Class HA
Mrs. Ashton has been at Writtle for quite a few years now. She has taught in every year group and this year she is moving back to lower school and teaching Year 4.
Mrs Ashton looks after Design and Technology and R.E. at Writtle. She is also Curriculum Lead which means she puts all the topics together to form our curriculum, which she loves to do. She enjoys hearing about the things that you like about our curriculum and things that you would change.
In her spare time Mrs Ashton loves to travel and visit places. Her favourite place in the world is Canada. This year she went to the Lake District and had great fun looking at all the wonderful scenery and taking her dog Monty for walks. She loves to walk on the beach and hunt for sea glass which she uses in her jewellery making.
Mrs Ashton also loves taking photographs and she can be seen snapping everything from plants to people to landscapes.
One of her favourite hobbies is to visit London on a Sunday when it is quiet and have a wander round the streets of London, spotting all the landmarks. She also loves a good musical. She doesn't need any excuse to sing along! Just before the summer holidays she went to see 'The Wizard of Oz' with Ashley Banjo.
Monty her Schnoodle, is now 2 and a half. He is a good paddle boarder and loves swimming. He loves walking with Mrs Ashton and the two of them can be found reading a good book ( honestly, he loves reading) and eating afternoon tea together on their walks!
Our Class
Mrs Ashton - Class Teacher
Mrs Lalyette - LSA
Mrs Clarke / Mrs Holloway/1-1 support
Mrs Lalyette is our class LSA and will be helping all of us to be organised, thoughtful and working hard. She loves supporting us to challenge ourselves and be the very best that we can be. She may be working with some of you in small groups.
Mrs Clarke is working with one person in our class. she already knows you all from last year.
Mrs Holloway is working with us all day. She is supporting one person in our class and has worked with some of you before.
Things to remember
Our PE days will be : Monday and Wednesdays now Swimming has finished for Year 4.
This half term we will be covering dance and may complete some team game sessions on some of our other PE days.
Autumn First Half
Rumble in the Jungle
To start Year Four, our first topic is Rumble in the Jungle. We will learn all about the ancient civilisation, the Maya, about their way of life, how they dressed and their love of chocolate. We end the topic by making our own (healthy) chocolate bar.
In English, we will be reading a great story set in the rainforest of South America, called The Great Kapok Tree. We will learn the art of persuasion in our writing.
In maths, we will be looking at place value, understanding the value of each digit. We then move on to looking at formal methods for addition and subtraction.
In Science, we will start to learn about sound - how it is produced, the role of air particles and the different qualities of sound.
Autumn Second Half
Winter Wonderland
To lead us into the Christmas holidays, our topic is 'Winter Wonderland'. In English, we will be reading a great adventure story called 'The Ice Palace', set in a snowy landscape with a surprise twist at the end. We will be writing non-chronological reports and writing the ending from a different perspective.
In Design and Tehnology, we will be designing and creating our own felt puppets. We will learn a variety of basic stitches in order to create our puppets and bring them to life. We will also create our very own scenery to use when performing our own play scripts.
In Science, we continue to learn about sound and will complete this by making our own instruments from junk modelling.
In Maths, we will be learning about measurement, looking at length and perimeter before moving on to learning formal methods for multiplication and division.
Spring First Half
The Iron Man
Our topic this half term is The Iron Man. We will begin by reading the book The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and use this story to lead our learning. In Science we will be learning about electricity and in DT, pneumatics and we will use these in our very own Iron Man built from junk modelling.
The children will create their own book trailers to promote The Iron Man. We will learn about camera angles and use this to help sketch the still frames we need for our trailer.
In Maths, we will be continuing to learn formal methods for multiplication and division.
Spring Second Half
Roaming Romans
Our topic this half term will be the Roaming Romans. We will be finding out about the Roman invasion of Britain, the Boudicca Rebellion and life as a Roman soldier.
Studying maps in Geography, we will investigate how and where the Romans invaded Britain, looking closely at our local history and finding links to the Romans VERY close to us!
To end our topic, we will be finding out what it was like to be a Roman soldier and design and create our own shields ready for our very own Roman battle!
In Maths, we will be moving onto understanding fractions and decimals. We will be making a fraction wall and will investigate equivalent fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers.
In English, we will be reading the book 'Bluest of Blues', a beautifully illustrated book all about the first woman to publish a book of photographs. This book will link to our new science topic, Living things and their habitats, where the children will learn how to classify animals.
Summer First Half
Eat Your Greens
At the start of the summer term, our topic is 'Eat Your Greens', where the children will be learning all about food from around the world, Fairtrade products and what a healthy meal should comprise, using the Eatwell plate to guide us. The children will design, prepare and eat their very own healthy meal.
In English, we will be reading the book 'One Plastic Bag'. Set in Gambia, the story looks at one woman's struggle with pollution and her inspiring solution.
In Maths, we will complete our work on decimals, before moving onto money and then finishing with time.
In Science, we will be looking at the Digestive System and Teeth. The children will be making their own set of teeth and will get messy with a pair of tights, orange juice and bananas. This is not for the squeamish!
In PE, the children will be learning team games and athletics.
Summer Second Half
Waterworks
In our final half term of the year, we move onto the topic 'Waterworks'. The children will be learning all about the water cycle, rivers of the world, mountains and seas and how we treat water. Hopefully, we will get to visit the 'Poo Factory' and see how water is treated and cleaned ready for us to use in our homes.
In English, we will be reading 'The Mousehole Cat', set in a quaint fishing village and based on a traditional Cornish tale. To finish, we will be looking at different types of poetry.
In Maths, we will be learning about statistics, and geometry, the properties of shapes.
In Science, we are learning about states of matter - solids, liquids and gases.
In PE, the children will be concentrating on athletics, ready for Sports Day.