Spring Term Highlights from Year 4

What an amazing year it has been for Year 4. They have learnt so much and developed new skills in all subjects and have started to become independent learners. It has been a pleasure teaching them and watching them grow in their self-belief.

In English we have combined what we are reading with the writing outcomes, which has led to the children really enjoying the books and writing genres covered. This has included: How to be a Pirate and Why the Whales Came. Writing has included a persuasive letter and poster telling people to stop polluting our oceans, which tied in fantastically well with World Oceans Day. Also, we are producing a non-fiction piece of writing linked to Pirates. The children were really amazed to learn that there were female pirates to!

In Mathematics, we have learnt all about fractions (that was a long topic!) and decimals where the children learnt about the relationships between the two concepts. We are now dealing with money problems, shapes and the final unit time! Year 4’s have shown that they are competent mathematicians and now need to use these skills moving into Year 5. I was extremely proud of all Year 4’s in their ability to learn and recite times tables and the use of flash cards and ipads really helped support this and they loved it!

In the other foundation subjects, the children have been active and engaged with a range of topics and tasks that caused them to be curious, intrigued and interested in finding out about the topics. These included: Vikings, Amazing Amazon, Monet and Create a Buzz. These topics have led to some excellent designs, protypes and finished pieces, their Monet paintings showed a great sense of colour and brush work. The children were also fascinated to learn that the rainforests had different layers, and this supported our learning in science which was about food chains, teeth and the digestive system. I and not sure all the children were keen on the videos to see what happened to their food! With access to an ipad trolley, the children have learnt using Scratch to program a Sprite and make dinosaurs dance!

Finally, Year 4 had a trip to the Museum of Rural Life and I could not be prouder of all the children for the enthusiasm, participation and curiosity shown during the work shop, lunch in the gardens and the walk around the museum where they were fascinated by the old fashioned machinery and how hay, milk and butter were made.

This was a lovely way to end what has been a productive, tough and challenging year, but all of year 4 have risen to the challenge and been amazing. I am extremely proud of their achievements, and it is now time to enjoy the holidays and be ready for Year 5 in September.

I wish them all the very best for September, I have really enjoyed teaching them.