ay
Owls
Owls are known for their wisdom so
our motto is:
Sapientes nos sumus
Mrs Masters Miss Frost Mrs Hussain
Class Teacher Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant
Our Topic is Invaders and Settlers!
Please click here to view the homework
Week 1: Why did the Romans leave Britain?
For first week of term the children will be learning why the Romans left Britain. Once the Romans left, everything started to change and this left Britain open for attack. Who attacked and where from? The children will explain what happened and read maps to explain who tried to next invade Britain and the impact this had.
Week 2: Who were the Anglo-Saxons?
Anglo-Saxons came from many places all over Europe including Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. They were known at the time as Jutes, Angles and Saxons. They lived in Britain between 410 AD and 1066 AD settling in the country after the Romans left following the collapse of the Roman Empire. For the second topic lesson the children will learn all about the Anglo-Saxons. The children will use a variety of sources to research information on daily life, settlements, religion and Anglo-Saxon law. The children will then present their findings to the rest of the class.
Week 3: Who were the Vikings?
Viking, also called Norseman or Northman, member of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 9th to the 11th century and whose disruptive influence profoundly affected European history. This week the children will learn all about the Vikings! We will look at the famous raid at Lindisfarne, longboats, daily life and religion. The children will work in pairs to create an information leaflet explaining all that they have found out!
Week 4: What did the Vikings believe in? What is Norse mythology?
The Vikings had their own belief system, Norse mythology, prior to Christianisation. Norse mythology centred on gods such as Odin, Thor, Loki and Frey. Dying in battle was the most prestigious way to depart life. During week 4 the children will learn all about about Norse mythology and the Gods including Odin, Thor and Loki! They will also learn about the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and all of the different realms that are linked by the by-frost. They will also learn about Valhalla and the importance of dying an honourable death.
Week 5: Why was the Danelaw established? Who was Alfred the Great and why was he so important?
Alfred the Great (849-899) was the most famous of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Despite overwhelming odds he successfully defended his kingdom, Wessex, against the Vikings. In 886 a treaty was signed that granted the Vikings the Northeast of England, which became known as the Danelaw and left the rest of the country to King Alfred. It was agreed that Alfred would control Wessex and Mercia, which united the Kingdoms for the first time. The children will learn how to read a map of the different Kingdoms and explain which Kingdoms belonged to the Vikings and which to King Alfred and why. How did this affect the people who lived there? Why is Alfred known as a 'Great'?
Week 6: Who was King Canute?
After King Alfred the Great’s death, English kings began to take back more and more of the Viking’s Danelaw. King Canute became king of England between 1016 and 1035. A few years later, following the death of his brother, King Canute became the King of Denmark. He also attacked Norway and became king there too. King Canute became the ruler of an empire and ruled England well. He was a good king and a strong ruler. It was a peaceful time and England prospered under his rule. There is a famous story about King Canute, however, there is more than one version of the story and nobody is exactly sure which is true. In this lesson the children will learn about the story of King Canute and decide for themselves which version they believe and why.
Week 7: Who was Edward the Confessor?
Edward was the King of England from 1042 – 1066. He was the first English king after 25 years of Danish rule but is considered as one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Edward was very religious and was called 'Edward the Confessor' because he often confessed his sins. He found being a king difficult and his decisions as king lead to a problem about who would be king after him. It was clear that by the end of his life there were at least three people who claimed they had been promised the kingdom. This led to a war after Edward’s death that once again changed Britain. In this lesson the children will learn who Edward the Confessor was and the changes in Britain once he died.
Week 8: Why did the Vikings settle?
During Spring 2 term the children will learn all about geography! What is a settlement? Why did the Vikings decide to settle? What makes a good settlement? In the lesson the children will learn what makes a good settlement and will have to decide where they would settle and why if they were a Viking.
Week 9: What different types of settlements were there?
In this lesson the children will recap what makes a good settlement and the desired geographical location -such as on a hill for good defence, or near a river for good trade, food and a quick exit if needed. The children will look at the differences between a Roman settlement, Anglo-Saxon settlement and a Viking settlement. The
Week 10: Who built the settlements?
