Have a look at all the wonderful, exciting things 4M in 2021/22 got up to:

On Monday 18th July, a local author Sean Perkins read us his story Oscar and Ben. It was brilliant:

James Norton - Artist

In Y4M, we created beautiful pieces of art. We painted landscapes with a view of the sea through some cliffs.  We had a fantastic day.

On Monday 4th July it was our Year 3/ 4 Sports Day.

We had a fabulous time working in teams to complete different challenges

and it was lovely that our parents came to watch:

Science - the digestive system

Year 4M had fun today learning all about the digestive system.  We demonstrated the process using crackers, bananas, orange juice and water.  It was messy but it really helped the children to understand what happens to our food. 

Year 4M Digestive system

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impromptu Debate about ladybirds

Today we got involved in an impromptu debate about ladybirds.  One of our children had caught some at home and brought them into school.  We used magifying pots to have a closer look at them and then had a discussion about whether or not it was right to keep them.  There were some very interesting points made for both sides of the argument. 

impromptu ladybird debate

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numeracy Day 18th May 2022 

Today was Numeracy Day and Year 4 took part in a Guiness Book world record attempt by having the highest number of live viewers during a rolling numbers YouTube stream.  We sang songs, danced and chanting our times tables.  We even played the very popular 'Guess my Number' game which encourages the children to use reasoning skills when asking questions. 

Year 4 Numeracy Day

Year 4 Sleepover May 2022

On Friday, 13th May, lots of the Year 4 children attended a sleepover at school.  Children arrived back at school at 7:30pm and played games.  Some chose to play on the climbing frame, some chose to play sports (football and basket ball) whilst some played with the parachute.  After this, we watched a film with some snacks before brushing our teeth and changing into our pyjamas and settling down watching a second film.  After breakfast on Saturday morning, children went back home.  Probably to get some more sleep. 

Year 4 Sleep Over May 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Masks:

We have learned about the importance of masks in African culture which are used for special social and religious events. We looked at a range of different African masks to help us think of our own designs. Then, we made our masks using paper mache to form the nose and mouth as well as paint, pipe cleaners and feathers for decoration.

African Collage:

We created our own collage of a traditional African scene based on African line work. We used a range of different materials, including; card, felt and hessian, to create a brightly coloured piece of artwork. 

SPRING TERM 2 - THEME ATHENS Vs SPARTA

Year 4M - Greek Day Workshop 

Year 4 had a fantastic day when we were visited by very special guests all the way from Athens and Sparta.  We learned all about each city. We were soldiers, we danced, we acted, we tried on clothes, we explored artefacts and we played games.  We had to vote for which city we would have liked to have lived in during Ancient Greek times.  The winner was Athens. 

4M Greek DAy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YEAR 4M SCIENCE DAY

Science Day was a huge success.  Children in Year 4 designed their own experiments/investigations to find out which biscuit is best for dunking.  We all chose different biscuits and different methods to find out.  

We also made lava lamps using oil, water, food colouring and effervescent tables.  

4M SCIENCE DAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 4M hand fun on the climbing wall. 

4M Climbing wall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLORING ARTEFACTS AS HISTORIANS

We been learning about how historians find out about life in ancient times.  We learned about archaeologists and primary sources.  We inspected Greek pots and photos of them to infer what life was like for the Ancient Greeks.  

History - Exploring Greek pots

 

 

WORLD BOOK DAY 2022

We dressed up as animals for World Book Day and  read a picture book called The Barnabus Project which is about hybrid animals being rejected.  We created our own hybrid animals, drew pictures of them and wrote a short fact file.  Our work is on display in the classroom. 

4M World Book Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPRING TERM 1 - THEME UNIT 'ROCKY THE FINDOSAUR

EXCAVATING FOSSILS

We have been learning about rocks and fossils.  We made our own 'fossils' using clay, sand and plaster of Paris to demonstrate  the idea of mould and cast fossils.  We left them to dry and then 'excavated' them like paleontologists.
ear 4M Excavating Fossils

Year 4M Excavating Fossils

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VALUES DAY - PEACE

For Values Day, Year 4 thought about peace as a Christian value.  We talked about the dove being the symbol of peace and created our own dove art using bright colours and a variety of patterns.  

