Year 4
Welcome to Year 4. You will find a blog at the end of each term here letting you know what we have been up to.
Autumn 2023
In Year 4, we have been using posable mannequins as a start for drawing people. We used white pencil first and then progressed onto using different coloured chalk. In Maths, we used times tables to draw these patterns. See if you can guess which times tables they are patterns for.
Summer 2023
Author Visit
This term we had an exciting visit from an author Justyn Edwards. He told us all about his exciting books following two children who learn and use magic to solve mysteries. We were lucky enough to hear some of the story and he even showed us some magic tricks!
Matisse and His Majesty
With a new King on the throne and an art unit looking at Matisse, we decided to mix the two toegther and produced some fabulously bright and colourful art.
Spring 2023
Greek morning
As the children have been learning about Ancient Greece, they had a Greek workshop on how to make pitta bread with Mark Passarelli our school visiting chef. The children learnt about what ingredients go into hummus, some children grated cucumber to go into the Tzatziki, which was followed by all children making their own pitta bread. They had to shape and flatten their piece of dough, then cook it on a griddle and choose their accompaniments from tzatzkiki, taramasalata, hummus and olives. They then sat with their friends as if they were at the Agora in Athens, talking and eating a delicious snack.
Holes - Outdoor Day
The Holes day that the children had was based on the book they have been reading this term – Holes by Louis Sachar. They did think that they would be in orange jumpsuits digging holes all over the school field, however instead they made fires and charcoal, filtered water by heating it and did some reading games, based on the book. They then drew pictures using their charcoal of characters or a scene from the book. It was a fun day as usual with Andy Peck.
Science Week
Science week was a lot of fun! The children did lots of different activities using their observation skills, scientific knowledge and predicting skills. The children investigated how each fingerprint is different, by rubbing a pencil onto a piece of paper, placing their thumb in the dust, then putting their thumb on a piece of sellotape. They then compared their fingerprints to other children.
We also tried to create a healthy packed lunch using the least amount of food miles. Children learnt about why this is important for the environment and the importance of shopping locally where possible.
There is one investigation that is ongoing, where the children were looking at different soil types and the effect they have on decomposition. They chose to do one of the investigations from the Science week activity pack, where they buried a pair of new cotton pants and buried them in two different places within the school grounds. In early May, they will be digging them up to observe how they have changed and if the soil types in the two different places have produced different outcomes.
Autumn 2022
Eggsperiment
In Science, whilst learning about animals and humans, we looked at the differences between animal and human teeth. This was followed by carrying out an investigation into the types of liquids that could possibly harm our teeth. As the closest material to tooth enamel is eggshell, the children carried out an experiment where they submerged an egg into five different liquids, such as coke, milk, coffee, orange juice and diluted orange squash. They then observed it over a period of two weeks and recorded their results. Here are some examples of their work.
Outdoor Learning
The children enjoyed an outdoor day learning about Roman soldiers and battle formations. Some children had an experience of dressing up as a Roman legionary. The children then got into Roman battalions and learnt what life would have been like as a Roman soldier. They also practiced the three formations that the Roman army used in battles which made them so formidable. This culminated in a battle between barbarians and Roman soldiers. The children’s teamwork skills were tested as they had to look after each other to make sure they were protected.
Talk 4 Writing Nest
In Talk For Writing, the children discovered footprints leading into the pond area. They explored this further, only to find a huge, mysterious nest hidden under the trees. We discussed where it could possibly have come from and who or what might have made it. Daring children were given an opportunity to sit in the nest and describe how it felt being in there. This was all in preparation for our Talk For Writing task about The Wild Girl.
