Year 4 Summer 2023-24
Young Scientists
Year 4 were joined by two recent graduates from Newcastle University who lead a 'Young Scientist Workshop'. We had lots of fun exploring different areas of science that we could study in future and enjoyed experimenting with a range of activities linked to these areas. Some of our favourite areas were electricity, topology, computer science and chemistry.
Attendance of the Month
To celebrate winning the Attendance of the Month award, Year 4 enjoyed a movie hour with some special treats! Well done on such high attendance for April!
Tone and Texture
This term in Art we have started to explore the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh. We have looked closely at a range of his paintings and used these as a basis to develop our sketching and paint skills. By mixing colours with white and black, we learnt how to make different shades and tints for our paintings.
Be Fit, Be Healthy Fortnight
Lifestyle and Fitness Team
Year 4 have been working with Anthony from Sunderland's Change for Life. He spoke to us about how we can keep our bodies healthy be eating a balanced diet, exercising, keeping ourselves clean, getting plenty of sleep and focusing on our mental health. We also looked at the amount of sugar in different foods we eat and the impact that can have on our bodies.
Van Gogh Portraits
To conclude our Art unit this term, we have created our own self portraits in the style of Van Gogh. We used oil paints to create texture and depth and applied this using a palette knife. It was very fiddly but we were very proud of the final outcomes!
The Firework-Maker's Daughter
In literacy, we have started our new unit which is based on The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. To help us understand the events in the story and explore character's emotions, we completed a range of drama activities to consider their thoughts and feelings. Some of the activities included hot seating, role play, thought tracking, freeze frames and conscience alley.
Computing
In small groups, Year 4 have been creating quizzes using Google Slides to practise a range of skills. We have learnt how to add slides, objects, transitions, hyperlinks and videos. Once we have added some audio to the final slides, we will be ready to test them out!
Countries of Europe
Our Geography unit this term is 'How does life compare throughout Europe?' and today we used atlases to locate the different countries with Europe. Once we had identified them all, we used the Chromebooks to research a selection of countries to compare their currency and spoken languages.
Be Fit, Be Healthy Fortnight
Fencing
Today Year 4 took part in a fencing lesson by Keep Active. We learnt about the equipment we needed to wear and use, how to salute our opponent before a match and how to earn points against our opponent. We had lots of fun battling our peers whilst others watched on as referees.
Sports Afternoon
Year 4 enjoyed taking part in a variety of races including an egg and spoon race, a vortex throw, a skipping race and a standing long jump. They all showed a lot of determination and resilience and should be very proud of themselves. Well done to Maple who won the KS2 Sports Afternoon 2024!
Locks and Keys
Within our PE lessons this term, we will be developing our communication skills and strategical thinking through a range of games and activities. In today's lesson we completed an activity called 'Locks and Keys' where we had to solve a code by using a key and bringing our peers different items. As the items for the locks were shared, we had to be mindful of which were being used by others and which locks were free to 'unlock'. We had a lot of fun and were very warn out by the end of the lesson trying to unlock them all!
The Digestive System
Year 4 have had lots of fun exploring the digestive system in Science! As we talked through where our food goes, we brought the journey to life through a range of props. The process wasn't the prettiest but we all learnt a lot! To check our understanding, we then visited BBC Bitesize to order the key events in the digestive system ourselves.
Be Fit, Be Healthy Fortnight
Jiu Jitsu
To kickstart our Be Fit, Be Healthy Fortnight, Year 4 loved participating in a Jiu Jitsu session where the children explored the self-defence martial art. They learnt how Jiu Jitsu differs from other martial arts and had the opportunity to practise some basic skills linked to the sport.
Making Torches
Within our DT unit this term, we have made our own electrical torches using circuits and a working switch. Leading up to this, we looked at different styles of torches and thought about the different features and components our torch would need to meet a specific design criteria.
Slingshot Cars
Year 4 enjoyed constructing slingshot cars and building on their understanding of mechanisms with wheels and axis. In small groups, they thought about how they could make their car travel for the longest time. They tried to keep the added weight and air resistance to a minimum whilst still adding details to their designs to meet the design criteria. When the designs were finally complete, they competed against their class mates' cars to see which car travelled for the longest time and discussed the possible reasons for this outcome.
