de Vere Primary School

Welcome to Wilma Rudolph Class!

Welcome to Rudolph Class – Year 4 

In Year 4, Rudolph Class is taught by Mrs Hutchings and supported by Mrs Ribbits. We also have support from Mrs Campbell, Ms Inkley and Mrs Johnson making us a big, busy team! 

Year 4 is an exciting year as we move into the second year of Key Stage Two. Children become more independent, learn more complex methods, and maintain their curiosity about the world. We take a thematic approach to learning (as showcased by our half-termly topics) and the children enjoy making between prior learning and new experiences in many ways. The Multiplication Timestable Check at the end of year 4 means a there is a strong focus on learning tables this year which will need lots of practise at home.  

I am passionate about using literature and art to enhance learning, and also lead on History and MFL in the school. 

Please contact me via email: j.hutchings@devere.essex.sch.uk or telephone via the office 

8th March 2024

Since our return after February half-term, we have been busy rehearsing our production, Pirates versus Mermaids. The children are really excited to demonstrate both their acting skills and their performance voices. As well as learning the lines and song lyrics, we have been exploring the picture book ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’. This has led to both writing a diary entry in character and drafting a persuasive letter to the author.

In Maths, we are starting Fractions and keeping our times tables learning going through regular practice. In DT, we have been learning to sew using a range of hand stitching. In History, we have started learning about life in Anglo-Saxon times: some children built the low houses near rivers in Lego, some completed aerial plans of a typical medieval village. We are all looking forward to Science Week, next week, led by Mrs Westrop.

2nd February 2024

In Geography and Science, we have been learning about the Water Cycle and how precious a resource water is.

In Maths, we have been learning how to divide numbers using the formal short method, also known as the ‘bus stop method’. It’s been really hard work but we have been cheering in class every time we successfully completed a question.

In response to our new class text of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ by Roald Dahl, we have been creating synonym chains and creating our own characters, both mean and kind. Have a look at our photos to see some of our creations.

Also in the photos this week, you’ll see us singing some new songs. This is the very beginning of our preparation for our upcoming production: Pirates versus Mermaids, scheduled for late March, with Year 3.

19th January 2024

Happy New Year!

The children have been developing their multiplication and division facts in various ways, and learning what happens when numbers get 100 times bigger or smaller. We are also working hard to recall times tables facts using online games such as Maths Factor or Hit the Button.

In English, we have written poems that explore Lucy moving through the portal into snowy Narnia, and looking at how direct speech is punctuated. The children enjoyed turning text messages into dialogue.

Our topic is Water and we have begun explaining the water cycle, creating dioramas and learning French words to use alongside this topic. You can see some finished Water Cycle dioramas in our photos, and see the class listening live to an RAF pilot in our Career Conversations lesson.

15th December 2023

The final weeks of the Autumn Term have been a time for celebration, and not just for the usual reasons. I am so proud of how the children’s reading and writing is developing. They have become really familiar with coming up with new and varied vocabulary for all of their writing, from the frosted lamp posts of Narnia, to the spewing volcanoes and tectonic plates of our planet.

In Maths, they are continuing to practice their times tables and we have introduced another dimension using the free website Maths Factor (Times Tables Check) on a regular basis. They can practice the tables they need to learn, increasing their speed over time and trying to beat their own score. A shout-out to Mrs Eaves, our Maths lead, for putting us onto this.

In other subjects, we have been creating a class volcano structure using chicken wire and papier maché in Art, practising saying our age in French, and answering questions about faith and belief in RE. 

1st December 2023

Rudolph class are making great progress with their writing and have enjoyed retelling some of the events in The Firework-Maker’s Daughter. All their new vocabulary and grammar knowledge is being transferred over to our next story – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. The Ice Queen has captured their imaginations as they develop their character descriptions.

In Geography, we have been looking deeper into the hows and whys of volcanoes and earthquakes. We have been researching these disasters online and the children are creating their own presentations using Google Slides.

In Maths, we have been getting to grips with the 7 and 9 times tables, revisiting arrays and solving problems to apply our knowledge. In Science, we have been learning all about electric circuits and circuit diagrams.

Christmas decoration day challenged our woodwork skills and we have made sparkly triangular decorations to brighten up the school corridors!

