Here is our MODEL TEXT for Spring 1. 

Operation Gadgetman

BANG!  WHIZZ!  KER-BOOM!  The whole house shook and the windows rattled violently.  Gadgetman was at it again!  Beans stood still.  Then, she ran out of the bathroom, dashed downstairs and threw herself onto the kitchen floor.   A small yellow doobry-whatsit whizzed through the open window,  shot over her head and veered left, crashing into a box of cornflakes. BOOM!  Beans clutched her hands.  Dad could blow up his workshop at the bottom of the garden if he wanted to (and he often did!)  but did he have to bring the chaos indoors?  Something was bound to go wrong. 

Beans’ dad was an inventor who had invented everything from exploding biscuits to spy kits with a variety of success.  However, this time he really believed he was onto something – a machine that could steal anything from anyone.  Clearing up the mess in the kitchen, Beans glanced towards her dad’s workshed and decided to help him out...just this once! 

Suddenly, Beans heard a strange sound.  Something she was not used to – silence.  Dashing to the window, she was just in time to see her dad being bundled into a dirty, white van.   Shocked, Beans started to scream but no-one heard.  Someone must have found out about her dad’s invention and wanted it for themselves. But who?  It was up to Beans to find out and rescue her dad.

Grabbing one of her dad’s spy kits, Beans shot out into the street, jumped on her bike and followed the van.  She followed them all the way to a derelict warehouse.   Using her spy kit, she used the spy cam to zoom in on the building and spotted an open window.  Without thinking, she climbed up the gutter and looked inside.  There was dad.   Quickly, she got his attention and before she knew it they were both clambering out of the window and slithering down the wet roof.  

“Sorry Beans,”whispered dad as he regained his breath.  Beans knew she should be cross with him but one look at his doe eyes made her smile instead.   Dad’s crazy inventions meant life would never be boring! 

Our new text is: Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. 

Setting off in the Peggy Sue, we were about to begin the adventure of a lifetime. My father had planned our boat trip around the world. The cold sea air brushed against my chilly cheeks as the water rocked our boat like a rollercoaster. My heart pounded when my mother warned me to always clip my safety harness on.

Late one night, there was not a single star to be seen. The wild wind howled above me in the sails, thunder growled angrily and the rapid rain lashed the deck. Without warning, the boat veered violently. I desperately tried to clip my safety harness but it was too late. Before I could open my mouth to scream, I was catapulted into the coldness of the sea.

Gradually, the lights of our boat disappeared into the whirling waves; leaving me alone in the ocean. I thought of the Great White Sharks, the deadly current and jellyfish cruising beneath the black water. There wasn’t a single sound. Nothing could save me.

Whilst the numbing water was chilling me to death, I frantically searched the deadly darkness surrounding me. Helplessly, I floated into sleep. All of a sudden, I was woken by a screeching howl. I sat up. I was on a beach that stretched for miles. The empty, blue sea was a cloudless sky. I cried until no more tears would come.

Looking down, I saw my harness digging into my flesh, a painful reminder of how I had stupidly ignored my mother’s warning. I had survived, but I was all alone.

English- Talk 4 Writing

In our English lessons, we have now moved onto Non-Fiction. Here is our MODEL text which the children have learnt with actions...

Christopher Columbus

Newspaper recount

On the 12th of October 1492, Christopher Columbus finally achieved his goal, spotting land after an arduous 70-day voyage on board three ships named the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria and, in the process, ending the period now known as the Pre-Columbian era. Leaving on the 14^th of October 1492, Christopher has become the first person to discover a new set of continents named the Americas.

After the gruelling past few months, Columbus had landed on a small island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. The brave crew, led by Columbus, ventured on to the island and greeted the local inhabitants who they believed to be ‘Los Indio’s’ or in English: Indians. Consequently, this may begin an era known in the future as slavery and colonialism.

Columbus reported, “I am so relieved to have made it.  Many of the crew wanted to turn around; but I knew we would find land in this direction if we kept going! I never knew I’d be the one to discover the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti!”