Values Day Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STARBURST ROCK EXPERIMENT 

We learned about the different types of rocks (sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic) and we demonstrate these rock types using Starburst sweets.  We pressed them together to demonstrate sedimentary, melted some in the microwave to demonstrate igneous and added further heat and pressure to demonstrate metamorphic.

Starburst Rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBSERVATIONAL ART

We looked closely at different types of rocks using magnifying glasses.  We then used shading skills that we practised earlier in the year to create sketches and drawings of these rocks. 

Observational ARt

 

 

 

 

 

ROCK INVESTIGATION

We began our new theme unit investigation rocks.  We tested for permeability and hardness.  We also tested to see how they would react to acid (in this case vinegar) and we observed closely using magnifying glasses.  

Rock Investigation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started our new unit about animation by exploring old style types of animation.  We created our own flip books, thaumatropes and zoetropes.  

ANIMATION - Old animation techniques

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a visitor come into school to help us learn more about stop motion animation.  We had to work in teams to come up with a short story idea.  We then created our own plasticine models and then created a short film using them.  We added sound and titles. They were sent away for the backgrounds to be added to the green screens. 

Animation Workshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Christingles 

Making Christingles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7th December 2021 - Reindeer Visit

Year 4M Reindeer visit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 30th November 2021, the whole school took part in the Elf Run for charity (money raised went to Bolton Hospice).

Y4M Elf Run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 4 Dodgeball

Our Year 4s went to compete in a dodgeball tournament  They all played incredibly well. 

Year 4 Dodgeball Tournement

 

 

 

 

 

 

We learned all about the Brazilian artist, Romero Britto.  He is famous for his pop art style.  We created our own art work using his as inspiration.  We used bold lines and bright colours. 

Year 4 Art - Romero Britto

 

Y4M High Rid Trip

We had lots of fun on our trip including canoeing,  den building and eating toasted marshmallows. 

Y4M High Rid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCIENCE - Exploring Sound 

We started off our science unit by exploring sound and thinking about what makes a sound when we play different instruments.  We also made string telephones using paper cups and wool.  We discovered that sound is made by vibrations. 

Y4M Exploring Sound

SCIENCE - GROUPING AND CLASSIFYING We continued with our science unit on sound and grouped a variety of instruments depending on their features (eg how the sound is made, whether it makes a high or low pitch).  We created classification trees on our tables. 

Y4M science Sound grouping and classifying

SCIENCE - EXPLORING PITCH - Pattern seeking 

We explored glockenspiels to find out more about the pitch of a sound.  We then used tested our theories about what makes higher and lower pitch noises and created our own straw panpipes. We recorded our findings in our books. 

SCIENCE - EXPLORING PITCH Pattern Seeking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer:

CURRICULUM LETTER:

Here is our Summer curriculum letter so you can see what we are learning about this term: 

Year 4 Curriculum Letter - Summer

SUMMER TERM 2 THEME OVERVIEW

“Picture Our Planet” is a thematic unit, with a key focus on geography. Learning is centred around two contrasting localities:- Brazil and Scotland , and includes key facts, physical and human features, traditions and customs and an insight into how each country is tackling particular conservation issues. Pupils will have the opportunity to look at a range of sources and evidence and make comparisons.

“Viking Warrior” is a competency-based thematic unit with a history focus, telling the legendary story of Ragnar Lothbrok. He is a Viking “sea lord” who, according to his very famous saga, invaded the ancient Kingdom of Frankia and then the British Isles over 1000 years ago. He is known for wearing “hairy trousers” which protected him on his adventures

In Summer 2, our 5 Reads books that we read in story time each day are:

The Boy Who Grew a Forest by Sophia Gholz | Along the Tapajós by Fernando Vilela | 
From My Window By Otavio Junior | One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul | Rainbow Weaver By Tejedora Del Arcoiris

Our class novel we are also reading in English lessons and Class Novel time is:

'Charlotte's Web' by E. B. White and our focus in English lessons is on stories which raise issues and dilemmas.

Look at some of the things we have done in Summer Term 2:

AUTHOR VISIT

On Friday 12th June we were lucky as a real author visited us.  We worked with her and she gave us a copy of her book, An Alien Stole My Planet by Pooja Puri.

SLEEPOVER

We had so much fun at our sleepover! We spent lots of time playing outside and then we had lots of snacks whilst watching a film together.

