Year 4



Welcome to Year 4, our teachers are Mrs Mudd and Mrs Carpenter, and our Teaching Assistant is Mrs Lloyd. Please find below our classroom!
Key information for Year 4 parents:
- Year 4 children are to arrive at school at 8:45 am through the Year 3/4 door at the front of the school and exit at 3:15 pm.
- Our P.E days will be Wednesday and Friday. Please can all Year 4 children attend school in their P.E kit (earrings removed before school please).
- Reading books are normally changed on a Tuesday.
Wednesday 4th December - Messy Church. Year 4 had a great time creating lollipop christmas trees.
Monday 2nd December
In History this term we have been studying the Anglo-Saxons, beginning by looking at the various reasons they came to Britain. We looked at how the 3 tribes the Angles, Saxons and the Jutes came over from Germany and Scandinavia to settle here after the Romans left Britain in 410AD. This week we have been comparing Iron Age houses to typical Anglo-Saxon houses, and discussing the continuity and change in the features. The children learnt about how wattle and daub was used to create the walls of most Anglo-Saxons buildings, then had a go making our own with modelling clay, lollipop sticks, pipe cleaners, clay and straw. It was a messy but fun process and gave the class some insight into the work that would go into making a real anglo-saxon house.
Wednesday 27th November - RE
This term in RE Year 4 have been learning about Hinduism and the festival of Diwali. This week the children created some fabulous Diwali masks.
RE Diwali Masks
Year 4 DT - Adapting a recipe
Wednesday 27th November - DT
In DT this term, Year 4 started by following a simple recipe to make biscuits. This next step for the children was to adapt the recipe by adding other ingredients. The class experimented with adding chocolate chips to their festive shaped biscuits. We were then joined by Year 2 to help conduct some taste tests. I hope everyone enjoyed eating their delicious biscuits! Well done Year 4.
Monday 18th November - Skip2BFit
Year 4 loved taking part in the whole school Skip2BFit challenge. Our amazing coach David challenge the children to skip as many times in 2 minutes as they could. The children all tried so hard and there was some very impressive skip counts. After their first attempt, the class then had another 2 minutes to beat their personal best, and they showed real determination pushing right to the end of an exhausting 2 minutes. Well done everyone!
Skip2BFit
Science - Year 4 are learning about electricity and circuits this term. Here the children are learning how batteries work to supply electricity to a circuit.
Children in Need
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Wednesday 13th November
As part of our DT topic this half term, Year 4 are learning how to follow and adapt simple recipes. The children had a great time making biscuits and over the next few weeks they will make adaptations to their recipes. Hopefully you'll get a chance to sample some of their creations!
DT - Making Biscuits
Anti bullying Week 2024
Year 4 took part in an anti-bullying workshop with Altru productions. Kate, Joe and Cameron talked through some of the themes picked up in the Superhero Schools production the children had just watched. The class played games where they had to portray different characters using their faces and body language. They had great fun creating the superheroes Worry Woman, Miss Behaving and the Incredible Trust. The activity was designed to highlight how people display their emotions with their bodies, and how we can read these signs to know who might need help, or who they could go to if they needed help themselves. Next, the class talked about the difference between bullying and “banter”. They examined different scenarios to decide whether they thought they were bullying or banter and talked about how different people might react differently to an act or comment. We discussed that if a joke makes the other person feel bad then it is not a joke. Finally, Kate taught the class a chant about respect, and the children gave fantastic examples of what respect is and how they show it every day. What a fantastic afternoon with so many thought-provoking discussions.
Throughout this week, Year 4 also looked at the theme Choose Respect and thought about what that means and how we can show respect every day.
Anti-Bullying Week - Year 4 thinking about how to choose respect.
Year 4 - Anti-bullying workshop
Anti-bullying chant

