Inspire Academy Movement
Part of the Inspire Academy Movement

Year 4 - Beavers

Year 4 Beavers

Welcome to Beaver's class page! 

Beaver

Class teacher - Miss Mills ngallivan-mills@inspiream.org.uk

Teaching Assistant -  Miss Popperwell and Mr Mann 

Farm Education / Forest School is on a  Wednesday. Children should bring in their Forest School kit every Wednesday. 

PE is on a Thursday. Children should come into school dressed in their PE kit. 

 

What are we learning this term? 

Main Experiences:

 

Mission: Spreadsheet / The Great Outdoors

During this experience, Year 4 will be learning about the features of a non-chronological report to write a report explaining why a new National Park should be created in the South-East of England. Whilst learning about topography, the water cycle and rivers, the report will describe the natural features found in the Surrey Hills, how rivers and the water cycle shape the land, and how tourism could affect the environment. 

Hook: The children logged onto Excel and explored all the features and formatting tools that could be used. 

Outcome: Mission Spreadsheet - create a spreadsheet that the children to continuously add to throughout the term linked to their Times Table Rock Stars progress.

The Great Outdoors - we are going to be creating a non-chronological report on the Surrey Hills, including information of topography, the water cycle and rivers. A workshop will be taking place on Sept 30th relating to the water cycle 

 

How can you support at home? 

Reading

Please ensure children are reading daily at home. This can be recorded in the children's reading records and will be checked regulalry by an adult in school. Further information about home reading can be found in your child's reading record. 

Times Tables

Each child has a login to Times Table Rock Stars to support them with learning their times tables. Please encourage the children to log on and practise regularly at home. We will be organising some Year 4 tournaments and competitions for Times Table Rock Stars, so keep a look out for them in the future. 

Times Tables Rock Stars: Play (ttrockstars.com) 

 

Term 1 - Winter is Looming

Winter is Looming

HOOK

To begin this Art-based experience the class had a go at some paper weaving to familiarise themselves with the weft and warp threads.

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Outcome

The children have each made a woven book mark which they can take home and use when reading at home or gift to someone special. Children have used the tabby weave technique to weave their bookmarks, some children have also deepened these skills further by using the closed slot technique to weave multiple colours on the same row and the rya technique to add tassels to the bottom of their bookmark. 

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Term 1 - Raiders to Settlers

Raiders to Settlers

HOOK

An exciting workshop (26th September) led by Viking experts that will teach the children all about life in Anglo-Saxon times and include amulet making, dressing up and a battle simulation.

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OUTCOME

The children took part in a Year 4 quiz to test their knowledge about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term 2 - Changes that Matter

Hook

 

 

Outcome

Times Tables

Times tables are extremely important in Year 4. To help with this, children have access to Times Table Rock Stars.

https://ttrockstars.com/

Here are some other useful websites to help with practising times tables:

https://urbrainy.com/mtc 

https://www.timestables.co.uk/ 

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Recommended Book List - Year 4

Max and the Millions – Ross Montgomery

Desirable – Frank Cottrell Boyce

My Brother is a Superhero – David Solomons

There’s a Werewolf in my Tent – Pamela Butchart

The 13 Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor – Jon Scie

The Peppermint Pig – Nina Bawden

Operation Gadgetman – Malorie Blackman

The Children of Green Knowe – Lucy Boston

How to train your Dragon – Cressida Cowell

Lizzie Dripping – Helen Cresswell

The Great Elephant Chase – Gillian Cross

The Twitts – Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

War Game – Michael Foreman

Toad Rage – Morris Gleitzman

The Last Castaways – Harry Horse

The Falcon’s Malteser – Anthony Horowitz

The House that Sailed Away – Pat Hutchins

Fairy Tales – Terry Jones

The Hodgeheg – Dick King Smith

The Worst Witch – Kill Murphy

The Way to Sattin Shore – Philippa Pearce

The Firework maker’s Daughter – Philip Pullman

The Suitcase Kid – Jacqueline Wilson

George’s Marvellous Medicine –Roald Dahl

Billionaire Boy – David Williams

Cliffhanger – Jacqueline Wilson

The Legend of Captain Crow’s Teeth – Eoin Colfer

The Invisible Dog – Dick King Smith

The Battle of Bubble Sqeak – Philippa Pearce

Give Peas a Chance – Morris Gleitzman

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips – Michael Morpurgo

The Yearling – Marjorie Rawlings

The Buried Crown - Ally Sherrick

Learning Experience 2023-2024

Changes that Matter!

Throughout this experience, the children are learning about the water cycle. They are also learning about the states of matter and how these are represented throughout the water cycle. The children will also be learning about the features of an explanation text in English. 

Hook:

The children learnt about what happens to materials when they are heated or cooled. We held a science experiment in which children had to find the quickest way to melt something. We also completed a whole-class evaporation experiment and found the place in school which had the highest amount of evaporation. 

Outcome:

The children will be creating an explanation text about the the process of the water cycle. These will include all the features of an explanation text. The winning one will go onto TES for educators around the world to use, to help inform and teach others. You can see a few examples of our written work below, can you spot the headings, subheadings, diagrams, formal language and technical vocabulary in our work?

 

From Settlers to Raiders!

During this experience, the children were learning about story writing and description, with a focus on expanded noun-phrases and fronted adverbials. We learnt about the lifestyles, battles and leaders of the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. The children's English outcome was then to write a descriptive narrative about the Battle of Stamford Bridge. A Battle which changed the future history of Britain and ended Viking rule.  

Our hook:

We took part in a Viking afternoon. We learnt about Vikings, raided some other classrooms and  wrote our own Kenning poems inspired by the Vikings. 

Our outcomes:

For our History outcome, we had Viking and Anglo-Saxon Day where the children from Four Elms and Maypole schools joined us for a Anglo-Saxon & Viking Quiz. 

 

Need a Tudor?

During this learning experience, we will be learning about the Tudors with a focus on Henry VIII and changes he made when he was King of England. This learning experience will be a combination of history and English and we will be applying our historical knowledge to write Henry VIII diary entries. 

Hook

We went on a trip to Leeds Castle to learn about who the Tudors were. We also learnt all about Henry VIII and the famous Fields of Cloth of Gold festival. 

Outcome

Below you can see some of our Henry VIII diary entries about the time when Henry visited France for the Field of Cloth of Gold Festival. The children have really got into the character of Henry VIII and the rivalry between him and the King of France - Francis I. To help make their diaries more authentic, they tea-stained paper and have written their work up using handwriting pen.