rick Riordan 

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi

13.04.20

Hi Year 4,

This is just an idea for your second week of Easter holidays if you are looking for something to do. In The Spiderwick Chronicles, a family encounter a world of creatures around their new home and find a field guide, detailing all the ones Arthur Spiderwick has found. This links to what we were doing in Science before Easter (Living things, classification and keys). If you want to, you could create your own field guide of imaginary creatures that may be living in your house, garden or even the darker creatures in a shed! This is not a compulsory task, just a fun activity that links a lot of learning. Remember, when creating your creatures you have to think about what kind of habitat, diet and characteristics they have. Below are some examples of a field guide and the audio book for the first novel in the series.

Have fun explorers!

03.04.2020

Hi Year 4,

We hope you are all keeping well and have enjoyed the last two weeks of learning. We will not be setting any new learning over the Easter holidays but have found a wide range of activities you can do while you are at home over the next few weeks - 65 fun things to be precise! We wish you a happy, fun Easter break and hope to see you all soon!

The Year 4 Team

19.03.20
Hello Year 4 parents,

Due to the upcoming school closure on Friday 20th March, we will now be providing learning through the website. This will be learning for the children to complete over the next two weeks at home. We recommend children continue in a daily routine to ensure a sense of stability and to allow them to continue to progress in their learning. 

Below we have structured a two week time table which will allow children time to practise their maths fluency, spelling, reading, creative writing and topical learning.

If you have any questions regarding this learning please email rpaice@rounddiamond.herts.sch.uk

Keep safe and healthy & we will see you all soon. 

The Year 4 team

As well as our learning below, Twinkl have offered free resources for the next two weeks.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/offer

The code is: PARENTSTWINKLHELPS

When writing your setting descriptions, you may find the following website useful for inspiration or for settings to describe.

https://www.literacyshed.com/

Friday Resources

Please see Monday's timestables activity.

10.03.20

We braved the cold in maths this week and went out to create human grids to plot different coordinates. 
We then created a range of different polygons on these grids.

09.03.20

Year 4 spent their science lesson hunting the playground for invertebrates! 
We carefully searched in different microhabitats to see what we could find. The children did observational sketches and described the microhabitat the living things were found in. When we got back into the classroom, we tried to classify some of the invertebrates and we identified that we had found annelids, insects and arachnids. 

25.02.20 
Computing has been really enjoyable over this term as the year 4 children have had great fun creating their comic strips!

The children have shown a great progression of skills over the year so far. They started off in Autumn developing their understanding of editing fonts and formatting images. This has now allowed them to insert images onto publisher and edit the sizes of these images to suit their comic strips. They have then used their knowledge of editing fonts sizes when writing a range of speech bubbles and thought bubbles.

Have a look at some brilliant examples:

07.02.20
Geography 
Cross-curricular link to computing

In Geography this week, we compared the French Alps with our local area. We then went on to create documentaries based on this topic. We used the ipads to record different scenes.

Computing FUN!
This week we planned storyboards for our comic strips we are planning to create in computing. 

We went on to take pictures which we will go on to insert into publisher.

13.01.20
In PSHE, Year 4 have been thinking about the different ways of being healthy. 
We had fantastic discussion about certain things we should always be doing to keep healthy, certain things we should have here and there as a treat and the things we should avoid!

We went on the talk about the different food groups and why they are important in their own way.

08.01.19 Happy new year! Year four had a fantastic RE lesson today and learnt all about the founder of our new focus religion, Sikhism.

They retold the story through drama performances.

22.11.19

O'Keeffe wowed Miss Blundell with their excellent behaviour and improvement with their steel pans playing.

15.11.19

This week in English the children read aloud to build on their fluency and intonation.

24.10.19
Here are a range of games that can be played at home to help children with their times tables.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

https://www.mathschase.com/

https://www.timestables.co.uk/speed-test/

There are also good songs on Youtube where popular chart music has been adapted by an Australian teacher into times table songs. This is the link to his page:

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrDeMaio7

24.10.19

Year 4 have been exploring shape over the past few weeks. They carried out lots of activities such as classifying 2d shapes and making their own 3d shapes with play dough!

11.10.19  -  18.10.19

Over the past couple of weeks we have been making canopic jars. We moulded the jar lids with modroc and then painted them using typical Egyptian colours.