22nd October - Diwali Day - We had so much fun learning about Diwali and making diwa lamps and rangoli plates.
Art - Year 4 are making great progress on their charcoal interpretation of the Jabberwocky poem.
Science - The class learnt about the right way to clean and look after their teeth.
Thursday 10th October - World Mental Health Day - The class learnt about ways we can help support our mental health
8th October - Geography field work. The class conducted some research in Burntwood observing the ways the public use the local woodland.
4th October - Odd Crocs for Socks day. The children had lots of fun showing off their mismatched socks.
2nd October Science - Year 4 have been learning about the different types of teeth and modelling them in playdoh.
Thursday 26th September
This week, Year 4 have been exploring their artistic side. On Tuesday, the team from Market Drayton Festival Arts Centre came in to help us take part in the calendar competition. All the children created a picture inspired by the month September. We were so impressed with all the wonderful pictures of autumnal trees, harvest and woodland animals and the children did themselves proud.
In Art this term, the children have been learning about telling stories through pictures and this week they learnt about the illustrator Laura Carlin. They then had a go creating their own visual notes.
This week’s violin lesson introduced children to use of the bow, and the class had great fun testing out their new bow skills when they sang and played along to ‘The Hand Jive’.
PSHE - The children discuss the qualitiy of a good friend. Violin - Learning to use the bow. Art - Learning about Laura Carlin.
Wednesday 18th September
We've been very busy in Year 4 over the last week. In Science the children were learning about different enquiry types. They carried out various experiments using sweets to demostrate each of the 5 enquiry types. The children saw what happens when warm water is added to skittles, and tested whether people with bigger hands can pick up more sweets.
In PE we have started a unit focused on fitness. The children are working on their speed, strength, agility and balance. On Tuesday, members of Eccleshall Rugby club visited the school and put on a range of activities, including tag rugby games. The children really enjoyed learning some new skills.
In Geography, we have continued learning about the Amazon rainforest, using an atlas to find the location of the Amazon, and identify the countries it stretches in to.
Keep up the hard work Year 4.
The children using polygon words to practise their spelling.
Year 4 learning about different scientific enquiry types.
Year 4 testing their speed, strength, agility and balance.
Wednesday 11th September
We've had a fantastic start to the year in Year 4! It's been great getting to know everybody and getting back into learning.
In English, we've begun looking at our book for the term, which is focussing on space race and about the crucial role Katherine Johnson played in getting a man on the moon.
The children were very excited to have their first violin lesson this week. They learnt about where the violin fits in the strings family and about the names of each of the 4 strings. They also began learning about how to hold their violin, when playing and at rest.
Well done Year 4!
Year 4's first violin lesson
**IMPORTANT NEWS**
YEAR 4 MULTIPLICATION TIMES TABLE CHECK - JUNE 2024
Click the below link for more information
Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check | Hugo Meynell CofE (VC) Primary School (secure-primarysite.net)
Summer 2
Week 4
Wow 🤩! What a day Year 4 have had at the Shropshire Discovery Centre. The children were fantastic Hugo ambassadors - inquisitive, polite and engaging learners - what a combination 👏🏻🥇🙌🏻.
They learnt lots of information and facts about rivers and even ‘banked’ some great key vocabulary to use in their geography learning this half term. They’re now experts on the difference between a V shape and U shape valley, how meanders and dispositions work in a river and what causes an oxbow! They also investigated how quick the Rivvver sonny was by measuring the speed at different stations, they worked amazingly as a team, finding the average and comparing them with the group. Take a look at us in action 📸
Summer 2
Week 3
What a week of fantastic Homework creations as we start our final Geography unit - Rivers. This week we learnt the water 💦 cycle and how that process repeats introducing some key vocabulary - evaporation, condensation, precipitation. We set up an experiment to see this is action. Take a look below…
Summer 2 - Week 1
We are Violin experts 🎻
Summer 1- Week 7
Today, we said a sad farewell but a happy retirement to our Mrs Lakin💕. She’s worked at our school for 32 years, has taught, helped and supported so many children and is simply the definition of what team Hugo is all about. She is irreplaceable and we will miss her dearly, but we wish her a very happy retirement and a well deserved rest!
She will however still be joining us on our Rivers visit next term! So for now, it’s a see you soon rather than a farewell 💓 #teamhugo
💓Mrs Lakin 💓 retires 💐
Summer 1- week 7
Our church ⛪️ visit
Today, the children took part in a number of activities including tricky maze problems, word scrambles, colouring as well as a treasure hunt around their church, St John’s in Ashley.
The children learnt that god is with them always even when they feel uncomfortable, he is by their side giving them courage and reassurance. We’ve also been learning about Jesus ascending into heaven and sending his helper the Holy Spirit to guide us in our daily lives.
The children also located various sacred statues and monuments in and around the church which included the font - used for baptisms, the high altar, the pulpit and where the choir stand to address the congregation. They answered a number of questions to complete the treasure hunt finding out what these important places were and used for. Take a look at all of us in action 📸
Summer 1 - Week 6
Super Scientists 🧑🔬 ⚗️🔬
This week as scientists we have been developing our scientific enquiry and observational skills whilst exploring Changes of State. We used drama, a boiling kettle, a frozen mirror and chocolate to demonstrate and model melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation. The children also developed their technical skills as they practised accurately measuring temperature using a thermometer. Year 4 have been set a vocabulary challenge and Mrs Hollins is very excited to see how many children will earn the maximum 8 Team Points
Summer 1- Week 5
Art - imitating best using materials🪹🎨 🪵
This week in Art children explored how they can use a variety of media to create observed and expressive drawings of nests.
The children explored how their drawings might feel relatively “neat” or might feel “messy” – but that both of these are fine! We are all able to express our personality through art!
The children used their sketchbooks to test materials. The children created their own “Experimental Mark Making Tools” to create expressive and personal drawings using paints with feathers, cotton buds, sticks, sponges, tin foil, bubble wrap and foam packaging.
Reading at home 📚
Summer 1 - Week 4
What a week…💛
This week Year 4 have worked their socks 🧦 off! They have shown fantastic resilience and perseverance helping Mrs Adcock get back into the swing of Hugo, showing great learning behaviours and how living and caring they can be. What a team!
In Maths, the children have been dividing a 1digit number by 10, resulting in a decimal number with 1 decimal place. To begin with, they saw that the number was shared into 10 equal parts. This can be shown by exchanging each place value counter worth 1 for ten 0.1 counters. They recognised that when using a place value chart, they moved all of the digits one place to the right when dividing by 10. Any
misconceptions around “tricks” that work for this step, such as moving the decimal point to the beginning of the number or adding “zero point” in front of the word was addressed
at this stage and will help to prevent errors later on. The children then progressed to dividing 2-digit numbers by 10 and then
move on to dividing by 100. Absolute Mathematical magicians 🪄 !
In English this week, we have been researching and exploring animals from the Amazon rainforest. Children sorted and recorded their information under different headings and then wrote a series of paragraphs using the appropriate features of a non-fiction text writing their own fact file.
Maths Mania - timestables 🎲
The importance of Maths 🧮
Summer 1 Homework
Children are to choose one activity a week to complete. This is in addition to a weekly piece of Maths or English.
Maya Homework Summer 1
24.02.2024
Multiplication club fun and games! This week we restarted the Year 4 multiplication club and it went done very well! The children had lots of different activities to take part in and test their times-table knowledge. Here are a few pictures of some things they got up to.





