Football skills
This half term, Year 4 are lucky to have a football coach teaching them in PE. The children have been focusing on acquiring, developing, using and applying skills.
This week’s football focused on passing and receiving the ball. The children will complete a range of drills and games to help their develop the correct technique for passing and receiving the ball both with and without pressure.
Living and Learning: I know the ingredients of a happy and healthy friendship.
We LOVE to read!
A love for reading can be hugely valuable for children. Each week, we have a ‘Book Club’ lesson. During this, the children are given opportunities to develop a desire to read. The children are able to select their own reading material and enjoy spending time in our relaxed and comfortable book area.
Help at home
Children who may not be interested in reading will have subjects and topics that they are excited about, such as sports, movies or animals. Discussing books on a topic or subject that the child finds exciting will likely whet their appetite for that book. When children find reading fun and enjoyable, they are likely to repeatedly spend time with books, become engaged readers, and gain the benefits of leisure reading.
Please note that, if your child is reading as part of a group, it is essential that they have read to their given target page before the next session. If this has not been completed, it has an impact on the rest of that particular group and can create unnecessary embarrassment.
Help at home with times tables
By the end of Year 4, all children are expected to be able to recall their multiplication tables up to 12 x 12, fluently (being able to answer times tables questions accurately and quickly, without having to work out the answers). In class, we rehearse these in many different ways and it really helps children if this learning is continued at home.
How can I support my child in learning their multiplication tables facts?
Little and often is best and make times tables learning fun. Some ideas include: climb stairs counting in multiples, play verbal times tables games; listen to and learn times tables songs; take it in turns to
say different times tables in funny voices, i.e. a lions voice; play on-line maths games and use times tables grids.
Times Table Rock Stars is a fun, interactive way to support your child in learning their times tables.
Times table grids – no technology needed!
Multiplication grids are an essential feature in the classroom. These can be used at home and a free template can be downloaded here. https://thirdspacelearning.com/resources/resource-ks1-ks2-times-tables-grid-printable-pack/
The children are very competent at using these grids and could use them to test someone at home!
Start with columns and rows headed in numerical order. Children race to fill in their blank times tables grid as quickly as possible (noting down the time taken to do so to allow them to see if they can improve on their time during future times table grid races). Once your child has mastered the
times tables in order, randomise the column and row headings on the children’s blank times tables grids. There are lots more ideas about how times tables grids can be used on the internet.
Using arrays
Multiplication arrays provide a simple visual model that helps children to understand the concept of multiplication. A multiplication array is simply an arrangement of rows or columns that matches a multiplication equation. You can make arrays out of objects or pictures, and you can use any sort of shape. Look around your home. Do you have any household objects that show arrays?
We made amazing magnet games!
To finish our forces and magnets topic, Years 3 and 4 created some games using magnetic force.
Their favourite was the fishing game where they put some magnetic tape onto a rod and a paperclip inside a fish. They explained they knew that the tape would be attracted to the paper clip, so we could catch some fish!
As we did such a great job, we went and showed Reception our work.
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Help at home: Can your child explain how they created their game? Can they explain what we mean by magnets and how they attract and repel?
Meeting an author
Tom Palmer virtual visit
Today, the children had a virtual visit from Tom Palmer (and his dog Finn) who is an author that writes children’s books.
Tom began by talking about how he got into writing…
As a child, Tom didn’t enjoy reading, didn’t think he was any good at it and didn’t like it until his mum tricked him into it by using football! He began to read comics and newspapers about football and this helped him practise his reading. Tom found that the more he read, the more he enjoyed it!
His love for reading then inspired him to become an author and his ideas for different books come mainly from football, animals and war. “Write about what you love,” said Tom.
Question time!
Some of the children had the opportunity to ask Tom a question such as;
How long does it take for you to write a book?
It depends! Some books take 6 weeks to write and some take 6 months… it depends what I’m writing about and how long the book is.
What gave you inspiration for ‘Arctic Star’?
My wife used to work on HMS Belfast so her stories about the ship inspired me to write about a warship.
Why have you set some of your stories in Leeds?
I set some of my stories in Leeds because I’m from Leeds! Writing about somewhere that I know makes it easier as I can add more detail to my stories.
Have you travelled to the places you have written about?
Yes, I have been inspired by the different countries I have visited. However, travelling around the world is very expensive!
Help at home by researching Tom Palmer’s website. Find out more about the author and explore some of his fantastic books. https://tompalmer.co.uk/
Living and Learning: I know the importance of staying hydrated.
Year 4 have been discussing the importance of hydration.
breathingsweatingurinatingdiarrhoeasickness
- dizziness or light-headedness.
- headache.
- tiredness.
- dry mouth, lips and eyes.
- passing small amounts of urine infrequently (less than three or four times a day)
- Water is good for the body – keeps joints, bones and teeth healthy, helps the blood circulate, and can help kids maintain a healthy weight into adulthood. Being well hydrated improves mood, memory and attention in children. Check out our learning below.
- Pack a water bottle for school and when you go out. Try a frozen water bottle in summer.
- Encourage your child to drink water before, after and during physical activity.
- Always offer water with meals and snacks.
- Encourage your child to drink water, even if they don’t like it!
Year 3 and 4 went down to the woods today…
This week, along with Born of the Forest, Year 3 and 4 ventured out to a classroom with no walls! Check out how we got on exploring, investigating and learning all about St James’ Woodland.
Be sure to scroll through our time outdoors and chat to your child about it – what did they think of their time outdoors? Did they learn anything new? What was the best bit of their session?
Each Friday, your child will be spending 90 mins in the woodland, whatever the weather – please ensure they bring appropriate clothing.
Carnival Music Day
We were so excited to be able to meet Dave who came to do a workshop with us around our new history topic, carnivals!
We started by doing some call and response using clapping. We learnt we had to have group cohesion to ensure we were all clapping at the same time and could really feel the rhythm we were creating by using our bodies.
Dave taught us about the instruments used by the Yoruba tribe in West Africa. This tribe were invaded by European countries and transported as slaves to the Caribbean. This was known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We will be learning more about this in the upcoming weeks.
The Drums were hollow so the sound can vibrate and get out of the bottom. Tight rope is used to hold the top in place which is made from goat skin.
We learnt the best way to hit a drum so we did not hurt ourselves.
After splitting into four groups, we used our drums in different ways to create a thunder storm.
We then looked at some serdo drums which were much larger and much deeper.
In the afternoon, we created a performance for the whole school using different instruments. Check out our performance here.
‘Loidis Ledes Leeds’
Year 4 have begun a new class novel called ‘Loidis Ledes Leeds’ written by Tom Palmer. This five part story follows the adventures of three pupils across Leeds and across time.
Iron Age Romans Anglo Saxons Vikings Now
The characters travel through historical periods and uncover some VERY exciting facts about the city of Leeds. The historical finds can be visited today, if you fancy an afternoon out.
There are two ways to enjoy this story. These are via a PDF document and online. The children have really enjoyed listening to the author narrate the first few chapters.
https://tompalmer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Leeds-story-2016-full.pdf
The first historical adventure ends in Barwick in Elmet, Leeds where the children discover the remains of a large Iron Age hillfort.
Help your child by sharing this story and read (or listen to ) the next chapter at home. Encourage your child to research each historical find and the period of history they originate from.
