Week 7

What a busy and brilliant week of learning we have had in Year 4! The children have shown fantastic dedication, teamwork and enthusiasm across the curriculum. Here is a look at what we have been up to:

Writing

This week, we tackled the rules of direct speech! To help fix these rules firmly in our minds, we learned a fun Year 4 speech chant, which was a huge hit in the classroom.

Using our novel Who Let the Gods Out?, the children applied these rules to write animated dialogue between the main characters, Elliot and Virgo. In our final piece, we blended speech with narrative description - challenging ourselves to include fronted adverbials and rich adjectives to build atmosphere. We were incredibly impressed by the high standard of writing and the exceptional effort shown by everyone!

Maths

Building on their Year 3 foundation of 3-digit subtraction, pupils stepped up to 4-digit numbers this week. We systematically built our skills:

• Starting with simple subtraction (no exchanging).

• Progressing to single exchanges.

• Mastering complex calculations involving multiple exchanges.

The children worked hard on their arithmetic fluency and demonstrated brilliant resilience when applying their skills to multi-step reasoning and problem-solving questions.

History & Reading

Ancient Greece has truly captured Year 4’s imagination!

We investigated the famous Battle of Marathon. We explored why the Athenians were the clear underdogs against the Persians and discovered how the clever phalanx formation led them to victory. The children then debated which factor was most crucial to the Athenian success, sharing their opinions with great confidence.

In reading we delved into the legendary myth of Pandora’s Box. We have been blown away by how much background knowledge the children already possess about Ancient Greece! We also enjoyed our quiet visit to the school library to exchange books and relax with a good read on the comfy bean bags.

Science

In Science, we continued exploring states of matter by investigating melting points. The children learned that different solids melt when heated to specific temperatures. To put this into practice, we conducted an investigation melting butter and chocolate - discovering firsthand that different materials require different amounts of heat to change state!

PE

We enjoyed two energetic PE sessions this week:

• Leeds Rhinos Visit -  Our visiting coaches helped us put a half-term’s worth of football skills into action as we moved into playing mini-games. It was brilliant to see the children's footwork, control and sportsmanship shine on the pitch!

• Fundamental Skills - In our second lesson, we focused on speed, agility, and teamwork through high-tempo relay races (collecting and returning equipment) and an agility tag game where teams had to work together to grab bibs.

 

Week 6

Year 4 have had another brilliant week of learning!

Writing

This week, the children continued practicing how to write fronted adverbials using the correct punctuation, incorporating them into their stories based on Who Let the Gods Out? Working collaboratively with their learning partners, the class reviewed the writing pieces they have been developing over the last two weeks, making thoughtful edits and improvements. We were so impressed by how well the children supported one another throughout this process. They then wrote up their final pieces, paying close attention to presentation, correct handwriting size and joined letters. Everyone should be extremely proud of their final pieces - we were blown away by the effort put in!

Maths

In Maths, Year 4 have been adding 4-digit numbers both with and without exchanges. They used place value charts to support their learning and recapped the column addition method learned in Year 3. We were delighted by the fantastic attitudes and determined mindsets shown across all Maths lessons as the children worked hard to master these methods.

PE 

We had another exciting visit from Leeds Rhinos to continue building our football skills, focusing on attacking and defending strategies while keeping control of the ball. In our second PE session, team games focused on collecting and balancing cones & beanbags. The children showed wonderful respect and encouragement toward their teammates throughout every activity.

Science

It was an action-packed week in Science with two hands-on experiments:

1. Evaporation Fair Test: We set up a fair test altering just one variable - temperature - to investigate whether water evaporates faster in warmer temperatures. We will be observing and recording the results over the coming weeks.

2. Condensation Observation: We observed water vapour condensing as it hit a cold surface, watching it transform from a gas back into a liquid state.

Year 4 have had a wonderful week and should be very proud of the hard work and positive learning attitudes they brought to school every single day!

 

Week 5

Maths

In maths, we began by consolidating our place value knowledge, focusing on rounding numbers to the nearest 100 and 1000. We then started our new addition and subtraction unit! The children started by adding and subtracting 1s, 10s, 100s and 1000s - they then revisited the formal written method they learned in Year 3. Using concrete resources to support their understanding, they have been successfully adding up to 4-digit numbers without exchanges.

Writing

Inspired by our class story, Who Let the Gods Out?, we have started constructing detailed paragraphs with rich vocabulary. The children worked hard on expanding their sentences by incorporating expanded noun phrases and fronted adverbials to add detail, setting and flair to their writing.

Science

We explored the concepts of evaporation and condensation. Each group conducted a hands-on experiment using a cup of warm water covered by another cup to trap the warm air and observe evaporation. By placing an ice cube on top, they rapidly cooled the rising water vapour, observing gas turn back into liquid water droplets right before their eyes!

PE

We were delighted to welcome back coaches from Leeds Rhinos for our PE session! The children continued to hone their agility, focusing on moving quickly while maintaining complete control of the ball.

Outdoor Learning & Walking Curriculum

A huge highlight of the week was our walk at Ilkley Moor! As part of our walking curriculum, both classes tackled a loop of just under 5 miles to the 12 Apostles. We were so impressed by their determination, positive attitudes and enthusiasm for spending the entire morning exploring the outdoors together.

Overall, it has been a fantastic week full of curiosity and brilliant teamwork. From hands-on scientific discoveries in the classroom to tackling nearly 5 miles across the moorlands, the children have demonstrated wonderful resilience and enthusiasm throughout.

