Grade 4 News

Dear Year 4 Parents and Guardians,

We’re already in Week 8 of Term 4, and it’s incredible to see how much our students have achieved throughout the term. With only four weeks left in the term, classrooms have been buzzing with focus and determination in so many curriculum areas - such as, Writing, Reading, Knowledge, Maths and Social and Emotional Learning. Students have been busy completing Maths and Reading assessments, giving teachers valuable insight into all they’ve learned this term. We can’t wait to share students Semester 2 reports with you and celebrate so many achievements! 

Reading

Students have continued to work on their reading skills by reading short passages of text in class. They have been working on building their skills in expression, pace, use of punctuation, and accuracy. Students have been reading aloud to a partner as they learn how to adjust their tone and expression to match the meaning of the text. They are working hard on not sounding like robots when they read! They are also focussing on reading at the right pace, not too fast or slow, to ensure they understand and convey the message clearly. In addition, students are paying close attention to punctuation marks like commas, full stops, and question marks to guide their reading and improve their fluency. This practice is helping them become more confident and accurate readers, while also strengthening their overall comprehension and expression.

Typing 

Students have been enthusiastically practising their typing skills in order to improve their speed and accuracy. As the year progresses, we are seeing a steady increase in the students’ typing speed and accuracy which is fantastic! You can practice with your child at home using free typing activities on Typing.com or Monkeytype 

Grammar & Syntax

In Grammar and Syntax, students have been learning about the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs and how to identify them within a sentence. A transitive verb requires an object (e.g. “The students completed the task”), while an intransitive verb does not (e.g. “The students laughed”). Understanding this helps students make more precise choices in their writing. Students have also been practising how to upgrade nouns and verbs within an argument to increase the complexity of their writing, as well as using adverbs of affirmation to make their points more convincing. For example: “Obviously, fresh water is a basic human right we should ensure for all.

Writing 

This term, we have been exploring a model text called The Fall, which captures the tense moments leading up to the main character’s skydiving experience. Using this text, students have been learning how authors build suspense and have applied these same tools in their own writing.

Throughout the unit, students practised four key techniques for creating suspense:

• Showing a character’s feelings through their reactions
• Using questions to create a sense of worry for the reader
• Choosing powerful verbs that reflect the character’s emotions

• Gradually intensifying the sense of threat

   

Students have used these tools to draft their own suspenseful narratives. Over the past few weeks, they have revised and edited their work to strengthen their ideas and enhance the tension in their stories. They have now published their final pieces using technology, adding images, colour, and creative text choices to increase engagement and bring their suspenseful storytelling to life.

We have also begun exploring a new story this term called Welcome to the School of Wizardry, which introduces students to persuasive writing. Through this text, students learn how to convince a reader—specifically, why someone should attend this magical school.

To launch the unit, students were visited by a wizard who sorted them into their wizard houses: House Mermaid, House Basilisk, House Phoenix, and House Dragon. This magical introduction sparked excitement across the cohort, and students were highly engaged and eager to begin their new learning adventure.

Literature

Over the past two weeks, our Year 4 students have been actively engaged in Literature lessons, including reading a new novel, The Race for Reconciliation.

The Race for Reconciliation tells the story of three children who take part in a community fun run designed to promote unity and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Through the characters’ experiences, students explore important themes such as fairness, respect, cultural understanding, and the ongoing need for reconciliation. 

As part of this unit, we are supporting students to deepen their knowledge of Australian history by building on what they have previously learned about colonisation and how its impacts have shaped the need for reconciliation today. In our reading lessons, students are developing their fluency as well as their comprehension skills. They are learning to use evidence from the text to support their ideas, make thoughtful connections, and strengthen their understanding of these significant themes.

Maths 

In Maths, our Year 4 students have been focusing on decimals. They’ve been learning to read and write decimals, compare and order them, convert between fractions and decimals, understand decimal place value, and round decimals accurately. Students have also been using their knowledge of decimals to add and subtract money amounts and calculate change in real-life financial situations.

We have now begun learning about length, particularly using units of measurement such as centimetres (cm) and millimetres (mm), and understanding how to convert between the two. This new learning is helping students apply their measurement skills with accuracy and confidence.

Upcoming Events 

• Wednesday 10th December - Curriculum Day (No students required at school)
• Monday 15th December - Reports Released
• Friday 19th December - End of year assembly 9am 

• Friday 19th December -School ends at 1:00pm

   

Thank you for your continued support in continuing and strengthening our home and school relationship, which is so vital for students. 

Have a well deserved weekend!

Miss Lochhead, Miss Carlesso and Mrs Schache