Class 4 Newsletter – Autumn Term 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to a new school year, I hope you are as excited as I am to be back together. We are quickly settling into routines old and new ready for lots of hard work this coming term. The children are excited to begin the new year in Class 4! Below is a breakdown of everything that we will be covering and what you need to know for the coming term.

In maths we are recapping place value. We will be exploring Roman Numerals, writing numbers from decimals up to a billion, understanding the value of each digit, and rounding numbers to help with estimation. Next, the children will learn about factors, multiples and prime numbers, identifying patterns in number. Before half term, we will ensure that children are confident with the formal written methods of addition and subtraction as well as mental strategies. After half term, we will explore multiplication. Children will learn a formal written method for multiplication including multiplying by decimals. Finally, before Christmas, we will begin exploring fractions including finding a fraction of an amount, converting between fractions, decimals and percentages, and adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions. Children will have a daily 10-minute Schofield and Sims mental maths session.

In English, we will have a daily 30-minute Comprehension Bug session where the children will read a range of age-appropriate texts, answering a range of comprehension questions. We will be using Spelling Shed alongside spelling games to practise the year 5/6 spelling list. We will have a written test each Friday. In writing, we will plan, draft and edit different text types, focusing closely on the purpose and audience of our writing. We will be basing most of our writing on our topic, The Mayan Civilisation, our first class book is ‘Oh Maya Gods!’ by Maz Evans. We will also use Literacy Shed video clips and a range of texts to inspire our writing. The children will write for a range of different purposes – to entertain, to inform, to persuade and to discuss. 

In Science, we are looking at electricity where the children will learn all about different types of electric circuits. They will learn about the voltage of cells and the use of switches in a circuit, they will learn to use symbols to draw circuits and later in the half term we will be designing an electronic board game. Next half term we will be exploring light – how light travels, how we see light and how shadows are formed. The children will be using all five types of investigation – pattern seeking, classification and grouping, observing over time, fair testing and scientific research.

In History we are learning about the Mayan Civilisation. We will begin with some research on the history of Mexico – closely linked with our Geography locational knowledge. We will learn about Mayan life including life for children, games and jobs, the importance of farming, ancient artefacts, and Mayan masks.

Geography will be taught discretely. This term we will be focusing on locational knowledge, where the children will learn to locate continents, countries, and key cities on a map. We will then focus on North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions and the key physical and human characteristics.

All Art and DT work will be based around our Science and History topics of Electricity and the Mayans – designing an electronic board game, designing and making a Mayan mask. In computing, we will be learning about E-Safety ensuring that all the children understand how to remain safe online. We will also continue to use the IT programme ‘Purple Mash’.

In music, all children will learn to play the guitar or ukulele and they will use their voices with increasing control. Through PSHE & C and ‘My Happy Mind’ we will learn about healthy lifestyles, exercise, the importance of sleep, managing time online, mental health and relationships. In RE, the children will consider what it means to be a Muslim in Britain today. They will also consider what can be done to reduce racism and if religion can help. In French, the children will revisit and review basic French vocabulary and phrases linked to everyday scenarios, considering the themes ‘my family’ and ‘let’s celebrate’. 

Children will soon have a session with Dave from Skip2bfit, where they will learn how to lead morning exercises including Wake Up Shake Up and HIIT training. Class 4 children will also be given training to run sports activities on a lunch time as play leaders, which will be planned on a rota. Mr Swankie will be leading a lunch time sporting club each Tuesday and all children are welcome to join in. He will also be teaching Class 4 on a Tuesday afternoon, firstly focusing on invasion games and later in the term focusing on dance.

We are continuing with our reading reward scheme in Class 4, where the children are rewarded each time they read and write a reflective comment in their reading journal. When the children have read 80 times in total, they will receive a bookmark and 100 times in total they will receive a new book.

Please remember to write any notes for me in the children’s blue planners rather than reading journals. These planners are designed to promote independence and organisation.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We are looking forward to our new year together!

Miss Rowling and Mrs Taylor.