The final week of our first Autumn term has arrived and yet again Miss Marsh and I are very proud of the children's learning and attitudes. This has also been a very special week as we have celebrated Harvest. In our KS2 Harvest assembly, the children did a wonderful job of reciting our Harvest poem entitled 'Harvest Moon'. I was beyond proud to watch Manatees perform this poem as they did such a marvellous job. Well done, Manatees!

Grammar

This week in Grammar we have focused on fronted adverbials to help to vary how we start our sentences. This was a really useful lesson to enable us to write more cohesively and avoid repetition. We looked at 4 different types of fronted adverbials: time, manner, reason and place. We then applied what we had learnt by creating sentences that we could use in our independent write using fronted adverbials.

Writing

In Writing this week we continued to prepare for our final independent write of our first Autumn term. We began the week by looking at how we can effectively use short sentences to build tension. We linked this to our previous learning of including short question sentences and onomatopoeia to hook a reader. On Wednesday, we then considered how to use pronouns to avoid repetition to help us write cohesively. On this day in particular Manatees produced some absolutely amazing writing which really flowed and engaged me as the reader. On Thursday we then planned our independent write where we created our own solution to the problem in which our main character Jub faces in the text. We discussed some lovely ideas, and I cannot wait to read the children's

Arithmetic

In Arithmetic this week we continued with subtraction when exchanging. It was lovely to see so many children making great progress with this as it becomes particularly tricky when we need to exchange more than once in a subtraction calculation.

Maths

In Maths this week we started a new topic. We have learnt all about length and perimeter. We began the week by looking at length in particular adding lengths. This is a really useful skill to prepare use for our later lessons based on perimeter. Once we were secure in adding lengths (including using conversion) we then moved on to finding the perimeter using grids. This was a relatively straight forward lesson as we had grids to help us to calculate the perimeter of a range of shapes. Later on in the week, we looked at calculating missing lengths of rectilinear shapes. We used bar models to help us to do this and I was so impressed with Manatees determination and excellence shown in this lesson. 

Science

In Science this week we had out final lesson in our topic 'Animals including Humans'. Y4 have thoroughly enjoyed this topic. This week we learnt all about the human digestive system. This was certainly the trickiest lesson so far in our Science as there were lots of scientific vocabulary to consider. It was fascinating to learn how food travels all the way through our body from when it first enters our body via the mouth to when it leaves our body as faeces. Miss Nisa has been so impressed with Manatees work this half term, so a huge well-done Manatees, you continue to make me proud.

History

Unfortunately, this week was our last lesson in our much-loved History topic 'Alexander the Great'. This week we learnt all about the wonderful library of Alexandria. Y4 Manatees really enjoyed learning all about the legacy in which Alexander had left behind which really proved how great he was. We learnt about some really interesting types of knowledge that was kept in the library of Alexandria. Some examples of this knowledge include knowledge about mathematics, astronomy and the human body. Y4 Manatees have excelled in this topic, and I have really enjoyed teaching this topic too. I look forward to learning about some more fascinating History after half term.

Geography

This week in Geography we concluded our Population topic by learning all about Welsh and British identity. We learnt that the national flower of Wales is the daffodil, and that Welsh people celebrate St David's Day every March. We discussed how important it is to be proud of your identity and it was great to see how Welsh people celebrate being Welsh. We also looked at the sport of rugby as this is a very popular sport in Wales. We learnt how Wales participates in famous sporting events such as the Olympics and how this contributes to Welsh and British identity.

A huge well-done Manatees for completing your first half term in Y4, you have all adapted very well and have approached Y4 learning with confidence and enthusiasm. Please stay safe over half term and get a well-deserved rest ready for your second half term in Y4. 

Miss Selman and Miss Marsh