Year 4 Class Page

Welcome to Hawthorn class!

Welcome back to Year 4. We are very excited to begin this new year with you. We have lots of fun learning in store for 2019 and are eager to get started!

Weekly Updates

W/C 24.06.19

This week has flown by in a blur of Mary Poppins rehearsals and Tea and Tunes preparations. The children have worked hard to create a super dance sequence for our song in Mary Poppins and are justifiably proud of the results. We now need to add the finishing touches and perfect our singing parts in the other songs. 

Thank you for coming to see us on Parents Evening; Mr Portch was thrilled to meet you all and is looking forward to September. 

W/C 10.06.19

This week Alex, Jacob and Samantha represented school in a Mathematics Mastery Competition. They competed with children from other Alliance schools and won! Well done you three!

Also this week, our pupil governors hosted the pupil governors from Lane End Primary. The visitors were treated to a buffet lunch and a tour of school. Thank you to Laila and Alex for being such wonderful ambassadors for our school.

Children should have brought home their homework pyramids for this half term on Wednesday and the new My Maths tasks will begin from next Tuesday.

W/C 03.06.19

The children were all very excited today and enjoyed learning in their pyjamas! Thank you for your bottle donations.

This week we have been rounding in Maths and reading poetry in English. The children are still working on their class performance of 'Yorkshire, a county to talk about'. I feel we may need a few more takes to get it website ready 

We will be working on our Mary Poppins dance in PE in the coming weeks but today we created a new game which was a cross between basketball and netball. See below for an example of one of the drills we have been using to improve our ball handling skills.

W/C 20.05.19

Thank you very much to all of the parents and carers who visited our Roman museum this afternoon. The children were hugely excited to share their learning with you all and I was proud of how confident and informative they were. Well done team Hawthorn! 

W/C 13.05.19

Wow, what a fantastic day we had with Pompous Maximus Centurian! We added to our knowledge about life in Roman times and found out about the difference between an Auxiliary Soldier and a Legionary Soldier.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed working with clay to create oil lamps, making a traditional board game, practising a battle formation and sketching some of the artefacts displayed for the day in our classroom.

All our amazing work will be on display  next Friday at our Living Museum.

W/C 06.05.19

What an exciting week! Chef Noodles and a visiting artist! What could we possibly do next week to follow all of that? 

Today in Maths Express we combined PE with Mathematics to work out how many people would have to run two lengths of the marked netball court in order to cover 1 km altogether. We used a trundle wheel earlier in the week to measure and today we used our knowledge about decimal numbers to record our running as a class. It was great to see Year 4 using decimal numbers in a real life context. One of the other activities was using 'Base 10' equipment to understand the value of a number. We had to make sure we could write the number in digits as well as say it. Please see our photos below.

Finally, thank you for all of your hard work on spellings, it is really paying off with record numbers of children in Year 4 achieving top marks!

W/C 29.04.19

This week we have been newspaper reporters, working hard to produce attention grabbing headlines about Harry Potter's first Quidditch match. We compared the book to the film version of the match and found they were quite different.

In Mathematics we counted in hundredths and continued to look at decimals in a real life context. Next week we will look at decimals and measures and converting between different units. 

Improving our accuracy and readiness was the focus of our PE work and as always I was impressed by Year 4 and their enthusiasm for new skills.

W/C 22.04.19

What a funny start to the week! On Tuesday morning, Mrs Sanderson was trying to deliver her assembly on St George when she was rudely interrupted by some very strange characters! Luckily for Year 4, the roman soldier was actually Mrs Durbin in disguise (who would have guessed ) so we rushed back to class to start our history topic on the Romans. We found out that the Romans were invaders and settlers and we talked about what this means. We also talked about reasons why we might move house and relocate to different areas.

In mathematics we looked at decimal numbers and used place value grids to divide by ten and one hundred. We talked about how we use decimals in real life and I was pleased to see lots of Year 4 children who could confidently talk about money.

