Year 4 News

This week, Year 4 enjoyed taking part in No Pens Day, which gave us lots of opportunities to develop our speaking and listening skills. As part of our Tudor topic, we played a range of traditional Tudor games and discussed which ones we enjoyed the most. The children demonstrated excellent oracy skills as they explained the rules, shared their opinions and discussed different strategies for success. It was wonderful to hear so many thoughtful conversations and well-reasoned ideas.

In Maths, we focused on mental subtraction strategies. The children worked collaboratively to explain their methods, compare different approaches and justify why certain strategies were more efficient for particular calculations. Their mathematical vocabulary and confidence in discussing their thinking continue to improve.

During the afternoon, we became scientists and carried out an investigation to explore the importance of toothpaste. The children observed how toothpaste helps to protect our teeth and discussed the role it plays in maintaining good dental hygiene. They made predictions, shared observations and drew conclusions from the experiment, showing excellent scientific thinking throughout the session.

Year 4 have been working incredibly hard as they prepare for their Multiplication Check, and we are so proud of the effort, determination and positive attitudes they have shown throughout. Many children have already completed their checks, with the last few pupils finishing next week. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they have practised their times tables skills. Alongside their hard work in class, the children thoroughly enjoyed Sports Day, showing fantastic teamwork, resilience and enthusiasm throughout all of the events.

This week, Year 4 have been learning about the famous . The children explored the key events of the story, including the role of the Trojan Horse and how the Greeks used clever tactics to defeat Troy. We discussed the important characters involved and thought carefully about whether the story is history, myth or a mixture of both.

To show their understanding, the children created fantastic comic strips retelling the events of the Trojan War. They worked hard to sequence the story clearly and used speech, illustrations and captions to bring the characters and battles to life. We were extremely impressed with the children’s creativity and historical knowledge throughout the lesson.

This week in Year 4, we have been really enjoying reading Greek myths and exploring the exciting characters, adventures and lessons within them. In English, we have been working hard to build stronger sentences by using more ambitious vocabulary and making our writing more detailed and interesting. The children have loved improving simple sentences and choosing powerful words to make their ideas come alive.

In History, we have been learning about life in Ancient Greece and thinking carefully about whether we would actually want to live there. We explored different aspects of daily life, including homes, schools, food, jobs and entertainment, and then took part in a class debate to share our opinions. The children gave some fantastic reasons both for and against living in Ancient Greece and showed great confidence when explaining their ideas.

Year 4 have had a brilliant first week back and have returned to school with great enthusiasm. They are already thoroughly enjoying their new topic on Ancient Greece and have shown lots of curiosity about this fascinating period in history.

In English, we have been exploring Ancient Greek stories and comparing their themes, thinking carefully about the messages behind them and how they are similar or different. The children have enjoyed discussing characters and making links between the stories.

In maths, we have been learning about hundredths as part of a whole, developing our understanding of how they relate to fractions and decimals.

In science, the children really enjoyed their first lesson on electricity, where they began to explore what electricity is and how it is used in everyday life.

This week, Year 4 have been busy practising their lines for their production next week, and they are doing really well! The children have shown great enthusiasm and commitment as they rehearse, and it’s fantastic to see their confidence growing.

Please continue to support them in practising at home, as this will really help them feel prepared and ready to shine. We can’t wait to show everyone their hard work and talent in next week’s performance!