Class page

Welcome to year 4

Dear Year Four Parents and Carers

Hope you have all had a lovely Christmas break and wish you a happy and healthy 2024. 

READING IN YEAR FOUR

All children in class 4 read every day. It is expected that children reads 20-35 minutes a day and that you read to them when you can. This is the responsibility of each pupils’ parent and a vital part of the home-school partnership. Please keep reading books and records in the Blue Book Bags and support your child by:

i) helping them to decode tricky words in their reading book,

ii) asking them questions about the text to check their understanding,

iv) exposing them to higher level texts which they cannot yet access independently, by reading to them regularly, or taking them to the library to choose their own books.

READING BOOKS

Each week we send your child home with an Accelerated Reading book for your child to read. It is expected that your child reads 20-35 minutes a day. This is the responsibility of each pupils’ parent and a vital part of your child's education. The title of the book should be written in and a short comment if you can. If the reading book is not returned/lost then you will be asked for £5 to buy a new book. When they have completed their reading book they will take a short quiz online which will inform us to whether they are reading the correct reading level.

It is very important that the reading book remains in your child’s blue bag and that your child brings their bag every day, this ensures that your child can read their reading book at school on any day and access the AR Quiz.

LIBRARY BOOKS

We plan to allow children to choose a library book when we visit the library. Please make sure that your child’s Library book is in their Blue Bag. We are lucky to have such lovely books and we hope that you and your child enjoy reading them together. If you would like additional library books, just pop in at the end of the day and I will help scan one out for you.

SPELLINGS

A spelling overview with 6 weeks worth of spellings will be sent out every half term and put in their homework folder. Please remove the overview from the folder and keep at home. Each weeks spellings will be practiced and checked in an informal ‘quiz’ towards the end of the following week. Please help your child to learn these words in a fun and stress-free way.

HANDWRITING

In Year 4 we build on the handwriting skills developed in year 3 and focus on letter formation and joins. There is an expectation that letters should be joined and neat. 

HOMEWORK

Maths homework will be put in the homework folder and sent home on a Friday. There is a Greek Topic Homework Grid in the folder which can be worked on over the spring term. Please return the folder and completed homework by the following Thursday, so that new homework can be put in. If the folder isn’t returned, then the homework will be sent on a loose sheet.

NAMING YOUR CHILD’S CLOTHES

Please name all items that belong to your child. This should be your child’s first name and family name. Please regularly check items to make sure that they are still clearly named.

Items that should be named include:

T-shirts, jumpers, skirts, trousers

Coats, shoes, socks, gloves, hats

PE bag (on the outside) PE kits (tops and shorts)

Lunch boxes

Please send your child to school with a named coat everday. Children will be expected to go out in light rain.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

PE lessons happen every week. Our days are Wednesday and Monday (Commando Jo.)

Please make sure that your child’s named PE kit is in school. This kit should include: P.E. Bag, (named) white t-shirt, (named) blue/black shorts/skort (named) trainers, (named)

If there are any questions about any of the above, please don’t hesitate to ask,

Kind regards

 

Mrs Beveridge

TT RockstarsTT Rockstars

Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com)

The children are required to know all of their tables by the end of Year 4

To log in to TT Rockstars at home, simply type it into Google and click on the link. Go to Login (4th option along the top) and click on School pupils. It will then prompt you for the school name, then it will ask you for username and you need to select pin (not password) and enter pin. The children have this information inside their reading records. 

Year 4 Homework Grid

Welcome to your Spring homework grid. Children will receive a half termly grid with a range of exciting topic activities to complete alongside key skills tasks. Please see the letter and 'How To' guide, below for a full explanation of how these work.

Great examples of homework tasks will be celebrated and displayed on ClassDojo. 

For those children and families who produce homework digitally, you can send them to ClassDojo

How to use the homework grids:

-Each grid lasts for a term

-Children will need to complete at least 2 pieces of topic / project homework per week 

-Children will need to practise the key spellings (overview)

-Children will need to submit their maths homework on Thursday 

All homework will be acknowledged by the class teacher. This may be verbally, a written comment, remark or sticker.  Please don't feel work has not been appreciated or noticed if comments are not written; we always look at everything that is sent in. Extra special pieces of homework may earn a ClassDojo!

Empty!  Please add a resource.

Accelerated Reader

What is Accelerated Reader?

AR is a computer program that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his own level and reads it at his own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) AR gives children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set goals and direct ongoing reading practice. Children using AR choose their own books to read, rather than having one assigned to them. This makes reading a much more enjoyable experience as they can choose books that are interesting to them. Teachers help your child choose books at an appropriate readability level that are challenging without being frustrating, ensuring that your child can pass the quiz and experience success.

As with anything, performance improves with practice. Encourage your child to read at home for up to 20 minutes a day. Create a culture of reading in your household by reading with your child, visiting your local library or book shop on a regular basis. When reading with your child, stop and ask questions to be sure your child is comprehending what is read. Reading with your child, no matter what the child’s age, is an important part of developing a good reader, building a lifelong love of reading and learning, and creating a loving relationship between you and your child. Make learning a family affair!

How do I know which books are on Accelerated Reader?

You can use AR Bookfind to look for books that have quizzes:

https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/

 

How can I support my child with Accelerated Reader at home?

Logging on to Accelerated Reader (AR) at home.

Click here to go to the AR site.

Your child’s login details should be in their home school diary. 

How can I help my child become a better reader?

As with anything, performance improves with practice. According to Renaissance Learning’s research, children who read at least 20 minutes a day with a 90% comprehension rate on AR quizzes see the greatest gains. Encourage your child to read at home, discuss books, ask questions about what they have read and visit your local library.

What is a STAR Reading test?

STAR Reading is used to determine your child’s reading level. It is a computer based reading assessment program that uses computer- adaptive technology. Questions continually adjust to your child’s responses. If the child’s response is correct, the difficulty level is increased. If the child cannot answer a question or answers incorrectly, the difficulty level is reduced. The test uses multiple-choice questions and takes approximately 10 minutes.

What is a Book Level?

Book Levels are calculated using the ATOSTM readability formula and represent the difficulty of the text. The levels range from 0.5–13.5. Books are chosen based on the ZPD range recommended for each pupil by STAR Reading.

What is a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?

ZPD is the range of books that will challenge a child without causing frustration or loss of motivation. Your child will receive a ZPD, or reading range after taking a STAR Reading test. It is important for children to read with a high degree of comprehension and within his/her ZPD.

What are points?

Every book that has an AR Reading Practice Quiz is given a points value. AR points are based on the length of the book (number of words). Pupils earn a percentage of points according to how well they pass the quiz.

Knowledge Organisers

Knowledge Organisers are documents aimed at helping the children link their knowledge and skills to their previous learning, and allow them to know what they are expected to learn throughout a new topic.  

Our Knowledge Organisers are a go-to document for a half term unit of work. They identify the key information that children need to have learned by the end of the unit. They also act as a tool to support children in retaining and retrieving knowledge for life-long learning.  

KNOWLEDGE ORGANISERS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-2024