English

This term we have been looking at the book One Plastic Bag, about one woman’s mission to rid The Gambia of plastic rubbish. We have looked at how Isatou Ceesay works with women in her country, teaching them to make purses out of discarded plastic bags and selling them to create an income for themselves. As well as looking at the story of Isatou, we have looked at other ‘Climate Heroes’ and wrote our own stories for their lives. We have learnt about Illac Diaz and his Litre of Light project to bring electricity to poor villages in the Philippines, and Anuar Abdullah’s mission to restore the coral reefs around Burma.

Maths

In maths we have looked at how to draw different types of graphs and how to interpret the data. We talked about how graphs can be compared to each other and what this might tell us. We also looked at how to identify fractions, how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator, how to find equivalent fractions, what mixed number and improper fractions are and how to find fractions of amounts.

Science

For our science we looked at electrical circuits and how electricity travels round them. We talked about conductors and insulators and how different switches work to brake and circuit. We will be using this knowledge to help up in our next DT project.

Geography

We have been looking at megacities in geography this term. We looked at why so many megacities are in Asia and why people would want to live in one. We talked about Baghdad and why it was the first city to ever reach a population of one million. We also looked at Milton Keynes, England and explored why the population is growing so quickly. Using our research, we then wrote a persuasive piece trying to explain to people why they should or should not live in a city.

DT

Over the last term, Year 4 have been designing and building a tower. We have learnt to measure and cut wood accurately as well as how to join it so we have a secure structure. We have also studied how circuits and switches work so a light can be added to the tower.

Computing

During this term we have been looking at how to create 3D villages of the computer. We have looked at a wide range of tools on the computer in order to add and manipulate different shape to build up or villages.

 

PE

We have enjoyed continuing our swimming this term and we have all grown in confidence in the pool. We have also been creating our own dances using inspiration for our science lessons about electricity. We have thought about how to move our bodies like electricity and worked in teams to create a collaborative dance.

PSHE

This term we have been learning about how to be healthy. We learn about what effects alcohol and smoking can have on the body and how to identify and resist peer pressure.

RE

On the run up to Easter we have focused the Christian belief that Jesus died on the cross to forgive everyone for their sins. We looked at what the bible teaches about forgiveness, discussed how this may affect a Christian’s actions and what we think about forgiveness and its importance.

Spanish

For Spanish we have continued to look at the story of Little Red Riding Hood in Spanish and used this to help us create a story plan with Spanish notes.

Music

Year 4 have been hard at work rehearsing for a very exciting concert. The children performed at King George’s Hall in Blackburn along with sixteen other primary schools. Several parents came to support us. The children sang in two parts and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. During our weekly music sessions, we have tried to identify the tonality of the music (whether the music is major or minor). We started to use some new vocabulary – legato/smooth and staccato/spiky.