3rd November 2023

In a busy couple of weeks, Rudolph class have battled with some complicated topics in Maths, including exchanging in column subtraction, working hard to learn our times tables and the related division facts. We are so grateful to all the families who have been making use of their times tables flashcards over half-term – it is really making a difference!

In English, the class have enjoyed getting into a new text called ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’ by Phillip Pullman. They are developing their understanding of character and have been writing in role as Lila, the main character. In the photos, you can see the partner work taking place to read and answer questions on the text in preparation for the letter writing.

In History, we are saying goodbye to the Ancient Greeks and moving to a Geography topic of Deadly Disasters. In Art, we are learning about sculpture and how to draw bodies in proportion. PE moves to Gymnastics and Dodgeball this term.

13th October 2023

In English, we have been working hard to revise word classes such as nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. This has also been an opportunity to battle the punctuation pixies, as Mrs Hutchings likes to say, as those capital letters and full stops are being snatched by someone!

In Maths, we have been revising rounding and perfecting column addition, as well as learning new games to help us learn our times tables. Can I ask parents to keep practising times tables with their children at home please? Some extra resources will be coming home soon to make this easier for the class.

In PSHE, we have been learning about the difference between wants and needs, as well as children’s rights. In Science, we are getting good at using classification keys to sort animals by their characteristics. In Art, we were grateful for the recycling materials as we created our own mythical creatures or Greek gods and explored the challenges of turning designs into reality.

29th September 2023

Rudolph class has been busy exploring Ancient Greek mythical creatures to complement our English text ‘Who let the Gods Out?’ by author Maz Evans. So far, we have met a Minotaur and Cerberus, a three-headed dog, and used our imaginations to write a care plan for each of these huge beasts. We are focusing on using pronouns, paragraphs and punctuation effectively.

In Maths, as you can see by the photos, we have playing games outside to practice skip counting in various increments and to learn our times tables. I love the look of concentration on their faces!

In History, we have been learning about how Alexander the Great united the city-states and discussing what type of person he must have been to be so great. It turns out he really was quite talented but the children can tell you more!

Other learning has involved Handball and Fitness in PE, French conversation skills, RE, and we are starting to learn about Sculpture in Art. Of course, we are also continuing to learn about ourselves and  our brains in My Happy Mind too.

20th July 2023

In the past few weeks, we have had lots of learning opportunities. The children have really enjoyed mastering telling time on analogue and 24-hour digital clocks! Please do help your child continue to practice this skill. We have been looking at pneumatics, and after looking at how these are used in the world around us, we created a simple model for our own pneumatic. In Science, we have been using data loggers to look at how sound decreases the further we move from the source. We have been preparing for Sports Day. As our class reward, we chose to spend some time with Class R. We set up our own mini version of Sports Day and the Year R pupils rotated around to experience each of the tasks. We have also been enjoying transition days in our new classroom ready for September!

16th June 2023

This fortnight has seen our trip to Clare Country Park, and what a super day we had! The children were superbly behaved, and they engaged studiously with all of our activities. After arrival, we used our map reading skills to navigate the country park using four-figure grid references and OS symbols. We were keen to put our photography skills that we’ve been learning in Art to good use with all the picturesque places we had seen on our map reading session. We put these to good use with a trip up to the Castle remains, followed by an exciting walk along the river to photograph and enjoy the cygnets and ducklings. After this, we were ready for lunchtime and a play in the park!  

Following lunch, the children were excited to use their questionnaires on the visitors to the park. We wanted to find out where people had travelled from, how often they visited the park and what their purpose for visiting was. So many people were delighted to talk to our polite pupils! 

Our afternoon was filled with measuring the river’s flow by a precise game of ‘Pooh sticks’. We also were able to carry out a wildlife walk. So much fun and learning was experienced by all – the children carried themselves with dignity and respect the whole time, and we were all proud of them. They were such a credit to the school and to you as parents. 

25th May 2023

In Rudolph class, we have continued our learning journey and finished this half term with a flourish! Our times table check is approaching after half term, so we have worked relentlessly to master our times tables. Please continue this through the Maths Factor times table check website and Times Table Rockstars over half term!

