Year 4 - Potter
Potter class 2022-2023
Welcome to Potter's class page
Important information about us...
Teachers: Mr Benningfield
LSP: Mrs Sid
Additional information for this term:
*The children all start at 8:50am (gates open from 8:40) and finish at 3.00pm
*Children should bring in a named water bottle, containing only water or squash. This should be taken home daily to be cleaned. All stationary will be provided.
*Children may bring a healthy snack in for breaktime (fruit/raisins) - please note we have a strict no nuts policy across school due to allergies.
*Potter have PE on a MONDAY and a THURSDAY. Please ensure kits are in school, long hair is tied back and jewellery removed.
*Please ensure your child brings a coat to school every day - we still go out to play in light rain showers.
*Your child will be given a reading book specific to their reading level. They will also be allocated a library book of their choosing. Please encourage your child to read at home as often as possible, but a minimum of 3 time per week, and record this in their reading record. We have lots of prizes and rewards ready for our top readers! The children can change their reading book in school as often as they wish, although we encourage them to read each book a couple of times to improve fluency and understanding.
We are a team in Potter - children, staff and parents. If you ever have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please don't hesitate to have a chat with us at home time or give us a call after school.
Thank you for your continued support, it's going to be a great year!
English 26.05.2023
Today, we performed our poems about the Sun. We used metaphors and verbs to create imaginative poems about the sum.
WOW!!!! Some incredible poems!!
Library Trip 17.05.2023
Today, we visited the Cradley Heath Library. We found out some amazing facts about the building. It has been there for over 120 years!
We learned how the library looks after it's books and how they are sorted using numbers to make it easier to find them when a customer needs them.
We then had some time to have a look around and find a book that we wanted to borrow.
Science 10.05.2023
Today we investigated how good we are at brushing our teeth. First we used a Dental Disclosing tablet, to find where the plaque was in our mouth's and to see where the new and old plaque was. We then used fluoride tooth paste to brush our teeth properly.
Once we had brushed our teeth, we checked out teeth to see if there was any plaque.
09.05.23
To investigate the effect different drinks have on our teeth, we placed 4 identical eggs into different drinks and monitored the changes in their shells (similar to tooth enamel) over a period of 6 days. We ensured it was a fair test by submerging them at the same time and keeping the cups in the same place in the classroom (same temperature, air flow etc).
The results were shocking!
Coronation Party 05/05/2023
To celebrate the King's coronation, we had a party with cake, ice-cream, biscuits and juice!
24.04.23 In maths this week, we will be be working with money! Today's lesson used notes and coins for different calculations. Take a look at some real coins and notes at home - they're more detailed than we realise!
19.04.2023 - As part of our celebrations of World Earth Day, today we had a Geography afternoon extending our learning about earthquakes and natural disasters. Our focus country was Japan; we learned why Japan is particularly susceptible to earthquakes, and how the people who live there prepare for these events. We even tried some Kanji - Japanese writing!
In science this half term, we will be learning all about the human digestive system. Get ahead for next lesson by revising today's learning and doing some further research of your own using the following links:
Video from today's lesson to watch again
14.3.23 - As part of British Science Week, we have been exploring the engineering behind building earthquake proof structures. Yesterday, we built bridges to help people escape a volcanic eruption and today we created 'earthquake proof buildings'. Lots of fun and lots of learning!
03.03.2023
Today, we celebrated world book day by dressing up as our favourite character from a book. We had some amazing costumes in our class.
We took a class picture to remember our special day and we had a lovely day celebrating!
01.03.23 - In preparation for World Down Syndrome Day on 21st March, we have been learning about the condition and how it affects some people. We planted sunflower seeds to celebrate how, whilst everyone may grow differently, we are all equally beautiful. Further information about World Down Syndrome Day can be found at https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk.
14.02.2023 - Check out our finished Viking treasure chests, created using Computer Aided Design.
31.01.23 - some of our children investigated the changes that happen in some foods with the absorption of water. We didn't waste the left over rice, check out our textured paintings!
31.01.2023 - In science today we further extended our understanding of freezing, melting and boiling points. We observed how water changes state quicker / slower under varying conditions
24.1.23 - 'Can raisins dance?' was our key question in science this afternoon and it turns out that yes, they can! The carbon dioxide bubbles in the lemonaid clung to the rough surface of the raisins, causing them to become buoyant. When they reached the surface, the bubbles burst, and they sank to the bottom again. The bubbles reattached and the process was repeated. Up, down, up, down!
23.01.23. For our indoor PE lessons (Mondays) this half term, we are being taught by members of Staffordshire Cricket Team. We enjoyed our first session today, learning throwing and catching skills.
This half term in DT, we are using CAD (computer aided design) to create our own Viking treasure chests!
It links well with our English fiction text - How to Train Your Dragon and our history learning about Vikings and Anglo Saxons.
Today, we investigated how to fold, cut out and join together a variety of 3D nets. It was trickier than we expected!
In History this half term we are studying The Vikings and Anglo Saxons. So far, we have learned all about how to Vikings travelled across the vast Oceans and also how the began to invade the UK. We have learned that the UK was very different back then, with multiple kings for each region of England.
We have learned about the attacks staged by the Vikings and How King Athelstan defended his land against them.
In History, we have also performed a poem all about the invasion of Vikings.
In music this half term, we are looking at how 'music can change the world'. We discussed how different pieces of music can make us feel, and improvised with different instruments to follow the beat of a particularly uplifting song. Lots of fun!
Christmas in Potter Class
This year we celebrated Christmas all week as we took part in many different Christmas based activities.
On Wednesday we had our very special Christmas party, where we had snacks and juice and listened to alot of Christmas music.
We played games and had lots of fun.
In class we also completed many STEM activities. One of our activities was to build bridges around the classroom to link all of our tables together. To do this, we had to work as a team and be extremely careful with the resources we had, as Mr B and Mrs Sid only gave us a limited equipment to use.
DT in Year 4 Potter class
In History this term, we have been studying the Ancient Egyptians. Therefore, we have linked our DT learning to our History topic.
We have learned all about the different foods that would have been eaten during the ancient Egyptian period and we linked this to the modern day eat well plate.
We then researched how to make heathy Baba Ganoush and flat breads.
The following week, we followed our own instructions to make our own Babe Ganoush and flat breads in class.
They were YUMMY!!!!!!
Times Table Rockstar champion!
Remember to go on TTR's twice a week and build up your coins!
Please find attached our Autumn Term curriculum overview which reminds of everything we are currently studying. We are now into Autumn 2 (post half term). Please speak to any of the team at the end of the school day with any questions.
Year 4 Class Assembly - DATE CHANGE
Due to a clash of dates with another whole school event, it has been necessary to bring our assembly to a week earlier.
There will be 2 performances, and parents can attend either one:
Wednesday 7th December - 9:15
Wednesday 7th December - 14:00
Grandparents or significant other adults are also welcome to attend to support the children.
Thank you for your continued support and our apologies for any inconvenience.
Year 4 reminders
Wednesday 19th October, 2pm – Maths inspire workshop. Please join your child in class for some fun maths activities based around what they’ve been learning so far this term.
Thursday 20th October – children to wear something red in support of ‘show racism the red card’. No donation required.
Thank you to the parents / carers who attended our Year 4 meeting today, we hope you found it useful. Please find attached the PowerPoint used in the presentation. The Year 4 teachers are always available at home time to answer any questions you may have.
Maths
Today, we took our learning outdoors as we practiced the use of the Standard Method to help us work out challenging multiplication questions.
