Welcome to Mrs Sharrocks's Year 4 Blog
W/C 17.7.17
What a lovely, fun packed week we have had to end our time in Year 4. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone and I would like to say a big thank you for all of your help and support.
May I take this opportunity to say an enormous thank you, on behalf of myself and Miss Sheffield, for all of your lovely cards, gifts and well wishes. We were truly overwhelmed by your generosity and kind words. It has been an absolute pleasure to teach such an amazing group of children. We wish them all the very best as they move up into Year 5!
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to Miss Sheffield for all of her help and commitment that she has given to me and Year 4 as she begins her own venture in becoming a teacher. Luckily, we will still see Miss Sheffield at Grange Valley in a different role as a student. I am sure you will agree, she will do amazingly well. Best of luck Miss Sheffield!
'Buttons Wanted'
Please could you collect buttons over the summer holiday for a whole school project that Mrs Mavers will be doing. She would like natural colours; browns, cream, white, black etc. These can be brought into school during our first week back. Thank you!
We hope you have a great summer break, hopefully we will get to enjoy some beautiful weather.
Take care and we will see you in September!
Mrs Sharrocks and Miss Sheffield.
Attendance – Year 4 achieved 94.67%
Dates for your diary
School re-opens Tuesday 5th September.
W/C 10.7.17
In English this week, year 4 continued with the story of Aladdin. On Thursday we improvised the capture of Aladdin who was buried in a cave. The children used the FANTASTIC’s to gather ideas about how Aladdin may have felt at this moment. We used this experience to create some amazing sentences describing the senses Aladdin may have encountered.
In Science this week, the children had great fun constructing a simple series electrical circuit and they identified and named its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers. They then made predictions and tested a variety of different materials as part of a circuit, to see if each material was a conductor or insulator. Well done Year 4!
In Maths Year 4 started our unit of Geometry. The children explored the features of triangles and could identify and explain what an obtuse, acute and right-angle was.
On Thursday morning, some of our Key Stage 2 children, who attend our morning dance club, performed in front of their friends and family. They showed off their talents and demonstrated all the skills they have developed over the year. Their performance was fantastic and I am sure they made their parents very proud.
During our French Day on Thursday, Year 4 were lucky to have Mrs Fowler come in and share with us some French greetings and songs. The children had a great time learning some facts about France and particularly enjoyed singing French songs!
I would like to say a special thank you to Year 4 for all their hard work and commitment towards helping our Year 6 children in their end of year performance ‘The Lion King’. The children learnt all the songs in a short space of time and they all sang their hearts out. A very big thank you to all the children who came back to school to sing Thursday evening too! You were amazing!
Attendance – Year 4 achieved 96.33%
School Closes for summer 20.7.17
We hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Sharrocks and Miss Sheffield
W/C 3.7.17
English
This week the children have been very excited and eager to show off their writing skills. Our stimulus this term is a book called Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp by Philip Pullman. We have had great fun sentence stacking and putting together all the successful approaches we know into one piece of writing. The children have included lots of popular strategies such as, The FANTASTICs, The Grammaristics and The Boomtastics, which the children love to use to improve and construct their writing.
The children have particularly enjoyed character building and identifying the different steps of the character’s journey so far. I’m sure you will agree that our working wall, where we share all our ideas and display as many as we can, is a huge success. It is lovely to see so many different personal styles of writing and the children’s enthusiasm in becoming life long lovers of writing. Great work Year 4!
Maths
In Maths the children have started our next unit of Shape and Measure. They have worked hard this week finding the perimeter and area of a variety of shapes, as well as discussing the difference between the two. One of the children suggested that to help them remember what perimeter is we can think of ‘pigs in a pigpen’, and that we need to measure the sides of the fence in order to do this. What a super analogy!
The Arts
On Thursday, we had a performance of the arts to celebrate the achievements the children have made over the past year. Year 4 shared their fantastic brass skills (which isn’t as easy as it looks), Pop-choir sang some wonderful songs that they have been learning, Year 2 gave a lovely performance on their recorders and our guitar club demonstrated their talents too. What a great ending to a very busy day. Hopefully more and more children will take up these clubs or will even make suggestions for new clubs they’d like to be part of.
Attendance - Year 4 achieved 95% (better than last week)
We hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Sharrocks and Miss Sheffield
W/C 26/6/17
Maths
The children have worked really hard in maths this week. We have been converting units of measure and solving two step word problems. We have also explored finding the perimeter of different shapes. We accurately measured the lengths of the sides to help us. Some tasks were tricky because we needed to convert cm into mm to calculate the perimeter. We used our knowledge about shapes to help, particularly if we needed to work out the perimeter of a rectangle. The children knew that we only needed to measure one width and one length. Great work Year 4!
