Year 4

Summer Term Literacy

This half term we have been loving a book called 'Pugs of the Frozen North' by Phillip Reeve. We were so fascinated by pugs that we wanted to learn everything we could about them. We researched pugs and learnt loads of weird and wonderful facts (Did you know a group of pugs is called a grumble?).

We then wrote our very own non-chronological reports and shared them with our friends. 

Summer Term Numeracy

In our maths this half term, we have been developing our knowledge of place value within decimals and how we use decimals in every day life.

We learn the terms tenths and hundredths and what the value is of each.  We also looked at the relationship between decimals and fractions.

Summer Term Science

In science, our topic was called States of Matter. We learnt that matter can exist in different states. These states are called solids, liquids and gases.

You can also change the state of something by changing the temperature. For example, a solid can become and liquid when it gets hot, just like when ice melts. We conducted a series of investigations to find out more about melting, freezing, evaporating and condensing. 

Summer Term Other

P.E.

We have been playing lots of cricket to develop our striking and fielding skills, learning how to catch, how to throw and how to bat. We were also lucky enough to have a visit from the Cricket Roadshow hosted by some Guernsey Cricket players.

P.S.H.E.

Through our P.S.H.E. lessons, we have enjoyed learning more about how to live kind, caring and positive lives. We realised that no matter the situation, if you think about the positives (rather than just the negatives) it can make it easier to deal with.

MFL

Our French is coming along nicely. We now know how to count to 12, ask for someone's name and age and have learnt some rhymes and songs in French. 

Spring Term Literacy

In our literacy lessons this half term, we have been writing some amazing stories. We have focussed on using adverbial phrases, fronted adverbials and multi clause sentences to really make our writing shine.

We entered the Write Stuff Competition, each writing a story using the theme of 'The Journey'. We wrote about a child who walked through a mysterious door to discover they were in Wishland -  a place where any wish you make will come true. We had great fun using our imagination and creativity to write about exciting wishes our characters could make. We have submitted our stories and can't wait to here what the judges think.

In our reading lessons we have enjoyed a book called 'The Boy Who Grew Dragons' by Andy Shepherd. We developed our reading fluency, prosody, expression and echo reading skills. 

Spring Term Numeracy

In numeracy, we have been learning all about fractions. We learnt the key words: numerator and denominator, and developed our understanding of what a fraction actually is and how they can help us. We used play dough to represent  fractions on the table in from of us.

We have also been learning about geometry - the study of shapes, measure, angles and turns. 

Spring Term Science

We have learning all about teeth, digestion and food chains.

We learnt that there are many different types of teeth: incisors, canines and molars & premolars. Each type of tooth has a different function.

We also used common household items to learn how food is converted into energy as it passes through our digestive system. We used biscuits, orange juice, banana and even an old pair of tights.

Finally we learnt how energy is transferred from one living thing to another in the animal world throughout something called a food chain. 

Spring Term Other

P.E.

In P.E. this half term we have developed our balance and jumping skills during gymnastics, and practiced some net and wall skills playing tennis in our games lessons. 

P.S.H.E

We have continued to learn how to be kind and caring towards others, how to look after ourselves both physically and mentally and how to have a safe online presence in our P.S.H.E lessons.

Geography

In Geography we have learnt all about the water cycle and what happens at each stage.

R.E. 

In R.E. we have continued to learn how different cultures from across the world celebrate their own religions and we have learnt more about what is important to each religion and how they should all be respected and valued. 

MFL

Bonjour! We have been learning to speak French in our MFL lessons. So far we know some basic greetings, the colours, days of the week, feeling words, as well as learning more about the culture and lifestyle in France. 

Autumn Term Literacy

To begin our year, we have been learning all about fables in our literacy lessons. A fable is a story that has a moral, or a lesson, you can learn from it. We enjoyed some well known fables such as 'The Hare and the Tortoise', 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' and 'The Scorpion and the Frog'. We decided we wanted to write our own fables.

We used 'The Hare and the Tortoise' as a starting point, and wrote a story about a nasty, boastful character challenging a slow but wise character to a race. We had great fun retelling this classic fable with our own modern twist.

Autumn Term Maths

Our focus in our numeracy lessons has been on understanding the value of numbers. We spent a few weeks revisiting our place value skills, reinforcing our knowledge of the number system and what each digit in a number represents. To help us do this we used place value counters, place value grids, base 10, Numicon, beads, counters and so much more.

We have also learnt the column method for addition and subtraction and even how to borrow and exchange. 

Autumn Term Science

We have loved learning about life on Earth in our first science topic of the year - 'Living Things and Their Habitats'. We learnt the difference between an invertebrate and a vertebrate and studied the various classes of each.

We also investigated plants and how the different ways in which they reproduce.

Finally, we learnt the importance of caring for the habitats of living things on our planet and what we can do to help prevent climate change. 

Autumn Term Other

What a busy half term it has been! Here are just a few of the other amazing things we have done so far this year:

P.E.

With the help of the Guernsey Sports Commission, we have enjoyed learning about control and discipline during our games lesson whilst playing football. In our Indoor P.E. lessons we have been learning to dance.

P.S.H.E

We have continued to learn how to be kind, how to treat others with respect and how to take care of ourselves, both body and mind, in our P.S.H.E. lessons. 

Geography

In Geography we have been learning about people's access to water around the world. Not everyone has access to safe, clean drinking water like we do and we learnt why some countries struggle. We also learnt about some of the amazing work people are doing to help provide water to everyone as this is a basic human right. 

Cultural Enrichment

We were lucky enough to have a session with the School's Library Service where they gave us our very own Britannica Encyclopedias to keep! These are amazing books and we have loved using them to learn amazing facts. 

R.E. 

In our R.E. lessons we have been learning about the signs and symbols of different religions from across the world.