30.09.2019
In year 4, we created our own panpipes. We had to carefully follow instructions to ensure our panpipes worked. Whilst we were making them, we were considering how we would be able to make them create different pitches.

23.9.20

In PSHE, we discussed different emotions we feel. The children draw the expression you might show when feeling this emotion and added a the name of that emotion.

13.03.19

A few children have asked for the website address of the site we are using in computing so here it is;

http://isleoftune.com/

08.01.19

Happy New Year! Welcome back to a new term packed full of interesting and exciting learning opportunities. We are excited for our new topics, The Rainforest and Living things and their habitats, and hope the children are as well. Attached below is the curriculum map for the Spring term. 

The Year 4 Team 

In Maths we have been learning about coordinates and how to plot 2D-shapes. Today we applied our learning to find the hidden squares plotted. 

Well done to everyone on a fantastic start in Year 4! We wish you a fabulous half term holiday and look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 5th November.

This week, year 4 have been creating a factual TV show all about how sound travels. They were particularly keen to practically demonstrate how sound travels. 

Year 4 launched their new topic this afternoon by piecing together mystery sources and discussing what they thought they might be and how they could have been used.

Welcome to Year 4!

Teaching Team:

Mr Robert Paice and Mrs Pippa Harvey (Picasso)

Miss Leanne Murphy (O'Keeffe)

Miss Sally Dove (English) and Mrs Kim Parker (Maths) - Learning Lodge

Important dates:

Caldecotte Xperience Meeting - Friday 4th May at 3.45pm

Tuesday May 22nd-Wednesday May 23rd - Caldecotte Xperience - Picasso Class

Wednesday 23rd May-Thursday 24th May - Caldecotte Xperience - O'Keeffe Class

Monday 28th May-Friday 8th June - 2 Week May Half Term

Thursday 26th July - End of Term - School ends at 2pm

Year 3/4 Statutory Spellings: 

In the link below, you will find the National Curriculum Year 3/4 Statutory Spelling List  document. On page 16 of the document, you will find the Year 3/4 spelling list. The previous pages of the documents also explain the spellings rules that we teach in our weekly spelling practise. Each week, alongside a spelling rule, we send home two statutory spellings from the list to keep children practising them regularly.

Children are assessed on all the words from the list each term, throughout the years. The document also contains the Year 5/6 Statutory Spelling List and rules which children will move onto next year.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239784/English_Appendix_1_-_Spelling.pdf 

Summer Term 2 2018

For the final half term, our topic is 'They made a difference' and will be learning about States of Matter in science.

In topic, we will be exploring significant individuals from the past and present, including Martin Luther King Jr, Henry VIII and Tim Berners-Lee. We will be learning about and researching the impact they have had.

In English, we will carrying out learning with the goal of writing stories with a dilemma based around Cliffhanger by Jacqueline Wilson. We will have a focus on poetry towards the end of the term.

In maths, we will continue to explore a range of mathematical topics, which include reasoning and problem solving, to deepen and widen our mathematical thinking. 

Please note that our PE day is now changing to a FRIDAY. Please can children ensure that the correct PE kit is in school on this day every week.

As the weather continues to warm up (hopefully!), please ensure children have suncream, a hat and water bottle on them, when appropriate, to protect them during hot break times. It is ideal if suncream is applied before school in the morning but the children are allowed to bring this in their bag to apply themselves during school when needed.

Maths games for Year 1 - 20/07/18

Last week, year 4 applied their mathematical skills to create fun, engaging and educational maths games for year 1 children. They went through the process of discussing ideas linked to year 1 mathematical topics before designing and creating their games. On Friday, we went down to year 1 to play the games with them during their maths time. Lots of educational fun was had by all the children and we were very proud of their mature approach to helping younger learners. See some photos of our games below!

 Home Learning Projects - 02/05/18

Year 4 have spent some enjoyable time presenting their home learning projects this week. The effort that went into all the research and created habitats was very impressive and we had a great time hearing lots of information and learning new facts about where our food comes from and how it gets to our supermarkets. A lot of dedication went into the habitat designs and 3D creations - there were lots of wild imaginations with some of the mythical creature habitats that were created! A big well done to all the energised learners who took part in creating their successful projects. You can see a slideshow of some of the habitats below.

