Year 4 News!

This week in our English lessons, we have started to use Talk4Writing. Using our storymap, the children have learnt a non-fiction recount of volcanic eruption. By following the pictures and using our class actions the children have learnt to retell the entire recount. This will be used to help us write our own recounts over the next couple of weeks. During our lessons, we have been looking closely at the vocabulary within the text and the meaning of certain words as well as how we can use time adverbials within our writing. We made a list of the time adverbials we often use within our work – firstly, then, next and discussed how these are ok within some pieces of writing but we wanted to improve the words and phrases we used. Therefore, we used the text to explore how we could use exciting fronted adverbials to suggest time. We then came up with examples such as – as the volcano spluttered to an end, after giving up hope and as the peaceful town was sleeping.

In our SPaG lessons this week we have learnt how to spell words ending in que and gue. Through lots of different games and activities we identified how words ending in que and gue sounded and how this could help us to learn the spelling. We then used the technique of look, say, cover, write, check to practise our spellings as well as using the game of speedwrite. On Friday, we had our spelling test of these words.

In Maths this week we have continued to learn how to multiply a three-digit number by a one-digit number using short multiplication and with carrying. We then moved on to learn how to use multiplication when completing two and three step problems. Finally, we moved on to learn how to multiply more than 2-digits together. We have also continued to practise our timestables this week using the same online quiz, the children had 6 seconds to answer each question and in total we answered 25 questions.

In our afternoons this week we have continued to sew our patterns onto our invisibility cloaks. The intricacy of our designs and the effort that have gone into them is exceptional. Some children still have to finish their sewing and we will end by attaching our fastenings next week. In our Art lessons, we decided which of the 3 mediums we practised over the last couple of weeks we liked the most and used this to recreate our final volcano art work. Using the technique of light and dark the children used the medium they had chosen to create fantastic pieces of work.

In our RE lessons we have started our unit of work based on Hinduism. The children have explored how different people can be described by different characteristics. We then watched an animated video of the 'Blind Men and the Elephant'. This story explains how when we look at a part of something, we only see the part instead as seeing it as one whole thing – each of the men touched a part of the elephant and each saw something different. This represented how Hindus see their God. He is more than one person and has many different roles.

In our Music lesson this week, we were given our instruments for the first time. Each of the children has now been told what instrument they will be learning to play this term. After learning how to assemble their instruments and what each part of the instrument does, the children were given time to learn how to get the instruments to make a sound (it is harder than it seems).

In our Science lessons this week, we continued with our electricity unit which we started last term. Previously the children had learnt about different forms of electricity and how to create a complete circuit. Using what we knew about complete circuits the children made one in their teams. We then learnt about how we can add different materials to our circuits to investigate whether or not they allow an electrical current to flow through them. The children were given different materials to test; cotton buds, paper clips, aluminium foil, string, plastic and wood. The children then learnt how materials which allow the current to flow through them are conductors and those which don't are insulators.

We have also continued to practise our songs for YoungVoices throughout the week to ensure we are prepared for our trip next week. We are all so very excited.
I hope you all have a lovely week.
Miss Welch