Design and Technology
This week the children worked hard our unit on ‘Battery Operated Lights’. This topic has been linked with our Science unit ‘Electricity’ and the children are gaining lots of experience and knowledge about electrical systems, series and parallel circuits. On Wednesday, we looked at different types of switches and their purpose. The children then designed a homemade switch using split pins, paperclips and wires. We discussed the importance of safety when it comes to electricity and that the outside of switches are often made out of plastic, which is an insulator (does not easily allow electric to pass through it) and the material used to create the inside of the switch should be a conductor (a material which allows electric to pass through it). It was great to hear the children using some very technical vocabulary. Well done!
Arts Week
Year 4 had lots of fun during art week. They created some lovely pieces of work which is to be displayed in the town hall exhibition. The children wanted to link our art to ‘Living things and their habitats’. During this unit, Year 4 had lots of fun identifying and naming living things from our local environment and beyond.
We learnt how man-made and natural changes can have a significant impact on living things. Using this knowledge, the children designed totem poles to represent kindness, respect and trust, demonstrating the importance of looking after our environment and all the living things in it. I’m sure you will agree that our totem poles look amazing.
We had a lovely surprise parcel this week, when we received some post from our pen pal school in Italy. The children were very excited to discover more about the children and their life style. I hope they will let us know when they receive our travel guides all about the UK. The children have worked extremely hard and are very proud of them.
Attendance - Year 4 achieved 94.33%
Dates for your diary
4.6.17 – Year 4 Swimming
7.7.17 - Summer Fair after School
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WB 19.06.17
What a busy week we have had!
Cultural Week
It has been cultural week in Grange Valley this week and each year group were given a country to learn more about. In Year 4, we have been learning a lot about Italy. This has linked nicely with our international school exchange and the travel guides that the children are making for our friends in Italy, I am really looking forward to seeing the finished guides next week.
On Wednesday, we took part in learning some Italian dancing with Emma our dance coach and we have even learnt some of the Italian language. To create our own Italian restaurant, year four had lots of fun making colourful decorations, menus and even designed their own chefs hat. So that we had something to eat in our restaurant, the children made their own pizza slice, loaded with their favourite toppings. The children had a great time making the pizzas and probably enjoyed eating them even more! As a special treat to the end of an extremely busy week, we all enjoyed an Italian style ice-cream, or should we say 'gelato'?
Sponsored Spin
On Thursday, we took part in a sponsored spin, we span our fidget spinners for 20 minutes! Thank you to all those who donated sponsor money to school and thank you to the children who shared their fidget spinners with others that did not have one. Well done Year 4. Please remember to bring your sponsor money into class, proceeds will go towards our new forest school.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield.
Attendance: Year 4 Achieved 95.81%. Well done!
Dates for your diary
27.06.17 - Swimming
30.6.2017 - Own Clothes Day (bring toiletries)
7.7.2017 - Summer Fair after School
WB 12.06.17
Year 4 have had a wonderful week!
English
Year 4 became poets in English this week as we continued with our ‘Poetry from Other Cultures’ unit. The children worked really hard identifying poetic devices such as: alliteration, rhyme, similes, imagery and many more. The children were challenged to not only spot these but be able to say the purpose of each one in a piece of writing. We also learnt new vocabulary like onomatopoeia, a word that was tricky to pronounce at first! Well done for working hard in English this week year 4, the poems were lovely to read.
History
In History, year four developed their atlas skills. The children really enjoyed using the atlas to find locations that the Anglo-Saxons settled. We also discussed the meanings behind the place names.
Design and Technology
This week in Design and Technology we continued with our ‘Battery Operated Lights’ unit. By exploring real circuits, the children began to develop an understanding about series and parallel circuits and how to create them. After making the circuits, year four worked hard to draw the circuits in their books, using the symbols the represent the electrical components.
Keep up the hard work Year 4!
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield.
Attendance: 97%. Well done
Dates for your diary
20.6.2017 - Swimming
22.6.2017 - Sponsored Spin
23.6.2017 - Own Clothes Day
30.6.2017 - Own Clothes Day
7.7.2017 - Summer Fair after School
WB 05.06.17
Welcome back everyone! It’s been a busy first week of term.
Maths
This week we continued our unit on Measurement, looking very closely at mass and volume. On Wednesday, the children worked really hard reading and recording the measurements of volume in Mr Majeika’s magic potions. The children have been using litres and millilitres and they even learnt new vocabulary, like the term ‘increments’. The children engaged in deeper learning during a practical session as they were challenged to solve problems involving addition and subtraction of volume.
Swimming
Tuesday was an exciting day for year 4 as it was our first swimming session. The children were really well behaved as we travelled to and from the pool, well done year 4! At the pool, the swimming instructor watched the children swim and organised them into groups. They listened really well and all staff were very impressed with the swimming ability in year four! Well done.
