Year 4

CURRICULUM LETTER:

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

Year 4 Curriculum Letter - Summer

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. 

PHOTOS:

Amazing Events we have done in Summer 1:

Author Afternoon - 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 Foster's room, we looked at nature poems in the book 'I am the seed that grew the treee?' 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 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 spinner which had the first stanza of the poem printed on. 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.

Coronation Lunch:

To celebrate the King's coronation, we had a special dinner with all our friends.

Eid Party!

We had so much fun celebrating Eid with our friends. We played lots of games and dancing as well as ate lots of yummy food!

Our learning:

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:

Sandpit:

We've had lots of fun playing with our friends in the sand pit whilst we've had such lovely, sunny weather.

Science - String Telephones:

After making string telephones, we thought about whether the volume would change depending on the length of the string. We worked in groups and had 3 string telephones, each with a different length string. We found out that the shorter the string, the louder the volume because the vibrations have less distance to travel. We worked so well in our groups and enjoyed using the dataloggers to record the volume heard.

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. 

PSHE - Debating:

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 debated different  questions as a class and voted on whether we agreed, strongly agreed, disagreed or strongly disagreed with the question posed. This was followed by a discussion where we put forward our arguments for our chosen stance.

English - News Broadcast:

We worked in 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 - Pattern seeking with rulers:

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 - Pounds and pence:

We have been learning about money in maths. To start with, we looked at each coin and note to learn their values as well as their similarities and differences. After, we started to look at making amounts to £1, £5 and then £10.

Science - Researching 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. 

Science - Sound travelling through different states:

We have investigated how sound travels through different mediums including through the air (gas), water (liquid) and a metal fork with a string (solid). We explored how this changes the sound heard. Then, we created our own paper cup telephones to see how the sound travels down the string ready for another investigation next week.

English - Hotseating:

We have thought about our main characters and their motives in the story. We wrote super questions for the characters to find out more information. To finish our lesson, we put our characters in the hot seat to find out the answers to our questions.

Maths - Using counters to make decimal numbers:

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. 

Maths - Times tables:

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.  

Commando Joe:

This half term we are continuing to work with Commando Joe to build up our resilience, team work and problem solving skills.

Science - Investigating Sound:

To start our new unit on sound, we explored a range of instruments and how they make sound as well as how to change the sounds they make. We learned that sound is made by vibrations of particles.

Art - Jack Kirby:

Last half term, during our animation theme, we researched the comic book artist Jack Kirby, This week, we have spent time looking at different painting techniques. Then, we created our own superheroes inspired by the works of Jack Kirby.

Art - Eid Cards:

This week, we spent time making cards to wish our families a happy Eid. Take a look at the beautiful, detailed designs on our moons...

CURRICULUM LETTER:

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

SPELLINGS:

Here is our spellings for Spring 1 and 2. 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: 

SPRING 2 HALF TERM 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 novels we are also reading in English lessons and Class Novel time is:

'Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis and our focus in English lessons is stories set in imaginary worlds. 

PHOTOS:

Amazing Events we have done in Spring 1:

Lindow Ensemble:

On Tuesday 28^th March, we had visitors in school playing some wonderful music from all around the globe.  Four of our children were special judges who had to score each piece of music.  We all had a great time. 

Church - Easter Service:

On the 29th March, we went to church with our whole school for our Easter service. Each year group shared work related to the Easter story and we had lots of fun singing hymns.

Animation Workshop:

On Friday 24th March, we had lots of fun at our Animation workshop. An animator came to our school to show us how to make a stop motion animation. Firstly, we chose our background and planned out our storyboard in groups. Then, we each made our own clay figures for our animation. Finally,  we carefully placed and moved our clay figures and took pictures that all joined together to create our animation. We had lots of fun!

World Book Day 2023 (with PSHCE):

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 Day 2023:

We had lots of fun being scientists on Science Day! In the morning, we explored the questions 'Do taller people have bigger feet?' where 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. In the afternoon, we completed some experiments to look at liquid density. 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. The children showed fantastic observation skills!

Great British Spring Clean!

As part of the Great Big School Clean 2023, we went out in our local area. We were disappointed by how much litter we found but we worked hard to help tidy it up.