ART - Pop Art and Cubism 

We were learning about the Brazilian artist, Romero Britto.  He is known for his own style merging pop art style with cubism.  He used black, bold lines and bright colours.  We created our own pieces of art in the same style. 

GEOGRAPHY - Human and Physical Features of Brazil 

We learned about different landmarks of Brazil and about human and physical features.  We carried out research to find out where some landmarks were, labelled them on a map of Brazil and identified what type of feature each one was: human or physical.

SCIENCE - Pattern Seeking: changing pitch

Continuing our learning about sound in science, we learned about pitch and frequency.  We explored glockenspiels to find out out to change a pitch.  We then created panpipes to find out if the same pattern applied. 

COMPUTING - Pioneer Day 

The whole school celebrated Pioneer Day.  Each class carried out an activity connected with a pioneer connected with computing technology. In Year 4, we learned about Radia Perlman.  We watched a short video and then carried out further research about her. 

ENGLISH - Hot-Seating: Interviewing characters from Charlotte's Web

After reading some more chapters of Charlotte's Web, we considered the thoughts and feelings of the characters.  We wrote questions that we would like to ask and then 'interviewed' them. 

SPELLINGS:

Here is our spellings for Summer 1. There are five groups for spellings and your child should know which group they are in. Spellings are tested each Friday with the dates shown on the sheet: 

SUMMER 1 HALF TERM THEME OVERVIEW:

“Window on the World” is a geography-based thematic unit with a focus on settlement and trade. Pupils will learn about physical features that make a location suitable for habitation, trade links and the interdependence between countries importing and exporting and will build on learning about biodiversity through a focus on captive breeding programmes.

READING:

In Summer 1, our 5 Reads books that we read in story time each day are:

The Last Wolf by Mini Grey | Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker | Little Turtle and the Sea by Becky Davies | Sonam And The Silence by Eddie Ayres | The Visible Sounds by Yin Jianling

Our class novel we are also reading in English lessons and Class Novel time is:

'My Name is River' by Emma Rea and our focus in English lessons is character-driven adventure stories. 

Theme: Our theme unit is called 'Window on the World' where we look at human geography..

Look at some of our photos of the things we have done:

ENGLISH - Newspaper Reports 

We finished reading our class novel, My Name is River.  At then end, we found out about Miss Crassy's wrongdoings and wrote newspaper reports about the event.  they look great on our display 

YEAR 4M - TT ROCKSTARS BATTLE WINNERS 

To help improve our times tables knowledge, there are regular TT Rockstars battles between the two Year 4 classes.  Miss Manly's class were victorious (again) and won an extra playtime. Some of Miss Foster's children had very high scores so they joined us too. Until next time 4F!

GEOGRAPHY - USING ATLASES AND MAKING FACT FILES. 

We used atlases to locate Brazil and then labelled Brazil and its bordering countries in South America.  We found out that only 2 countries in South America do not share a border with Brazil: Chile and Ecuador.  Once we had labelled the countries, we created fact files and found lots of interesting information. 

PHSE - PANTS

We talked about good and bad touches and personal space.  We understood that people should respect personal space and that not everyone appreciates hugs. 

SCIENCE - COMPARATIVE/FAIR TEST 

We started off this lesson by talking about how sound travels through a medium.  Miss Manly demonstrated using a model to represent the medium; either solid, liquid or gas.  We were able to see the 'vibrations' pass down the line of the tape.  When the skewers were closer together, this represented a solid, slight further apart represented liquids and further apart still represented gas.   We heard an alarm from underwater to show that sound travels through liquids.  We wrapped string around a piece of cutlery, wrapped the string around our fingers and then placed our fingers in our ears.  When we banged the cutlery on the table, we could hear the sound travel down the string.  Finally, we made paper cup string telephones and went outside to use them.  In the next lesson, we investigated whether or not the length of a piece of string makes a difference to the volume reaching the ear.  We used data loggers to collect our data. 

ENGLISH - AUTHOR DAY: POETRY

Our focus for author day was poetry.  All children in lower key stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) were put into mixed groups and took part in different activities in the 4 classrooms.  In Miss Manly's room we found out about the Victorian poet, Christina Rossetti.  We read her poem, Have You Seen the Wind? and then rehearsed it chorally.  We then made wind spinners which had the first stanza of the poem printed on. In Miss Foster's room, we looked at nature poems in the book 'I am the seed that grew the tree?' compiled by Fiana Waters. We read poems for each day of the year. We focused on the poem 'What is Green?' by Mary O' Neill and then wrote our own nature poems based on a given colour..In Mrs Johnson room, we looked at the book 'Tiger Tiger Burning Bright' and explored animal poetry with syllable counts. In Mrs Clarkson's class, we created our own riddle poems in the style of kennings. 

