Literacy In literacy we have been writing stories about a gladiator battle. We applied our learning in History about ancient Rome to be able to create an exciting narrative to engage the reader! First of all, we planned our story, then we wrote t

Literacy During Literacy, we read our final class text and continued to explore different genres of writing. We used our knowledge from our history and geography topics this term to write about relevant issues across the world. First, we wrote a n

Literacy During Literacy, we have continued to read a whole class text, where we have linked our skimming and scanning skills and inference skills using the A.P.E writing format (Answer, Proof, Explain). This has helped us gain a deeper understan

Literacy

In literacy we have been writing stories about a gladiator battle. We applied our learning in History about ancient Rome to be able to create an exciting narrative to engage the reader! First of all, we planned our story, then we wrote the story in the 1^st person, as if we were entering the Amphitheatre, ready to face the gladiator. In our description, we used lots of literary features, such as similes and alliteration and tried to describe all of our senses. Innovation was the most important core skill we use as we explored ambitious vocabulary and literary features to make our writing interesting and effective.

Maths

This term we looked at dividing numbers and were introduced to using the bus stop method (compact method) to help us successfully divide larger numbers and to solve tricky division problems. We learnt that a remainder is what is left over when a number cannot be split equally into groups and practised applying this knowledge to solve reasoning problems. We also began looking at fractions by understanding how many fractions make a whole and how to find equivalent fractions.  We learnt to apply the rule “the bigger the denominator, the smaller the fraction” when comparing the size of unit fractions. We used our teamwork skills when we worked with our partners to consolidate new concepts.

 

Topic

Year 4 have continued to investigate the Romans throughout history lessons this term. We have been building on the initial research and knowledge gained from last term and looked in more depth at the impact the Romans had on Britain. We even invade each other’s classrooms to help us understand what an invasion would feel like. We explored what made them such a successful empire and how they came to dominate Europe and parts of Asia and north Africa. We have focused on the Curwen Core Skill of empathy, thinking about how different people might have felt about the Roman invasion. During computing lessons, we researched Boudicca, our significant person for this half term and created a presentation about her on Google Slides.

 

 

Literacy

 

During Literacy, we have continued to finish our final class text and explored writing our own narrative, retelling the story from a different character’s perspective using the first person. This has helped us gain a deeper understanding of the books we are reading and the characters' feelings throughout. In spelling, we have been learning about words with Greek or French origin and how this affects the spelling of the word in the English language. During Grammar lessons, we have been learning more about phrases, clauses and subject verb agreement to improve our writing overall. Finally, year 4 completed their trips to Plaistow  Library and have begun the Summer Reading Challenge! This trip featured a surprise appearance from West Ham Football Club, who have promised a football signed by the entire Cup winning West Ham Team to whichever school in Newham manages to read the most books!

 

 

Maths

This term in maths, we have been recapping our basic skills using the four operations to help us solve single and multistep reasoning questions. We have also learnt how to use and recognise Roman numerals up to 100, and recognised positive and negative numbers on a number line. We then used this knowledge of positive and negative numbers to add and subtract them in reasoning style questions. We have previously learnt how to round whole numbers, and we used the same rule: “5 or more, let it soar. 4 or less, let it rest” to help us round decimal numbers to 1 and 2 decimal places. This taught us how to make more accurate estimations- especially when estimating amounts of money.

 

 

Topic

This term we have been learning about the Amazon. We began by recapping what we learned about South America during International Week and discovering more physical and human features of both North and South America. Once we had located these on a map, we moved onto comparing the Amazon River with the River Thames. Although the Amazon River is much, much bigger, we were surprised to discover that the River Thames is one of the cleanest rivers in the world! Both rivers are vital habitats for an abundance of wildlife. Finally, we looked at the environmental issue of deforestation. We learned about the impact it is having in the Amazon Rainforest and across the world. We debated whether it is the most important environmental issue in the world right now. Each class held a debate about whether deforestation is the most important environmental issue in the world or of there are more pressing environmental issues that need to be addressed.

 

Literacy 

 

In literacy we have been learning about poetry. We explored different poems and studied poetic features such as metaphors, similes and personification. We used what we learnt to create our own poems about resilience. We thought about our own experiences and when we have had to overcome barriers. We used these experiences to think about what resilience looks like to us and used a range of poetic techniques to put these images in the reader’s mind. Every child performed their poem in front of their class and each class chose a winner. Congratulations to Phoebe-Grace (4A), Sufyaan (4C) Jasmine (4G), Alice (4M) who were the Year 4 winners!

 

Maths 

 

In maths this term, we have been recapping the four operations and using our reasoning skills to solve word problems. We have also learnt how to use column multiplication to help us solve problems with 2 and 3 digit numbers. We also learnt how to use and apply the commutative and distributive law. We have loved taking part in the “Count on us” challenge day which allowed us to apply our problem solving skills along with our mathematical knowledge by taking part in some challenging games including dominoes, T- shapes, pentominoes, code breaking and the 24 game. We learnt that maths is all about problem solving and that those problems don’t just involve numbers!

 

 

 

Topic 

In topic, Year 4 have been learning about the Ancient Kingdom of Benin, located in modern day Nigeria. This involved a trip to the British Museum where we looked at a variety of primary sources and artefacts. Even though we loved seeing the artefacts, it also gave us some time to consider and discuss if it is ethical that these items are in London, not Nigeria? We ended our unit by writing a letter to the British Museum to express our opinion about whether or not the artefacts should be returned.