Our learning:

Theme: Our theme unit is called 'That's All Folks' where we look at the history of animation.

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

PE - Rugby:

This half term, in P.E, we have been learning all about the skills in tag rugby. We have learned how to pass the ball, how to intercept and tackle as well as how to score. To end our half term, we used all our skills in a full game of tag rugby.

Art - Easter cards:

We have spent time this week making some beautiful cards to wish our families a 'hoppy' Easter!

Science - Making and testing 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. 

Art - Mothers' Day cards:

For Mothers' Day, we made cards to show how much we appreciate all that our mothers and carers do for us. We really enjoyed making them so we hope you love our cards too!

History & Art - 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'. Take a look at how we got on...

History & Art - Flipbooks:

We had to take lots of care with our flipbooks so that each picture was only slightly different. Once we'd created our pictures, we stapled them together in the correct order. When we flip them, the pictures 'move' together and create an animation.

History & Art - Thaumatropes:

Next, we made thaumatropes which we found were a lot quicker to make as it only included two images. We found the 'persistence of vision' creates a very interesting trick that makes the two images join together.

History & Art - Zoetropes & Phenakistoscopes:

Lastly, we made two more versions of early animation. We had to work carefully and kindly in our groups to follow the instructions as these types were a little trickier to build. We had lots of fun!

PSHCE - Collaboration:

In PSHCE, we have been developing our understanding of collaboration and what makes a good team. We realised that sometimes working with our friends isn't always the best option as it depends on the task we have been set and the skills we need. We learned about the importance of listening to each other. We created a list of rules and then we worked with children we wouldn't usually to learn new things about the children in our class.

SPRING 1 HALF TERM 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 Autumn 2, 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

PHOTOS:

Amazing Events we have done in Spring 1:

The Anderton Centre (again!):

After our first - very rainy! - visit to the Anderton Centre, we were so excited to return and join in with the activities we missed out on the first time around. We showed super team work skills during our crate stacking as well as team games. It was lots of fun and, thankfully, a lot sunnier too.

NSPCC - Number Day 2023:

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.  Y4 logged onto TTRockstars and earned some points - practise in preparation for the Year 4 multiplication check coming up later in the year. 

Our learning:

Theme: Our first theme unit continues from Autumn 2 with 'Come Fly with Me! Africa' where we look at the continent of Africa and learn all about the history, geography and culture of this continent.

Our Second theme unit is 'Saxon King: Harold Godwinson' where we explore the life of Harold Godwinson who was the last Anglo-Saxon king. We will be looking at his life story, his achievements and his importance as a historical figure.

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

Music - Clapping the beat:

This week in music, we learned a version of 'The Grand Old Duke of York' to suit Harold Godwinson's journey to his battles. After, we looked at clapping out the beat and following the musical notes on the board. As a final challenge, we create our own small tunes using crochets and quavers in groups.

Science - What affects our teeth?

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

PSHCE - Mental Health Week 2023:

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. 

Computing - Safer Internet Day 2023:

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. 

Science - How Muscles Work:

Today, we looked at how our muscles move in our arms. We created our own model arms and labelled on the bones and muscles involved.

History - Harold Godwinson:

We have looked further into Harold Godwinson’s life including his powerful family and the control they had over different parts of the country. We worked in groups using iPads for our research and created a poster to display the key facts we had learnt.

Geography - African Climates:

We have researched different foods grown in Africa and plotted them on a climate map. We found out that where the food grows depends on the climate of the area.

PE - Dance:

In PE this half term, we are looking at movement and dance. So far we have looked at different ways we can move our bodies to represent aspects of nature including rivers, lakes and raindrops.

Art - African Dance Masks:

In ART, we have looked at African dance masks and why they are important. Then, we used 3D form and paper mache to create our own African masks using bright colours, feathers and beads to decorate.

Science - The Digestive System:

We carried out a practical experiment to show digestion. After, we looked at what each part of the body was represented as in our experiment. Then, we spoke about the importance of each body part involved in the digestive system. We had lots of fun, even though some of us found it very disgusting!