ENGLISH: SPEAKING AND LISTENING - NEWS BROADCAST

We worked in pairs and small groups to prepare a news item about our class novel, My Name is River.  In the book, children have uncovered a terrible secret project organised by one of the employees of an international company.  This is what our news report was based on. 

SCIENCE - RESEARCH USING SECONDARY SOURCES

In our science lessons, we have been learning all about sound and how we hear.  We found out that sound starts with particles vibrating.  We used science text books to research how our ears work and how we hear sound. 

COMPUTING - TOUCH TYPING

We practised our touch typing skills using a programme on Purple Mash.  We had to try and type the letter showing on the screen without glancing at our keyboards. 

SCIENCE - CREATIVE CHALLENGE 

As part of our homework and linking with our science unit of sound, we were asked to create our own musical instruments using items and home.  We had some amazing creations which all produced different sounds. it was clear to see that sound starts with vibrations.  Some of our instruments  could change pitch. Members of staff voted for the best creation and the winner won a special science box prize.  Everyone who took part received a smaller gift. 

ENGLISH - SPEAKING AND LISTENING (Persuasive speeches) 

We read more of our class novel and then imagined that we were the main character (Dylan) and wrote a persuasive speech to try and persuade the CEO of BlueBird to let Dylan's family keep the farm. We used emotion, rhetorical questions, facts and if, then sentences. 

COMMANDO JOE

This half term we are continuing to work with Commando Joe to build up our resilience, team work and problem solving skills. We are also getting used to working with different people as we have been working in mixed groups made by combining both Year 4 classes.  It is a great skill to be able to work with different people. 

SANDPIT FUN

We made the most of the lovely weather and spent some time in the sandpit.  Some of the children were building volcanoes and talking about what happens when a volcano explodes.  They could also remember what type of rock is formed by lava and magma.  

ENGLISH - READING IN THE HUT

As it was such a lovely day, we decided to start our English lesson by reading the next chapter of our class novel (My Name is River) in our lovely outside hut.  

SCIENCE - PATTERN SEEKING (and observing over time) 

Our science unit is all about sound.  We observed what happened when a ruler is held at the edge of a desk and then 'twanged'. We changed the length of the ruler by having more of the ruler hanging over the edge of the table and recorded what we observed.  We repeated this with a wooden ruler to compare results with the plastic ruler.  We found out that, the shorter the ruler the higher the frequency which results in a higher pitch noise.  

MATHS - PRACITCAL USING COUNTERS

We have been learning about decimal numbers and about how to compare and order them.  Some of us having been using counters and/or place value grids to help us with our understanding of value. 

PSHE - THAT'S DEBATABLE

We have been thinking about how we communicate our ideas and then discussed what a debate is.  We agreed that a debate is a way of communication our ideas whilst trying to persuade others.  We discussed a variety of questions and showed our thoughts by choosing which corner of the room had the statement that fit with our opinion (strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree or disagree).  We then settled on a question to discuss in more detail. We split up into teams and had to convince a 'neutral' group to side with us listening to our debate.  The big question was 'Is the Royal Family important?'

GEOGRAPHY - USING ATLASES

We learned about import, export, shipping and distribution.  We looked at which European countries we (in the UK) import our food from. 

MATHS - TIMES TABLES PRACTICE

Children in Year 4 our preparing and practising for  the Year 4 multiplication tables check which will begin in June. We have been playing lots of games, both as single players and with/against our friends.  

SCIENCE - EXPLORING SOUND

We started off our new science unit on sound by exploring sound.  We played with different instruments and thought about how the sound is made and how it is made louder or quieter.  We recorded our observations.  We found out that sound starts with something vibrating. 

ART DAY 

We started off the day by looking at a variety of paint brushes and thought about the uses for each of them.  We then learned about how artists use different types of strokes for effect.  We exploring this. We then learned about a specific technique called pointillism. We practised this on Mickey Mouse templates.  Later, as we had been learning about the comic book artist, Jack Kirby, we designed our own super heroes and painted them ourselves. 

