We have had a busy and productive half term in Literacy! The children have enjoyed exploring a range of class texts, with a specific focus on sharpening their inference skills. It has been wonderful to hear their thoughtful answers to "why" and "how" questions during our shared reading and Storytime sessions.

To strengthen our technical writing, we have been recapping spelling patterns, prepositions, and punctuation rules. The students also showed great creativity writing from different characters' perspectives. Finally, to link with International Week, the children have been working hard on creating fact files about Brazil and the Amazon Rainforest.

Maths

In maths we have learnt about shape. We recapped different 2D shapes and discussed the difference between regular and irregular shapes. Then we learnt about different types of angles. We learnt about an angle we hadn’t been taught before, a reflex angle. We then moved on our learning on to working out the perimeter and area of a 2D shape. Finally, later in the term we looked at interpreting different types of data including bar charts and pictograms. One of the most important things when reading data is to remember to look at the key.

Geography

In our geography topic, Year 4 have been learning about Rivers. We visited the River Lea at Cody Dock as a part of our geography topic on rivers. We learnt that the River Lea is a tributary river as it flows into the River Thames. During the visit, the children explored how the River Lea (and Thames) has changed over a long period of time. The children discussed the purposes of rivers and how these have evolved over time. We explored the features of a river, such as: source, meander, delta, tributaries and mouth.

In literacy we have been learning about poetry. We explored different poems and studied poetic features such as metaphors, similes and personification. We used our innovation skills to create our own poems about courage. We thought about how we could overcome fear and how showing courage can make the future brighter. Every child showed resilience while performing their poem in front of their class and each class chose a winner. Congratulations to Xavier (4O), Teigan-Lei (4S) Amara (4DLR) and Ariah (4T) who were the Year 4 winners!

Maths

In maths this half term, we have learnt about the value of decimal points. We learnt how to convert decimals and fractions and solved a range of reasoning problems involving decimals. We also recapped the four operations and progressed to adding and subtracting with decimal numbers. We have learnt how to use column multiplication to help us solve problems with 2 and 3 digit numbers. We have used the skill of ‘striving for success’ to learn our times tables. More and more children have been achieving their silver and gold awards and many children have now begun the platinum challenge!

Topic 

In our geography lessons, Year 4 has been delving into the topic of Rivers. We have covered various aspects, including:

• The water cycle
• The features of a river
• The land use in both urban and rural areas
• How rivers can transform over time

We investigated the processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition through various activities, both in the classroom and during our time at Forest School. This year, we are excited to participate in the River of Hope project, where we will focus on ways to protect our local rivers.

This term in literacy, we have been researching our local area to write a non-chronological report all about Newham. First, we learnt about the different features of non-chronological reports and then used our teamwork skills to research different aspects of Newham. We applied our knowledge about reports into our writing and then edited and improved our writing to create a final draft. Each class has also begun reading our first whole class text; Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo, Cyborg Cat: Rise of the Parsons Road Gangby Ade Adepitan, The Sleeping Sword by Michael Morpurgo, and The BFG by Roald Dahl. In our reading lessons we have been learning to read with fluency and expression, as well as practising our prediction skills and writing character descriptions.

Maths

In maths, we have been focusing on place value. This has included how to round a number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000, multiplying and dividing numbers by 10, 100 and 1,000, and finding different ways to represent numbers. We have begun to look in more depth at estimating. We used our place value knowledge to develop strategies for estimating amounts and have been having different competitions to see who can make the most accurate estimates. The times table are really important in Year 4 so we spent some time looking for patterns and making connections between the different times tables. We had to be resilient when looking at different types of challenges and questions in lessons.

Topic

During our history topic, year 4 have been studying the Romans. We have used our history skills to place key events on a timeline and come up with different questions we would like to find the answers to. We have also learned about the origins of Rome and began to look at features of Roman society. We enjoyed a Roman Theatre Show at the end of term delivered by the Freshwater Drama Company. This included a Roman show for us to watch and two workshops about what life was like in Roman Britain. In art, we looked at Roman mosaics and designed and made our own. In computing, we used our teamwork skills to create presentations about the Romans. This was done in groups with every member of the team in charge of a different slide.

In literacy this half term we have continued to read different class texts. We have focused on our inference skills this term. During literacy lessons and in Storytime we have thought about different inference questions whilst reading. In grammar we have been recapping different word class and learnt that some words, such as dance, can be different word classes depending on the sentence. In our writing lessons we have written character descriptions and diary entries based on our class texts.

Maths

In maths we have learnt about shape. We recapped different 2D shapes and discussed the difference between regular and irregular shapes. Then we learnt about different types of angles. We learnt about an angle we hadn’t been taught before, a reflex angle. Later in the term we looked at interpreting different types of data including bar charts and pictograms. One of the most important things when reading data is to remember to look at the key. Finally, we moved on to learning how to tell the time. We learnt about analogue and digital time and began to look at the 24-hour clock.

Topic 

In our geography topic, Year 4 have been learning about Rivers. We visited the River Lea as a part of our geography topic on rivers. We learnt about where rives begin and end as well as some of the wildlife that use rivers. We also learnt that the River Lea is a tributary river as it flows into the River Thames. We collected data about the wildlife found along the River Lea. However, we also shocked about the amount of litter we found. When we came back to school, we thought about what we want the River Lea and Cody Dock to look like in the future and came up with a plan of action.

In literacy we have been writing stories about a gladiator battle. We applied our learning in History about ancient Rome to be able to create an exciting narrative to engage the reader! First of all, we planned our story, then we wrote the story in the 1^st person, as if we were entering the Amphitheatre, ready to face the gladiator. In our description, we used lots of literary features, such as similes and alliteration and tried to describe all of our senses. Innovation was the most important core skill we use as we explored ambitious vocabulary and literary features to make our writing interesting and effective.

Maths

This term we looked at dividing numbers and were introduced to using the bus stop method (compact method) to help us successfully divide larger numbers and to solve tricky division problems. We learnt that a remainder is what is left over when a number cannot be split equally into groups and practised applying this knowledge to solve reasoning problems. We also began looking at fractions by understanding how many fractions make a whole and how to find equivalent fractions.  We learnt to apply the rule “the bigger the denominator, the smaller the fraction” when comparing the size of unit fractions. We used our teamwork skills when we worked with our partners to consolidate new concepts.

Topic

Year 4 have continued to investigate the Romans throughout history lessons this term. We have been building on the initial research and knowledge gained from last term and looked in more depth at the impact the Romans had on Britain. We even invade each other’s classrooms to help us understand what an invasion would feel like. We explored what made them such a successful empire and how they came to dominate Europe and parts of Asia and north Africa. We have focused on the Curwen Core Skill of empathy, thinking about how different people might have felt about the Roman invasion. During computing lessons, we researched Boudicca, our significant person for this half term and created a presentation about her on Google Slides.

This term in literacy, we have been researching our local area to write a non-chronological report all about Newham. We learnt about the different features of non-chronological reports and then used our teamwork skills to research different aspects of Newham. We applied our knowledge about reports into our writing and then edited and improved our writing to create a final draft. We have also begun reading our first whole class text (Adolphus Tips – Michael Morpurgo, Cyborg Cat: Rise of the Parsons Road Gang- Ade Adepitan, The Sleeping Sword- Michael Morpurgo, Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson).

Maths

In maths, we have been learning all about place value. This has included how to round a number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000. We have also learnt how to multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1,000, using a place value chart to support our learning. We had to be resilient when looking at different types of challenges and questions in lessons.

Topic

During topic, year 4 have been studying Roman history. So far we have learned about the origins of Rome as well as looked at chronological order by placing key events on a timeline. We have also learned about the beginnings of Rome and features of Roman society. We got to see the remains of a Roman temple in the Mithraeum and experience what happened in Roman temples by listening to some of the Latin chanting that used to happen during Roman times in London Mithreum. We used our innovation skills to recreate what happened in the amphitheatres and to present some of the facts we learnt.

During Literacy, we have continued to finish our final class text and explored writing our own narrative, retelling the story from a different character’s perspective using the first person. This has helped us gain a deeper understanding of the books we are reading and the characters' feelings throughout. In spelling, we have been learning about words with Greek or French origin and how this affects the spelling of the word in the English language. During Grammar lessons, we have been learning more about phrases, clauses and subject verb agreement to improve our writing overall. Finally, year 4 completed their trips to Plaistow  Library and have begun the Summer Reading Challenge! This trip featured a surprise appearance from West Ham Football Club, who have promised a football signed by the entire Cup winning West Ham Team to whichever school in Newham manages to read the most books!

Maths

This term in maths, we have been recapping our basic skills using the four operations to help us solve single and multistep reasoning questions. We have also learnt how to use and recognise Roman numerals up to 100, and recognised positive and negative numbers on a number line. We then used this knowledge of positive and negative numbers to add and subtract them in reasoning style questions. We have previously learnt how to round whole numbers, and we used the same rule: “5 or more, let it soar. 4 or less, let it rest” to help us round decimal numbers to 1 and 2 decimal places. This taught us how to make more accurate estimations- especially when estimating amounts of money.

Topic

This term we have been learning about the Amazon. We began by recapping what we learned about South America during International Week and discovering more physical and human features of both North and South America. Once we had located these on a map, we moved onto comparing the Amazon River with the River Thames. Although the Amazon River is much, much bigger, we were surprised to discover that the River Thames is one of the cleanest rivers in the world! Both rivers are vital habitats for an abundance of wildlife. Finally, we looked at the environmental issue of deforestation. We learned about the impact it is having in the Amazon Rainforest and across the world. We debated whether it is the most important environmental issue in the world right now. Each class held a debate about whether deforestation is the most important environmental issue in the world or of there are more pressing environmental issues that need to be addressed.

This term in literacy the children have continued reading a whole class text, focusing on skimming and scanning, inference and character descriptions. They have also been developing their creative writing skills in preparation to plan and write the final writing assessment of the year- a narrative to describe the Amazon jungle! The children have recapped and consolidated their understanding of using apostrophes, direct speech with inverted commas and literary features. They have been doing short drama activities to inspire their writing, which has been very beneficial! 

Maths 

This term in maths, the children have enjoyed a range of practical activities as they have learned about units of measure and money. The children weighed a range of objects as they learned about kilograms and grams and comparing the different masses of objects. They then moved onto capacity, first estimating the amount of water in different vessels, before measuring it accurately. When we learned about money, we made sure that we spoke about the value and importance of money, as well as learning to recognise different amounts of money and look at a range of reasoning problems. Well done to Huryra, Aaron and Clarissa were chosen to represent the school in the ‘Count on us’ London maths challenge this term! 

Topic 

This term in Topic we have been learning all about Rivers. The children have explored and then created their own diagrams showing how a river is formed and labeling the different parts of a river such as: the source, meander, oxbow lakes, river mouth and deltas. They researched how the River Thames has changed over time and created their own fact sheets based on their inquiries. Finally, we explored why people choose to settle near rivers. They created their own maps to show which human features would likely be found at which part of a river, creating a key to explain why. To embed this learning we have been making links to previous lessons such as: our Geography field study when the children walked along the banks of the River Thames, our Roman Topic from Autumn 2 when we looked at the settlement of Rome next to the River Tiber, our Science knowledge about the water cycle to think about why the river source is usually found on high ground and our PSHE 'effects on the environment lessons’ to explore erosion and flooding.

During Literacy, we have continued to read a whole class text, where we have linked our skimming and scanning skills and inference skills using the A.P.E writing format (Answer, Proof, Explain). This has helped us gain a deeper understanding of the books we are reading and the characters' feelings throughout. In grammar, we have been consolidating our understanding and application of conjunctions to extend and improve our sentences. These sentences linked to International Week, where we learnt about the various species of animals that live in the Amazon rainforest. We have also looked at identifying prepositions and determiners. 

