Welcome to Year 4!
Welcome to Mrs Kehoe and Mrs Ryan's Year 4 class! Mrs Kehoe teaches on a Monday, Tuesday and a Wednesday morning. Mrs Ryan teaches on a Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday. We are very lucky to have Mrs Turner and Mrs Broadhead working with us every morning too. On this page you will find useful information about our work and ways you can help your child at home. Check back often to see what we've been learning!
Autumn Term
Welcome to Year 4! We will be doing lots of exciting things in Year 4, including swimming, our social action project, times tables competitions and we will go on a great school trip too. We start the year with our Ancient Egyptians topic, titled 'Secrets of a Sun King'. I can't wait to help you find out more about the 'Sun King' and the Ancient Egyptians.
In Year 4 I expect you to be reading and practising your times tables and spellings every day. There are prizes for the children who do this the most! These are three very important skills that you need to keep practising as you move up the school.
Mrs Kehoe & Mrs Ryan
General Reminders:
Homework - Homework will be sent out every Thursday and is expected to be returned the following Thursday. This will consist of either maths or comprehension and spellings. The children are strongly encouraged to practise their times tables daily on Times Table Rockstars. Each child has their own log in.
PE - Our P.E days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, so please ensure your child has their PE kit in school on these days.
PE kit should consist of:
Reading - Please hear your child read every night for around 15-20 minutes (as far as is possible). Fluency in reading helps children to build their understanding of the world, their comprehension, vocabulary and develops empathy for others. Reading can be from many sources, not just their reading scheme book. Try this list for ideas: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks2-school-pupils/suggested-reading-list-for-year-4-pupils-ks2-age-8-9/
Google Classroom - We will be encouraging the use of Google Classroom to help the children build up their technological skills and competency as quickly as possible. Please keep an eye out for your child's Google login, and more information about Google Classroom!
Our learning in Year 4
English & Topic
This half term our history lessons are about Ancient Eygpt. We will be looking at artefacts and their ancient beliefs. In English we will be following 'The Write Stuff' approach using Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo. During Guided Reading we will be reading 'Secrets of a Sun King' by Emma Carroll.
Spelling
In KS2 we all follow the Spelling Shed programme. Each week children have lessons on how to spell the patterns needed to be successful spellers for their age group. Patterns include the various ways to spell the "shun" sound (tion, sion, ssion, cian) and the "chur" sound (ture). Children use spelling journals in class to record their learning and support their independent spelling during writing lessons as well as the Spelling Shed website to help practise these spelling patterns. See below for a copy of the Year 3/4 spelling list from the National Curriculum.
Maths
The whole school uses the Maths No Problem approach to lessons. In Year 4 we love learning using this method as it's full of practical diagrams and uses bar modelling to support children's understanding. If you would like to know more about the Maths No Problem programme, follow this link: https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/parent-videos/
For support with basic number facts and times tables, encourage children to try the Top Marks website and play some fun games that help consolidate learning! https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables
We also use Times Tables Rockstars to practise our times tables - it is very important that all the children are able to recall any of the multiplication facts up to 12x12 instantly. I hope we will have lots of Rock Heroes and Rock Legends in Year 4!