English - Performance Poetry:

AUTUMN 2 HALF TERM THEME OVERVIEW:

In Autumn 2, our first theme is called 'Rocky the Findosaur'. This is a thematic unit based on a thematic unit based around rocks and fossils, with a key focus on science. It teaches about different types of rocks as well as solids, liquids and gases.

In Autumn 2, our second theme is called '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.

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:

Amazing Events we have done in Autumn 2:

On Tuesday 20th December it was Christmas party day:

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

Christmas Fair 2022:

On Thursday 8th December it was our Christmas Fair. We had a wonderful time playing games and meeting Father Christmas.

The Mayor's Christmas Concert:

On Friday 2nd December we wore our Christmas jumpers to raise money for Save the Children then we went to the Victoria Halls to the Mayor's Christmas Concert where we listened to and sang Christmas songs with an orchestra and a choir. It was amazing!

Church Visit - Advent:

On Wednesday 30th November we went to church to celebrate the start of Advent.

Parent/Carer Reading Afternoon:

We are so happy to finally welcome parents/carers to our beautiful, new library after such a strange few years. It was a fantastic turn out and we are so grateful to everyone who came. We cannot wait to do it all again in the Spring term.

Rocks and Fossils Workshop:

On Thursday 24th November, Year 4 were very lucky to have some special visitors who came to deliver 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". 

Author Afternoon - Autumn 2022:

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:

Maths Week - Times Table Competition:

England Rocks

As part of Maths Week we participated in a KS2 competition on Monday 14th November to Wednesday 16th November.

Unfortunately, we were not the winning class.

Our learning:

Theme: Our first theme unit in Autumn 2 is 'Rocky the Findosaur' which we started in the last week of Autumn 1. In this unit we look at rocks and fossils.

Our second theme unit is 'Come Fly with Me! Africa' where we look at the continent of Africa and learn all about the history, geography and culture of this continent.

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

RE - Making Christingles:

We learned all about Christingles and what they represent in Christianity. Then, we created our own Christingle using an orange, candle, dried fruit, sweets and ribbon.

Art - Hanukkah & Making Dreidels:

In RE this week, we have been learning about the Jewish festival Hanukkah. After, we created our own dreidels and played the game in groups.

English - Benin Kingdom Non-Chronological reports:

After finishing our class novel, we spent time recapping the features of non-chronological reports from last half term. Then, we spent some time using non-fiction books to deepen our learning on the Benin Kingdom. Once we'd researched and planned, we wrote a double page spread non-chronological report. All the children worked so hard on their writing and improving their presentation.

Class Novel - Book talk:

Today, we finishing reading our class novel, Children of the Benin Kingdom by Dinah Orji. After we had finished reading, we discussed what we liked and disliked about the story as well as made connections to other stories we have read. Finally, we thought about anything we were still wondering about the book and discussed the questions we still had as a class.

Science - Classification Keys:

We have looked at a range of African animals and thought about their similarities and differences. We thought about their animal classes, habitats, diets as well as more specific features of their physical appearance. Then, we worked in groups to create our own classification chart of African animals.

Art - African Collages:

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.

Research - African Countries with the 'Big 5':

We have been learning about the 'Big 5' animals in Africa and which countries have all 5 of the animals. After, we researched some of these countries to learn their capital cities and population as well as some interesting facts to continue to deepen our understanding of the continent of Africa.

Practical Maths - Finding the Perimeter:

Year 4 children have been working on measure and perimeter.  We worked out the missing edges using sticks to help us. Take a look at our fantastic problem solving skills in the pictures.

Art - Christmas Card Craft:

This week, we have started thinking about the Christmas festivities by making cards for the elderly in our community. We hope they love them as much as we loved making them!

Geography - African Countries:

To continue our theme work on Africa, we have been spending time learning the countries of Africa. This week, we chose a country of interest to us and researched this country to find out more. We presented our findings on the country - including their customs and culture - to the rest of the class.

PE - Invasion Games:

This half term, in PE, we are looking at different invasion games and developing skills for these games. So far, we have practised our dribbling and catching skills for different invasion games using a range of balls.