30.01.2024
A fun day with our ancient Egyptian experts!
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20.12.2023
This week in DT, Year 4 have been practising their sewing skills and have been extremely resilient and patient in their projects. They had to make a little pouch by sewing up the sides using a running stitch, sew on a button securely, and even put their initials on the front. They really concentrated and created some beautiful pouches.













01.12.2023
Year 4 have had the opportunity to taste and scrutinise different kinds of biscuits to help them design their own delicious snack! After they had thought about the various textures, flavours and appearances, they got their baking aprons on and made their own versions. The class worked well as a team, used measuring, sieving and mixing skills and here are a few pictures of their baking adventures.
29.09.2023 Back in the swing!
Well, Year 4 have a busy first few weeks back at school with starting their new book for the half term by Anthony Browne called 'Gorilla', practising their throwing and catching skills in P.E and getting to know their violins for the year. Here are some pictures of our second lesson with Mrs Hughes who taught the children how to hold their violins, the names of the different parts and how to pluck the strings. The class enjoyed it very much!
28.06.2023 All things Egyptian
Year 4 had a great day with their Ancient Egyptian visitor! They learned so much about mummification, writing on papyrus and how to play games that the Ancient Egyptians used to play! Watch the video of some of the children having a go at the game, and see if you can figure out the rules!
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12.05.2023
Art Attack!
This week in Art, Year 4 have been using their perseverance and inventiveness skills. They were asked to create a model of a bird's nest using random materials after they had recently been sketching them. The children showed great teamwork and resilience completing the task. Here a few photos of their process and final product.