TAG RUGBY

Last half term, we practised the skills needed in a tag ruby game.  For our first PE lesson this half term, we were able to have an actual game on our field. 

EID CARDS

We made some beautiful Eid cards for our family and friends.

Spring:

CURRICULUM LETTER:

Here is our Spring curriculum letter so you can see what we are learning about this term: 

SPRING 2 THEME OVERVIEW:

“That’s All Folks!” is a thematic unit based around the history and development of animation and cartoons. It primarily takes in elements of history, art and computing / ICT and starts with learning about the beginnings of animation, looking at zoetropes and flip books, before moving on to the dawn of the Disney age. Then, the process of animation is explored further, with an opportunity for pupils to exchange their own design ideas and create their own animated films.

READING 

In Spring 2, our 5 Reads books that we read in story time each day are:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore by William Joyce | Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister | Ocean Sky by The Fan Brothers | The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward | The Lost Homework by Richard O’Neil

Our class novel this half term is 'Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe' and our focus in English lessons is stories set in imaginary worlds. 

TT ROCKSTARS - BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Both Year 4 classes were involved in a 'Battle of the Bands' on TT Rockstars.  The class with the most points per pupil (on average) was the winner.  Y4M won and we also had the top 3 players of the year group in our class.  They each received a special treat just before the half term break. 

ANIMATION WORKSHOP

Helping us with our leaning about animation, we had a visitor in school who helped us to make our own models and then create our own stop motion animation videos.  We all had great fun and cannot wait to see the finals videos when the have been edited and sent back to us. 

LITTER-PICKING - Helping our community and our planet

On Friday 23rd March 2023,  went litter-picking in our local area.  We were quite upset at the amount of litter we found but we did our bit to put  it right. 

SCIENCE - COMPARATIVE AND FAIR TEST

Making and testing our own toothpaste

We have been learning about how to keep our teeth healthy.  Previously, we had tested the effectiveness of different toothpastes. We followed recipes to make our own toothpastes and then tested them in the same way to find out how effective each one was. 

PSHE - Agony Aunts

We have been thinking about communication in our PSHE lessons and today was no different.  We thought about our feelings, in particular, negative feelings.  We talked about what made us feel negative emotions and then we anonymously wrote down things that make us feel this way.  As a class, we then looked at different scenarios and tried to give good advice to help. 

Class Worship 15th March 2023

Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you 

We watched a video which created a great discussion about respect.  

SCIENCE DAY 2023

We started off by the children ordering themselves by height.  We then split into groups (ensuring a range of heights were in each group) and then the children measured and recorded their results.  

Following on from the assembly, we decided to see if the children could get the experiment with the water in bags to work.  The children were successful in piercing their bags with no leaking (unlike Miss Manly earlier in the day). 

The children poured different liquids into a measuring cylinder and then observed what happened.  The different liquids created layers due to the different densities.  Different small objects were then placed into the cylinders and the children were surprised to find out that they settled in different places too, again due to density.  The children recorded their observations in their books. 

HISTORY OF ANIMATION

We have been learning about early types of animation.  We started by making flipbooks and then learned about other Victorian animation such as thaumatropes, phenakistoscopes and zoetropes.  Each 'toy' had some similarities and differences.  Each did involve having different 'frames' and tricking the eye (optical illusions).  We learned a new phrase. 'persistence of vision'

SCIENCE - RESEARCH USING SECONDARY SOURCES

(Researching active ingredients in toothpaste) 

After learning about how to keep our teeth healthy and testing toothpastes, we decided to find out what each ingredient does in toothpaste.  We found out that flavours are added as the other ingredients do not taste very nice.  We also found out some of the common abrasives. We made posters to show our findings. 

PE - Tag Rugby

We've had our first session with Mr Newton, practising passing the ball correctly. We had to think about accuracy, speed and direction.  It is also important to not pass the ball forwards. 

WORLD BOOK DAY 2023 (WITH PSHE)

The whole school celebrated World Book Day 2023 with a theme of reading for pleasure.  Each class focussed on one of Tom Percival's 'Big Bright Feelings' books. Year 4 read 'Meesha Makes Friends' and then carried out a range of activities based on this book including roleplay, class discussion and making paper 'toys' which including instructions on how to make friends and make people feel welcome.  They all thoroughly enjoyed the book and could reflect on their own feelings. We also managed to spend some time in our beautiful school library and 'buddy up' with Reception class and read to the smaller children. 