Birds of Prey
On Thursday, we had some visitors in school. The children learnt a lot of interesting about birds of prey such as what they eat, when they sleep and how and what they hunt. The children had to be very quiet so that the birds weren’t frightened, year four were really super at this! Well done. Some children even felt the birds – they were surprised at how soft they felt!
Transition
This week we started our transition to Year 5 with Miss Hitchen. We went to see our new classroom and had a great discussion about what it will be like to be in Year 5. The children are really excited which is lovely to see.
Keep up the hard work Year 4!
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield.
Attendance: 98.33% Well done!
WC 22/05/17
East Lancashire Railway Trip
On Wednesday, children and staff made their way to the East Lancashire Railway for a trip that was linked to our 'History of Railways' unit. When we arrived, the children listened really well to the member of staff at the station who explained all about the steam train. We then hopped aboard the train. It was a really exciting experience for all the children – and staff! We played a game of ‘I spy’ on our journey, looking out for signs and objects associated with railways such as a signs for the station, ticket machines and more.
Sports Day
Well done to everyone for competing in sports day on Thursday and a big thank you to parents for their support. It was a lovely afternoon for everyone involved. The children tried really hard at all events, I am sure there were some tired children on Thursday evening!
Keep up the good work year 4!
We hope you all have a lovely half term.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield.
Attendance: Year 4 Achieved 98%. Well done!
Dates for your diary
6.6.17 - Y4 - Swimming
13.6.17 - Y4 Swimming
20.6.17 - Y4 Swimming
27.6.17 - Y4 Swimming
7.7.17 - Summer Fair (after school)
WB 15/05/17
Science
The children had a lot of fun in science this week as we studied soundproofing. We listened to music and tested out various materials to see which one absorbed the most sound. The children then wrote a letter to a band advising them on the best material to soundproof their studio and gave reasons why.
Physical Education
This week in gymnastics led to lots of learning about how to balance our bodies. The children worked hard in pairs on some very interesting ways to balance their body!
English
In English, we completed our unit on stories with historical settings. We looked at tabloid and broadsheet newspapers and their features. The whole class worked really hard in groups annotating some features of newspaper articles. At the end of the week, the children wrote some very interesting newspaper articles about the declaration of World War II and children being evacuated from the city to the countryside. We discussed a lot of vocabulary related to the war and the experiences children endured.
Keep up the hard work Year 4!
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 97%. Well done!
Dates for your diary
23.5.17 - Dance Festival
24.5.17 – East Lancashire Railway Visit
25.5.17 - Sports Day
7.7.17 - Summer Fair (after school)
WB 8/5/2017
Maths
This week in Maths we began our money unit. The children have been working really hard at comparing amounts of money to find out which item is better value for money. The children have been challenged to think about how much several items would cost all together and then calculate the change that the customer needs to receive. The children have enjoyed using money to help solve the problems.
English
We have continued to look at stories with Historical Settings this week through ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’ by Michelle Magorian. The children worked really hard this week including speech in their writing. We discussed what the book has already told us about Willie’s mum and created our own vision of how she would respond to Willie’s phone call. The children then thought from Willie’s point of view and considered how he would feel about his mother’s response. The conversations that children created between Willie and his mother were fabulous.
Computing
The children have completed their Using and Applying skills unit. They had a lot of fun thinking of ideas for their own character. The children then used software on the computer to create and describe their character. The children created colourful characters that had super detail!
Keep up the hard work Year 4!
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield
Dates for your diary
23.5.17 - Dance Festival
24.5.17 – East Lancashire Railway Visit
25.5.17 - Sports Day
7.7.17 - Summer Fair (after school)
W/B 1/5/17
English
This week we started our unit ‘Stories with historical settings’. As a stimulus for our writing, the children each have their own copy of the book ‘Good Night Mr Tom’ by Michelle Magorian. The children have enjoyed the text so far and have been learning lots of new vocabulary and terminology. We have explored what it would be like being an evacuee in the Second World War. On Thursday, we had a great time when Miss Armstrong played the part of Willie Beech during a ‘hot-seating’ activity. This effective drama strategy allowed the children to ask questions to discover lots of information about being evacuated and how such a young child may have felt. We discussed what Willie may have been thinking when he first met this new, gentle stranger by the name of Tom Oakley. The children went on to write some truly amazing diary entries full of empathy for the character Willie Beech.
Science
In Science, the children continued with our topic on sound. We learnt all about pitch and how high and low sounds are created. We had lots of fun making our own musical instrument. The children were given straws to make their own set of pan pipes; they had to think about the different lengths needed in order to change the pitch. Well done Year 4.
Music
On Thursday, the children had their music lesson with Mr Riesbeck. They are improving every week with their musical talents and working hard to learn new pieces. Who knows, we may the next Louis Armstrong! We are hoping to wow you all next term with a special performance. A letter will be sent out in due course.