31.03.2023
Well , here we are .. the end of our spring term!
We have had such a busy but fun week with Geography fieldwork on the school grounds reading 4 digit reference grids, a visit to church with lots of crafting and singing, and not forgetting our multiplication club! Year 4 are making great progress with their times-table and division knowledge. Here are a few pictures of some of the activities the children get up to in the club.
We have worked extremely hard this term and I look forward to sharing all our new learning that will happen in the summer term.
Happy Easter everyone!







14.03.2023 - Maya Workshop
Today, we had 2 very knowledgeable specialists come and deliver our Maya workshop. We had a great day doing so many activities!
We looked at the importance of weaving to the Maya and made a little colourful, woollen basket of our own using a backstrap loom. We also made our own Guatemalan worry doll.
We explored replica artefacts such as the Dresden Codex, cocoa beans and masks, and wrote our names in glyphs using traditional ink.
We learnt about the Maya number system, Maya calendars and found out what our Nahual name is and created a Nahual hieroglyph.
The best part was the virtual reality session where we explored the sites of the Maya world including Chichen Itza and Tikal. It was a lot of fun!
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P.E - Gymnastics and apparatus 27.01.2023










As you can see, Year 4 have moved on to using the apparatus in their gymnastics lesson this week. Until now, they have been practising their shapes, balancing, jumping and travelling both individually and working in groups creating routines to perform. The class have become very good audience members listening and watching their classmates' performances respectfully.
Multiplication table learning 13.01.23
Year 4 have been spending a lot of time learning their times-tables in Maths and they are finding all sorts of ways to practise using them. This includes in a quick game of bingo or would you rather, in our weekly 'Magic 96' activity, in division tasks, as well as songs.
Would you rather 8 x 6 minutes for a lunchtime or 7 x 9 minutes?
To watch the most requested song in our class please click here
Reunited at school and with our violins! 06.01.2023

Additionally, we were back to our music lessons with Mrs Hughes and playing on our violins once again. Here is a short clip of Year 4 doing a warm up and getting ready to learn a new piece of music - enjoy!




It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 02.12.2022
This week we have had the Open the Book Team in talking to us about the meaning and importance of Christingle, and we got to make one to take home which was a lot of fun! Then, we got to finish our week off by going to the pantomime .. oh, no we didn't!
Overall, lot's of fun to get us ready and in the mood for Christmas!
A very busy week indeed! 19.11.2022
This week has been extremely busy with Road Safety Week, Anti- Bullying Week and Children in Need. The children have really enjoyed taking part in different activities across the week from wearing and designing odd socks, being a part of a live anti-bullying lesson and going outside to see the impact of bright colours versus darker colours.
The children also took part in a class survey where they discovered the most popular coat colour worn in our class was a black coat. In addition, they talked about and identified ways we can stay safe on the roads and be seen by wearing bright, fluorescent material in the day, and reflective material at night.



Minibeasts in our school garden - 14.10.22
At the beginning of the week, Year 4 went outside for their Science lesson and explored the gardens searching for minibeasts. We identified different habitats, a range of minibeasts and types of trees before collating and recording our findings. Here a few of our action shots...
Geography - The children's turn to be teacher - 7.10.22
This week in Geography we have been locating different climate zones on our planet. The children worked together and researched a climate zone using the classroom's topic books, information leaflets and their exercise books. They then became the teachers and presented their new learning to the rest of their class before a quick question and answer session about their climate zone. They all did a great job of researching information, working as a team and using presenting skills.




