Welcome to The Owls Class Page

(formerly Year 4)

 

 

 

Owls are known for their wisdom so

our motto is:

Sapientes nos sumus

 

Mrs Rigden - Class Teacher

       

    Mrs Clarke    Mrs Hussain   Mrs Shanley

           Our teaching assistants

 

Welcome to Year 4

Letter for parents Summer 2

Homework Summer 2

 

Swimming dates

 

 

 Summer 2

To see a topic overview click on the title below:

Vicious Vikings

Week 1 - What happened when the Roman left Britain?  

In this topic we are continuing the History of Britain with the Vicious Vikings but before they arrived we need to find out what happened when the Romans left.  This is when invaders from the continent called Anglo Saxons came and settled across England.  We will learn some reasons for why they came here and explore what happened to the commander, Vortigen, who was left in charge. 

 

Weeks 2  Where did the Vikings come from and why did they come here?

 

 This week we will be looking at the Vikings themselves and how they started to raid our shores and then settle in England, Scotland and Ireland.  We will learn about their raiding and the meaning of their name and why they found this country a better place to be. 

 

Week 3 - How did the Vikings, who settled in Britain, live?

 

 

The Viking life style is our study for this week.  We will think about our research skills and how we can find information that is relevant to our enquires.  We will organise our research clearly so that the reader can understand how the Vikings lived and worked in Britain.

 

Week 4 - Who lead the resistance to the Viking invasions?

Alfred                        Athelstan

 

 The setting up of kings in England was an important change.  The famous story of Alfred and the cakes, which occur when he was hiding from the Vikings is an interesting story.  The making of Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, into the first King of England was also a very important part of the history of these islands.  The children will learn about these men and how successful they were in keeping invaders out of England.

 

 

 

Week 5 - What were Viking warriors like? 

 

 

 The Vikings have a very definite reputation for being cruel and terrible warriors.   We will think about whether this was true and the way the Viking warriors compare with the Celtic warrior and the Roman soldiers that had previously battled in England.  What did they wear in battle and what weapons did they use?  Did they have battle plans like the Romans?  Did they fight fairly? 

 

Week 6  How did the Anglo-Saxon religion differ from the Viking religion?

 

 

 Anglo-Saxons, before their conversion to Christianity, did have many gods like the Vikings however one of the ways that things changed was that Christianity which had been introduced to Britain by the Romans returned.  It took the Anglo-Saxons about 100 years to accept the new religion but the Vikings held onto their gods.  Many of the names will be familiar to you:  Thor, Odin and Freya are perhaps the most known.  This week the children will look at the different ways that Anglo-Saxons and Vikings worshipped their gods. 

 

Week  7 Who was Edward the Confessor and why was he important in the history of Britain?

 

 

 During this week we will look at the life of Edward the Confessor and find out how he was important to the history of Britain.  We will also go back over the history we have covered since we learned about the earliest humans in Britain and think about all the important events up to the time of Edward the Confessor.  We will construct a time line of all the major events across the history covered in year 3 and year 4.  This will help the children understand how the events built over time to make the history of how our islands changed.

  

 

 

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.

In writing we will be also be building on our previous learning.  This term we will be looking at Legends and Sagas,  classical poetry and a novel on a theme.  We will seek to make our writing interesting and exciting for the reader by adding details such as descriptive phrases and more complex sentence starters. 

 

Non-Negotiables for Writing 

 

 

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 once again look at multiplication and division and use these skills to further our mastery of fractions.   We will look at geometry and statistics and continue to use problem solving to embed our learning across the whole of the maths curriculum.

 

 

 

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://uk.ixl.com/math/year-4

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm

http://www.tutpup.com/

 

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:

Non negotiables for Maths

 

 

P.E. for Year 4 this half term is  Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please ensure that your child has their P.E. kit in school at all times. Please also make sure that all items are clearly marked with your child's name. We will be going swimming every Tuesday.  Please make sure that your child has their swimming kit in school on this day each week.

 

Science

   Animals including Humans

In Science will be learning about animals including humans.

We will describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans.  We will identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions.  We will compare our teeth with those of other animals.

We will construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.

 

 

R.E.

Our main objective this half term is to consider this question ‘Do Christians have to go to church to show they are Christians?

 

 

 Homework Schedule

 

Topic:

      

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!

Spellings: 

Children will be given spellings on Friday and tested on the following Friday giving you a whole week to practice before the test!  Spending just 5 minutes a day on learning spellings does make a big impact on the words you can spell correctly.  This helps the children in their writing to be more adventurous in their choice of words.

Numeracy  : 

Numeracy homework will be set on a Friday  and should be completed by  the following Friday.  The homework will be in two parts - general Maths homework covering the different areas of Maths each week and learning tables homework.  There will be a times table test each week for the table facts sent home each Friday.   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.  In addition to the home reading book,  children will also be allocated reading and Spelling Punctuation and Grammar homework  via Bug Club your child's username is the first four letters of their first name and the first four letters of their surname. The password is year4.

 

Ambassador Awards 2018-2019

 

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:

• Citizenship
• Relationships
• Learning
• 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!

 

Ambassador Leaflet

 

Steps to Success for the Owls