Year 4 News!

Wow! This week Year 4 have been gardeners, builders, team players, scientists, geologists, linguists and so much more!

In our English lessons this week we have started our new talkforwriting unit of work. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be learning an adventure story and writing our own. So far, we have learnt the first two paragraphs of the stories which set the scene and introduce the character. In order to learn the second paragraph, the children created their own drama performance. In our SPaG lessons this week we have been learning spell homophones and we have been learning which homophone is used in which sentence.

In Maths this week we have completed our unit of work on Area. Throughout the week we learnt how to calculate the area of rectilinear shapes, compare the area of different shapes and draw shapes with certain areas. The children designed their own gardens towards the end of the week and used different rectilinear shapes and calculated their area.

In our Science lessons, children planned and conducted a science investigation to record sound levels around school. Our investigation was used to find out which were the nosiest and quietest places in school. The children planned their investigation and suggested what they would keep the same (independent variable) and what they were going to measure (dependent variable). The children then used data loggers to record the sound levels around school.

In French, we recapped the parts of the body we had learnt last week and everyone sang the 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' song with confidence and fantastic pronunciation. We have now moved on to learning how to say actions. This week, the children have learnt to say lift your hand, clap your hands and run. We ended our lesson by playing the game 'Jacques A Dit...' (Simon says...).

In RE, the children have learnt about the Trimutri. After being given a picture, the children were asked to list the attributes they could see. We then discussed how Hindus believe that the Trimutri are three mains Gods and learnt more about each of them. Hindus believe that Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver or sustainer and Shiva is the destroyer. Hindus believe these three individual main Gods together reveal the one God.

During our History lessons this week, the children were shown a drawing of what the burial tombs would have been like during the Shang Dynasty. From this, the children inferred what life and the afterlife may have been like for people during the Shang Dynasty. The children then moved on to explore the Shang religion in more detail. Each group was given an aspect to research: Gods, the role of the King, ceremonies and sacrifices, ancestor worship and tombs and burial customs. The children will present their finding to the class next week.

In our Geography lessons this week the children learnt more about the role of tectonic plates in the formation of volcanoes. We looked at where the different tectonic plates meet and what this means for the location of volcanoes. The children were then given maps of the world which showed the tectonic plates and were required to piece it back together. We then looked at the Thingvellir Valley in Iceland (this is where the North American and Eurasian plates are separating). It is getting 7mm wider every year as the plates are still moving apart. The rocky valley floor was created by cooled lava and this valley is surrounded by volcanoes that have formed as the plates move apart. In our final Geography lesson of the week, the children learnt about the cross-section of a volcano. Using a game, the children had to remember as much information as they could about the cross-section and inform their team and attempt to make exact replica. The children had to remember the key vocabulary and aspects of the image.

During Mindful Monday this week, the children were given A2 pieces of paper on their tables and asked to work as a team to doodle all over it. Thinking about how we felt and how what we say to others about their drawings may affect how they feel.

As well as all the exciting things that went on this week, Year 4 took part in a special opportunity. HS2 growing spaces came into school to teach the children how to create raise beds which can be used for many years to come. The children were taught how measure, create a pilot hole and then drilled a larger hole to add the screw to. Whilst the raised beds were being created, the children had to transport soil across the field and other exciting activities were going on inside the class. To try and win some additional seeds from M&S for school, the children each designed their own dream garden. The children also used the knex to design their own raised beds and a system for watering their plants. After the raise beds were created, the children were then able to line it and add the soil. We will add our plants and seeds over the next couple of weeks. Throughout the day, the children showed fantastic teamwork, dedication and strength. I would also like to say a HUGE thank you to the volunteers who came and helped out on this day. We could not have done it without you – Thank you!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Miss Welch