Jaguars - Year 4
Welcome to Jaguar Class :)
Autumn Term 1 Newsletter 2024
This page will give you an outline of all the topics we will be studying this half term. I have planned lots of fun and engaging lessons this half term and all I ask is that you work hard and get stuck in! Parents - If you have any questions/queries about anything then please e-mail me on jaguars@parkgate.cheshire.sch.uk.
Reading:
The children will be given a levelled book from Oxford Owl and this will be changed once a week. It’s important to re-read the book once finished as it will help to build reading skills for example being able to summarise, retrieve information, explain authors choice etc. Please ensure reading books are brought into school every day so that children can be listened to and work on their reading targets throughout the school week.
English:
This half term you will be studying fantasy stories and to help us with our work we will be watching and studying a clip called 'The Dream Giver" (Literacy Shed)
You will be working on a range of different text types such as character and setting descriptions, diary entries and finally you will write your own version of the story.
Guided Reading:
For Guided Reading, we will be reading the Iron Man by Ted Hughes! It’s a wonderful book to start the year.
Synopsis –
Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron
Man and set a trap for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then,
when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste
to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world.
We will be reading this fiction text and answering questions around the key reading areas:
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Vocabulary
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Inference
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Prediction
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Explain
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Retrieval
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Summary
Maths:
This half term, we will be focusing on Number and Place Value and then Addition and Subtraction.
By the end of the half term you should be able to:
Place Value
-Count in multiples of 6,7,9,25,1000.
-Find 1000 more and less than a given number.
-Count backwards through zero to negative numbers.
-Recognise place value of each digit in a four digit number.
-Order and Compare numbers beyond 1000.
-Round any number to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000.
-Read and write Roman Numerals to 100.
-Identify, represent and estimate numbers using different representations.
- Solve number and practical problems that involve all of the above and with increasingly large positive numbers
Addition and Subtraction
-Add and subtract numbers up to four digits, using formal written methods.
-Estimate ad use inverse operations to check answers to a calculation.
-Solve addition and subtraction two step problems.
Times Tables:
Times tables are really important and by the end of year 4 it is expected that you should recall your times tables up to 12 x 12. In school we will be playing daily times tables games and there will be a weekly times table challenge called Rainbow times tables (This is a timed test. You will progress through the colours once you achieve full marks on each colour) To help you achieve full marks ensure you practice your tables at home too. Click on the times tables icon at the bottom of this page for some useful websites and games.
Here is a link with more information about the times tables test:
Here is a link to Maths Frame. https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check
Science:
The theme in science this half term is 'Electricity’
The skills you will be learning this half term are:
I can construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers.
I can identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery.
I can recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit.
I can recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.
I can identify common appliances that run on electricity.
I can set up simple practical enquiries.
PE:
PE will be taught by Mr Hall and Mr Kelly every Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please wear your full PE kit on these days. Can you also please remember to bring in spare socks and shoes/trainers in case we go out onto the field where it can be wet and muddy.
History:
The theme in history this half term is the Tudors.
The skills you will be learning this half term are:
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I can plot recent history on a timeline using centuries.
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I can place periods of history on a timeline showing periods of time.
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I can explain how events from the past have helped shape our lives.
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I can appreciate that wars have happened from a very long time ago and it is often associated with invasion, conquering or religious differences.
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I can understand that people who lived in the past cooked and travelled differently and used different weapons from ours.
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I can recognise that the lives of wealthy people were very different from those of poor people.
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I can recognise that people’s way of life in the past was dictated by the work they did.
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I can appreciate how plagues and other major events have created huge differences to the way medicines and health care was looked at?
Art
This half term we will be studying Tudor portraits which is linked to our history topic. You will learn to sketch faces and really look deeper into how to sketch eyes, lips, mouth, ears etc. You will be using water colours to finish off your portraits.
PSHE
For PSHE, we will be looking at safety around electricity which will link in nicely with our science topic and then we will be studying a text called ‘Dogs Don’t do Ballet’ where we will be focusing on understanding when to be assertive, what it means to be assertive and knowing that being assertive is sometimes hard.
RE
Our focus for this half term will be Sikhism and we will be doing lots of activities and discussions around our big question: How are the values of community and equality shown through the Sikh way of life?
Throughout this topic, we will learn and explore:
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What is the Gurdwara and how is this important to the community?
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What is the Khanda?
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How do Sikhs worship in the Gurdwara?
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Why do Sikhs have a Langar?
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How do Gurdwaras look different or similar around the world?
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What is the Golden Temple like?
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How do Sikhs celebrate with their local communities?
Computing and Music
You will be learning all about e-safety and will be gathering information about staying safe on the internet. We will also be linking our music and computing sessions by studying ‘Musical Composition’ on Ipads and learning the notes on keyboards. This will be taught every Tuesday by Mr Joliffe.
Homework
English homework will be set on Google Classrooms every Wednesday and expected to be completed for the following week. Maths will be set on My Maths every Wednesday and expected to be completed for the following week. Your child will come home with a letter with their login details.
Miss Raissis :)