Electricity learning - 30.04.18

Year four are really enjoying their science topic of electricity! So far, we have looked at the difference between mains and battery operated appliances, built and tested circuits to understand what a circuit needs to work and classified and evaluated insulators and conductors. The children have had lots of fun learning about electricity first hand with the electrical experiments and have shown some very dedicated and successful learning.

Music Learning - 28/03/18

In music, we have been studying a song called 'A Little Can Change' linked to our topic and science learning. The song contains an important message of how crucial it is to look after our environment. It's a challenging song that the children have showed dedicated and energised attitudes towards to create the finished piece which we recorded today. You can listen to the recording on the link below:

RE Learning (27.02.18)

On Tuesday 27th February 2018, O’Keeffe bought their Sikh learning to life by carrying out our own Langar (free kitchen). We re-enacted behaviours that Sikhs carried out at a Gurdwara if the children wished, such as taking off our shoes, sitting together to eat on the floor and covering our heads. We made samosas with a potato and pea filling that Sikhs may have as they only serve vegetarian food in the Langar. This really helped us to understand the importance of the experience and the children wrote some wonderful pupil voice on the activity to show their opinion and what they learned. All children were very mature and participated brilliantly. Well done, O’Keeffe! 

Visit to the British Museum - 21/11/17

Year 4 had a fantastic day out to the British Museum on Tuesday (21/11/17). We got to explore the ancient Egyptian galleries which bought to life lots of the learning that we have been doing in class. We carried out a range of activities that allowed us to look at many different items in the cases and explore artefacts in more detail. We even got some ideas for activities that we could do with our parents on our upcoming open afternoon (Tuesday 5th December).  Children found all the items linked to mummies particularly fascinating and were very impressed by the Rosetta Stone! The behaviour and positive attitudes of all the children were exemplary and all the staff who came were very proud. Well done year 4!

Not your average demonstration!

This week in science, Year 4 were looking at the functions of the digestive system. To bring this learning to life, we carried out an interesting demonstration which shows the functions of different organs in the digestive system. We added crackers and a banana to a sandwich bag which acted as the stomach and then added orange juice and water which were stomach acid and saliva. We then mixed the items in the bag, mimicking the action of muscles in the stomach. After that, we poured the mixture into a pair of tights which were representing the intestines. At this point, the fluids in the mixture exited the tights which represented the body absorbing nutrients from food in the small intestine. The mixture then solidified in the large intestine which we then placed into a cup, and pushed the waste out of the cup, demonstrating the act of the body getting rid of waste. As you can see, the children certainly enjoyed it (as did the adults!) and it allowed them to consolidate their understanding of the functions of the digestive system and apply it to their learning. 

Remembrance day learning - 8/11/17

Today, year 4 carried out some learning linked to Remembrance Day.

We begun the morning with a class discussion about the significance of Remembrance Day and the poppy. We then wrote our own war poem based on the experiences of a solider in the war and created our own Remembrance silhouette pictures.

The children focused on including description, similes ​​​​​​​and personification in their writing and created some very effective poems. All children enjoyed the challenges of creating the silhouette pictures with some very please results!

New science topic - The Digestive System - 02/11/17

In year 4, we have started a new topic on the digestive system in science. This week, we looked at the different organs in the digestive system and learned their names. We developed our understanding by adding the organs and their names to our learning wall to refer to throughout our topic. Next week, we will be going onto to understanding the functions of the different parts of the digestive system.

NEWS FLASH 20.10.2017

Well done to Picasso class for their first attendance cup win of the year. What was even more pleasing was that we had 100% of the children in school on time. Keep it up!

Creating an educational game - 17.09.17

Year 4 had lots of fun learning how to create their own educational computer game. We are looking forward to

posting some finished games when they are complete!

Exploring Ancient Egypt - 10.09.17

Year four have had a successful and exciting start to the school year. Miss Murphy and Mrs Harvey would like to thank the children personally for making us feel welcome and helping us to settle into Round Diamond School.

Year 4 started off their Ancient Egyptian topic with a range of fun and inspiring activities. We got to piece together photographs of Ancient Egypt, identified Ancient Egyptian objects and even got to go inside our own Ancient Egyptian tomb filled with photographs and even 4 canopic jars. The tomb was certainly a favourite with the children! This helped us to recall what we already knew about Ancient Egypt and create questions that we wanted to find the answer to during our learning. 

Enjoy some photos of our fun afternoon below: