Year 4 Newsletter

Spring Term (2) 2016

Welcome back! We hope you had a lovely half term and are feeling refreshed and ready to start a new
half term! As always, we have a busy and exciting half term ahead. This half term we continue to work
alongside trainee teacher Mr Moss who is really enjoying his time in Year 4.
Listed below are some of the things Y4 will be learning about during the next half term.
English
To begin with this half term we will be looking at Fantasy stories. In this unit
children will read and respond to fantasy texts with various settings. We will
explore the structure of fantasy stories and write features of fantasy texts.
Finally children will plan, speak and write their own fantasy stories.
Next we will be moving on to working with stories that raise issues and
dilemmas. We will explore the themes of relationships, suspicion and trust as
we read the story Lost or Stolen? by Narinder Dharmi. Children will build on
work done creating tension and building a character, as they plan and write
their own chapter for a dilemma story.

Ways to help

We are aiming to get the children to read five times a week. Please sign in the reading diary when
your child has read. Allow time for your child to discuss what they have been reading. What did they
enjoy about the book? Who was their favourite character? Why? How was the setting described?
How did the author maintain your interest? etc.

Maths
We will begin the term by looking again at mental addition and subtraction and
then move on to formal written methods of addition and subtraction. We will then
explore statistics as we learn about manipulating data with bar charts, pictograms
and line graphs. We will use formal written methods for multiplication before
moving onto working with decimals to two decimal places. Finally we will develop
our understanding of measures as we explore perimeter and area.

Ways to help

Continue to practise recall of times tables facts, including related division facts. Tables tests
every Monday Week 1 - 3x, week 2 - 6x, week 3 - 4x, week 5 - 8x, week 6 - 7x, week 7- mixed.
Does your child know these? 10mm=1cm, 100cm=1m, 1000m=1km? Can they convert from one to the
other, 3.5km=3500m?
Can your child tell the time to the nearest minute?

Science

This half term we are learning about States of Matter. We will compare and group materials
according to whether they are a solid, a liquid or a gas. We will observe how some materials change
state when they are heated or cooled and research the temperature at which this happens. We will
look at the water cycle, and explore the part played by evaporation and condensation.

Ways to help

What solids, liquids or gases can you find around your home? Why not have a go at some baking and
see which materials change state when they are mixed, heated or cooled? Take a picture of what
you have done and bring it into school!
Creative Curriculum
Geography - North America
Computing Databases
RE Christianity - Sacrifice
Art Painting landscapes
PE - Dance and Gymnastics
French Pocket Money
Music North American jazz music & learning the recorder
PSHE Anti Bullying
Reminders

Homework is handed out on Tuesday and should be handed in by the following Monday.
Spellings are given out on Friday for a test the following Friday.
PE continues to be on Monday each week and also a Tuesday or Thursday. Please ensure your
child has full PE kit in school, long hair is tied back and any earrings are removed.
Reading books should be in school every day. Please record any independent reading done at
home.
Library day is Monday where your child has the opportunity to borrow a book to read and return
the following week.
Dont forget to visit our class blog with your child to have a look at some of the things we have
been up to! This can be found at http://harrisprimaryschool.net/

Thank you for your continued support, please do not hesitate to contact either of us if there is
something you wish to discuss either in person, by phone or via email at

s.holt@harris.lancs.sch.uk
j.hunt@harris.lancs.sch.uk
Kind Regards
Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Holt