Columbus and some of his crew now plan to return to Spain to collect their riches from the King and Queen. Moreover, they will plan their next journey to a new part of the world.

2022-2023

Welcome back and welcome to Year 4 in 2022-2023 at FLPA! 

This year, the team looks like this:

Birch class

Class teacher: Mrs. Clark

Class assistant: Mrs. Kettle

Pine class

Class teacher: Mr. Christofa

Class assistant: Mrs. Beckett 

We are really looking forward to a wonderful year! If you have any concerns or worries, please do not hesitate to speak to us. 

Summer Term 1-Fiction text

How To Train Your Dragon- Journey story with a focus on action

Many years ago in a far off land there once lived a tall, lanky boy with mousy brown hair named Hiccup.  Hiccup was the young son of the village chief, who never quite felt like he fitted in with all the other boys in the village. Unlike the other boys, who were lean, mean and strong and were fated to be powerful warriors and dragon trainers one day, Hiccup was gentle, mild mannered and found the idea of fighting so unbearable his knees buckled just at the thought. However, today none of that mattered, because Hiccup was about to set off to Dragon Island to catch his very own dragon for the big initiation. 

Sailing on an old, dilapidated ship through the treacherous waves, Hiccup’s stomach churned as the ship rocked side to side, the ship speedily manoeuvred towards Dragon Island, bobbing up and down over the waves.  Hiccup’s hands started to sweat as he  looked towards Dragon Island . He had heard the tales of the perilous initiation– the dragons which had devoured young people whole, who dared tried to to steal one of their young. Timidly, Hiccup whispered across the ocean, “Please, please don't let anything eat me!”

Once on land Hiccup silently wobbled, crawled up a cliff and slipped through a cold, obsidian cavern. All of a sudden, Hiccup stopped at the stench! It smelt of rotten flesh and brimstone. Before continuing forward, Hiccup hesitated, peered round and saw the cavern full of monstrous dragons of all sizes. Thankfully, the dragons all seemed to be fast asleep. Frightened, Hiccup crept down into the cavern, sneaking past a giant sapphire dragon, tiptoeing past a savage looking emerald green dragon and finally skillfully sliding past an ancient fire red dragon. Releasing a breath of relief, Hiccup had finally reached the nest of sleeping baby dragons. As quickly as possible, without even glancing at it, Hiccup grabbed the closest baby dragon and spun around. Hiccup gasped as he came face to face with the foaming mouth of an enraged mother dragon!

All at once the rest of the dragons woke up! Terrified for his life, Hiccup ran. He darted through the dragons, tried weaving around, dodging their gnashing jaws and spinning to avoid their menacing tails, desperate to get to the cavern and back to safety. Charging towards the cavern and his exit, Hiccup’s trouser was caught by the clenching teeth of a viscous white dragon with menacing black eyes. ‘Let me go!’ roared Hiccup, as he yanked his leg as hard as he could away from the dragon. With a tear, the trousers ripped and Hiccup was freed.

Stumbling back, Hiccup lurched towards the cavern opening. Hiccup squeezed through the cavern, slipped down the cliff and hurried back onto the ship. Heart hammering, Hiccup fell to the floor exhausted. He had done it! He was triumphant! He had completed the initiation and now had his very own dragon!  Hiccup had never been more proud of himself.

Dear Year 4 parents,

Below are suggestions for the next 2 days, with a mixture of focuses from reading and writing to Maths and music, as well as a nature trail if the weather is nice enough. There is enough there for 2 days worth and remember that there are lots of resources online to support home learning such as:

Youtube

BBC Bitesize

The School Run

STEM

Twinkl

TES

Don't forget Joe Wicks for some physical exercise, times tables songs, meditation, yoga and mostly, remember to relax and take it easy, learning at home is never as easy as learning at school! 

Kind regards and warmest wishes,

Year 4 team. 

Spring 2 text- Floodlands

Floodlands - Wishing Tale with a focus on dialogue.

