Year 4

Hello from the Year 4 ducklings (or should we say quack)!

We are now 3 weeks old and we have found a new home with Mrs Joseph who is taking good care of us. We currently live in a big cage in the house. Mrs Joseph has to clean our cage every day as we splash our water around so much. We have grown a lot: we now have long necks and we make a lot of noise when we want to be fed or just have some attention. Every other day, we have a bath together in the garden which we really enjoy. We have a baby bath that is half filled with water and we will play in that for 20 minutes, putting our heads under the water, dabbling for food and preening our feathers. We love small pieces of lettuce and small worms or slugs as a treat. We love being towel dried afterwards. On Monday this week, the youngest duckling started to paddle in the water like an adult duck. The oldest duckling, who is the largest, is definitely the greediest and will steal food from the rest of us! But for now it is time to say goodbye as it is time for our nap.

Paul Cookson Poetry

The children have been really excited to learn about the poetry of Paul Cookson. They did a brilliant job of learning and performing the poem they chose and have investigated Paul's influences and his work with Slade, Everton and the National Football  Museum. Now, it is their turn; poem writing Paul Cookson style!!

Local Adventure 7.5.19

To bgin our mountain adventure, Year 4 explored a local 'mountain': Frankley Beeches. Going up through Kitwell and across some fields brought us to Frankley church, then a steep climb took us to the beeches at the top. On the way we discovered nature (and the blight of rubbish) and from the top, the views of our city were amazing. We were late back for lunch; 6 miles isn't quick but is a massive achievement for our children. A big Well Done to them and now on to our next adventure - a real mountain.

Friday 10th May

Year 4 Ducklings

Sadly, today we have had to say goodbye to our ducklings. Happily though, Mrs Josephs is adopting all 4 of our ducklings. She has promised, that from time to time, she will bring them in for a visit so we may see how they are developing and enjoying their new home.

We had 6 eggs (4 hatched) delivered by 'Incredible Eggs', who provided us with all the equipment and support to ensure we had a fantastic experience.

During the two weeks we had the eggs, the children had the opportunity to see an egg hatch, live - both adults and children delighted in witnessing  a tiny, new born duckling coming into the World.

The interest in the duckling was immense, all classes had the opportunity to hold a duckling for the first time and to watch them swim. Even the adults in school held many discussions about who was going to take them home overnight or for the weekend!

Here are a few of the many pictures that have been taken of the hatching eggs and ducklings. Don't they look cute.

DT Spring term

The children have been developing their sewing skills by embroidering felt to make a money bag in Anglo-Saxon style. They have used Anglo-Saxon techniques to weave a braid to use as a tie for the drawstring. They have been extremely enthusiastic about this activity and have even taken them out during social time to carry on and finish.

Dentist visit

Whilst studying teeth, the children received a visit from a dentist who was able to tell them more about the type of teeth in their mouths and how to keep them healthy, white and clean. They experimented with disclosure tablets to discover how much plaque was on their teeth after brushing.

Wednesday 27th March 2019

Year 4 have recently enjoyed a visit to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery where we studied the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard. The children practiced their archaeological skills and role-played being Anglo-Saxon villagers.

Autumn Term

This has been an incredibly busy term, Year 4 have enjoyed a wide range of experiences including performing in the harvest assembly and a fantastic visit to The Oak House in West Bromwich which gave us such an amazing incite into life in a Tudor country house. More recently we experienced Christmas through the Keyhole and mince pie making. We have, of course, missed Mr Field (who's resting up and getting better) but haven't let this dampen our spirits and spent time working hard in learning our times tables to increase our confidence in maths, reading books from Anne Fine and considering how different characters might make difficult decisions. The children have built up sketching skills in art and will finish the term with a portrait of Elizabeth I to bring these new skills together linking in with what we have been learning about Tudor kings and queens.

Looking forward to spring...

Maths learning will begin with practicing time telling - using analogue and digital clocks, 12/24 hour clocks and knowing the number of minutes in an hour and days in a year. It would be wonderful if the children could work hard practising these skills during the holiday - for example: what time will it be when dinner is ready?; or how long will the film last? In English, we will be reading some novels set in history: Street Child by Berlie Doherty (set in Victorian times about the life of a child on the streets) and Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo set in World War Two. Our topic will take us into Anglo-Saxon times and will include a visit to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to study the Saxon Hoard. During music we will give everyone the opportunity to learn to play the recorder. So, another busy term to come, packed with more wonderful experiences.

Parent Drop in Session - 04-10-2018

Year 4 parents/carers enjoyed time in the library with their children sharing books together. Some read to their children, others heard their children read or discussed the books that the children were choosing. It was a relaxed time centred around story and the skill of reading.

Harvest Festival - 18-10-2018

Well done to all of year 4 for their hard work in entertaining and educating at harvest time.

Parent/Teacher Liaison - 7.11.18

A further opportunity to formally meet with teachers will be held later in the year along with a full written report in the spring.

Oak House, West Bromwich - 13.11.18

The children very much enjoyed their visit to the Oak House in West Bromwich as part of our Tudor topic. Children learnt about buildings and their construction and how rich and poor children's lives were different. Photographs may be posted here in the near future.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery - 26.02.19

This visit will allow the children to explore life in Saxon times. Please look for more details nearer the time.

Homework

Please remember that homework journals should be completed and handed in on a Thursday morning. Maths homework given out every Friday is to be returned by the following Friday.

Children will also be issued with spellings on a Friday to be practiced at school and home ready for a spelling test the following Friday.

The children will also have a weekly times-table test on a Wednesday morning.

P.E Timetable

4F and 4S will need their P.E kit on a Monday and Tuesday, however we recommend kits remain in school for the whole week.

Accelerated Reading

Another Year 4 expectation is accuracy in Accelerated Reading quizzes. The children need to be reading their Accelerated Reding book every night and quizzing in school, when they have finished the book. The children need to use their book to support them when finding the correct answer. You can support your child at home by asking them questions about what they have read and them showing you where the answer is in the book.

Please also remember to encourage your child with reading each day and sign off each 'Read' to help them gain their Challenge badges.

Phonics

In class we are using the ea, ew, oi, ai and oa spelling pattern to discover and spell different words.

 To support your child with their reading and understanding of old and new words, you could test them on the spelling of words with this spelling pattern in, identifying this spelling patter in words when out and about and using a dictionary to understand what new words mean.