Welcome to Year 4
Mrs Dowdall's class.
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On Thursday 3rd March Year 4 had great fun dressing as either their favourite book character or clothes that they like to read a book in. We had some amazing costumes as you can see from the class photo. Can you spot who they are?
Our current focus book in year 4 is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which they seem to be really enjoying. Many parents and adults that I have spoken to remember this story from their own school days, and it is one that stays on your memory!
It was a great response to World Book Day and we will try and introduce more stories and texts so that the children can be inspired to read for pleasure.
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On Monday 16th January, Year 4 visited the Science Museum too see how inventions over the years have changed the way we live. This linked with our current topic Incredible Inventions. We travelled by coach and saw Lord’s Cricket Ground and Buckingham Palace garden wall on the way, which caused some excitement!
Once at the museum, our two main focus points were Making the Modern World on the ground level, and the Secret Life of the Home in the basement. In the Secret Life of the Home children saw everyday home appliances and how they have changed over the centuries. The first thing they met on arrival was the toilet. On display were types of every design, including some beautiful pottery bowls, but of course ‘flushing the poo’, showing how the flush system works, was the highlight! Everything from cookers to hairdryers, fridges, microwaves, televisions, radios were on display. We learned how things we take for granted today, and which make our lives easier, were once not so simple. Did you know, that to watch the first televisions, the lid had a mirror to reflect the screen, which was situated on top of the unit facing the ceiling? In the 1940’s an American company used an elephant standing on its fridge to show how sturdy it was. Interesting though, as children learned in their Dig for Victory topic last year, that many British families in WWII did not own a fridge, and many had outside toilets.
On the ground floor, were the huge steam engines, which changed the course of our history. Children will be learning the impact these had and how the Industrial Revolution changed the way Britons lived. Again, we saw some of the first inventions of their type from telescopes, x-ray machines, toys, irons, cars, aeroplanes to name but a few.
We also paid a visit to the space section and saw how the pioneers of space made their journeys, how new Earth-like planets have been discovered, but that it would take 250,000 years to get to them! Wow!
The children had a great day and quite a few were out for the count on the coach journey home. Signs of a day well spent!
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Linking to our topic in the Summer Term, Dig for Victory and learning how people lived without a fridge, freezer or supermarket, Year 4 have been discussing how it is that today we can have non-seasonal fruit and vegetables all year round. This led to a discussion about greenhouses and their use, how they help plants to grow, and also a little about their history.
We have found out that many goods grown abroad are flown to the UK to put on supermarket shelves, but also how commercial greenhouses keep us stocked up with our favourite fruits and vegetables all year round. Did you know that a type of greenhouse has been around since Roman times, when the emperor Tiberius demanded that cucumber be available for his table every day of the year?
The children have designed their own mini-greenhouses and made models of them. We have used lolly sticks or Jelutong for the frame, cling film, acetate or plastic sheeting for the windows. Some of our designs have an opening for ventilation.
We have been measuring, sawing, glueing and learning about ways to strengthen our frames, and hope you like our designs.
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On Thursday 17th November, parents of Year 4 were treated to a terrific show of what their children have been learning this term.
The children began by sharing some of the writing they had been doing. Their first focus was Stories from Other Cultures, and their hook was an animated film called The Catch. In the story, a young fisherboy, has the repsonsibility of feeding the tribe, but can only catch tiddlers from the small pond near his village, because it is half empty. Hearing a fox yelp from the bushes, he carefully sets it free. The cheeky fox then steals the fisherman's catch and heads off into the dark, forbidding forest. Nervously the boy pursues, and is led to a huge lake full of enormous fish. Helping the boy, by providing a stick for a rod, the fox waits while the boy makes his catch. Before they part company, the boy throws a small fish to the fox as a reward, whereupon the fox disappears into the sky. Was it real, or just a spirit? The chidlren used some fantastic vocabulary to write the build up to the story. This was followed by some autumn poetry where they had been learning to use alliteration, rhyme, similes, pattern and powerful vocabulary. Again they shared some of their creations with us.
The term's focus in humanities has been Foootsteps Around the World, where we have looked at the continents of Africa, Australasia and Europe. Starting with Africa, we created a powerpoint presentation of an Africac country, finding out about its climate, population, traditions and some of its culture. We then moved on to find out about James Cook's discovery of Australia and thought about how the different groups involved: explorers, convicts and aborigines would have felt about the changes that followed.
In science the topic for the first half term was States of Matter and the children had great fun pretending to be atoms of each type of state, before wowing their audience with a song which reminds them of their learning.
The children were so exctied to share what they had learned and the audience were very impressed with their knowledge.
Well done Year 4 - keep it up!
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MOAT MOUNT - DAY 1
Well what an amazing day we've had. After getting off the coach in torrential rain we very quickly found our dorms and began settling in.
Our first activitiy ws pond dipping and we found lots of creatures, including a water scorpion, mayfly nymphs, water louse and water snails. Big added bonus was that no-one fell in! Then we returned to the building and had a well deserved lunch, some of us even ate al fresco.
In the afternoon we had problem solving activities and all of our groups worked really hard to work together as a team. In free time the children have built a den in the woods and were excited to show us. We have seen a Munkjack deer, a white marbled butterfuly and a heron.
After dinner, we had a scavenger hunt, looing for clues around the site, which was great fun, before ending our day with hot chocolate around the campfire,
Year 4 have been amazing today, with fantastic manners, appreciative comments and they have been a pleasure to be with.
Here's looking forward to another fun-filled day tomorrow!
Moat Mount - Day 2
After a not so early night (!) the children were awake bright and early although a few were not particularly bushy tailed! We had a hearty breakfast (lots of seconds) and started with a dormitory inspection. Parents, please take note, they were immaculate. No clothes on the floor, suitcases stacked neatly and bedded folded ready for tonight. Well done Year 4!
Our first activity was archery and the children excelled. We had quite a few bullseyes, with many children showing real promise. Robin Hood woud have been keen to have Year 4 join his merry band.
The chidren made their own sandwiches and enjoyed their lunch before setting off on the orienteering course. We split into three groups and there were some real stars, who showed off their map reading skills whilst exploring the woods and pond area. The activity ended with some very weary legs and that was just the adults!
To round off the day, before dinner, Mr Smith ran a mini first aid course where the teatment of burns, cuts, bumps and sprains were covered. Also, when and how to contact 999. All necessary life skills. The children particularly enjoyed bandaging each other and fortunately we didn't end up with any mummies!
After dinner, this evening, we were lucky enough to have an ice cream van visit and got to choose whatever ice cream we wanted. Yummy! This led nicely into our long awaited talent show. We were all treated to a range of acts including magic, card tricks, singing, comedy and dancing. What a great way to end the night!
We are now all hoping for a slightly early bedtime and looking forward to our final activities tomorrow.