Year 4
Miss Ward and Mr Carter-Brown welcome you to Year 4!
What a fantastic start to Year 4, well done everyone!
Please see below for key information about your learning, including a termly overview of what we will be covering in Year 4! Thank you to parents for your continued support 
Dates for your diary:
Tuesday 17th December 2019: Presentation of story sacks at Stafford Library (info to follow)
Key Information:
Homework: Homework is given out on a Friday and is due in the following Wednesday. Children will be given alternate maths and English tasks either via ActiveLearn (accessible via computer, tablet, smartphone etc.) or on a worksheet in their books. They will also receive a spelling sheet that is also to be completed as homework. If a child forgets or does not complete their homework on more than one occasion during a half-term then they will have to complete during catch-up.
https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/login?e=-1&c=0
If completing activities electronically via ActiveLearn is an issue, please contact me.
Reading: As Dr Seuss once said, “The more you read, the more you know, the more you learn, the more places you'll go!” It is important that children are regularly reading both in and outside of school. Please aim to read with your child at minimum of 3 times a week and please sign in their reading diary. As children in Y4 are growing in independence, they can read to themselves and record this in their reading diary, please can this still be signed by an adult. Reading diaries will be checked every Monday so please ensure they are in school on this day.
Spellings: Children will be tested every Wednesday. Spellings are given out as part of weekly homework every Friday and the spelling sheet is due in on a Wednesday. Children are expected to complete all 4 practises and sentence activities on the sheet.
PE: Year 4’s PE days are Wednesday and Friday. Please ensure children have both an indoor and outdoor kit available in school as we approach the winter months. Earrings need to be removed before a PE lesson. If children are unable to take earrings out themselves then earrings need to please be taken out at home on a PE day.
Times Tables
All Y4 children nationally will have their times tables formally tested in the Summer Term of Year 4 from 2020. For more information, please visit: https://www.theschoolrun.com/new-primary-school-times-tables-tests-explained
It is a statutory expectation that by the end of Year 4 children will fluently know their times tables to 12x12. Therefore alongside work done in school, it is important that children are also practising their times tables at home. It would be greatly appreciated if when testing your child on their times tables that they are asked in a random order (e.g. 3x4, 7x4, 10x4 etc.) to encourage children to know the times table facts quickly and fluently. In school, the approach used is to say the full number sentence (e.g. “1 times 4 is 4, 2 times 4 is 8…) so that it becomes more memorable when asked at random.
Below are links to websites offering songs and games to support your child in learning their times tables.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=times%20tables
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/times-table-collection/z4vv6v4
Year 4’s Autumn Term Vehicle:
Once Upon a time!
Year 4 children are becoming toy makers during the Autumn Term and will be designing, creating and presenting their own story sacks, which we intend to donate to our Nursery and Reception classes for the younger members of our school to use and enjoy! The children in Year 4 will be writing and illustrating the stories, recording an audio version, making props, costumes, puppets and games based on their fairy-tale story. We can’t wait to see what they create!
Here are some examples of what story sacks look like...
Quentin Blake Illustrations - Y4 have produced some outstanding sketches in the style of illustrator Quentin Blake, famous for his drawings in Roald Dahl's books!