Year 4 Focus week
We have been doing lots of exciting learning in Year 4 this half term!
In English we have been reading the book The Matchbox Diary, which is a beautiful story about a family who immigrated to America from Italy. In the book, a grandfather shares his special memories of his childhood with his granddaughter through special objects he’s saved in matchboxes. The children in Year 4 were very excited to bring in some of their own special objects and share these with their friends, and then wrote about their objects using beautiful, descriptive language. The children also explored the definitions of different words such as immigration and migration, and they also did some role play as the main character in the book.
In Maths we have focused on Multiplication and division. The children learned new times tables by looking at the ones they already know and building on this knowledge. For example, the 6 times table is easy if you know the 3 times table well! They learned a special pattern for the 9 times table and that they could do their 12 times tables by multiplying a number by 10 and then 2. We also looked at the relationship between multiplication and division, and how they could easily solve division problems by using their times table knowledge.
We also participated in an TT Rockstars inter- school competition between Southborough School and Poverest School. Poverest School won with Fig coming third and Fir coming fourth.
In Science, our topic is Electricity. The children have really enjoyed learning how to build circuits using different components such as wires, batteries, lightbulbs, switches, motors and buzzers. They have also learnt how to draw circuits correctly using Scientific symbols, and they’ve completed a variety of tests to see what an electrical circuit needs to be able to work.
In History we have been learning about Ancient Egypt, and the children loved learning about the process of mummification. They used what they had learnt about mummification and applied this to tomatoes - they scooped out the insides of the tomatoes and added salt and bicarbonate of soda to them. They then wrapped their tomatoes in bandages and we have been checking on their progress regularly and discussing it. They also enjoyed learning about different Egyptian gods and using this knowledge to invent their own gods that represented different qualities.
In Design and Technology the children explored a variety of different structures and then designed their own pavillions based on a theme. They’ve experimented with different materials and structures, and then will finally build their pavilions based on their designs next week.
A huge well done to all the children for their hard work!