SCIENCE - TESTING DIFFERENT TOOTHPASTES (COMPARATIVE TESTING) 

Year 4 have continued their science learning about 'Animals including Humans'.  After discussion and learning about how to keep our teeth healthy, children carried out tests on different toothpastes to find out how effective they are.  The focus was on how good they looked, how they smelt, how well they stayed on a toothbrush and how effective they were at cleaning off stains. 

SPRING 1  THEME OVERVIEW:

In Spring 1, we start by continuing our Autumn 2 theme 'Come Fly with Me! Africa'. This is a thematic unit based around the continent of Africa, with a key focus on geography and history. Pupils will be learning about the location of Africa and identifying its largest countries. Alongside this geography element, they will study the Benin era. They will also learn about African culture, in particular typical African food and folk tales.

In Spring term1, our second theme is called 'Saxon King: Harold Godwinson'. This is a competency-based thematic unit with a history focus, telling the inspirational story of Harold Godwinson. He is famous for being the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, ruling as a talented leader in peace and war. Pupils will learn, through his life story, all about his achievements and what makes him such an important historical figure.

READING:

In Spring 1, our 5 Reads books that we read in story time each day are:

Arthur and the Golden Rope by Joe Todd Stanton | Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain by Margaret Bateson-Hill | No Dinner! By Jessica Souhami |

Chandra’s Magic Light by Theresa Heine | The Flower by John Light

Our class novels we are also reading in English lessons and Class Novel time are:

The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman

SPELLINGS:

Here are our spellings lists for Spring 1 half term. There are four groups for spellings and your child should know which group they are in. Spellings are tested each Friday with the dates shown on the sheet: 

RE - EXPLORING SHABBAT

We learned about the Jewish celebration of Shabbat (the Sabbath) and found out what people do to celebrate it.  We watch an informative video and then role-played a Shabbat meal with different children taking roles in the ritual.  We had a great discussion about the similarities with some of our own celebrations. 

PRACTICAL MATHS  - TENTHS AND HUNDREDTHS

To start our unit on fractions, we have been learning about tenths and hundredths.  We used poppet fidgets to help us understand the relationship between tenths and hundredths using the bubbles and row markers to help us. 

SCIENCE - OBSERVING OVER

TIME/COMPARATIVE TESTING

We have been learning about our teeth and how to keep them healthy.  We talked about the effect different drinks have our our teeth.  We carried out an enquiry to find out the effect of different liquids.  We used eggs as the shells of eggs are made of a similar substance to tooth enamel.  

PSHE - CODE BREAKING

We started by discussing different forms of communication and talked about how important communication is.  We then learned about Morse code and Braille.  We had to use these codes to decipher different messages. We had great fun doing it. 

PE - FITNESS (WHACKY RACES)

During our PE fitness session today, we took part in a variety of different races.  Some took strength some took speed, some took agility and others took balance.  We worked together as a team in relay races. 

PRACTICAL MATHS -  AREA

Our current unit in maths is area.  Children have been counting squares and using square counters and cubes to find an area of a shape.  They moved on to using cubes and square counters to create shapes with a given area.  

INTERNET SAFETY DAY - COMPUTING AND PSHCE

It was Internet Safety Day on Tuesday 7th February.  Children talked about and explain what internet safety actually means and looked at different ways to stay safe on line.  Some children shared some of their own experiences of people being quite mean online.  After the discussion, they completed a Venn diagram thinking about if certain activities online were positive, negative or a bit of both. 

NSPCC NUMBER DAY - TTRockstars

To help raise money for the charity, NSPCC, children in school dressed up as rock stars and made a donation.  During the day, children were involved a range of maths activities.  Y4M logged onto TTRockstars and earned some points - practise in preparation for the Year 4 multiplication check coming up later in the year. 

CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

To recognise 'Children's Mental Health Week' children across school took part in different activities with a theme of 'connections'. In Year 4, children played a game of connections bingo.  To play the game, children were given a bingo card and had to complete it by finding someone who fit a certain criteria.  For example, 'find someone who has a sister' or 'find someone how can play an instrument.' We linked the activity with out physical health and played the game during our PE session.  Children took part in a fitness session and, when the whistle blew, they had to make their way to a new station to find someone to help complete their 'bingo card'.  To make it a little bit more challenging and to encourage the children to talk to others outside of their friendship group, the teachers set extra rules.  Children could only find someone from the opposite Year 4 class and each child had to have a mixture of boys and girls on their card.  This did take some of the children a little out of their comfort zone but were surprised to learn some facts about their peers. 