W/C 25.03.19

This week Year 4 have been developing their persuasive writing skills and thinking about real life problems in Maths. They impressed me with their drama on Monday; they had to convince Uncle Vernon (from Harry Potter) to give Harry his Hogwarts letter. It was entertaining to watch the results; I would have handed the letter over! The creativity, reasoning and emotions used in order to persuade were fantastic to watch.

Well done Hawthorn for winning this week's battle of the bands on TT Rockstars and also well done to those children who took part in the homework treat today.

Have a fabulous holiday everyone and see you in a couple of weeks.  

W/C 18.03.19

On Thursday, the children enjoyed a 'World Faith Day'. Mixed year groups briefly visited six different religions to explore an artefact.

Judaism - making a dreidel

Sikhism - a treasure hunt to find the 5 k's

Islam - Picture challenge of a prayer mat

Christianity - Godly Play story looking at the ICTHUS fish

Buddhism - creating prayer flags

Hinduism - drama of Rama & Sita & diva lamps

The children have been tasked with writing a letter to Stanley the sheep to tell him all about their day. Unfortunately, Stanley couldn't be trusted to behave himself and so wasn't allowed to join in with the children!

W/C 11.03.19

This week has been 'Science Week' and we have enjoyed planning, discussing and experimenting. I have been impressed with the children's knowledge about fair testing and their enthusiasm for science in general. I loved the way Year 4 embraced our magical Harry Potter Potions, they generated fantastical recipes with the most bizarre sounding ingredients. In reality we were testing a variety of everyday substances to discover if they were acids or alkalines and exploring the properties of a Non-Newtonian fluid.

W/C 04.03.19

Well done Year 4 for all of your hard work this week. Negative numbers in Mathematics and Harry Potter in English. I have enjoyed reading your diary entries about your day (writing as Harry Potter) at the zoo and the vanishing glass! It's great to see paragraphs, extended noun phrases and a variety of sentence openers; I am looking forward to sharing these with parents and carers next week.

Thursday was World Book Day and we celebrated in style! Please see photos below. 

w/c 01.03.19

A fantastic start to this new half term everyone!

In Maths, we have been focusing on telling the time using analogue, digital and for some, 24 hour clocks. We looked at the passing of time and got our brains whizzing with word problem challenges.

In English, we have been very excited to begin our class book, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. Children have been encouraged to bring in their own copies to read in class and to continue their reading of this wonderful story at home throughout the next few weeks.

We have focused our learning on writing paragraphs using the 'traffic light system'.

Green = Topic sentence: The sentence that tells us what the paragraph will be about.

Amber = Supporting sentences: The middle of the paragraph gives more detail about the main topic. Usually there will be a few sentences here.

Red = End sentence: This sentence closes the paragraph. It usually sums up the topic or comments on the previous sentences.

Please can I remind you that PE kits should be in school for our PE lessons on Wednesday and Friday.

Finally, don't forget to bring in your Mr Men/Little Miss books in readiness for World Book Day next Thursday!

W/C 11.02.19

Well done Hawthorn on another very busy week! This week in Mathematics, we have looked at perimeter, area and Roman Numerals. The children have worked hard to calculate perimeter when some of the values involved are missing and they have worked out the five times tables in Roman Numerals. I was very pleased that many of the children had already been learning about Roman Numerals through their My Maths homework.

Most of the children have now completed their '500 Words' stories and some have brought copies of their work home to send into the Radio 2 competition as well as entering our very own Barwick competition. 

Thank you to those parents and carers who were able to attend our RE open afternoon; it was a very reflective and artistic afternoon, enjoyed by all. 

W/C 04.02.19

What a busy week!

This week we have launched our '500 Words' stories, had a special visitor and explored the challenges of living in a desert location.

In Mathematics we have been looking at measuring and we should be able to explain the terms imperial and metric! There's a challenge for you Year 4! Some of us also used our newly acquired skills to convert the distance from Barwick to Aberford from miles to kilometres and metres. I was suitably impressed.