Before, no one had bothered her.  Zoe was a loner.  Most of the people left on Norwich hung around together in groups, but she preferred to be on her own.   It was safer that way, because you never know whom you could trust. Zoe wished more than anything that she could feel safe, have somewhere safe to sleep and not always be looking over her shoulder but that feeling felt so far away. She had an escape route, a way to get away from Norwich, which got smaller every year as the sea kept rising - a tiny boat - that she had well hidden. It was a big decision to set out to sea alone.  Now she had no choice.

Zoe ran.  Harder than she had ever run in her life. Her feet pounded through the streets of derelict buildings.  She could hear the gang coming after her. It felt as if her heart would burst. Somehow, someone had found out about her boat.  There was only one way out; to get to her boat before they got to her. Scared, she threw herself over a wall and landed near the warehouse that she had stashed her boat in. Maybe this wouldn’t end in disaster, maybe safety was out there for her.

Dragging her boat into the water, she dared to look behind for the first time.  Her stomach twisted with fear, the gang were storming down the hill. Zoe clambered aboard, put the oars out and started to pull. She rowed and she rowed, pulling harder and harder with each stroke. The grand stood silently watching her row away.

Feeling in her pocket, she fished out her compass, pointed herself south-west and rowed. She lost all sense of time. The sun,somewhere overhead, beat on her back making her feel dizzy. She felt faint. She was in trouble. She pulled in her oars then slumped over them.

“Hello?”

“Hello, can you hear me?”

Opening her eyes, Zoe saw two women standing over her.

Shaking, Zoe sat up. She was in a bed, a proper bed.

“You’re safe now dear,” one of the women soothed, “One of our fisherman found you, you’ve been very lucky.”

Zoe was confused, but as her thoughts returned to her she realised she was somewhere safe, with kind people. Maybe when you wish hard enough, wishes can come true.

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!

We have loved welcoming the children back to Front Lawn this week.  They have all been brilliant and seem raring to go!   We will be posting regularly on this blog with messages about out learning and also posting homework here. 

Our provisional weekly timetable is shown below.  Some timings may vary.  Please note that we will have PE on both Monday and Thursday afternoons.  Please send your children to school on these days in their PE kit. 

We can wait to see all the smiley  faces on Monday!

From Mr Lushington and Mr Willis.

Year 4 parents,

From today you will see an influx of content uploaded onto our blog in the wake of our school closing and the country now considered in 'Lockdown.' We will do our best to give you as much content as we can that will work in a home setting, primarily internet based as we know many do not have printers. 

We will do our best to support you as much as we possibly can and please remember that you can ask as many questions as you need answering by e-mailing Mr. Christofa and Mr. Willis at 'homework@flpa-tkat.org' and we will endeavour to answer any questions about learning or well being as quickly as possible. 

This is, quite frankly, unlike any other pandemic we have ever faced before, however with the internet at our fingertips, we can stay in touch, help each other out and keep this train going! 

Please look after yourselves as much as possible, take breaks, go for the walk every day that you are allowed to go on and stay safe! 

Our new story!  

Once there were four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about an adventure that happened to them during Wartime when they were evacuated to the large house of an old professor...

Late one evening, after a game of hide and seek, Lucy found herself in a room, empty apart from an enormous wardrobe.  Cautiously, she opened the door and stepped inside.  Further and further she ventured, through row upon row of fur coats.  Suddenly something crunched beneath her feet and something cold and soft fell on her.

Lucy gasped.  Stunned, she slowly turned around.  Trees towered over her and a blanket of snow covered her feet.  Shivering, she realised she was in the middle of a wood.  By the closest tree stood a falling, flickering lamppost.  Where am I? she thought to herself.  At that moment, a mystifying creature scrambled towards her shouting, “Come with me! It’s far too cold to be out here!”  Lucy hesitated before taking a step forward, the allure of the creature’s cave was too great.