PRACTICAL MATHS - DIVISION

Children have been learning how to divide 3 digit numbers by a 1 digit number.  They used counters to help. 

Art (3D form) /Geography (Culture, traditions and cusoms) : African dance masks

We have been learning about different cultures in different African cultures.  We learned about African dance masks and found out more about the culture, traditions and beliefs.  We then made our own masks using paper plates and paper mache. 

SCIENCE - IDENTIFYING, GROUPING AND CLASSIFYING: A PRACTICAL EXPERIMENT

Continuing our work on 'Animals Including Humans' in science, we have been learning about the digestive system.  We were given some very strange instructions to build up a practical experiment without being told exactly what we were learning about.  We then had a discussion about what we could have been representing and discovered that it was our digestive system.  It was a little messy and some even thought it was a little bit yucky but lots of fun was had. 

PE - fun on the climbing frame. 

During one of our fitness PE sessions, as part of the circuits, we made use of our climbing frame in the hall.  We are very lucky to have such fantastic equipment in our school. 

ENGLISH (with MUSIC) - Performance Poetry 

We have been looking at different performance poems by different poets including: Michael Rosen, Brian Moses, Benjamin Zephaniah and John Agard.  We analysed different performances and discussed the features that made each performance.  In small groups, we then practised performing  'Walking With My Iguana' by Brian Moses. Using that poem as inspiration, we then wrote our own poems about one of 'The Big Five' African animals and performed them whilst including musical instruments.  We talked about tempo, rhythm, pitch, volume and timbre. 

SCIENCE - IDENTIFYING, GROUPING AND CLASSIFYING

We had carried out research on different African animals looking at habitats, diet etc.  Following on from this, we grouping animals into different groups and then worked in groups to create our own identification keys. 

Autumn:

HALF TERM THEME OVERVIEW:

14.11.22 – 20.01.23

“Rocky the Findosaur ” is a thematic unit based around rocks and fossils, with a key focus on science. It teaches about dierent types of rocks, with the help of original animated dinosuar character, Rocky. The dinosuar link also enables pupils, not only to engage with rocks and fossils in a fun way, but helps to build on from prior learning in the history theme entitled “Ug!” This theme also takes in solids, liquids and gases through focusing on Mount Vesuvius, which is where Rocky spends his time exploring.

17.10.22 – 11.11.22

“Come Fly With Me! Africa” is a thematic unit based around the continent of Africa, with a key focus on geography and history. Pupils will be learning about the location of Africa and identifying its largest countries. Alongside this geography element, they will study the Benin era. They will also learn about African culture, in particular typical African food and folk tales..

READING:

In Autumn 2, our 5 Reads books that we read in story time each day are:

Last by Nichola Davies | Anansi and the Golden Pot by Taiye Selasi | Lila and the Secret of the Rain by David Conway |

Cinderella of the Nile by Beverley Naidoo | The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane

Our class novels we are also reading in English lessons and Class Novel time are:

Children of the Benin Kingdom by Dinah Orji | The Story Thief by Andrew Fusek Peters

PHOTOS:

Autumn 2 Photos

On Tuesday 20th December it was Christmas party day:

Om Monday 21st December we went to watch A Christmas Carol at The Octagon:

ENGLISH - Benin Kingdom - non-chronological report

The children in Year 4M are really proud of their work about the Benin Kingdom.  They carried out research and then created double page spreads in their English books.  We hope you'll agree that they do look pretty impressive.  

ROCKS AND FOSSILS WORKSHOP 

Visitors came to school to work with Year 4.  They delivered a workshop about rocks and fossils.  Children were able to look at and talk about different kinds of fossils.  They were able to see them through an onscreen microscope.  They also were able to explore different kinds of rocks and group them according to different properties.  It was a great way to reinforce their learning in our theme, "Rocky the Findosaur". 

RE - DREIDELS

We learned about the Jewish fesitval of  Hannukah and the tradition of the dreidel.  We made our own and then played the game using raisins. 

