Grade 4 Community News

Dear Year 4 Families,

Welcome to our latest Year 4 newsletter. It has been a busy and productive fortnight of learning across all areas of the curriculum, with students continuing to show growing independence, curiosity, and confidence in their work. Across English, Mathematics, and Humanities, children have been developing important skills in reading, writing, number fluency, and critical thinking, while also applying their knowledge in meaningful and engaging contexts. We are proud of the effort and enthusiasm they consistently bring to their learning, and we are excited to share some of the key highlights from the past two weeks with you.

English

Text-Level Reading – The Arrival

Over the past fortnight, our Grade 4 students have begun exploring The Arrival by Shaun Tan, a unique graphic novel that tells a powerful story without using any words. Through detailed illustrations, students have learned how images can communicate emotions, experiences, and important messages. Through purposeful discussions and guided activities, they have been strengthening their understanding of the story by unpacking the characters, setting, and mystery as the story unfolds. Students have been developing their comprehension skills by inferring characters’ thoughts and feelings at key moments in the narrative. Students have also enjoyed engaging in “Question the Author” discussions, where they consider why the author may have chosen specific images and what effect these choices have on the reader.

Sentence-Level Writing – The Arrival

Students have been developing their understanding of how to build more detailed and engaging sentences by drawing on ideas from The Arrival. We have focused on starting with a simple kernel sentence and then expanding it by adding detail to create richer and more informative writing. Students have also been learning to use both subordinating and coordinating conjunctions to extend and link ideas more effectively. This has helped them combine simple ideas into more complex and interesting sentences when describing characters, settings, and events from the novel. They have also been challenged to take this further by adding language features such as similes and experimenting with adding adjectives to describe nouns, strengthening their sentence expansion. It has been amazing to see students developing greater control over how they can improve and uplevel their writing.

Text-Level Writing – Factual Recounts: Grade 4 Incursion

Students are continuing to develop their skills in writing factual recounts of their recent Dreamtime Story Incursion. Throughout the term, they have explored different note-taking strategies and used these to support their planning in a Single Paragraph Outline (SPO). Each supporting detail has been carefully recorded in note form before being expanded into full sentences. Students have then taken these structured notes and transformed them into coherent, well-developed paragraphs using topic sentences, supporting details, and concluding sentences.

Students also had the opportunity to collaborate with a partner when expanding supporting details for their body paragraphs of the recount. They worked together to turn keynotes into more detailed sentences, sharing ideas and refining their writing collaboratively. This process encouraged discussion, deeper thinking, and enthusiastic sharing of their learning as they strengthened their factual recounts.

Students have also been encouraged to use a range of time connectives to clearly show the chronological order and structure of a factual recount. This has helped them sequence events logically and ensure their writing flows in a clear and organised way from beginning to end.

Maths

Over the past fortnight, our Grade 4 students have been developing their number fluency and problem-solving skills across several key areas. They have been using estimation to add two- and three-digit numbers. They have also been adding three single-digit numbers using efficient strategies, such as identifying number pairs that make ten, using doubles, and near doubles to support quicker, more accurate calculations. Students have also extended their understanding of fractions by using fraction strips to create a conceptual understanding of different fractions. In measurement, they have continued to build their understanding of time, including interpreting and solving time progression problems that involve calculating elapsed time and sequencing events.

A strong focus across all areas of mathematics has been on fluency, with students developing automaticity in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, both mentally and through regular practice. To support this, students are encouraged to consistently rehearse their skills to build speed, accuracy, and confidence, which in turn strengthens their overall mathematical understanding.

Humanities

During our current Humanities unit, Earth’s Resources: What are They and Why Do They Matter? Students have been exploring the different types of natural resources on Earth and how they are essential to human life. They have developed an understanding of how humans rely on natural resources in everyday life, from energy production to transportation and the creation of everyday materials. A key focus has been on First Nations people’s connection to the land and how to conserve it, sustainable practices, and environmental stewardship.

Reminders

Kindly log in to Compass to provide consent and payment for our Grade 4 House Athletics. Thank you to all parents and caregivers who have already done so.
Students should bring their fully charged iPads to school each day. Unfortunately, iPads cannot be charged at school.
As the weather is getting colder, please kindly ensure that your child has a school jumper or jacket with them each day.
Open Day – Thursday 18th June (please see Compass for details)

Upcoming Events

Week 10: Tuesday 23rd June: Grade 4 Athletics
Week 10: Friday 26th June: French day and last day of term 2

Thank you for your continued support at home; it is greatly appreciated and plays an important role in your child’s learning and progress. We value the strong partnership between home and school and encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher at any time if you have questions or concerns, or would like to discuss your child’s learning further.

Kind Regards,

Grade 4 Team