Hello and welcome to Class 15,

Welcome back! We hope you have had a wonderful and restful break over the Summer Holidays. We are looking forward to an exciting term ahead and cannot wait to start our Year 4 journey.

Curriculum

In Maths, we will begin by exploring numbers with up to four digits, learning about place value and our number system, and using this knowledge to compare and order numbers up to 10,000. As we move through the term, we will develop our mental strategies and written methods for addition and subtraction. Later in the term, we will explore multiplication and division using a range of equipment and representations.

Throughout the term, we will also practice our new Year 4 times tables (6, 7, 9, 11 and 12), as well as consolidate those we have previously learnt. Developing these key number skills is vital, as they provide a foundation on which all other Maths learning can be built. Practising these skills at home will therefore help you make excellent progress this year. During our lessons, we will tackle a range of problem‑solving and reasoning activities that will allow us to apply all of our learning from this term.

English During our English lessons, we will read The Iron Man, an exciting novel written by Ted Hughes. This wonderful story will support our writing as we create character and setting descriptions, using high‑quality vocabulary to construct interesting expanded noun phrases. Later in the term, we will learn about conjunctions and adverbials to extend our ideas, add more detail to our writing and create cohesion between our sentences. We will apply these skills when writing persuasive letters and diary entries linked to The Iron Man. We will also practice a range of reading skills during our Guided Reading and VIPERS sessions, as well as work on our handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar. Remember to read regularly at home so that you can move along our reading game!

Topics We are very excited about our topics for this term, which are Romans and Mad Scientists. During the first half‑term, we will explore what Britain was like before the Romans arrived, their failed and successful invasions, and the changes they made. We will discover what made the Romans so powerful and how they have influenced history and our lives today. After half‑term, we will become scientists! This is a thrilling topic full of discovery. We will investigate the three states of matter, explore the water cycle and have a go at our own kitchen‑chemistry investigations. Throughout the term, we will develop our sketching skills during our art lessons and apply these to create our own pieces of artwork.

Our PE lessons will take place on Thursday. PE kits (white t-shirt, red shorts and trainers) are to be kept in school and will be sent home half-termly to be washed. Please can you include a cold weather P.E. kit (plain joggers and sweatshirt) as a number of PE lessons will take place outside.

Swimming

Class 15 will be swimming on Wednesday afternoon. Children will need to come to school with a separate bag for their swimwear and towel. We walk to and from the Basildon Sporting Village, rain or shine, so ensure your child is prepared with the appropriate outdoor clothing.

With so many exciting things going on in school, there will be lots to talk about on those journeys home. Make sure you’re impressing your parents and telling them all about your learning.

Homework

All of the staff in Class 15 will work hard to ensure everybody does their best this year.

To help your child achieve and accelerate their progress, we ask for the following commitments from home:

• Listen to your child read at least four times a week and record this in their Home School Diary. Please take the time to write a small note; we will also do the same every time we hear your child read in school.
• Practice times tables and spellings regularly.
• Check out our optional homework projects at the bottom of our class page.

We are incredibly lucky to have access to some fantastic online resources, which will also support their learning too. Your child’s login details are included at the front of their Home School Diary.

Times Table Rock Stars is a fun and challenging online programme designed to help pupils master their times tables by playing the different games and answering different questions to improve their Rock speed and status. Children will earn coins for correctly answered questions which they can use to improve and upgrade their Rock Star Avatar. Just go to https://play.ttrockstars.com and use the login information inside your Home School Diary.

Oxford Owl is another excellent resource to help develop your child’s spelling skills at home. Visit https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk and use the login information inside the Home School Diary.

Please remember, if you have ANY concerns during the year then come and see us. We will always help you if we know about anything that is worrying you. We want to keep everybody at Ghyllgrove safe, happy and achieving.

Miss Heslin

Our classroom