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield
Dates for your diary
23.5.17 - Dance Festival
24.5.17 – East Lancashire Railway Visit
25.5.17 - Sports Day
7.7.17 - Summer Fair (after school)
WC 24/4/17
English
In English this week, the children continued with our unit ‘Explanation texts’. We looked at lots of examples of explanation texts and identified the technical vocabulary that was used to sequence what happens in each. The children then discussed the things that they have in their own bedrooms to keep them entertained. We had lots of fun trying to explain how each appliance works. Whilst doing this, the rest of the class tried to list any technical vocabulary that could be used to help explain each stage. Super work Year 4!
Art
We had a lovely afternoon on Tuesday when the children learnt all about another great artist, Michelangelo. The most popular ‘Michelangelo’ widely recognised in the class was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle! However, we discovered that the turtle ‘Michelangelo’ was named after the famous artist we were studying. It was really tricky to paint like Michelangelo, who painted many humans on the ceiling, like in the Sistine Chapel. However, the one living thing that he did not paint was an animal, so the children chose an animal of their own to paint on the ceiling in the style of Michelangelo. Don't worry, our class ceiling is safe, the children improvised and used underneath their tables instead.
Maths
This week we continued with our Decimal unit. The children have been working extremely hard comparing and ordering decimals and discovering the importance of place value. The children have enjoyed taking part in lots of game type activities, where they have been challenged to roll a dice 3 times and create the largest number possible (to two decimal places). The children then identified which of their numbers were the smallest/greatest; they then explained how they knew this.
Keep up the good work Year 4!
We hope you have a great weekend,
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield.
Dates for the Diary
24.5.2017 - East Lancashire Railway Visit
23.5.2017 - Dance Festival
25.5.2017 - Sports Day
WC 17/4/17
Welcome back! I hope you all had a lovely Easter break.
In English this week, the children started our new unit 'Explanation Texts' children have been exploring the features of explanation texts and have looked at technical vocabulary to help explain a topic or idea. On Thursday, the children produced some brilliant work when they created their own sentences using fronted adverbials to show where, when and how. I am looking forward to next week when the children will plan and write their own explanation texts.
In History, we learnt all about the earliest railways and the development of the steam engine by Thomas Savery and James Watt. The children worked together to read information on the early steam locomotive and used this information to put events into chronological order of invention. We then had great fun creating a steam engine locomotive timeline.
This week we also started our new unit in Science, 'Sound'. The children really enjoyed exploring how sounds are made and we discovered that sound is made when something moves or vibrates. The children then went on a sound hunt to try and identify and explain sound sources around our school.
I would like to say a huge thank you to all the children who completed their home learning task. The children loved sharing their work with the rest of the class and it was obvious that a lot of time and effort had been put into these. The children's work will be put on display for us all to enjoy. Amazing work Year 4! Well done!
We hope you have a great weekend,
Mrs Sharrocks, Miss Armstrong and Miss Sheffield.
Attendance: Well done Year 4!
Joint winners this week with Y2, and achieved 98.33%
Dates for the Diary
24.5.2017 - East Lancashire Railway Visit
23.5.2017 - Dance Festival
25.5.2017 - Sports Day
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WC 27/3/17
Another very busy week!
In Maths, the children worked really hard recognising and writing decimals in the form of tenths and hundredths. We explored the effect of dividing a one- or two-digit number by 10 and 100; we identified the value of the digits in the answer as ones, tenths and hundredths. Fantastic effort year 4! Well done!
In Computing, we finished our ‘Photo Stories’ Unit, the children used Desktop Publisher to produce some great comic strips containing lots of features that they had learnt.
To finish our English unit, the children researched an animal of their choice and produced their own information text. They included lots of the features that we have looked at over the past few weeks. We had some fantastic facts about sharks, spiders, scorpions and crocodiles. I am so proud of the amount of effort and quality of work the children produced. Well done Year 4!
We hope you have a lovely break!
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 99.0%
Dates for your diary
31.3.2017 - School Closes for Spring Break
18.4.2017 - Back to school
23.5.2017 - Dance Festival
24.5.2017 – East Lancashire Railway Trip
25.5.2017 - Sports Day
W/C 20/3/17
English
This week we started our non-fiction unit ‘Information Texts’. We looked at fashion and clothing and discussed the differences between the two. Year 4 wrote some great detailed descriptions about clothes and identified their purpose. We learnt some of the features of information texts and used a spidergram to help plan our own piece of writing. On Thursday, the children produced some fantastic pieces of writing using headings and sub-headings in their information text.
