Welcome to Year 4
Year 4 is taught by Mrs Cookson. The HLTA is Mrs Davey. Also working in class 4 are Mrs White and Mrs Medland.
We are looking at 'Connections' as a theme running through all of our learning this term. In the morning this Spring term Mrs Brewer is teaching Maths and English. We are writing our own instructional texts about how things work or have been made, using headings and subheadings, which range from how a car engine works to how chocolate is made! We are also looking at the lives of artists and after studying biographies will write biographies about interesting people. Our journey on the train to St Ives in March will take us to the Tate Gallery where we will enjoy the art and explore even more about the lives of these artists up close!
We are working hard in Maths to explain exactly how we reached the answer we did: whether in multiplication or division (did you know if you have learned and understood your multiplication facts you can multiply or divide any number at all?!). We use lots of hands-on equipment and investigate in lots of different ways to help us fully understand the amazing power of numbers.
The teaching each afternoon has been looking at connections throughout Science, learning about the physics of how sound travels. We are also working to make electrical circuits and looking at how electricity works and is used. We will also enjoying studying the influence of the Ancient Greeks and what they developed. We also learn a lot in PE, RE, Art, French and Music.
We are using our Learning Powers to help us get the most out of all we are learning: by choosing to put in as much effort as possible we are constantly learning new things. We are more and more resilient in our lessons, helping each other at times to keep on persevering: we have a "learning pit" on our wall to remind us of the value of keeping on trying even when it feels too difficult. When we are resilient and resourceful in lessons we often end up being really delighted with what we've achieved!
We are thinking about Courage this term in Collective Worship, reflecting on the importance of making the best decision we can even though sometimes this is difficult. Our school's special story is The Kind Stranger, and we are learning about how brave he was to stop and help someone who may have not liked him. Our school's Golden Rule is in every room, and it makes clear that we should love one another as we would like to be treated ourselves.
We use Spelling Shed and Times Table Rock Stars as online games at home to help us keep on top of our multiplication facts and spellings. We have a chart on the wall that maps how well we're doing!
There are great opportunities online for us to challenge each other to a Rock Stars game, and we are getting faster and faster at recalling our number facts!
We are enjoying reading and our newly stocked library is wonderful. We have a cosy space in our classroom with beanbags, fairy lights and lots of lovely books of all different genres. At the moment we are reading several novels as a class together, with time every week to enjoy also our own books we love. We are developing wider vocabularies and great imaginations by reading lots at school and home: we all are encouraged to read as much as possible and the range of books we have is really great! We also have nature magazines on our new Nature Table, lots of different types of authors, and lots of styles of books- funny ones, factual ones, life stories or mystery novels.
We are specifically trying to spend time growing our ability to manage our feelings so we can express ourselves better. We are using our class reading book, "Perry Angel's Suitcase", to talk about how different people stay quiet when upset and others are loud. We are also enjoying "Words for your Heart", a new collection of lessons to help us develop deeper understanding about belonging to a group and being kind to each other.
In the Spring of 2018 Mrs Brewer started Chicken Club. We hatched 6 chicks in an incubator and we have looked after them ever since! Chicken Club members care for the hens, take the eggs home and recently entered the hens into Launceston Agricultural Show! Barbra who has a wonky beak won a first prize certificate!