Once inside, Lucy’s eyes adjusted to the warm, cosy cave. A fire roared in the centre of the room and the table was set for tea; almost as if he had been expecting her.   Then the creature began to quietly cry. “Oh I’m sorry child”, the white witch has ordered me to lure you here!  Even if I let you go the wood is full of her spies who will seize you.” Suddenly, they heard it.  A piercing howl.   Dashing outside, Lucy could barely see through the whirling blizzard.  Then she came face to face with the largest wolf she had ever seen.  It was standing on its hind legs, snapping and snarling.

With her heart pounding, she grabbed a branch, ripped off the leaves and quick as lightning charged at the wolf.  The wolf’s eyes flamed with anger as Lucy jabbed the sharp stick at its chest his jagged teeth struck out at her forehead. Growls and screams became one and then silence. Nothing moved. Slowly Lucy rolled over and stood up. The monster was dead.  The battle was over.  

Shaken, the fawn walked Lucy back through the dusky forest They approached the lonely lamppost and she realised that she was no longer walking through branches but through coats.  The next moment, she came tumbling out of the wardrobe into the empty room she had left and time here had not moved.  Lucy smiled. She knew this was only the beginning of her adventures in Narnia.

Here it is!

How To Train Your Dragon

Long ago on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a miniature Viking with a longish name stood up to his ankles in snow.  “Pay attention!” bawled Gobber the Belch, the soldier in charge of the initiation.  “This is your first mission to retrieve a baby dragon!  Try not to cry Hiccup, we all know how much of a scaredy cat you are!”   The boys tipped their heads backwards, grinned and then solemnly nodded.   Hiccup gulped, facing dragons was his worst fear!

Early the next morning, the boys set off with Hiccup in front.   It was a perilous climb, the rocks were slippery with snow and Hiccup kept missing his footing. Finally, they arrived at the mouth of the cave at the bottom of Wild Dragon Cliff.  Beholding the foaming sea below, Hiccup swallowed hard.  Out of the blue, the low rumble of dragon’s snores vibrated violently through his sandals.  Being in charge he knew he had to go into the cave first, yet he was scared stiff.

Crawling into the heart of the cave the stench of the dragon got stronger until finally it was excruciatingly unbearable.  Without warning, an enormous cavern appeared and was filled with more dragons than Hiccup could ever have dreamt of.  He started to sweat. His stomach and bowels churned causing his heart to pound uncontrollably.

As quickly and quietly as he could, Hiccup and the boys manoeuvred a small dragon each into their baskets.  Even though they were barely half grown, they were remarkably heavy.  Silently, they made their way towards the exit.  “We did it!” they chanted exuberantly.

Once outside, Hiccup hesitated.  The quickest way down for them all was to drop into the sea.  It normally would have terrified him, but after what he had just done this would be easy.  “Jump,” he yelled as he plunged through the air into the icy cold water.   Spluttering, he surfaced.   Swimming to shore, a triumphant grin formed on his face as he saw the looming shadow of Gobber the Belch who winked in approval for overcoming his fear. 

Happy New Year!

One week into 2020 and we have already been working hard, learning new Spanish stories, discovering some of the amazing mountains around the world and we even went ROCK CLIMBING!

Pictures to follow...

17th December at 2pm...

Come see your child in our authentic outcome show! 

Upper School hall is the place to be. 

Coming soon to our page....

The children learning to play instruments as we have an instructor starting in January! 

We will be learning.... THE UKULELE! 

Here is our new text... Why not get ahead and learn it before we come back to school!

Kensuke Kingdom

Setting off in the Peggy Sue, we were about to begin the adventure of a lifetime. My father had planned our boat trip around the world using an array of information. The cold sea air brushed against my chilly cheeks as the water rocked our boat like a rollercoaster. My heart pounded when my mother warned me to clip my safety harness on.

Late one night, there was not a single star to in the sky. The tempestuous, wild wind howled above me in the sails, thunder growled angrily and the inexorable, rapid rain lashed the deck. Without warning, the boat veered violently. I desperately tried to clip my safety harness but it was too late. Before I could open my mouth to scream, catapulted I was, into the coldness of the infinite sea.