Science
This week the children planned and carried out a fair test to investigate the time it took for chocolate to melt and the temperature the water needed to be in order to do this. Year 4 made some good predictions and provided reasons for their ideas, they used great observation skills as well as learning new skills such as reading the temperature on a thermometer. Well done Year 4!
Religious Education
This week in RE we continued with our Buddhism unit. We learnt all about the most important Buddhist festival called Wesak. It is celebrated on the full moon in May and celebrates the Buddha’s birthday. We looked at different variations from one country to another in the celebrations of Wesak and how lanterns, releasing caged birds and dancing dragons are all part of this celebration. We then had fun comparing this festival to some of the things we celebrate and the way in which we celebrate different events. The children then had lots of fun making their own Wesak Lantern.
On Friday, Year 4 had a lovely morning at Christ Church learning all about the Easter story. The children enjoyed lots of arts and craft activities, particularly the Easter Egg Hunt. What fantastic behaviour and lovely manners. Well done!
Children’s University
Thursday was a very exciting day for some children in Year 4. They had a fantastic time when they graduated from Children's University at Liverpool Hope! Children's University is a celebration of exciting and innovative learning activities and experiences that children take part in after school. Many children across the school graduated because of their commitment and attendance in after school clubs. A great day was had by all.
We hope you have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team.
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 98.67%
Dates for your diary
29/3/17 - Easter Bingo
31/3/17 - School Closes for Spring Break
WC 11/3/17
This week Year 4 had a great time on our PGL residential.
During our stay, we took part in some truly amazing activities.
When we arrived, we were given a tour around the PGL site. There was no time to waste and after lunch, the children were taken to their first activities. They all had great fun taking part in the Sensory Trail, where they followed a rope to see what surprises awaited them. The children were blindfolded so the leader needed to inform the children what sort of obstacles lay ahead and they needed to rely on all their senses to tell them what was happening.
All Aboard was a test of courage, communication and team work. The children were in teams of 3 and each member had to get up a telegraph pole and balance on the tiny platform at the top. It was a tough challenge and they needed to help each other in order to succeed.
Canoeing was one of the favourite,s however it was really tricky to paddle and head in the right direction. (The wind didn’t help).
A few of our children obviously fancy themselves as a bit of a Robin Hood or Maid Marion when taking part in the Archery activity. Children learnt new skills and discovered it was all about technique rather than strength, so it was nice to see everyone have the opportunity to excel. The children listened extremely well to the instructor, who taught us how to use a bow and arrow safely, and helped us to hit the bullseye (well nearly).
On the Giant Swing, the biggest decision was ‘how high will you go?’ The children were harnessed into a two seater swing before the rest of the group started hauling them up to 10m high. It was up to the children to decide how high they wanted to go before pulling the release cord, which sent them hurtling down towards the ground, before swinging up towards the sky. Nothing like the swings we find at our local park!
Finally, the Zip Wire was another firm favourite. It allowed children to travel at high speed, across the length of a field, suspended and harnessed from an overhead cable. This was a truly exhilarating activity that the children wanted to try again and again.
Reminders
23.3.2017 - Children's University Graduation (PM)
24.3.2017 - Cricket Competition for Cricket Team 12.00-4.00
24.3.2017 - Church Easter Visit (AM)
29.3.2017 - Easter Bingo
W/C 6/3/17
What a very busy week!
English
This week we continued with our poetry unit ‘Creating Imagery’. On Monday, we explored rhythm and the use of syllables to help structure and read poems aloud. The children had great fun using musical instruments to accompany their choice of poem in order to create atmosphere and different effects. On Wednesday, we looked at lots of different language features Christina Rossetti uses to help the reader envisage images and atmosphere. Year 4 used lots of these features such as, repetition, rhyme, alliteration, similes, powerful verbs and adverbs to write their own poems called ‘Hurt No Living Thing’ and ‘The Wind Poem’. Mrs Threlkeld heard how hard the children were working, so she spent some time listening to the children’s wonderful work. Great work Year 4! I’m super proud of you all!
Creative Write
On Friday, Year 4 really enjoyed our creative writing session. The children retold the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears using the ‘fantastics’ and ‘sentence stacking’. It was wonderful to see the children working collaboratively to create the best sentences possible. Some children created an alternative ending to the story, which was fun to read. The children then used their success criteria checklist to help them include all the features needed to up level their writing. Well done everyone.
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 98%
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 14th March – Parents Evening
Wednesday 15th-17th March – Y4 PGL Residential
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team.
W/C 27/2/17
English
In English this week, we started our poetry unit ‘Creating Imagery’. We studied lots of poems by Christina Rossetti in order to appreciate how writers use figurative and expressive language to create images and atmosphere. We explored the use of alliteration, similes, powerful verbs and adverbs. On Friday, Year 4 wrote some fantastic poems in the style and theme of Christina Rossetti.