PRACTICAL MATHS IN YEAR 4

MEASURING PERIMETER

Year 4 children have been working on measure and perimeter.  We worked out the missing edges using sticks to help us at first.  

ART - COLLAGE

Our current theme in Year 4 is 'Come Fly With Me - Africa'.  We decided to base our collages on African line art.  We used red and orange to create a sunset with a yellow sun, different shades of green to create hills, cotton to create a dress, card for a face, felt tips for ams and legs and binka for a fruit basket.  They will look really effective on display.  We have also included a photograph for the 'aftermath' (our messy room) but the children helped to tidy up.  

CLASS WORSHIP 23RD November

1 Corinthians 13:13    And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The Bible teaches us that out of ‘faith, hope and love’ the most important is love. Do you agree with this? Why/why not?

SCIENCE -  COMPARATIVE AND FAIR TEST/OBSERVING OVER TIME. 

We tested to see which material (out of butter, chocolate and ice)  would melt the fastest using a tea light.  Most of us predicted that the ice would melt first but were surprised to find it was the butter.  We also left a sample of each on the window sill and it was the ice which melted first. 

On Friday 18th November it was author afternoon.

Years 3 and 4 had a lovely time going into different classrooms

looking at and doing different activities about 4 non-fiction books:

England Rocks

As part of Maths Week we participated in a KS2 competition on

Monday 14th November to Wednesday 16th November.

We were the winning class!

Well done everyone who took part and helped us to win!

SCIENCE

 OBSERVING OVER TIME - FREEZING AND MELTING POINTS

We learned about states of matter

and talked about water existing in the three states.  We learned about boiling points, freezing  points and melting points of pure water.  We then thought about how to change freezing points by adding soild.  For some fun, we used this knowledge to make our own orange juice slushies.  

SCIENCE - SOIL PERMEABILITY - COMPARATIVE/FAIR TEST

We explored soil and learned about what soil is made of.  We learned about the different types of soil and tested the permeability of chalk soil, clay soil and sandy soil.  

SCIENCE - COMARATIVE TESTING WITH ROCKS

We investigated different rocks in different ways.  We observed closely using magnifying glasses, tested permeability with water, tested to see the reaction with vinegar and tested the hardness.  Once we gathered our results, we had to try and work out what type of rock each one was by using clues. 

SCIENCE - TYPES OF ROCKS - STAR BURST EXPERIMENT

We have been learning about how rocks are formed and the different types of rocks.  We used Starburst sweets to demonstrate each type of rock.

HALF TERM THEME OVERVIEW:

In Autumn 1 our theme is called 'Athens Vs Spartans'. This is a thematic unit based on Ancient Greece, with a key focus on history. Learning is centred on how the Greeks used to live, including the key aspect of mythology, especially highlighting the conflicts that characterised Ancient Greece.

SCIENCE - OBSERVING OVER TIME

Following on from our learning and science enquiry involving floating and sinking, we looked closely at what happens when raisins are dropped into water and then what happens when dropped into lemonade.  We noticed that, in the lemonade, the extra bubbles surrounded the raisins and the raisins then floated to the top.  Once at the top, the bubbles popped and the raisins sank back down.  This continued like a cycle for some time.  We observed closely and recording our findings in picture form. 

RE - Class Worship 

‘Jesus Heals a Paralysed Man’ Luke 5:17-26 

The man would not have been healed without the help of his friends, who did all they could for him. How are you a good friend?

SCIENCE - COMPARATIVE AND FAIR TESTING

Following on from our learning about floating, sinking, density, water resistance and water displacement, we were left wondering if different liquids would have the same resistance as water if an object was dropped.  We tested different liquids: washing up liquid, bubble bath, cooking oil and water.  We timed how long it took for a ball of plasticine to sink to the bottom of a measuring cylinder.  We made sure that the amount of liquid, the size of the cylinders the same.  The liquid with the highest resistance was the bubble bath.  We decided that this was because it was much thicker than the others. 

ANDERTON CENTRE TRIP - 28th September 2022

Year 4M went on a trip to the Anderton Centre and took part in lots of different activities which all involved team building.  We stacked crates to see how many we could stand on,  we climbed along a traversing wall, we  paddled on paddle boats and we navigated our way around a low rope obstacle course.  We all had a great day and were very tired on our way back home.