In English, we have been gripped by the story of Varjak Paw, and enjoyed writing our own versions of Varjak’s adventures in the city using fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases. In Geography, we have continued our study into ‘farm to fork’ by exploring the food miles of the food in our lunchboxes. We were staggered to find out just how far so many of our foods have travelled. In Music, we have begun exploring blues music and in particular, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. We had a fantastic time using different percussion instruments to complement the music, thinking carefully about rhythm, texture and timbre of the instruments. In Maths, we have continued delving into the topic of decimals, but this time dividing numbers by 10 and 100 and making decimal answers.

12th May 2023

In Rudolph class, we have worked hard to get our torches complete after planning our design and purpose. We evaluated our success afterwards and considered what went well and how we might alter them if we were to repeat the task. The class impressed us all with their circuit knowledge and problem solving skills.

In Maths, we recapped dividing numbers by 10 and 100 through a group game. We have been able to apply this knowledge to decimal numbers. In English, we are excited to have started reading and studying Varjak Paw by SF Said – many children were keen to read a story about cats!

We have been working really hard on our times tables as our Multiplication Tables Check will be held between Monday 5^th June and Friday 16^th June. We have been using the website https://www.themathsfactor.com/times-tables-check/#/menu to practise and identify which tables we need to practice most.

At the woods, we have been working on lighting fires and building dens, self-initiating activities and problem solving. On the walk up to the woods, we were able to start our Farm to Fork topic by looking at the farmland we pass and the crop that is growing there.

28th April 2023

What a spectacular few weeks we have had – I’m sure you will agree that the children excelled themselves and put on a superb show. The children’s resilience, determination and support of each other were truly admirable throughout the pulling together of the production and presenting the show to our audiences! The buzz and accomplishment the children felt continues to make all the work for these productions worthwhile and continues to advocate for the importance of including these within the curriculum at de Vere Primary.

In English, we have been exploring a film unit from a clip about a Windmill Farmer. We have been able to write poems and are currently planning and writing a newspaper. In Maths, we have started to apply our knowledge about fractions to decimals.

In our theme, we are currently exploring a DT topic – torches. We have been able to evaluate existing products and begin to explore how we can use circuits to create our own torch. We are looking forward to using any suitable boxes and containers heading for a recycling bag at home into working torches. The Friends have very kindly purchased all of the circuit materials, so that your child can bring home their finished product.

31st March 2023

What a busy and fun fortnight we have had in Rudolph Class! We have been exploring about Sutton Hoo and how this has informed knowledge of Anglo-Saxon life. We took part in a drama re-enactment to help us learn and remember the events and discoveries made by Mrs. Pretty and Basil Brown.

We have been continuing to learn our lines and lyrics for our production as well as doing a brilliant job of reading a poem at the Easter service. In English, we have enjoyed continuing to work on ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, including designing our own dragons ready to write a non-chronological report. In Maths, we have continued to work hard with fractions – we have been working on improper fractions and mixed numbers, and we are now moving onto adding and subtracting fractions.

We have also shared some photographs of our Mother’s Day baking and our string cup experiments in Science Week.

17th March 2023

We are working very hard on our production – learning our cues and building up to knowing our songs off-by-heart. Please can all speaking parts be learned off-by-heart by the end of the Easter holidays.

We have been nearly finished our Recorder lessons. We have had great fun learning to play different songs, and taking part in other musical activities.

As part of Science Week, we have been learning about greenhouse gases warming up our planet, and how sound travels. We recieved a message from year 3, using morse code, and then passed the message onto Year 5, using string cups.

In Computing, we are learning about data. This week, we explored data loggers, and we had great fun moving around the classroom and outdoors to take readings in different locations.

3rd March 2023

Class 4 have been busy starting new units of works. In Maths, we have started to explore fractions. We have been engaging with our new topic by exploring the concept of the whole and practically dividing up the whole into equal sections by folding paper and dividing up squares and hexagons as equally as we can. We have played a game in ordering fractions up to and beyond the whole. 

In History, we have begun to explore our new theme of Invaders and Settlers. We have been ordering events from the Anglo-Saxon and Viking invasions/settlements of this country. We reenacted events and wrote persuasive letters to the Anglo-Saxons, trying to convince them to join us to support us fighting against Pict and Scot invasions. 