Science
This week we continued our science topic ‘States of Matter’. We learnt all about Joseph Priestly, the scientist who discovered carbon dioxide and who invented fizzy drinks. Children were then presented with a cartoon concept, where three children all had different ideas as to whether gas has any weight. Year 4 discussed each statement with a partner about which child they agreed with and why. We then used a selection of fizzy drinks to carry out an investigation. Children decided that if we recorded the weight of the fizzy drink, then we remove as many of the ‘fizzy bubbles’ as possible, then weigh the drinks again, this may tell us whether gasses weigh anything. We discovered that once the fizzy drink became flat, after shaking or stirring them, they actually weighed less. It was a unanimous decision that gases do have mass and do weigh something. Fantastic scientific minds Year 4. Well done!
Religious Education
We continued with our unit on Buddhism this week. We learnt all about Buddhist’s key beliefs and the importance of the Buddha and what he taught Buddhists. We looked at some other beliefs within this religion, such as ‘The Three Jewels, Three Signs of Being, Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path’ and compared similarities and differences to other religions. Using all the information we had learnt, the children really enjoyed our task, which was to design a board game where certain actions mean the player had to go back to the beginning and other positive actions would lead to getting closer to the finish (to gain enlightenment and reach Nirvana.
World Book Day
We had a great end to the week when we dressed up as a character from our favourite book/stories. It was lovely to hear the children discuss their characters and obvious love of books! Year 4 are becoming fantastic little readers and this is evident when we do our weekly Guided Reading, PEEP and Comprehension activities.
Dates for your diary
Parents Evening Y4 - Wednesday 8th, Thursday 9th and Tuesday 14th March
PGL Residential - Wednesday 15th - 17th March
W/C 20/2/17
Welcome back Year 4!
The children have returned in great spirit, eager and ready to learn. We have had a very busy and very exciting first week back.
Science
This week we started our new topic ‘States of Matter’. The children discovered some of the differences between solids, liquids and gases. They then classified objects and identified their properties. We had fun demonstrating the difference between the particles in solids, liquids and gases using drama and movement.
Maths
This week we have been learning about ‘Fractions’, particularly hundredths. Year 4 learnt about mixed number fractions and they confidently counted along a number line in hundredths. We discussed how many hundredths would be in a whole, and how many hundredths would be in a half and a quarter.
To help with counting mixed number fractions and placing them correctly on a number line, we used squares of chocolate. Thankfully no chocolate went ‘missing in action’ during the activity and the children could identify where 31⁄2 and 21⁄3 would be placed. On Thursday, we discovered that 1⁄2 = 2⁄4 = 4⁄8 using a fraction wall and explored how halving and doubling could help prove this.
Geography
This week we had great fun during the introduction to our new unit ‘Europe’. The children discussed what Europe means to them. Some children identified Europe and spending Euros whilst on holiday. It was a bit of a surprise when I mentioned that maybe they’d hear of the Eurovision song contest…….. a sea of blank faces looked at me (maybe Year 4 are too young). The children then had a challenge, to complete a giant ‘jigsaw’ of Europe by joining and identifying all the different countries. We compared our competed jigsaws to a map of Europe and some children enjoyed using a globe to check if they were successful.
We hope you have a great weekend,
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team.
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 97.65%
Dates for your diary
3rd March - World Book Day (dress up as a character)
15th, 16th & 17th March - PGL Residential :-)
W/C 6/2/17
Another busy week in the Year 4 Classroom!
Science
This week the children recorded their observations from our Tooth Decay Experiment using eggs. We discussed why it is important to make careful observations and record them accurately and what would happen to our results if we did not do this. We used the results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, and suggested improvements. Some children raised further questions based on their findings. Great work year 4!
Maths
This week the children worked really hard with their multiplication and division. We used number bonds to break apart numbers and divided by multiples of 10 and 100. This was really useful when we moved from dividing 2-digit numbers to 3-digit. Some children represented their answers using number discs and concrete materials. We put our newly learnt skills to the test later this week when we completed word problems that had multiple steps involving +, –, × and ÷. We used bar models to reflect key information from the problem, which was very helpful in determining which convention was needed based on information from the bar models drawn.
Geography
During our final lesson on this unit ‘All the Time in the World’, we explored the position and significance of time zones (including day and night). The children found it a little tricky to understand at first, but after watching a helpful video clip; the children noticed that as the Earth rotates on its axis; the Sun shines on only one part of the Earth at a time. The children could then explain that while the Sun shines on us where we live, it is night time somewhere else. We had great fun comparing times in different countries and drawing these times on a clock face.
Safer Internet Day
We had lots of fun on Tuesday celebrating Safer Internet Day. We learnt all about posting appropriate images and messages online, ensuring that we remain safe when doing this. We discussed what to do in the event of seeing or hearing something inappropriate when on line and the importance of telling an adult straight away. The children created their own posters about online safety and identified 'green flag' people that the children felt safe talking to, should such an event arise. We finished off having a great time in the Selfie Booth, using a check list to ensure our images were safe before putting them online.
