Autumn 1
All of the children were very excited to get back into school and begin Year 4, they are starting to settle into the new routines very well.
In English, our first Talk for Writing unit was an adventure story using a text called “The Canal”, using the tools for characterisation the children wrote their own adventure stories. They thought carefully about the actions the characters might do and the words they might say. Our second unit focused on wildlife, creating non-chronological reports. Our visit to Wentworth Estate gave them some brilliant knowledge that we could use along with the skills from the non-chronological report toolkit to create their own fact files for their chosen woodland creatures.
In Science, our unit was Animals including humans. The children learnt about types of teeth and their functions. They explored how other animals have a different arrangement of teeth depending on their diet. They then learned about the human digestive system and even created a model of this to demonstrate what happens when the food reaches different organs in the body. Finally, we studied the diets and food chains of other animals. Children looked at how animals can be classified by their diets (carnivore, herbivore and omnivore) and then looked at how this relates to predators and preys when exploring food chains. Our trip to Wentworth estate deepened children’s knowledge of this topic.
In maths, we have completed our place value units, which covered knowing the value of each digit in numbers up to 10,000 and representing them in different ways, understanding rounding and partitioning numbers, appreciating that the combined parts must still be equivalent to the whole. Also, the children learnt how to apply their knowledge of place value and the number line to compare and order 3-and 4-digit numbers.
In Geography, we completed our Trade and Transport unit. The children worked very hard to learn our ‘5 Fingertip Facts’ and enjoyed our retrieval parts of the lessons where they could show what they had remembered. The children explored the advantages and disadvantages of different modes of transport and looked into different transportation routes (roads, motorways, canals, cycle paths) and the benefits and drawbacks of each of these. They developed map skills by exploring different countries that import and export food from the UK and found it interesting calculation “food miles” of the things we eat. A perfect topic to study before Harvest!
In PE, we have focused on Pilates and invasion games. We used a Halloween theme to learn some Pilates moves and develop our breathing techniques whilst building core strength. The children have enjoyed learning how to explore physical skills like dodging and evading, whilst also developing tactical skills such as following rules, developing strategies and working as a team.
We have also enjoyed outdoor learning and have been lucky enough to toast marshmellows with Miss Bradley, bulb playing with Phil and learning about the countryside code on our school trip!
We are looking forward to Autumn 2 and all of the excitement of the Christmas activities planned.