Science - Investigating Melting Points:

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.
Science - Changing Freezing Points:

We had lots of fun learning about how the melting, freezing and boiling points change with different materials. We worked well in our group and created some delicious orange slushies by lowering the freezing point of ice with salt.

Science - Investigating the Water Cycle:

Today, we have learned about the water cycle. Then, we set up an experiment to demonstrate the water cycle.  We used zip lock bags and drew the water cycle on them.  After, we poured in warm water and closed the bag. We will observe them over the next few days to see the cycle of how water changes through evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection.

Research - Changing States of Matter:

We researched how and why water changes its state from ice to water to vapour. We created a power point to show our findings.

Science - Learning the 3 States of Matter:

We learned the three states of matter - solids, liquids and gases. We acted as each as a representation of the particles in each state of matter. Then, we grouped different objects into solids, liquids and gases.

Science - Investigating Soil Permeability:

We learned about what soil is made from. Then, we compared the permeability of two different soils - chalk and sand - and recorded our findings. We all worked well in our groups and showed some fantastic scientific investigation skills.

English - Exploring Poetry Forms:

We looked at three forms of poetry; haikus, tankas and cinquains. We learned all about their syllable structure and then had a go at grouping some unknown poems into the correct poetry type. After, we performed our favourite poem in our pairs or threes using expression and actions.

Science - Different Rock Properties:

We investigated different sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks to compare their hardness permeability and acidity. We recorded our results in a table in our books.

Science - How Rocks are Formed:

Today, we learned the three different types of rocks and how they are formed. Then, we worked in groups to model how the different rocks are formed using starburst sweets.

AUTUMN 1 HALF TERM THEME OVERVIEW:

In Autumn 1 our theme is called 'Athens vs Sparta'. 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.

PHOTOS:

Amazing Events we have done in Autumn 1:

Greek Workshop - Athens VS Sparta:

As part of our theme learning this half term, we had a fantastic Greek day where we met a woman from Athens and a man from Sparta who taught us all about the daily lives in these places of Ancient Greece. We got to join in with lots of acting, looking at artefacts, playing games, creating clay coins and lots more. To finish our day, we had a vote to see whether we'd rather live in Athens or Sparta. Take a look at all the exciting things we got up to...

Anderton Centre:

Year 4F went on a trip to the Anderton Centre and took part in lots of different activities which all involved team building including a very wet and windy trip across the reservoir on paddle boards! Despite all the rain, the children all had a fantastic day.

Music Concert:

We watched a fabulous music concert by some music teachers...

Rivington Pike:

On the 16th September, we had a fantastic walk all the way up Rivington Pike. We had lots of fun in the lovely weather. Take a look at our pictures below...

National Poetry Day 2022:

For National Poetry Day this year, we looked at a poem called I Shall Protect The Forests by Lenore Hetrick. We chose this poem to fit in with this year's theme of the environment. We read the poem and discussed the importance of its themes. Then, we practised performing it aloud as a whole class thinking about our expression, rhythm and volume. Later, we performed it to our whole school. 

Our learning:

Our theme unit in Autumn 1 is called Athens vs Sparta. In this unit we have a look at how the Ancient Greeks used to live, including the key aspect of mythology, especially highlighting the conflicts that characterised Ancient Greece. We are learning about forces with floating and sinking in science. We are learning about e-safety in computing. We are doing gymnastics in PE. We are learning about the importance of David in the psalms in RE. In English we are reading lots of different myths and legends from Ancient Greece as well as writing our own. In maths we are learning about place value, addition and subtraction and multiplication and division. We are developing our independence and resilience with Commando Joe.

Look at some of the things we have done:

Science - Observation over time:

This week in science, we have been developing our observation skills. Firstly, we poured out our liquids; lemonade and water and made careful comparisons. Then, we predicted what would happen when we added raisins - would they sink or float? In the lemonade, we had some interesting findings of a cycle of floating and sinking. Using our careful observations, we found out that the air bubbles help the raisins rise up and float. After they reach the surface, the air bubbles pop and the raisins sink back down.

Art and Design - Greek Pots:

In history, we have been learning all about Ancient Greece and we used ancient artefacts (including vases) to help us learn about their daily lives. Then, we designed our own Greek pots and, finally, we had a go at making a traditional Greek pot using a coil technique. We learned how to slip and score the clay to help it form a strong and solid foundation. We were all very proud of our designs and final products.