When invaders decided to settle in certain locations they decided to name them. How do we know which invaders settle in these locations? The children will learn that if the city name ends in ‘Chester’, ‘Caster’, or ‘Cester’ the original settlement was Roman. These words all mean castle. If the city name ends in ham, ton, or ford the original settlement was Anglo-Saxon. Ham means village or hill, ton means farm and ford means river crossing. If the city name ends in Thorpe, toft or by the original settlement was Viking. By means village, Thorpe means farm and toft means house. Can you think of any cities that have any of these names?
Week 11: What legacy did the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons leave behind?
The Vikings' influence can be felt far and wide to this day. Their resourceful, nature-centric way of life continues to be a source of inspiration to many and their innovative techniques as shipbuilders are still in use today. The Viking legacy is particularly evident in modern language and names. In this final lesson the children will use everything they have learned over the past 10 weeks to explain the legacy they left behind. The children will also place significant events on a timeline and identify the events that they think had the most significance in the history of Britain and explain why.
Our School values
We are very excited to be starting work on our new values system when we come back to school in January. Each week we have a new value – 12 in total. Our first value will be Respect. The children will have an assembly Monday morning about how to show and give respect to others both in school and at home! We will be expecting this to be demonstrated to all members of our Coppice community, it is important that even when we move onto a new value, the old one isn’t lost.
Our new core values will now form the basis of our ambassador passports (these have now been renamed – core value passports and the children can achieve their bronze, silver and gold awards throughout the year for each core value. We will of course keep you informed about how your child is getting on with this throughout the year.
Each week Mrs Seaton will sent out a Newsletter that will reflect the value we are working on so that it can also be supported at home. We look forward to seeing our children bright and early ready to embrace the new weekly challenges
Literacy 
In Year 4 we will continue to develop the skills of comprehension by reading individually, in groups and as a whole class. It is important that, when reading, the children understand the words they are reading and have the ability to check the meaning of words when they are not sure. We are focusing particularly on answering more difficult comprehension questions when reading so that the children build up their deductive skills and have more of an understanding of what the text is telling them.
The children will build on their previous knowledge of Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling to improve their speaking, reading and writing skills. We will focus on different types of sentences and the associated punctuation. We will build on our knowledge of homophones so that we choose the right ones in our work.
The stories we are focussing on is How to Train your Dragon, the saga of Bjorn, Jotun and writing a non-chronological report on longboats!
Numeracy
Numeracy is a very important part of the curriculum and this term we will be looking continue to build our skills in number and place value.
This term we will be looking at area, multiplication and division.
We will continue have a strong focus on learning our table facts and there will be a number of facts to learn each week.
Information for parents- http://www.croft.notts.sch.uk/Numeracy%20Targets%20Year%203.htm
Games - http://bbc.co.uk/schools/4_11/numeracy.shtml
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm
If all parents could encourage their children to learn and practice all the tables up to 12x tables that would be very useful too!
This site may help with that:
https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/math-trainer-multiply.html
Learning log tasks are set at the beginning of a topic to be completed over the half term. The children will have the whole half term to complete their chosen tasks. We will make sure you have the date for the homework to be returned. We hope that you enjoy the range of tasks that we have set for you!
There will be a times table test each week for the table facts. Our aim is to know all the times tables up to 12 x 12 by the end year 4.
Reading: 
Reading as much as possible will really help your child’s progress at school. For their learning passport they must have read three times a week all term. It is very important that they understand what they are reading a few minutes spent asking questions about what has been read helps children to develop comprehension skills which are vital to their education.
Ambassador Awards 2022 - 2023
This year we have incorporated the Learning Passport within a document that recognises children’s achievements in school and the wider community. What is expected in order for children to achieve their ’Ambassador Award’ comes under 4 headings:
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Citizenship
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Relationships
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Learning
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Behaviour and conduct
Each section has elements that underpin the values that as a school we hold dear. We believe that learning is something that continues every minute of the waking day and it is important to recognise children’s achievements not only in lessons but beyond. Adults in school will discuss each section with the children and how they can meet the criteria identified; we are hoping that the children will be able to take some ownership of the passport themselves!
Have a look at the Ambassador leaflet to find out more and look through 'Steps to Success' passport the Owls children will be working through this year to help them achieve their Ambassador Awards!
Diary dates