Elms (Year 4)

Welcome to Elms Class!

Class teacher: Mr Medlock

wmedlock@bewickbridge.co.uk

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Banks

This webpage has details of our learning topics and other useful information. We will regularly be updating it with information about any planned events and sharing your work so be sure to keep checking it for updates.

Elms 24_25 timetable.pdf

Elms Meet the Teacher.pdf

Elms class photo gallery

Our children are incredibly proud of their work in Elms class. Take a look at some of their excellent contributions below.

News and Events

Water bottles

Please ensure your child has a water bottle every day. We have drinking water in class for refilling.

PE kits

This term, our PE lessons will be on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please ensure your child comes to school wearing their PE kit to school on those days. Our school sports uniform requirements are a plain white t-shirt, navy blue shorts and suitable outdoor trainers.

Term Homework

As part of our SP curriculum this year, we will continue to set home learning projects for different subject areas each term.

We will give details of this term's long term homework shortly

When you recieve this term's long term homework, please help your child with discussing ideas, planning and collecting resources; the actual completion of the project should be their independent work. To help with time management, encourage your child to spend some time each week working on their long-term project. At school, all children will be given the opportunity to present their home learning projects to the rest of their class. Please encourage your child to rehearse their presentation.

Home Learning

We expect children to read daily. School books borrowed from the library need to be brought into school each day. Children will be expected to read at least 5 times each week to their parents or guardian who will record them reading using the link sent to their phone.

Over the course of the week, we expect children to spend time learning their Year 3 and 4 common exceptions words (see below in the spelling section for the list of words), their times tables (using Times Tables Rockstars) and learning their Key Instant Recall Facts.

https://ttrockstars.com/

Children will be given a choice of projects to complete each term. These should include some research into the topic and a presentation that will be supported either by slides, a poster or a 3D model. Time will be given for each child to present their project to the rest of the class.

SP Curriculum

Year 4 Autumn term

In this section, you will find a brief summary of what children will be learning in each subject in the SP Curriculum this Summer term. In addition to this, you will find the key knowledge the children should know for each unit. It would be helpful if you could discuss your child's learning with them in each subject area.

Science

States of matter

In this unit the children will learn about the relationships between solid, liquids and gases. They will discover how a change of temperature can affect their states.

Living things and their habitats

In this unit the children will learn about how the classification system works and the reasons for grouping living things based on identifiable characteristics. They will also have the chance to learn about how a change in environment can impact on different habitats.

Art

This half term we will be looking at buildings, in particular studying the work of the artist Hundertwasser. This will involve identifying key features of his work and learning how to emulate this in our own work.

Music

During this unit, we will be developing our skills with the ukulele and keyboards, while performing as a whole class. We will also be developing our musical literacy by reading from staff notation. In the second part of the term pupils will engage with jazz music as their understanding of different genres becomes even broader.

The children will be completing work on cooking and nutrition, including adapting a recipe and designing their own biscuit. This will also involve writing a set of instructions and evaluating their final project. By the end of their work in this unit, we expect the children to have gained a range of skills, including cooking safely, working as a team and suggesting modifications to a recipe.

Geography

During the first term we will be studying grid references as a way to locate areas on a map. The children will also be learning about the points on a compass to improve positional and locational knowledge. There will also be an opportunity to learn about the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn as they expand upon their knowledge of the wider world.

History

The children will be learning about the Romans, including how the Roman Empire began and its implications not just on the time period but on our modern society. It will be essential for children to understand how the effects of the past can still be seen today and this unit will provide them with the opportunity to uncover this - this will include a study on the Roman invasion of Britain and the creation of roads and Hadrian’s Wall.

In RE we will be exploring different religions and whether they are all equal. Children will have the opportunity to discuss and engage with each other on this topic, analysing similarities and differences between religions while showing respect to all. Pupils will also have the chance to locate where in the world particular beliefs are most widely practised to further deepen their understanding and awareness.

Computing

During our Computing sessions, we will be increasing our knowledge of online safety and the different measures we can take to protect ourselves when engaging with technology. This will include a broadening of the children’s understanding of the internet, including how content is created. There will also be opportunities to understand how content on the internet must be verified in order to trust its accuracy and why it is important to do this.

In our first unit of PE this year, we will be learning about the attacking and defending principles of basketball. The children will have the opportunity to hone and develop their tactical awareness, as well as using the fundamental skills of the game to beat their opponents. During our unit on gymnastics, we will be learning how to perform different balances accurately and developing symmetrical and asymmetrical body shapes. There will also be an opportunity to improve our ability to use counterbalances and adapt a routine.

Maths

Below is our year 4 curriculum map for our maths this year. Our programme has been designed to provide learners with a deep conceptual understanding of mathematical principles and the ability to confidently communicate in precise mathematical language

Year 4 Curriculum Map.pdf

Times tables Multiplication Check

Next summer, the children will have their Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)

What is the Multiplication Tables Check?

The Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) is a key stage 2 assessment to be taken by pupils at the end of year 4 (in June). The MTC’s purpose is to ensure the times tables knowledge is at the expected level. In the 2022/2023 academic year, The multiplication tables check (MTC) is statutory for primary schools.

The Multiplication Times Tables Check is an online test where the pupils are asked 25 questions on times tables 2 to 12. For every question, you have 6 seconds to answer, and in between the questions, there is a 3-second rest. Questions about the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 times table come up more often. The questions are generated randomly based on the rules of the MTC.

It is important that the children prepare for the MTC by regularly practicing their tables at home. TT Rock Stars provides excellent support for developing knowledge and quick recall of times tables.

Is it important to learn your times tables?

Times tables are a very important part of mathematical knowledge and pupils who struggle with them in primary school will likely fall behind when they begin secondary school. Through knowing their times tables pupils will start to notice patterns and will then be able to apply this knowledge to more advanced work. The more accurate and faster you are with your times tables the more confident you will feel in your maths lessons.

English

This term, the children will write a range of different texts, including instructional writing, narratives, letters and a recount of an event.

Throughout the rest of Year 4, we will be writing non-chronological reports, newspaper articles, persuasive pieces, myths and poetry. Check back to see some of our best work posted here on Elms page.

English Writing Skills Progression

The following document explains the expectations for children's writing in year 4. By the end of year 4 they need to have mastered these skills to be able to be assessed at Year 4 level. We are constantly practicing these skills and expect to see evidence of them in all writing completed in school.

Copy of Skills progression for Year 4:

Spelling

In Year 4 children will learn to:

• develop a range of personal strategies for learning new and irregular words*

• develop a range of strategies for checking and proofreading spellings after writing*

• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (English Appendix 1) • spell further homophones

• spell words that are often misspelt

• place the possessive apostrophe accurately in words with regular plurals (for example, girls’, boys’) and in words with irregular plurals (for example, children’s)

• use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary

• write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include words and punctuation taught so far

• proofread for spelling errors.

T2-E-2064-New-Curriculum-Spelling-List-Years-3-And-4-Word-Mat.pdf

Reading

Reading every day is the most important part of learning at home. Books will be sent home from our school library and should be brought into school each day along with the school library bookmark. Please check that your children are recording their reading in their reading records.