Science - Liquid Resistance:

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.

PE - Gymnastics:

This half term in PE we have been doing gymnastics. This week, we continued to look at jumps as well as balances. We thought about what body parts we can balance on and created different 1, 2, 3 and 4 point balances.

The Persian Wars:

In History this week, we have been looking at key battles in the the wars between the Persians and the Greeks. We worked in groups to research key facts on a specific battle and presented our findings to the class. Then, we created a timeline of events from the earliest to the latest battle.

More Commando Joe!

We are having so much fun with Commando Joe this half term. Here is some more pictures from the 'missions' we have completed. This week we had to work as a team to break down a huge 'ice berg'! Then, as we were so super speedy, we had time for some team games too.

Science - Floating:

We explored floating and sinking using a plasticine ball. We completed a set of challenges to explore what affects an object’s ability to float. Firstly, we used timers to see how long it takes for the plasticine to sink. Then, we thought about how we could slow down the time it takes to sink. Afterwards, we worked as a team to explore how we could change the plasticine’s shape to make it float.

Geography - Ancient Greece Empire:

We learned all about the Ancient Greek Empire and how it was organised into different city states with their own rules and leaders. Then, we worked in groups to recreate a map of Ancient Greece. At first, we tried to create it with no help whatsoever and then we slowly received some clues of the locations and positions of each city state in relation to each other.

PSHCE - Conflict and resolution:

We have learned about what conflict means and then reflected upon recent times we have been involved in a conflict. We thought about how these situations started and the outcome. Afterwards, we re-enacted the scenarios and thought about creating a better outcome so that the conflict could be avoided. We worked well in our groups and showed good reflection skills on our own conflicts and the situations in our life.

Science - Water displacement:

We read the story 'Mr. Archimedes Bath' and thought about what happens to the water when we go in the bath! Then, we investigated three different sizes rocks to see how they affect the water too. We found out that the bigger the rock, the more water is displaced.

Commando Joe:

This half term, we are building up our resilience and team work skills with Commando Joe. This week, we had to work in pairs to get across the 'choppy sea' (the skipping rope!) without it touching us. We showed such determination and also cheered on all the other teams with kindness. 

English - Drama:

We have been learning about Greek myths and legends in our English lessons.  We read the myth 'Theseus and the Minotaur and discussed the message of the story.  We then worked in groups to act out different sections.

Maths - Place Value:

Our first unit in maths is place value.  In our first lessons, we have been revising the value of digits in a number and represented numbers in different ways.  We have used counters, part-whole models, place value grids and arrow cards.  

Science - Floating and Sinking:

In our science lesson today, we have been learning about the five types of scientific enquiry.  We reflected on our previous lessons in forces and then thought about water resistance, density and buoyancy. We tested objects to see which float and sink and thought about the materials that each object was made of.  We found out that, if an orange has skin on, it will float.  However, if the skin is removed, it will sink. 

Art - The Dot... 'Making our Mark!':

We read a beautiful book called The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds that is all about a little girl who doesn't believe she can draw so instead she draws a 'dot'. We discussed how we can do anything we put our mind to and made lots of beautiful dots to show us making our own mark. Take a look at some of our work below...

PSHCE- Our Class Charter:

To start the year, we thought about how we wanted our classroom to be and how we wanted to feel in our classroom. We thought about our rights in the classroom, including our right to feel safe and have a good education. Then, we thought about all our responsibilities so that everyone can get their rights in our classroom. We signed a coin on our Class Charter rainbow to show we agree to the responsibilities.

EXTRA LEARNING:

Here are some apps our children have logins for at home. These apps will help support their learning in school. The times tables are particularly helpful to help improve speed at their times tables, ready for the Year 4 test in June.

MATHSFLEX                                                         TIMESTABLE ROCKSTARS                                             READING EGGS                                                                    

https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/login?c=0   |        https://ttrockstars.com/                             |          https://readingeggs.co.uk/

We have put together some useful websites that will help support your learning.

Click on the picture and it will take you directly to the website.