On Thursday, the children enjoyed a visit from Major Allchin, a salvation Army Officer. He talked about the importance of following instructions and caring for others. Next Tuesday, the children will put their learning in RE to creative use. Why not drop in at 2:30pm to join us?  

W/C 28.01.19

Another fabulous week - well done Year 4!

We have looked at story writing, in particular Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The children discussed how Michael Morpurgo uses language to convey emotion and the children enjoyed (see below) using their facial expressions and gestures to show which emotions they were thinking about.

In Maths, the children have been outstanding, winning their 'battle of the bands' against Mulberry - keep it up Hawthorn! We have thought carefully about our own personal progress in terms of multiplication and division; I have asked the children to think honestly about which of the times tables we really know and which we still need to work on. They have impressed me with their commitment to improvement.

The children continued to work on their water dances in PE and I have added some more of their hard work below.

W/C 21.01.19

What a fantastic week! Well done Year 4 - you have impressed Mrs Nicholson and I with your hard work and 'have a go' attitudes.

This week we have started a new unit of work in PE focusing on Dance. We have watched the dance troupe, 'Diversity' for some inspiration and tried to think about what our bodies could do to emulate water. See below for some of the fantastic results!

In Mathematics we have been practicing multiplication using the column method and in English we have written some non-chronological reports.

W/C 14.1.19

What a lot of budding rockstars we have in year 4!  This week saw the launch of 'battle of the classes' on TT Rockstars as Mulberry and Hawthorn Class go head-to-head.  Let the battle commence!

In Maths we have continued our focus on fractions - finding equivalent fractions and amounts of fractions.

In English, we have explored how Michael Morpurgo uses various techniques to create tension in his writing, from short sentences and expanded noun phrases to emotive language.  We made these techniques our success criteria as we wrote about our own scary moments.

W/C 7/1/19

This week we have had a big focus on Maths - solving a riddle set by Maths Man, enjoying a fun day of art, competing in a whole school Maths quiz and exploring maths in the real world.

More fun to come next week.  Make sure you have got your TT Rockstars costume in hand!

In English we have started to read 'Kensuke's Kingdom' by Michael Morpergo. An adventure story to get our imaginations soaring.

W/C 3/12/18

This week in Maths, we have been looking at solving 1, 2 and 3 step word problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We used many different written methods and mental methods where necessary. 

In English, we have started to write non-chronological reports on our Christmas Superhero. We did some drama based on our character and were interviewed in the hot seat. Keep your eye out for some of the final non-chronological reports next week.

In Science, we continue to investigate circuits and what changes are made when more than one electrical component is added, more than one battery is added, if the switch is placed somewhere else within a circuit and what happens if there is a break. 

In Reading, we have been reading lots of superhero texts to link with the writing we have been doing. We gathered as much information as we could and 'magpied' words and phrases to use within our writing. 

W/C 26/11/18

This week in Maths, we have been dividing 2 and 3 digit numbers, using the bus stop method. We progressed to using remainders. We also worked on our multiplication , addition and subtraction, answering word problems in context. 

In Science, we have looked at series circuits and how electricity travels. We learned all of the correct symbols for different electrical components before becoming electricians and investigating some true/ false statements.  

W/C 19/11/18

On Friday, the children of Barwick took over the school. They panned and prepared everything throughout the day and had to ensure that everything ran smoothly. The teachers started the day with a morning briefing held by the children. After that, pupils ran the Achievement Assembly and handed out the awards to those that had won. Year 4 pupils took the register and sorted out lunches before Bethany started the spelling quiz/ lesson. The children were thoroughly engaged and learnt about this week's new rule. Alex and Oscar then took a football quiz after teaching the children about Barcelona and Leeds United. Laila and Lyra spent time teaching children the features of a story before allowing them to spend time planning and writing their own. Samantha and Teagan ran a well prepared Spanish lesson before Mia and Thomas delivered an energetic PE lesson. The day finished off with Emily and Abigail recapping the rules of cursive handwriting. We celebrated the day for Amara and Laila's Birthdays! Please check out the photos below. 