Gradually, the lights of our boat disappeared into the whirling waves; leaving me alone in the ocean. I thought of the Great White Sharks from my science lessons, the deadly current and jellyfish cruising beneath the black water. There wasn’t a single sound. Nothing could save me.

Whilst the numbing water was chilling me to death, I frantically searched the deadly darkness surrounding me. Helplessly, I floated into sleep. All of a sudden, I was woken by a screeching howl. I sat up. I was on a beach that stretched for miles, poisonous plants surrounding me. The empty, aqua sea was like the cloudless sky. I cried until no more tears would come.

Looking down, I saw my harness digging into my flesh, a painful reminder of how I had stupidly ignored my mother’s warning and the discipline she would give me if she knew what had happened. I had survived, but my intuition told me I was all alone.

Today, we had a big Buddhism day, where we learnt the story of Buddha, learnt about karma, reincarnation, the four noble truths and the 5 morals they follow. 

We also learnt about meditation and had a go ourselves! 

Below is our new story that we are learning in Literacy. The children have already learnt this story quite well. Ask them to show you and we are sure you'll be blown away! 

Focus: Character

Harry Potter

It had started out like any other day.  Harry stayed out of the way whilst the Dursleys ran around cooing after Dudley. How he despised him.  Then suddenly everything changed. A letter arrived. Cautiously, he slid the contents from the envelope and gasped. He, Harry Potter, had won a scholarship to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!  He didn’t know it, however his life was about to change.

Several months later, Harry had settled into life at Hogwarts and things were good yet Harry was feeling perplexed.  The strangest things were starting to happen. A mysterious figure had been lurking around Hogwarts.  Concerned for their school’s safety, Harry and his friends knew they had to do something. Late one night, they silently tiptoed down a never ending spiral of stairs that led to the chambers beneath.  At the end of the passage way they saw a brightly lit room through a heavy wooden door. A shadow slipped through it.  Approaching it they saw the words ‘Danger lies before you whilst safety lies behind. ‘All of a sudden, the door slammed shut and there before them stood the diabolical Voldemort. 

Without warning, Voldemort’s ghost like body encircled the friends, leaving them helpless with their wrists bound.  Fear flittered across their faces. Walking towards them, his evil face smiling, Voldemort hissed in a demented voice, “I killed your father and then your mother and now I am going to kill you.”  Raising his hand into the air, he started to mutter the deadly, deranged curse.  Harry’s scar began to pound painfully.

Meanwhile, Hermione was secretly using her magic powers to unravel the knots. They were free.  Instinctively, Harry reached up and grabbed Voldemort’s face. “AGGGHHHH!” Voldemort screamed in agony and out of his mouth flew his many demons shrieking, “This is not the end!” Then they disappeared.

Days later during the end of year feast Dumbledore awarded the friends with 160 points for their bravery and outstanding courage.  The noise from the crowd was deafening. Gryffindor had won the house cup. 

Focus: Character

It had started out like any other day.  Harry stayed out of the way whilst the Dursleys ran around cooing after Dudley. How he despised him.  Then suddenly everything changed. A letter arrived. Cautiously, he slid the contents from the envelope and gasped. He, Harry Potter, had won a scholarship to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!  He didn’t know it, however his life was about to change.

Several months later, Harry had settled into life at Hogwarts and things were good yet Harry was feeling perplexed.  The strangest things were starting to happen. A mysterious figure had been lurking around Hogwarts.  Concerned for their school’s safety, Harry and his friends knew they had to do something. Late one night, they silently tiptoed down a never ending spiral of stairs that led to the chambers beneath.  At the end of the passage way they saw a brightly lit room through a heavy wooden door. A shadow slipped through it.  Approaching it they saw the words ‘Danger lies before you whilst safety lies behind. ‘All of a sudden, the door slammed shut and there before them stood the diabolical Voldemort. 

Without warning, Voldemort’s ghost like body encircled the friends, leaving them helpless with their wrists bound.  Fear flittered across their faces. Walking towards them, his evil face smiling, Voldemort hissed in a demented voice, “I killed your father and then your mother and now I am going to kill you.”  Raising his hand into the air, he started to mutter the deadly, deranged curse.  Harry’s scar began to pound painfully.