 

Week 4

It has been another busy and exciting week of learning in Year 4!

In Maths, the children have been hard at work mastering place value by comparing and ordering numbers up to 10,000, as well as rounding to the nearest 10 and 100. We also stepped back in time to tackle Roman numerals; we were hugely impressed by everyone's determination as the class decoded and converted them into recognisable numbers.

Our literary journey continued in Writing, where Year 4 drew inspiration from our class text, Who Let the Gods Out?. The children used imaginative expanded noun phrases to craft wonderfully detailed scenes and characters.

The Ancient Greek theme carried over into History, where we compared the rival city-states of Athens and Sparta. After discovering what life was like for the residents of each state, the children used their new knowledge to design artwork-filled shields representing both sides. We were delighted by the curiosity and attention to detail shown across both classes.

Creative hands were also at work in Art, where the children practiced shaping both pinch pots and coil pots out of clay. Everyone has now chosen their preferred technique, which they will use to craft their final clay pot in a couple of weeks!

We had a active week in PE with two fantastic visitors. First, coaches from the Leeds Rhinos returned to help us develop our football skills, focusing on ball control, agility and reacting quickly under pressure. Later in the week, we were lucky enough to be visited by the Skipping Festival for a refresher on the skips we first learned in Year 2. Both classes demonstrated incredible determination and a fantastic positive attitude - especially when tackling tricky challenges like the 'pretzel' skip!

Well done to all of Year 4 for another week of brilliant effort and enthusiasm!

 

Week 3

What a fantastic, action-packed week of learning we have had across the curriculum in Year 4!

In Maths, the children continued building a strong foundation in place value up to 10,000. They worked hard on learning to flexibly partition these large numbers, as well as accurately calculating 1, 10, 100, and 1,000 more or less.

Our young authors took on the role of editors in Writing, working collaboratively to enhance well-known stories. By carefully selecting and adding powerful adjectives and vivid verbs, they succeeded in bringing their descriptive passages to life.

In Science, we launched our exciting new topic on states of matter with hands-on investigation! The children observed dynamic state changes first-hand by watching ice cubes melt and investigating the precise process of how liquid water freezes.

It was an active week in PE, as coaches from the Leeds Rhinos visited us once again to help hone our football skills. We were incredibly impressed by how every child worked to build their confidence and individual technical ability, regardless of their prior experience. Alongside footwork, we focused on teamwork, agility, and spatial awareness - putting these skills to the test in a high-energy game of Treasure Island, where teams competed to collect the most treasure without being tagged by a pirate!

Language learning was another highlight, as we rounded off the week by practicing our Spanish vocabulary. Our focus this half term is on phonics sounds and we have been delighted by the impressive recall and knowledge retained from previous units across both classes.

Finally, we have maintained a steady focus each day on Handwriting, concentrating on correct letter formations and standard joins. The children have shown a fantastic, reflective attitude toward their presentation - consistently seeking out small tweaks they can make to ensure every piece of work represents their very best effort.

Well done, Year 4, for showing such brilliant enthusiasm across every subject this week!

 

Week 2

It has been another busy and fantastic week of learning in Year 4!

In Maths, the children deepened their understanding of place value up to 1,000. They worked on flexibly partitioning numbers and accurately plotting values on a number line. To keep our mathematical recall sharp, we also created and performed catchy chants to boost fluency in our 3 and 4 times tables!

Inspired by our class text, The Lost Thing, Year 4 challenged themselves in Writing to expand simple sentences by incorporating descriptive adjectives, expressive adverbs and prepositional phrases. Alongside crafting vivid imagery, we focused heavily on mastering sentence essentials - ensuring capital letters and full stops were used accurately while taking immense pride in the presentation of every piece of work.

Our creative journey took an exciting step in Art with the launch of our new half-term topic exploring the work of Grayson Perry and his inspiration drawn from Ancient Greek pottery. The intricate detail and care shown in the children’s artist studies were truly impressive!

We enjoyed two dynamic PE sessions this week. First, we welcomed back our special guest coaches from the Leeds Rhinos for a skill-building football session focused on ball control, passing and gameplay designed to build stamina and agility. In our second session, we shifted focus to outdoor team building. Working in small groups with maps, the children were tasked with locating hidden items scattered across the playground. To succeed, groups had to stick together and listen closely to one another. While some found the navigation tricky, it proved to be a fantastic opportunity to practice clear communication, patience and ensuring every teammate felt valued.

In addition to our active subjects, each class enjoyed dedicated quiet time in the School Library. It was wonderful to see the children so engrossed in their reading, sharing recommendations and selecting fresh books to take home.

We are thoroughly impressed with the outstanding effort, positive attitudes and wonderful work Year 4 continue to demonstrate every day!

 

Week 1

What a brilliant first week back for Year 4!

The children have made a fantastic start to the new school year and have thrown themselves into their learning with huge enthusiasm.

We started off the term with an immersive Ancient Greek Day. The children discovered all sorts of fascinating facts, investigated real artifacts and made brilliant predictions about how each item was used in history. They also got active playing traditional Greek games and showed wonderful creativity by designing their very own pottery featuring intricate patterns.

In maths, we recapped key Year 3 concepts. We had a particular focus on times tables recall - learning fun new chants and playing energetic games to build our speed and confidence!

We have also launched our new Reading and Spelling Journals this week! These have now been sent home and are ready to use. Please remember that journals should be brought back to school every Friday.

Thank you for a wonderful first week, Year 4 - keep up the amazing work!