Art - Storytelling through drawing - 30.09.22
This half term, Year 4's art unit is called 'Storytelling through Drawing'.
This week, we have read and watched clips of the poem 'The Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carrol and discussed the narrative running throughout. The children will work each week to create their own accordian book using illustrations to tell the story. We experimented today using pastels, pencils, charcoal and other mediums to create movement and atmosphere in our sketches. Below are some examples of the work produced and, I think you'll agree, they look fantastic!
Harvest LIVE - 30.09.22
Year 4 took part in a Harvest LIVE lesson this week and went on an adventure through the countryside to explore the fascinating journey their food takes to reach their plates. We went behind the scenes of real British farms and met the people responsible for producing their food. We discovered how carrots are grown, processed and packed, and how farmers are using cutting-edge science and technology to fight climate change. We learnt about nematodes and how they help yields by eating the slugs!
Finally, we had the opportunity to ask the farmers questions and take part in an online live quiz which we did very well at!
Harvest LIVE





A Busy Week of Learning - 22.09.22
Well, even though it has been a shorter week this week, we have been working extremely hard practising our suffixes in spelling, expanded noun phrases in English and working with numbers to 10,000 in Maths. Well done to everyone for their achievements. Let’s keep up the good work and see what next week brings!
Finding Our Inner Musician - 16.09.22
This week in year 4, we have been really busy! We had our first P.E. lesson this year, as well as our very first violin lesson with Mrs Hughes. She taught the class how to hold a violin, how to care for our violins and how to pluck a string. We had time to explore our violins and have a go at plucking 4 strings (G, D, A and E). The children really enjoyed learning their new musical skills!
Our first violin lesson
First Week Back - 09.09.22
Welcome to Year 4!
The children have all have returned to school full of enthusiasm after a restful summer break and most of this week has been spent getting ourselves back into routine and settled into school life once again. The children have all made a great first impression and we have had lots of fun getting to know each other and starting to look further at the new topics and skills we will be learning more about together this term. What a great start!
To contact Year 4, please use the form below.
Alternatively, you can email us directly at year4@hugomeynell.staffs.sch.uk
**IMPORTANT NEWS**
YEAR 4 MULTIPLICATION TIMES TABLE CHECK - JUNE 2022
Click the below link for more information
Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check | Hugo Meynell CofE (VC) Primary School (secure-primarysite.net)
To design and make a shaduf
Year 4 were set a challenge to design and make the ancient irrigation system that they learnt about during their History learning about the Egyptians.
What is a shaduf?
- A shaduf is a hand operated device used for lifting water out of a well or reservoir. It was invented by the Ancient Egyptians and is still used today, in Egypt, India and other countries.
- The device is extremely efficient and easy to use. It is estimated that it can easily and with little effort lift more than 2,500 litres per day.
- The shaduf (or shadoof) consisted of a long wooden pole balanced on a beam. The pole had a bucket attached by a rope to one end and a heavy weight acting as a counterweight on the other end.
The children followed the design and technology process of researching, designing, making and evaluating. They also practiced the skill of sawing, taking it in turns to use the wooden bench to place the wood pieces into the vice and carefully crafting their technique of sawing. Take a look at our structures below.
Action shots of our D&T project- making a shaduf



























Our Egyptian Workshop
In History the children took part in an Egyptian workshop, the children learnt about the life (and death) of a Pharaoh including Mummification where the children met Empa, the embalmer. They met an Egyptian scribe and using hieroglyphic stencils, black paint and authentic reed pens and papyrus, the children became Egyptian scribes! They played Egyptian games - the children got to play two of the most popular Egyptian board games as well as become Egyptian City Builders. During their session, the children worked together to design their very old Egyptian city! Finally, the children undertook an artefact Investigation - Ari showed the children various replica Ancient Egyptian artefacts and talked about their significance. Many of the artefacts had been made in modern-day Egypt so were extremely authentic, the children were great and naming the artefacts and also understanding what they were used for.
Our Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Today Year 4 took part in our Jubilee day to celebrate the Queens Platinum’s Jubilee🇬🇧. They completed a number of activities that included writing their own proclamation of what they would do if they were King or Queen 👑 for the day as well as completing a number of problem solving activities in Maths which asked the children to become the queens stylist and figure out how many outfit choices they could make using the items provided. They also made and decorated crown shortbread and created repeated imagery in the style of Andy Warhol using their chosen image of our queen 💙🤍❤️. At lunchtime Year 4 enjoyed a street party lunch out on the playground and completed the afternoon with PE and decorating the silhouette of the queen using decoupage of the Union Jack 🇬🇧
To mark the occasion the children also received a memento of the day - a coin with the queens emblem and our school logo 🪙
Our Platinum Jubilee Celebrations 👑