W/C 12/11/18

This week in Science, we have been looking at the genius that was Thomas Edison. We researched his inventions and wrote a biography about him. We also looked how technology/ electricity has changed over time and created Venn diagrams, Diaries and safety posters. 

This week in Maths, we have started to look at dividing. We worked hard with Mr Mennell and Mrs Nicholson to ensure we could confidently divide by 6. 

This week in English, we have started reading 'Billionaire Boy' by David Williams. Based on the story, we have learnt about time conjunctions and fronted adverbials so we can include them in next week's newspaper reports. 

W/C 5.11.18

This week in Maths, we have been looking at multiplication and division. We have been recording plenty of work in our books and creating different games/ activities. Take a look at some of the pictures below to show how we have been working together to develop our knowledge of the 6, 7 and 9 times tables. We also created our own Maths Museums to show what we have learnt so far in Year 4. We had to go around other museums and use our mathematical knowledge to understand what other groups had been trying to represent. 

This half term in P.E, we will be participating in Archery and Hockey. We have only had one archery lesson but we are already starting to follow the footsteps of Robin Hood. We were working on the correct technique and safety methods. 

In Science, we have been learning about Thomas Edison and his fabulous inventions. We have learnt all about his life and later on in the half term, we will be looking at how electricity is created and undertaking experiments of our own. Keep a look out for photos to follow!

W/C 12.10.18

This month, we have been celebrating Black History Month. As part of our topic, we had a specialist dance teacher who came in to teach us some African Style Dancing. We then worked in groups to make up our own routines and showed them to the class. Take a look at some of our pictures below. 

This week, we have been creating our own stories based on The Firework Maker's Daughter. We have been including lots of ambitious vocabulary and the objectives we have learnt so far. We have also been doing some drama based activities. 

Next Monday, we will be creating our own African Masks for Black History Month. We have started our initial designs in class. Take a look at a few of them in the pictures below. 

W/C 8.10.18

This week, we have been learning a lot around road safety. The Road Safety Team from Leeds came in to teach us everything we need to know when near a road. We learnt the Green Cross Code and now we always remember to THINK, STOP, LOOK and LISTEN!

In Spanish, we have been learning different body parts. We worked as part of a group in order to label and write different sentences about different body parts. We love Spanish and we're getting better by the week.   

In maths, we are continuing to learn about addition and subtraction using the column method. We are now working with 4 digit numbers, ensuring we know how to add and subtract by renaming. 

In English, we have been learning how to use a range of different conjunctions, such as 'therefore', 'however' and 'although'. We have also recapped on the importance of paragraphing so we are prepared to plan and write our own stories next week. 

W/C 1.10.18

In science, we have been doing lots of work around Space Week. We were able to study any aspect of space we wanted to and produce our own information texts. The space topics looked at astronauts, rockets, planets and the Space Race. We also used the Ipads to research some information. 

In RE, we have been learning the story of Adam and Eve. We worked in groups to look at different parts and predicted how the story would unfold. 

W/C 24.9.18

In maths, we have been learning to round to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. We know what place value columns we need to look at in order to determine which number it should be rounded to. We will continue to look over this in the coming weeks. Remember to complete the rounding activity on My Maths!

On Wednesday, we celebrated European Languages Day by looking at a variety of different languages with Miss Greaves. We learnt how to speak in some Spanish, German, French and Dutch. 

In P.E, we developed out coordination and accuracy skills with Mr Peate. We did many activities then had to build up different towers to protect or knock an object off. We did a variety of different throws. 

W/C 17.9.18

In maths, we have been learning to count on and back in 10's, 100's and 1000's. We have been identifying numbers and where they should be placed in a sequence. We had competitions against different partners when adding and remembering some out times tables. Have a look at some photos below.  

W/C 10.9.18

This week in English, we have been writing about, and creating drama scenes on, some Roald Dahl stories. We have also been learning about the life of Dick Turpin in our 'Heroes and Villains' topic. We have written many facts we have found out including some year 4 objectives. Please see our pictures below.