Meanwhile, Hermione was secretly using her magic powers to unravel the knots. They were free.  Instinctively, Harry reached up and grabbed Voldemort’s face. “AGGGHHHH!” Voldemort screamed in agony and out of his mouth flew his many demons shrieking, “This is not the end!” Then they disappeared.

Days later during the end of year feast Dumbledore awarded the friends with 160 points for their bravery and outstanding courage.  The noise from the crowd was deafening. Gryffindor had won the house cup. 

What a fantastic first day back we have had. 

Both Mr. Christofa and Mr. Willis have really enjoyed the first day back with our new classes. The children were brilliant, eager to learn about all of the new topics and were wonderfully behaved. 

We have lots of fun to look forwards to including a Science morning investigating Marie Curie and a Music morning discovering the amazing musical talents of Etta James and Muddy Waters. 

Stay tuned for more. 

November 2018

Dear Year 4 Parents and Carers

This is your child’s new homework book!

On a weekly basis, we expect children to complete the following tasks:

1. Reading 3 – 5 times a week with an adult – This can be reading of their given colour banded book, a library book or a book from home. Anything that is read to/with an adult should be dated and recorded in their Home Reading Diary and placed into a book bag for daily checking.
2. Practicing times tables 3-5 times a week. The 99 Club aims to raise standards in maths through encouraging pupils to improve their mental calculations when attempting quick-fire multiplication and division problems. Practice sheets for the 99 club can be found on our Year 4 blog by following the link: https://www.flpa-tkat.org/maths-9/

1. Spelling practice – There will be weekly spelling tests in class. The list of 10 words will be given out every Monday. The spelling test will take place on a Monday morning. Spellings should be practiced and recorded in the homework book – whether it be written practice or verbal practice with an adult.

Topic based homework

1. a fortnightly basis, topic work will be handed out. A topic based task – which will vary in nature. This will be given out on a Monday and will be expected to be in on the following Friday in two week’s time.

Visit our class blog:

If your child has lost their homework, the latest spellings and homework tasks can be found our class blog.

Many thanks for your support

The Year 4 Team

Welcome to the start of Autumn term 2!  

Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo

We will be continuing to learn about journeys of discovery.  Our focus text in literacy this term will be the amazing Kensuke's Kingdom - a gripping tale of discovery from the perspective of Michael, a young boy lost on a Pacific Island after being washed overboard from his family's boat - The Peggy Sue.    Michael soon discovers that he is not the only human living  on his deserted island...…….

Science in Year 4 - Autumn Term

Our focus in science this term is to explore and learn about electricity.  We have been busy constructing simple circuits to light a bulb and have learned how to draw circuits using the correct symbols used by  scientists.  We have designed the circuits for a special torch to be used by an explorer, which has a special feature of a buzzer that works separately to the light circuit.

Year 4 Go Native - week commencing 5th September 2018

To celebrate the start of our amazing topic, learning all about the life and culture of Native American Indians, children from year 4 welcomed Chief Alex who led our day  with lots of fantastic activities, dances, songs, arts, crafts and stories.  The children had a fully immersive day and loved every second of it.

Congratulations to Jaydon Preston who wrote this fabulous newspaper article introduction about  the day:

Cultural Native Learning

On the 10th of September 2018 pupils of Year 4, Front Lawn Primary Academy, had a shocking surprise!  When they arrived at school, they discovered that a tremendous tepee had been set up on the gigantic field.  They were having a Native American Indian day, to introduce the topic to the children.

Our Essential Question this term is

"How does discovery affect human life?"

Children will be looking at the culture of native Americans and will be learning to answer this question in the context of how their lives were affected by the discovery of the New Word by Christopher Columbus.

Welcome to Beech and Pine Class!

Year 4 have had a brilliant start to their school life this year.

Over the past three weeks the children have been busy learning about the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer who sailed West to travel East in 1492.

 They have been studying the fantastic story of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone” and have been learning  all about how to defeat an evil villain.