We hope you have a lovely half term break.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team.
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 96.84%
Dates for your diary
20th February - Back to School
3rd March - World Book Day (dress up as a character)
W/C 30/1/17
English
This week in English the children wrote their own mythical story, which is a traditional tale that often has a message. We had great fun identifying the message of the story from our class text ‘Wombat’s Walkabout’. Wombat had unique skills; digging and thinking, which were not valued by other characters, yet these skills turned out to be life-saving. The children thought about Australian characters for their own writing and themes portraying a message for their own story. We had a fantastic selection of stories combating fear, rejection, escape, support, and love. What amazing writing Year 4! I am extremely proud of you all.
Science
This week we were very excited to set up our Tooth Decay Scientific Enquiry. The children chose the equipment they needed and worked collaboratively to set up their fair test. Each day this week, the children have made systematic and careful observations by looking closely at the changes that have occurred to the eggs in the different liquids.
RE
In RE we discovered what happened to Jesus when he was in the desert and how this is marked by Christians today. We also explored some of the Christian festivals and how they are connected to each other. For some reason we became really hungry when we discussed Shrove Tuesday and the significance of pancakes to Christians. We shared ideas as to why pancakes might be eaten before the festival of Lent.
Dates for your diary
7th February - Safer Internet Day
8th February - Valentines Disco (bring clothes to school) 3:30-5pm. £2 entrance.
10th February - Half Term
20th February - Back to School
3rd March - World Book Day (dress up as a character)
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team!
WC 23/1/17
English
In English this week, we started our new unit ‘Stories from other cultures’. The children had fun exploring a range of stories from Australia. We learnt about Aboriginal culture, people and particularly stories containing a moral message. We discussed life from a perspective different from our own and thought about environmental and cultural issues.
PE
In PE the children continued developing their cricket skills with our cricket coach Chris. We focussed predominantly on collaborating and turn taking with others. As Year 4 is such a competitive bunch, they thoroughly enjoyed working together to see which pair could correctly throw and receive a ball without dropping it. Fantastic effort Year 4! Keep up the good work.
Science
This week we looked at scientific enquiry and thought about why scientists ask questions and why they carry out enquiries and tests. We then looked at the difference between scientific and non-scientific questions as we classified questions into categories and justified our reasons. We reminded ourselves about all the different types of scientific enquiry there is, and which sort of investigation lends itself to different questions.
Keeping the theme of teeth and tooth decay, the children discussed what tooth decay is, and what they think causes it. The children found it challenging to generate questions to test tooth decay, especially asking questions that needed to be specific. We debated whether a simple practical enquiry, comparative or fair test would be the most suitable to understand what causes tooth decay. (Don’t worry, we won’t be using real teeth, apparently a boiled egg with a shell on is similar to enamel on a tooth). Year 4 decided that a fair test would more suitable to investigate whether different liquids (juice, coke, milk and water) have an effect on our teeth. The children worked extremely hard making predictions, listing equipment and writing instructions explaining how they will carry their investigation.
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 97.93%. We came 2nd this week! Just pipped to the post by Y2.
Celebrating World Book Day, Friday 3rd March 2017
It's that time of year again! On Friday 3rd March 2007 we will be celebrating World Book Day. This year children are invited to come into school dressed as a character from their parent or carers favourite book as a child. Please don’t go to any expense with dressing up, simple characters could be a boy or girl from a traditional tale such as Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk - white tee shirt and jeans etc. It would be good if you could discuss with your child and explain what you liked about your favourite book as a child.
During the week leading up to Friday 3rd, teachers are inviting any parents or carers who wish to come into school to bring a copy of their favourite childhood story and read the book or extract from the book with the whole class. Please speak to your child’s class teacher if you would like to participate in this and they will arrange a time with you .
The main purpose of the day is to encourage the children to explore the pleasure of books and celebrate reading, so thank you for your support in advance.
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team!
WC 16/1/17
Wow! What a busy week!
Maths
In Maths this week, the children have worked really hard solving 2 and 3 step word problems involving multiplication and division. The children became experts at dividing and multiplying by 1 and 0 and could all explain the law of commutativity. Next week we step it up as we learn how to multiply three numbers together using prior knowledge of multiplication tables and a variety of different methods in which to solve them. Keep practising those times tables Year 4; you’re going to need them!
Geography
This week we identified the position and significance of the Arctic and the Antarctic Circle in the context of comparing Polar Regions to the UK. We used globes, atlases and world maps to discover lines of longitude and latitude. It was fun to find the countries we could see in these areas and discuss what we thought life would be like inside the Arctic Circle, what kinds of animals we might see and what the weather might be like. We then created two graphs to show daylight hours in London and the Arctic. I wonder if the children can tell you some of the amazing facts we discovered.