We also celebrated World Book Day where we got to share the books we love to read at home!

Maths 

This term in Maths, we have been working with BIDMAS to understand the order in which to attempt complex Maths stories, including: brackets, combination problems and working systematically. We have also been learning about  shapes and angles within them, as well as calculating the area and perimeter of a 2D shape. We have explored data and the different ways we can show or share data through bar charts, pie charts and line graphs (this has been linked to our Geography fieldwork too). We have begun to use key vocabulary when talking about data including explicit and implicit information.

Topic 

This term for our geography topic, we have been carrying out fieldwork. The children went to Battersea Park to carry out a comparison of Newham and Chelsea. Before carrying out the fieldwork, we looked at data and research about the two areas. This included levels of pollution and greenery. During the field trip, we made our own conclusions about the area, rating the levels of cleanliness, greenery and other aspects. In geography lessons we then discussed how our findings compared with the research and presented the information we gathered. We also made observations about the river Thames on our fieldwork trip, to introduce our new  topic on rivers. 

In literacy we have been learning about poetry. We explored different poems and studied poetic features such as metaphors, similes and personification. We used what we learnt to create our own poems about resilience. We thought about our own experiences and when we have had to overcome barriers. We used these experiences to think about what resilience looks like to us and used a range of poetic techniques to put these images in the reader’s mind. Every child performed their poem in front of their class and each class chose a winner. Congratulations to Phoebe-Grace (4A), Sufyaan (4C) Jasmine (4G), Alice (4M) who were the Year 4 winners!

Maths 

In maths this term, we have been recapping the four operations and using our reasoning skills to solve word problems. We have also learnt how to use column multiplication to help us solve problems with 2 and 3 digit numbers. We also learnt how to use and apply the commutative and distributive law. We have loved taking part in the “Count on us” challenge day which allowed us to apply our problem solving skills along with our mathematical knowledge by taking part in some challenging games including dominoes, T- shapes, pentominoes, code breaking and the 24 game. We learnt that maths is all about problem solving and that those problems don’t just involve numbers!

Topic 

In topic, Year 4 have been learning about the Ancient Kingdom of Benin, located in modern day Nigeria. This involved a trip to the British Museum where we looked at a variety of primary sources and artefacts. Even though we loved seeing the artefacts, it also gave us some time to consider and discuss if it is ethical that these items are in London, not Nigeria? We ended our unit by writing a letter to the British Museum to express our opinion about whether or not the artefacts should be returned. 

Maths
In maths, we have been learning all about place value. This has included how to round a number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000. We have also learnt how to multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1,000, using a place value chart to support our learning. You count the number of 0’s in a number and move it that many spaces to the left or to the right, it depends on if your number is getting bigger or smaller, and make sure you don’t forget about your placeholders or the decimal point!

Topic

During topic, year 4 have been studying Roman history. We have explored the three phases of the Roman civilisation (Kingdom, Republic, Empire), the origin stories of Rome (legend compared to historical accounts) and the Roman invasion of Britain. Throughout this topic we have compared Roman democracy to our own modern equivalent and questioned why historical learning is important to understand our own society and culture today. This learning has been linked throughout our curriculum, specifically to computing (working collaboratively to create presentations through online shared files) and will inform a piece of extended writing during literacy. One of our highlights so far has been retelling the legend of Romulus and Remus, with great dramatic effect!

As part of our learning we have explored river features and also learnt how rivers can change over time.To support us in our learning, we visited the River Thames at Greenwich to go mud larking. We searched the banks of the river to retrieve interesting artefacts from hundreds of years ago. In the Victorian times, children who were the same age as us had to mud lark to provide for their families.

As well as mud larking, we learnt that the Thames is a tidal river, which is why ancient artefacts are washed up on the shore. We had the opportunity to look at artefacts from Victorian and Roman periods. It was fascinating! When we got back to school, we used our experience to help us write a newspaper report about mud larking.