December 2021

December was certainly the fastest month of year! We packed so much into such a short a space of time but had lots of fun.

In art, we worked incredibly hard to produce our fantastic Egyptian death masks. The children used a variety of skills including papier mache, Modroc (plaster of Paris), drawing and painting. In D&T, we produced a 3D structure and created 3D pyramids on an Egyptian landscape scene.

In English, we read the Pied Piper story and then used the plot structure to write our own fantasy story. The children used their imagination to produce some very interesting stories.

In maths, we worked on multiplication and division skills using practical equipment and then applied this into reasoning and problem-solving questions.

We had a visit from Coram Life Education where we concentrated on the theme ‘It’s great to be me’. The children contributed to discussions with some great points and asked some very important questions. We also loved seeing Harold the Giraffe again.

We had a very interesting talk from UK Parliament. We learnt about the difference between The House of Commons and The House of Lords, the work of MPs, how laws are made and voices are heard. The children also got the opportunity to ask some interesting questions.

The festivities were well underway starting with our Christmas film night. The children loved watching The Nativity film and eating their sweet treats! We also enjoyed a fantastic trip to The Grand Theatre to watch the pantomime ‘Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs’. The children thoroughly enjoyed it and it got us all in the Christmas spirit. Our school cook produced a delicious Christmas dinner and the children loved wearing their Christmas hats and pulling their crackers.

We finished the Christmas festivities with a brilliant performance in our Nativity which we had all worked extremely hard on. Our class Christmas party was a success and the children enjoyed playing a variety of games and dancing.

It was time for a well-deserved rest over Christmas!

November 2021

WOW, November has certainly flown by! The children have continued to work hard and be fully immersed in our Egyptian topic.

In English, we have been learning about playscripts. We learnt about the key features to write our own. We used the short film ‘Marshmallows’ to write a playscript where we used dialogue, stage directions and setting descriptions. They were fantastic!

In Maths, we have been learning about length and perimeter as well as multiplication and division. The children have continued to develop their problem-solving skills.

We continued with our Tales Retold sessions, focusing on belonging and coping. The children always contribute well to these sessions and participate fully. It is great to see the children be so creative!

We were fortunate enough to have a live author visit from Jacqueline Wilson where she talked about her new book ‘The Primrose Railway Children’. It was also great to listen to her illustrator about how she develops the characters. We have some keen artists in our class, so they were very interested in this as a prospective career.

We had a session with Primary Futures where we learned about the different job roles connected with Blackpool illuminations. It was interesting to listen to some of the roles and the children asked some great questions.

Finally, we finished November with our fantastic Egyptian theme day. We made Egyptian reed boats, traditional sweets, created secret messages on a hieroglyphic typewriter and composed Egyptian music. The children looked wonderful, and it was a great day!

October 2021

October was another busy month in Year 4!

In English we read the text ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’ and the children explored various drama techniques to understand the characters. We used this text as an inspiration to write our own fantasy texts which the children worked hard on.

In Maths we have been working on 4-digit addition and subtraction. The children have used practical resources such as place value counters to work alongside the written method. They have worked hard on their reasoning and problem-solving skills which have enabled them to apply the skills they have learned.

In topic we have continued with our Egyptian theme. We have used compass points to locate various places in Egypt. We have produced some fantastic artwork on papyrus paper.

October was also the start of our tales retold sessions with The Grand Theatre where the children have been exploring resilience through drama. The children have been FANTASTIC and have contributed whole-heartedly to the project. Everyone has been blown away by their effort and enthusiasm.

We had a visit from the poet Charlotte Wetton which is in conjunction with the project for Blackpool Young Poets and The National Literacy Trust. Charlotte worked on helping the children with their editing and performance techniques in poetry.

Finally, the children have also continued to impress with their ukulele skills. Their confidence is increasing and they are progressing well. They worked hard on the piece ‘rock on’ which involved moving their fingers on and off the ukulele.

Library Visit- 1st October 2021

Year 4 September 2021

Year 4 have had a great September! They settled in very well and adapted to the new routines quickly.

In English, we have been looking at explanation texts where we designed an invention and explained how it worked. We loved basing our ideas on Wallace and Gromit’s cracking contraptions. The children came up with some fantastic ideas. We have also looked at fantasy texts where we have been reading the story “The Firework-Maker’s Daughter’.

In Maths, we have been looking at place value, addition and subtraction. We have been using the place value counters to make more than one exchange when adding two 4-digit numbers. The children have been showing some great problem-solving skills.

In topic, we have been looking at modern Egypt and using lots of geographical vocabulary. The children have made some great fact pages which are displayed in our classroom. We also compared Egypt to England.

We have enjoyed our ukulele lessons with Mrs Shepherd from Blackpool Music Service. The children are progressing well and are learning some key concepts in music.

Finally, we enjoyed a trip to Blackpool Central Library where we worked with The National Literacy Trust and Young Blackpool Poets. We looked at the beautiful stained-glass windows which will be an inspiration for our poetry writing back in class.

Year 4 – Walk Like an Egyptian

This term in Year 4 we have been busy learning about the Ancient Egyptians and discovering what life may have been like over 4000 years ago. During the topic we have learnt about the key dates in the history of Ancient Egypt and ‘freeze framed’ some of these dates. We learnt about the importance of the River Nile to Egyptians, and made our own Shaduf so we could see how the Egyptians would have watered their crops. During our Egyptian Theme day, we all dressed in Ancient Egyptian style clothing and learnt about writing hieroglyphics like a scribe, made our own jewellery and even tried some Egyptian style food and drink.

Wild Aid
On 1^st March, we were visited by Charlie at Wild Aid, who came to talk to us about different species of birds. During his visit, we created our own bird feed recipes and put them in the school garden to see which were the most popular ingredients. In the afternoon, we also made our own bird feeders.

Rainforest project
Over half-term, Year 4 were given the mission to create their own Amazon Rainforest by researching the different features and adding these to their own design. The children were told they could design their project in any mode they liked and the designs they came up with were amazing, ranging from cakes, to 3D posters, to rainforests in boxes.

Life education Bus
On Thursday 6^th December, we had a very special visit from the Life Education Bus, where we learned all about the human body and what we can do to look after it. We looked at the special model ‘Tammy’ and the different parts of her body lit up. We also followed Harold and his friends on their journey around a theme park and took a visit to ‘Conformatron’ where the rule was that everybody was the same. This showed us how important it was to embrace everyone’s unique qualities.

Egyptian Class Assembly
During our Egyptian topic in Autumn Term, we enjoyed showing our parents what we had learned throughout our topic during our ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ class assembly. We even had a ‘real life’ Mummy to demonstrate how Egyptian bodies were mummified after death.

The Christmas Period
Over Christmas, we took part in lots of fun and festive activities, for example, our school nativity where we played the scene of the Census Office. We also enjoyed a Christmas dinner as a whole class with Christmas crackers, hats and jokes. During our class party, we also enjoyed a visit from Father Christmas himself.