Science
This week we learnt about the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions. We looked at the differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes by comparing human and animal teeth. Using pictures of Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores, the children labelled the teeth and described whether the diet of animals affected the teeth they have. Well done Year 4! Enjoy a well deserved rest.
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team!
Dates for your diary
27/1/17 - Young Carers Celebration Day. Fancy dress 'when I grow up I want to be a.....'
WC 9/1/17
English
This week the children started our new unit ‘Recounts’. We used Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett’s as a stimulus for our own writing. The children wrote about what they were afraid of when they were little, we practised adding suffixes to adjectives so that they change into adverbs and learnt the spelling rule when doing this. The children discovered some of the features of a recount and used these when they edited and improved their own.
Computing
In computing this week, the children created a short computer animation using Pivot Animator. This software allowed us to create our own short animations, based on a stick figure. The children were delighted when they realised that you don’t have to redraw the figure every time (like our task last week) and you can see how much you are moving or changing the position by something called ‘onion skinning’. We discovered that professional animators refer to the term onion skinning because under the top outer layer, is another layer, then another. In animation, the term describes seeing the top frame you are working on, with one or more previous frames shown underneath. This allows the animator to decide how much of a change to make based on the previous image in the sequence. The children loved it, and they created some fantastic animations. Well done Year 4!
Art
This week the children learnt all about Thomas Gainsborough and we studied his painting ‘Mr and Mrs Andrews’. We discussed the medium and range of colours Gainsborough used in his painting; we also had lots of fun thinking about the characters and what they would say if they could talk. We split the painting into a grid and we chose a section to focus on. I wonder if you can spot which pieces of the painting the children chose?
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team!
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 91.03%. Lots of sicknesses this week.
WC 3/1/17
Welcome back Year 4! We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas break.
This week the children have returned to school with wonderful positive attitudes which is lovely to see.
We had an active start to the week as the children took part in our Cricket lesson with Chris our Cricket Coach. They practised basic skills and ended the session with a game of cricket, putting their newly learnt skills to the test. Please remember that PE is every Tuesday and will be indoor, normal shorts, t-shirts and pumps will need to be in school.
In English, we completed our unit ‘Authors and Letters’ and what better way to end our topic than to write a letter to one of our favourite author. The children talked about their favourite book and their reasons why. We then discussed the sort of questions the children would like to ask their author, focussing on using paragraphs to gather related material. On Thursday, the children really put their computer skills to the test as they typed their final draft. Fantastic work Year 4! Well done!
The children had great fun this week learning all about ‘Animation’ during our Computer lesson. Before animation was widely understood, there were many inventions and devices that fascinated people by seeming to merge images or make them appear to move. The children created one of these devices in the form of a flip book. They used a stick figure and then decided what their stick figure was going to do in 12 steps, such as run, jump, clap, somersault and handstand. It wasn’t as easy to create as it sounds!
On Friday, we had a great time in our whole school assembly celebrating our recent Ofsted award. We are all so proud to be awarded OUTSTANDING IN ALL AREAS! I am sure you are all as proud as we are. To celebrate our achievement further, all the children released a balloon with a message on, telling people why our school is the best. It has been fantastic to receive 'congratulations' messages telling us that our balloons have reached as far as Rochdale.
Thank you for your support this week and we hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 Team!
Attendance: Year 4 achieved 97.51% this week. Can we achieve 100% next week?
WC 12/12/16
What an amazing end to a fantastic half term!
This week KS2 children performed their wonderful version of ‘The Polar Express’. We had some amazing comments from family and friends, a big well done to all the children, who yet again put on a fantastic show.
On Tuesday we had our Christmas Party which was great fun, a big thank you to all the parents for your delicious buffet donations. The children loved it.
All dancers and choir had a lovely morning at Christ Church this week when they took part in a Christmas Performance. Again, the children were amazing, and really gave their all. It was great to see so many family and friends come to join us. Another huge success!
We had a great time finishing our DT project this week, ‘The Great Bread Bake Off’. The children were challenged when they had to create a number of product designs, thinking of the type of bread, ingredients and finish for their products. Many found it tricky when creating and shaping their bread dough (especially the 'knot' style).
I would like to say a big thank you to all parents for your support over the autumn term and for all your contributions and involvement in raising money for our school. It has been an extremely busy few weeks with lots of events in the diary. We do appreciate all your help.
Finally, a huge thank you for your cards, gifts and well wishes received today, it has been overwhelming and extremely kind of you. Thank you all very much!
We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year filled with health and happiness!
Mrs Sharrocks and the Year 4 team!
Dates for your diary