As you will know, we have carried out our auditions and allocated parts. Rehearsals are now in full swing! Please support your child in learning their lines at home. 😊 

10th February 2023

Our final weeks in this half term have been filled with lots of learning and fun! We had our Geography Experience afternoon, focusing on natural disasters and the water cycle. As part of this, we watched the reaction between vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to recap on our learning about volcanic eruptions. We built our own towers out of wooden blocks, and watched the effects of earthquakes on these. We then looked into the details of the Haiti 2010 earthquake. After this, we built towers out of Lego bricks, and we talked about ways that countries, like Japan, prepare for earthquakes and building regulations used to minimise damage and help buildings move with the tremors. We finished our afternoon by creating our own water cycles in a zip lock bag with water and food colouring.

In Maths, we have been learning about written multiplication and written division methods. We have loved the challenge of learning and applying new methods. In English, we have been having great fun using Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as our stimulus. This has included inventing and explaining in writing our own sweets!

27th January 2023

We have had a superb fortnight in class 4! We have been finishing our writing based on Narnia, and we all enjoyed planning and writing our own beginning for the story.

In Maths, we have been working on our written multiplication methods. Our times tables we know off-by-heart have been a good help for this.

In Geography, we have begun looking at our topic of water. We started with atlases and naming up the main seas surrounding the United Kingdom and the main rivers in England, Scotland and Wales. We have been learning about the water cycle and making our own diagrams for this in groups.

We have continued with our recorder lessons with our visiting recorder teacher. He is really impressed with how quickly we are progressing, and we have been playing lots of different pieces with the notes B, A and G.

13th January 2023

In Class 4, we have had a great start to the term! In these few days, in Maths, we have explored factor rainbows and also learned how to make numbers 10 and 100 times bigger. In English, we have been continuing with Narnia, and we have looked at learning similes, metaphors and punctuating direct speech. We had a visiting teacher from Essex Music Schools to teach us recorder. We had great fun, and the teacher was impressed that he can go straight into pieces of music with three notes! 

9th December 2022

Class 4 have had a super busy couple of weeks! We have had so much fun! We have been making our PowerPoints about natural disasters, adding animations and fancy effects to what we have learned so far. In English, we have been focusing on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We have been miming parts of the story and using this to help us develop our writing skills. We have been adding different openers to our writing to make it more interesting. In Maths, we have been looking at recalling times tables more rapidly. We created times table flowers that we can peg our answers to – we had great fun laminating our flowers to make them last longer! We have been able to share books together as part of our book club.  In DT, we have been working towards making our own pencil cases! We have explored our own pencil case designs from home and have begun working on developing basic stitch techniques. Watch this space for our progress towards our pencil cases.  

25th November

We have started our new topic of Natural Disasters. We have learned about volcanic eruptions and earthquakes already! We learned about the different parts of volcanoes by making collages of them and labelling them. We have learned about the causes and effects of earthquakes too. In Computing, we have been learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation, and we are making these based on natural disasters.

We also had out wonderful trip to the park as our class reward. We had great fun playing together!

On decoration day, we started by looking at Floating Ice by Monet. We explored Monet, some of his art and the painting style of impressionism. We moved onto looking at Monet's Waterlilies and used this to inspire some hanging clay flowers, using the skills we developed in Art. We moved onto experimenting with origami with some help from Mrs. White.

7th October 2022

In year 4, we have been so busy as we have continued our learning about the Ancient Greeks. Our English has been linked to this as we continue reading ‘Who let the gods out?’ This has inspired our non-chronological text planning around the Greek god, Charon. We have researched about him, planned out our text and are getting ready to write and present this work. In maths, we have worked up to understanding numbers up to 10,000, reading Roman numerals and begun to learn about rounding numbers to the nearest ten. We have been learning to count in french. In science, we have been learning about local habitats and recording potential environmental dangers.

Friday 23rd September

What a super start we have had in Year 4! We have had lots of hands on and real life maths activities. We have used lots of resources to help us understand place value up to 10,000. As part of this, we looked at scales on a variety of measuring resources, looking at what the scales were counting in, and what value would be halfway between the intervals. We have begun to explore poetry and myths as part of our study about the Ancient Greeks too.