Welcome to Year 4! This year, you will continue to strive to be the best you can be. We will challenge ourselves in our learning and collaborate with one another. There will be lots of opportunities to excel, discover new interests and develop your skills. Together, we can achieve anything and we aspire to be brilliant.
General information: PE days: Mondays and Wednesdays. Mondays will be with the class teacher and on Wednesdays we will have yoga.
Over the course of the year children will take part in Games (invasion and net), athletics, dance, gymnastics, movement and control.
Seating/Grouping: We have groups / seats for Maths, English, Spelling and partners for Fluency work. We will try to change seating plans half termly (or earlier if required) to give children the opportunity to sit in different places or next to different people.
Rewards: We award merits for excellent work and for meeting our learner traits in school. Rewards may be individual or for the team including star class at playtime and the golden table. There is also a class reward for attendance (20 stars in the jar earns a class treat).
Homework: Homework is usually given out every Wednesday. Children then have one week and two days to complete, handing it back in by the following Monday, allowing time for marking before this is handed out again the following Wednesday. Children are expected to give in completed homework on time. If homework is completed early, children may bring this into class anytime and leave it in the homework box by the door.
Spellings will be given out every Friday to learn ready for dictated sentences / test the following Friday. Homework usually consists of:
• 5 spellings to learn; these will have already been taught in class by the time children bring them home so they are sent home for revision / consolidation. We use this strategy in class to learn new spellings:
1. Say the spelling in a ‘spelling voice’
2. Snip it into syllables
3. Sound it out and spell it.
Children will then be tested on around 6-8 spellings and 2 dictated sentences using the spellings.
• Some mental maths to learn that week e.g. times tables or going on Times Table Rock stars.
• A piece of literacy/topic /science / reading comprehension or something linked to any other subject we are learning in class that week.
• In addition, please read with your child as often as possible at home. We try to encourage children to read at home at least 4 times a week.
Please encourage your child to present their homework neatly. Quality rather than quantity! Pens used must be black or blue. Pencil is fine also. Children must not use other coloured pens / pencils to complete homework.
Reading/Handwriting/SPAG/English/Maths:
Reading: Please hear your child read at home as often as possible. This is so important to enable children to build up fluency, speed and expression in their reading.
Note to all about changing books When children are issued a new book or select one from the reading corner, they will write this on a reading record card that they keep in their reading folders.
We also monitor books children are reading to ensure variety and to ensure that appropriate texts are being chosen. Fluency sessions take place every day.
There are four fluency sessions on a text before children are expected to provide a written response to the text (e.g. comprehension) on a Friday.
In addition, children get the opportunity to read quietly throughout the week for sustained periods and time to enjoy DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read).
We also have a class novel, which is usually a multiple-copy set of a novel which we read together every day.
Handwriting: We teach handwriting as a set lesson daily and expect children to use this style consistently in their everyday writing across all subjects. We are aiming for a legible and fluent handwriting style. Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG): We teach separate spelling lessons daily. See attached sheet on the National Curriculum ‘tricky word’ spelling list for Year 3 and Year 4 children. Also, please see attached sheet which shows the spelling strategies we use in class to help children practise and learn their spellings. Children have already learnt these tricky words once in Year 3 but they get revisited again in Year 4 to consolidate learning. Though all tricky words will be revisited in class only some will be re-tested in dictated sentences. These tricky words are in addition to the spelling rules and patterns and their associated words, also taught throughout the year. As it is a Year 3/4 National spelling programme that we follow, many of the spelling rules and patterns are revisited from Year 3. However, we will endeavour wherever possible to differ the associated words.
Maths: Maths is taught 5 times per week. Each maths lesson contains a mental activity and a main activity. We use strive time to practice skills we have already learned in maths at the start of every session. Mental maths homework will be based on the week’s learning. Children also practise their Diamond Dash maths sheet daily, and get tested on these each half term to see how they are progressing with it. If they achieve the level a certificate will come home so you know they are progressing onto the next stage. Y4 children will take part in the Multiplications Tables Check (MTC) in June 2027.
Your child will be given 25 times table questions to answer on the computer and they will need to be able to enter the answer within 6 seconds. We will be practising times tables daily in school but it is also important children practise these at home so that they can build up speed.
We highly recommend children use Times Table Rockstars (TTR) as often as possible (even if this is in small bursts of 5 minutes at a time). The format of this is very similar to the MTC so will help prepare them for this as much as possible. We will also have a weekly slot in Maths for going onto TTR.
Planning: Attached is the long term plan. Please note that it is subject to change. Monitoring and Assessment: Each child has an achievement target set for the end of the year for maths, reading and writing. Formal assessments happen throughout the year. Informal assessment is ongoing. We keep records of children’s work as evidence of progress and as records of their attainment. There are reports issued throughout the year and parent consultations so that you can track your child’s progress.
Water Bottles: Please make sure your child has a water bottle containing fresh water in school each day. We encourage children to drink regularly and water bottles are kept in the porch adjacent to the classroom. If your child forgets their bottle and informs an adult, they will be offered a plastic cup to refill at the sink.
The School Website and E-safety: A useful website (see E-safety link on Class 4 page of website) which you can access called ‘Think u Know’, highlights the importance of making sure parents are aware of how children are using the internet. E-safety is taught early on in and will be revisited throughout the school year. Please also note that as parents you are allowed to put photos taken at school events onto social networking sites if they ONLY contain your own child. No other children or staff should be in the photo. Our class page on our school website also has other links to useful websites which children can access by clicking the links. You will also find our long term plans on the class 4 page of the website. X: X is usually used to show photos of what we’ve been doing in class that week. And finally…Please do email the office at jcainfo@jerryclayacademy.wakefield.sch.uk if you have any queries or need an appointment. Thank you!