Fantastic 4
Term 2 Week 8
Year 4 Newsletter
Welcome to Week 8 of Term 2!
This term, students have been developing their skills in writing information reports. An information report is a type of non-fiction writing that presents facts about a particular topic. It may focus on animals, places, people, or objects, with the aim of informing the reader clearly and accurately.
To support this learning, we explicitly modelled how to construct an effective information report as a class. Using an angler fish as our focus, students observed how to research, plan, and organise factual information before turning it into a structured piece of writing. Together, we explored how to write an engaging introduction, group related ideas into paragraphs, and use appropriate technical vocabulary linked to the topic.
Students have now completed their own information reports on a chosen animal and are currently transforming their work into informative posters to present to the class. They are using their reports to create engaging displays that include key facts, headings, images, and labelled diagrams to support their audience’s understanding.
Throughout this unit, students have been learning about the key features that make an effective information report and presentation. These include: • A clear title that tells the reader what the report is about • An introduction that provides a general overview of the topic • Organised paragraphs that group similar information together • Subheadings to help structure ideas and guide the reader • Factual information presented in the present tense • Technical vocabulary related to the topic • Images, diagrams, or labelled illustrations to support understanding
We look forward to students sharing their posters and showcasing their learning with their classmates.
Science:
This term in Science, students have been exploring the fascinating world of living things. They investigated the differences between living, non-living, and once-living things, learning how to identify the characteristics all living things need to survive, such as food, water, and air. Students also practised grouping and classifying items from the world around them based on these features.
As part of this unit, students explored the life cycles of plants and animals and developed an understanding of how living things grow and change over time. They compared a range of life cycles, including those of insects, mammals, and plants, and discovered that some living things go through dramatic transformations while others change more gradually.
Students also learned that offspring share similarities with their parents, but are not exactly the same. This helped students recognise patterns in growth, change, and reproduction across different living things.
Phonics focus for the term:
Week | Phonics Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Week 8 | ZOO & Homophones | There, their |
| Week 9 | Homophones | Practise, practice |
| Week 10 | Tract | Tractor, extract |
Maths focus for the term:
| Week 8 | Addition and Subtraction |
| Week 9 | Addition and Subtraction |
| Week 10 | Consolidation |
Extra Announcements:
- Please send any photos from home to your child's classroom teacher
- Swimming starts Monday- Thursday week 9 & 10
Photos:
